There really aren't enough steps shown how people record their podcasts. So I decided to make a list of how I record my music podcasts (Renaissance Festival Podcast & the Irish & Celtic Music Podcast ).

Recording the Podcast at Home

Typically, I record my podcast at home. Here is my at home recording equipment:

• Computer: Microsoft XP with a AMD Duron processor. 850 MHz, 512MB of RAM,
  
• SB Live! Wave Card for my Sound card,
  
• Recording program: Adobe Audition,
  
• Behringer Eurorack UB802 mixer,
  
• Alesis NanoCompressor set to about 3:1 compression (actually, I don't usually use compression with the Ren Fest Podcast. More often for the Irish & Celtic Music Podcast),
  
• Shure SM58, I speak about 3-5 inches from the mic crosswind to avoid pops in the sound,
  
• Kristen records using a laptop with a microphone via Skype.

How recording is done:

The show is recorded live. We call each other using Skype. This poses an interesting problem though for sound. With our current setup, we cannot get a better sound quality from my co-host, Kristen's mic.

Once we are logged onto Skype, I select Record Master in the Recording Control (Volume Control). This allows us to record vocals and music simulataneously. Kristen mutes herself, and I start the show off.

Once my intro is done, I turn my volume off on my external mixer and hit play on my VU Player where I have a Playlist setup with all the songs from the show. When the song ends, I turn up my volume on my Mixer, Kristen unmutes herself and we record the next section introducing each band, songs, CD, and URL for the band. After the show is recorded, I edit the show by removing some of our vocal screwups and deleting space between comments and songs that is excessive.

I then use the Dynamics Compression feature and compress the podcast 2.5:1. The reason for this is that many of the songs recorded by folk musicians are not evenly balanced. Some use virtually no compression. The result is that one song by bagpipes is ten times louder than a song by a folk instrumental group. Adding compression reduces the overall variance. And it also balances our vocals a little bit better into the podcast. And some of the dynamics aren't necessary when I save the file as an MP3Pro at 96kbps, constant bit rate.

I use Windows MediaPlayer to add ID3 Tags to the file and insert the shownotes in the comments section. Then I upload the show to my server.

Recording the Podcast on the Road

Recording on the road is a bit different. I can't easily record shows live because my laptop sound card doesn't allow me to use the Record Master feature. Thus, I cannot record live. This means more work for me, but a better sound quality.

• Computer: Microsoft XP on a DELL Inspiron B130 Laptop computer,
  
• Battlefield 2 headphones,
  
• Adobe Audition.

How recording is done:

This setup has not been tested yet. However, this is my plan for the next show.

The show will not be recorded live with music. Instead Kristen and I will record our audio tracks separately. When the show is over, she will email me her saved audio tracks and I will mix them in with my own. Then I will insert the music in post-production. All else is basically the same.

This should yield a cleaner sound, but it's not as much fun as listening to all the music live.


UPDATE: I have since had numerous opportunities for recording shows using the later technique. Apparently, this technique has its own name--"double ender".

This is definitely my preferred way to record these days. While I miss hearing the whole show, it is faster, easier, and offers a higher-quality sound to the final recording.


UPDATE: One of the biggest problems I had early on was getting a normalizing the sound. I had too many audio files that varied from no compression to way too much. This is ONE of the reasons I originally decided to compress the show. Rather than adjusting the volume of each song, I had to come up with something different.

- Now I copy each MP3 into a specific work folder.
- I then record my vocals for the show and add compression to my vocals.
- Next, I insert all of the MP3s into the correct order.
- Finally, I use the group waveform normalize feature in Audition to normalize all of the MP3s.

This makes improves the overall sound balance. A little compression adds to the overall listenability on MP3 players and on the road.

In the summer of 2001, the Brobdingnagian Bards were doing fairly well on the Celtic MP3 charts on the late great MP3.com. That summer, I started the Celtic MP3s Music Magazine, a weekly electronic newsletter dedicated to promoting Celtic music.

Visit the
Celtic MP3s Music Magazine

Actually, the magazine was a blatent attempt to promote the Brobdingnagian Bards. But as I started publishing the magazine, I recognized more and more great Celtic music groups. I made some friends. Eventually, I changed the format from a newsletter to shamelessly plug my band into a valuable service for the Celtic community, the ONLY ezine for Celtic music.

In fact, it is still the only ezine dedicated to Celtic music. There are occasional ones who try to sell you music, but I realized that Free Celtic MP3s were a brilliant way to sell CDs. So instead of teasing people with clips, give them music they can listen to over and over again. Bands will build fans and sell CDs. And you know what? It works!

The Celtic MP3s Music Magazine has evolved over the years due to time constraints with the Brobdingnagian Bards. The magazine is now released once a month, however, it features more than the two downloads that were in the earlier version of the magazine.

Thanks the magazine, I've also developed Song Henge, the online archive of free and legal Celtic music downloads from past MP3 features. The project continues to grow with amazing success.

If you enjoy Celtic music, drop by the website and subscribe.

Slainte!

Skander was an amazing band that never made it off the ground. We were sort of a combination of the Presidents of the United States of America, "Weird" Al Yankovich, and some classical music. Punk, Ska before ska existed. We later realized our name would've been appropriately written....SKAnder.

The name originated from some cool Sci-Fi story that Johannes introduced and we all voted on when we were briefly a six-piece. Other potential names...Smooth Glass, and our first name Parliamo Troppo, meaning "We Talk To Much," in Italian.

Skander was voted on and months later, I talked Monte Bingham (on drums) and Johannes-James Rimmer (on bass and keys) to record a three song demo. It was quite a job. We went into DC Recording in Austin at 8 am. We had to be done by noon because I was briefly moving to Arizona. We threw around some songs and sadly let the engineer talk us into not recording one of Johannes' masterpieces, The Dream. But we did record some great tunes that I for one am very proud of despite the poor playing...after all we were Punk.

Intent On World Domination Track Listing

1. Pez
2. Got No Brains...Singing
3. Peach Cobbler Pie

Back in college, I decided I wanted to start a band. One the friends I made, Jimmy Rimmer, liked the idea. So we started practicing together.

Unforunately, Jimmy was in Computer Science had more limited time than I did. I remember calling him almost daily to see if we could practice. I usually got his answering machine. One day, I got bored of saying, "Hey Jimmy, this is Marc. Give me a call." So instead, I said, "Hey Johannes! This is Ichabod. Give me a call."

Several hours later, I got a phone call. "Heyyyy Ichabod!"

"What? Huh?" Then I realized it was Jimmy. He then reminded me about my earlier phone call. Since then, he's been Johannes, and I became Ichabod. Or together. Jo Ichy! (Jo as "Yo"). Okay, that's my little joke.

Actually, Johannes told me a while back that he thought I had said, "Hey Ichabod, this is Johannes." Nevertheless, I'm Ichy and he's Johan.

I performed under the name Ichabod for several years. In 1997, my band Breastfed broke up. I started playing the autoharp. A few months later, I went into the studio with a dozen songs and recorded my first solo CD Geography. Then I quit my job and started playing music full-time... okay not really. In fact, it was a dismal failure. And I learned a good lesson from the experience.

But the CD was a lot of fun nevertheless. I wish I still had my old bio and stuff from that time. Ah well.

Geography Track Listing:

1. Parliamo Troppo
2. The Lolly Song
3. Reflexology
4. Lounging in La La Land
5. Bella's Highland Jig
6. Dying Flame
7. A Walk Through the Land of Empty
8. Something More
9. Irish Ballad
10. Monster in My Mirror
11. Freight Train

Overall, I was fairly pleased with this first endeavor. Production-wise it rocked. I avoided the common problem of many bands having all the songs sound the same. Each track sounded original and fresh.

The problem with it, and why I'm not big on re-releasing is that the performance is mediocre. I skip some beats in a few songs. There's some tuning problems. Kinda sucks. Cuz aside from those things, I loved the album.

You can download it for free if you're a member of Song Henge, my online archive of free and legal Celtic music downloads.

Are you planning to celebrate your marital vows in the manner of your Celtic ancestors? Are you considering having a Renaissance wedding at a local faire? Or are you just looking for some traditional Classical music pieces? You have come to the right place to find the music you desire.This internet radio station is packed with several great wedding musicians from all of the world. So that if you don't find the music you are looking for in the Brobdingnagian Bards, you will find something else. You will also find some fantastic Celtic and Wedding resource links. And if at any time, you don't find what you are looking for, drop me a line, and I will help you find what you find it.

• Purchase "A Celtic Renaissance Wedding" - CELTIC WEDDINGS
  

Are you looking to have a Celtic wedding or needing Celtic wedding music? Celtic music is not just the coolest music to listen to these days. It also makes a brilliant addition to any wedding. But finding the right Celtic wedding music is no picnic. There's a decent amount out there, and not all of it is that good.

I put together a few websites that feature Celtic wedding music, songs and CDs, as well as links to some great Celtic wedding music groups that could perform at your Celtic wedding.

• CELTIC WEDDINGS - Celtic Wedding Music & Songs
• Classical Celtic Wedding Music
• A Celtic Renaissance Wedding CD
• Celtic Harp Wedding Music
• Things Celtic Music Directory: Weddings
• Celtic Wedding CD - Music for a Wedding

Congratulations! I wish you the best.

Every year, the Austin Chronicle hosts two music polls--the Austin Music Poll and the Best of Austin Poll. The Best of Austin Poll features all the best mostly non-musical stuff in Austin.

In the past, the Brobdingnagian Bards won "Best Renaissance Men" (2002) and "Best Way to Fix Your Computer and Fight Dragons" (2000). This year, there are a variety of new categories that perhaps I could win with my podcasting and various websites.

You don't have to be from Austin to vote. Below are my suggestions for who I'd like to see win in 2006. If you like what I suggest then, please use them. Voting ends Monday, July 10th. You can copy and paste them into the entry form.

So please, please take a moment to vote.

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

Movie Theatre: Alamo Drafthouse
Live Music Venue: Cactus Cafe
Annual Festival: Austin Celtic Festival
Local Filmmaker: Eric Powers/Swordplay
Theatre Director: Lorella Loftus
Actor/Actress: Lorella Loftus
Improv Group: Parallelogramophonograph
Painter/Sculptor: Jennifer Gunn
Cultural Asset: Austin Celtic Association


MEDIA

Media Critic: Margaret Moser
Local Writer: Margaret Moser
Photographer: Nancy e. Pearsall
Radio Station - Music: KUT 90.5 FM
Radio DJ: Marc Gunn
Local Web Site - Information: Austin Celtic Association
Local Blogger: Marc Gunn
Local Author/Poet: Marc Gunn
Local Non-Chronicle Publication: Celtic MP3s Music Magazine
Local Comic/Zine: Adventures of the Brobdingnagian Bards


POLITICS AND PERSONALITIES

Nonprofit Group: Austin Celtic Association


SHOPPING

Antiques/Collectibles/Vintage: Things Celtic
Pet Store: Bark N Purr Pet Center
Comic Books: Dragon's Lair
Independent Bookstore: Things Celtic
Fashion Accessories: Merlin's Oddities and Morgana's Mysteries

Okay, as I mentioned. We are looking at turning July into another big tour. And the tour idea is growing. BIG! But to make it happen, we will need a lot of help from folks willing to host house concerts. Due to the time constraint, it's not practical to try and convince some booking agent to book us at a venue. Not to mention, I prefer playing house concerts. Read below for more details about them.

These two dates are secure:
July 7-9 InConjunction, Indianapolis, IN
July 10 House Concert, Winchester, KY

Here's a rough plan that sorta includes what Andrew and I were talking about for a tour itinerary.

July 4 House Concert, St Louis, MO
July 5 House Concert, Central MO
July 6 House Concert, Central IL
July 14-16, Either a Faire or House Concerts in NY and possibly up to Mass.
July 18, House Concert in PA
July 20, House Concert in VA
July 22, House Concert in Atlanta, GA
July 24, House Concert in South GA/Northern FL
Aug 2-4, House Concert, Central... TN, NC, GA,
Aug 5, House Concert, Hammond, LA

This may be wayyy too much, but twould be one heckuva trip.

WHAT IS A HOUSE CONCERT?

A house concert is a live performance in your home. You ask for a $10 donation and bring in a bare minimum of 15 folks. And we have a great time singing and laughing together. It is great fun!

Keep in mind, you don't need a huge place to do a house concert. We've done 15x15 foot room with 20+ people. The main key is to invite your friends. It's a snap. If you're interested, then please, please email Andrew and help us get this going asap. If not, keep an eye open for someone else who may put one on. Course, you may have to do some driving.

Let me know what ye think.

Would you like Live Celtic music in your home?

Think you can get 15 people to pay a few bucks
to see us perform live?

Then, Host a House Concert

What is a House Concert?

A house concert is quite simply a live music performance in someone's home. You invite your friends over to watch a live show. Each of your friends donates a few bucks for the priviledge. You then get live music in your home. Your friends get a personalized, smoke-free environment to hear great music.

House concerts are a vital part of the folk music scene throughout the United States. A recent book was published about this relatively new phenomenom called House Concerts: A Guide For Musicians And Hosts. I read the article in the NY Times, and it amazed me. There are artists touring the country playing just House Concerts and making a good living doing it.

Hosting a house concert is rewarding and fairly easy to do. Plus, I will help you every step of the way. Who know you may like it and turn into one of those people who hosts house concerts regularly!


Here's How It Works

1. Contact your family and friends in your area. Tell them you are hosting a house concert for the Brobdingnagian Bards.
2. We'll contact a few of our fans in your area.
3. Ask them to donate money for the ticket price.
4. Post some flyers around town and get the word out.
5. Relax in your most comfortable lazy-boy and enjoy live music in your home.

It does require a little bit of work, but imagine two hours of bard music in your own home! You'll get a chance to spend some time with us and get to know us. And if you don't already have a copy of our CD, we'll be happy to give you a couple to help promote the event.

"I don't have the time."

Okay, to be honest, it's not that easy. There is some work in getting started. That's why I'm here to help. We have a huge mailing list, and you'd be surprised how many other Nagians will jump at the opportunity to help you organize a house concert.

"I don't have fifteen friends."

If you don't have a fifteen friends, there are other options. Perhaps one of your friends would be willing to host a house concert? Or perhaps they have friends who will bring in fifteen people.

However, I must confess. In order to make a house concert worthwhile, we need to have a minimum of fifteen people at the show. We prefer to have twenty, thirty, or more, but fifteen will suffice.

But remember. We have a BROBDINGNAGIAN mailing list with thousands of fans throughout the nation. So if you can at least get fifteen friends to a performance, we can probably pull in an additional 5-10. Then we're set for one amazing evening!


What others are saying...

Concerns were just typical...will there be enough food, wine, etc.... until party time when the what if no one shows up thing hits... It was pretty much a perfect night though. Lots of friends, good food and music...gods, the music just wonderous. I still can't believe it happened...you were sitting in my living room playing all the stuff I listen too, live! And the jamming! When can you come back? --Val Dodd

It was a wonderful event, and words fail to express the excitement and spirit of the whole evening! The Bards were magnificent in every way, and I urge ANYONE to consider hosting a house concert. People were throwing money at me; I issued ribbons tied to people's wrists as they paid, and I had NO ONE out of over 60 people attending who failed to track me down and pay the gate. It was a great way to kick off out preparations for the 5th year of the Louisiana Renaissance Festival, and I am grateful to Andrew and Marc for making is such a rambunctious and fun event. If you DO want to host a concert, email me and I'll be happy to share details of what made it work. --Jamie/Ghislaine (ghislainederouen ~~AT~~ hotmail.com)

Okay, so how do I get started?

Quite easily. Start by contacting us . We'll figure out where you live and work out the logistics.

One of the big questions is how much to charge. Depending on where you live, this can vary. If we have to cover travel expenses for two, the cover charge for the house concert, might be a bit too much.

However, if we are touring within a couple hundred miles of you or on a weekday, that might be the perfect time to plan such an event. So what's the delay. Talk to us!

---
Marc Gunn plays Celtic folk music with the Brobdingnagian Bards. He writes poetry and lyrics, and captures pictures of nature, people, beauty and the mysterious. A hopeless romantic and folk singer/songwriter and breathes new life into traditional Irish and Scottish music, and shares his Celtic folk music, poetry and pictures freely to any who ask. Subscribe to his newsletters for free gifts, including: MP3s, CDs, eBooks, and more. He loves performing at house concerts and has done them from Texas to Italy.

Say "Roswell" and most people immediately think of aliens. Maybe there's something to that urban folklore, but frankly I could care less about it. My grandmother and great-aunt lived in Roswell all their lives. At a 50th high school reunion, a guy that one of them graduated with stood up and gave a great big speech on how he was personally involved in the incident. In addition to that, several people familiar to my grandmother ("TaTa") and great-aunt ("Froggie") did disappear or die mysteriously after events on the famed evening over 50 years ago. As someone who grew up spending at least 40% of all major holidays and portions of summers in Roswell, I have mixed feelings over what the UFO-boom has done to this sleepy little town over the past decade. It's still bleary-eyed, but there are garish alien murals painted everywhere. Though I guess it's a safeguard for the economy, which is something to be grateful for.

I'm in Roswell this week. But not for any UFO convention. As Froggie died last Spring, TaTa has been living on her own for the past year. She is about to turn 81 years old this August, and since then, we've had too many reminders that it's time to move her into a retirement community. She's fallen in the bathroom. She's fallen in the yard. She's never cooked for herself so she eats frozen dinners 24/7, or drives to Wendy's and winds up lost. She weighs 90 pounds and all she wants to eat is dessert. She can't remember when she last took one of her pills. One day she pulled out of the grocery store parking lot and wound up in Carlsbad, New Mexico. Didn't a light go off in her head when she drove through Artesia? She's one of the greatest joys of my life and while we have all tried to honor her dignity, there comes a time when you put your foot down and tell her, "You are selling your car. You are leaving this house. The house you have lived in for 50 years. You are moving to El Paso to be closer to your daughter and her husband. This is how it's gonna be." I am here this week to offer moral support to her, my mother and father. I am here to measure furniture and decide which floorplan in the retirement home will best suit her, so she doesn't have to part with so many of her things. She doesn't want to go live with "old people."

The emotional strain is almost unbearable. Frankly I don't know how my mother--and countless others whose parents are at this stage in life--cope. The mail arrives and my mother finds that a bill has been paid twice, that another accounting error must be backtracked, that Frog's accidental death policy and a class-action suit in regards to the house, must be settled.

If I still drank or smoked or...hell, ate sugar...I'd be wasted by 6AM. But as I don't, I'm up at 5AM chasing the early morning light with my camera. Thanks, Dad, I'm borrowing your car, the one that reeks of cigarettes. I leave a post-it note by the phone that says "Gone Fishing" and creep out of the driveway listening to a radio station that without fail, plays Barry Manilow. I pull off the sides of roads near ranch paddocks. The air is crisp at this hour, heavy with the scent of horse manure. I lean over a rusted pipeline fence painted white, stare through my lens at the backlit trees. The sky is peach and pastel turquoise. *snap* I shudder. I swallow the moment. After this week I have no real reason to ever return to Roswell again.

I drive on. There are curving railway tracks, crumbling old houses, steely grain silos that glow like beacons. I shoot them all, ravenous for a wide-angle or telephoto lens.

Yesterday I took a very short walk. There is a small park about a block from TaTa's house. I tried to commit everything to memory: the buckling sidewalks, the names of streets--overdosing on nostalgia. About 50 paces from a small park (I still love to play on the swings), an older gentleman watering his lawn called to me.

"Hi."
-"Hi."
"You from here?" he asked
-"No, visiting family."
"Well, be careful. Watch yourself!"

It's easy to take a look around the old neighborhood and see that it ain't what it used to be. Despite its rural charm, the part of town TaTa lives in has sunken into a slump of gang activity and methamphetamines. I swing at the park for exactly one minute and then head home.

The last time I was here was a year ago, for Frog's funeral. Though she was my great-aunt, she was just like a grandmother to me. And I might add, TaTa is no ordinary grandmother. TaTa and Frog have been more than just cornerstones in my life--and my sister's life. They have been legend. I wonder if Frog is with us in this time.

This morning I went to photograph one of the parks she and TaTa used to take my sister and I to. Cahoon Park. It's a large park in a nicer part of town. I drove for what felt like forever, not finding any part of it that seemed familiar. Just about to give up, finally I found a little stone bridge with some stairs. I remember this! At the foot of the stairs was a giant frog.

Coming home, I poured myself a glass of soymilk. (Yes, you can even find soymilk in Roswell now.) On the side of the fridge is a page torn out of a magazine. On it is a poem by Hombert Wolfe. It reads:

Listen! the wind is rising, and
the air is wild with leaves,
We have had our summer evenings,
now for October eves!

Though June, I'm grateful to be here in October. I hold TaTa's paw, gnarled with arthritic joints. Bloodblisters banged on the back of her hand. I kiss it, I want to make it better. The leaves swirl around in my head.

I'm glad I came.

---
Nancy e. Pearsall is a photographer, poet, and peregrine.

Breastfed was an Avant, Quark Rock band characterized by well-arranged songs using odd timings, grooving rhythms, hard-edged attacks and fiersome melodic vocals.

• Ichabod sang
• Tavis sang backup and played guitar
• Neal paraded on drums, and
• Peg pedaled the bass support.

Breastfed started out to be promising band. I conceived an idea of hard-rocking music that included numerous time changes, starts and stops. I played the guitar and Peg started in on bass.

Peg was/is one of those die-hard musicians that I pray will one day make the grade. She will stop at nothing to keep trying. Lock her in with a good group and she'll work magic. Played bass with Breastfed and was a solid bassist. In addition, she wrote some amazing bass lines that I had a blast working with.

Neal came on the scene originally as a jazz-traine drummer. He joined us for first gig, not planning to stick around, but over the winter holidays, we grabbed a guitarist--"Black-eyed" Billy--and Neal decided to invest himself into the band. And when Billy didn't work out, he brought in Tavis.

Tavis is an amazing guitarist. I respect him on that level. But he wanted a band of his own. I won't blame him at all, but somewhere along the way our conflicting personalities led at least me to distress. We recorded a six-song demo in August, 1997. But had money only to mix four of them. So we did. Yielding our first demo Breastfed. After the recording, Tavis started playing solo more to pay his bills. I used him as an inspiration and picked up my autoharp to try some solo stuff as well. In October, we played our last show at the Rio Grande Coffee House and went our separate ways. At least we got to record an pretty good album: Breastfed

1. Rhapsody In Ritalin
2. Fresh
3. Numb
4. Razed
5. Nervous
6. Worth A Billion

Andrew suggested I check into performing at Furry conventions for my Irish Drinking Songs for Cat Lovers CD. It seemed like a reasonable suggestion. Then after I was booked at a furry con, I realized it was a great idea. So I decided to compile an annual calendar of Furry conventions that I easily access online. Here they are:

January

Further Confusion
San Jose, CA


February

Murrrdi Gras
St. Louis, MO


April

GenCon
Paris, France


May

Rocket City FurMeet
Huntsville, AL

MarCon
Columbus, OH

Califur
Costa Mesa, CA


June

DucKon
Wheaton, IL

AnthroCon
Pittsburgh, PA

C-ACE
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

A-Kon
Dallas, TX


July

Comic Con
San Diego, CA


August

Eurofurence
Nuremberg, GA

GenCon
Indianapolis, IN


September

DragonCon
Atlanta, GA

Feral
Algonquin Park, Ontario, Canada

Mephit FurMeet
Memphis, TN


October

Oklacon
Roman Nose State Park, OK


November

Midwest FurFest
Schaumburg, IL

GenCon
Anahiem, CA

I'm so behind on updating my Autoharp Radio station on Live365. Just too many things to do and not enough time to do them. And when I do I don't spend it enough on autoharps.

However, this week I'll need to put together a Basic Autoharp class for my show in a couple weeks. It should give me some time to prepare some autoharp lessons. Soon...

I got an email from someone who told me about a new Lord of the Rings fan film called Born of Hope. Here's the basic info about it:

Born of Hope is a prequel to the Lord of the Rings and is based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s writings in the Appendices of the Trilogy. Unlike most fan films Born of Hope is not a spoof or parody, but a serious drama with many aspects of Tolkien’s work and Peter Jackson’s films represented: love, war, family, friendship, good and evil.

This project was originally conceived because I wanted to send a film to a Tolkien Fan Film Exhibition, which was held at Tolcon, a convention in Seattle USA in May 2004. However, from a small spark the idea grew into a hugely ambitious project and would never have been completed to the standard I wanted, for the 2004 Exhibition. Once the film is completed I plan to send it to many conventions and other international events.

So I emailed them our own Lord of the Rings music info. That'll be brilliant if we can be included on the soundtrack. That's one of the reasons why we have a free Lord of the Rings MP3 at all.