MARC GUNN

Vivid Dreams and Drums

noreply@blogger.com (Marc Gunn) — Thu, 08 May 2008 16:03:00 +0000

I had a really vivid dream last night. I don't quite it except it had to do with my music career. And what's really weird is I still feel like reliving that dream... even though I can't remember it.

*shakes head* Ugh!

Now I'm uploading "Gypsy Rover" to ReverbNation. I'm tossing the idea of moving my Marc's Musings mailing list over there, because a lot of bands seem to like the site. I'm still not entirely certain I'll be able to use it, but I'm considering it.

I'm also just about ready to go pick up Andrew and Michelle. The Brobdingnagian Bards will be a three-pieces this weekend at Castle Muskogee with drums.

I like the sound of my Irish Drinking Songs CD. Ari, you rock!

An Engineer's Guide to Cats

noreply@blogger.com (Marc Gunn) — Thu, 08 May 2008 02:47:00 +0000

I finally got around to watching this. Too funny! My cats enjoyed it too.

Renaissance Lasciviousness

noreply@blogger.com (Marc Gunn) — Wed, 07 May 2008 21:40:00 +0000

A while back, I was looking at this painting in the National Gallery of Art in D.C.. It was a painting depicting an Venetian casino. The plaque read that these rooms were typical places for gambling and lasciviousness. Patrons would come in costume with masks to hide their nature in true Venetian style. The painting struck me hard, "What a great idea for a Renaissance festival?"

Since then I've done a lot of brainstorming (though I can't remember the name of those "casinos") on this idea. Today, I met with a friend and the idea grew a wee bit more.

So picture it a moment--a Renaissance, mask-themed event with live, bawdy music and Renaissance gambling (for prizes). Add to it a wee bit of faire-style acting, with almost like a murder mystery dinner. Does that sound as much fun to you as it does me? Would you come to Austin for an exciting night of music and entertainment if I put something like this together?

Upcoming CD Notice

noreply@blogger.com (Marc Gunn) — Wed, 07 May 2008 04:15:00 +0000

Later this summer or possibly in the Fall, I hope to record my next studio album with Rich Brotherton, who also produced Whiskers in the Jar: Irish Songs for Cat Lovers. The concept behind this album is the fusion of traditional Irish music with American folk and blues. The title--How Irish Music Saved Civilization.

I'm really excited about this album, the chance to work with Rich again and the fusion of musical styles... I'm psyched. I don't entirely know what tracks will be on the album, except "Lil Bit of Love", but I do have a nice list of songs that I am working on.

The trouble right now is $. I looked at my finances today, because I wanted to record a three-song single to promote the Civilization album. But boy are finances tight. I still owe nearly $7,000 on Whiskers in the Jar, plus hundreds on several other CDs. Money is tight.

One of the reasons I compiled Going for Brogue and What Color Is Your Dragon? was to raise money for this new CD. Unfortunately, it looks like I will have to be patient and recoup some money before I release a single. And certainly before I record a full album.

Meantime, I am practicing a lot to prepare for this new CD. It will be awesome... Now I just need to recoup some mullah!

A Peak at Today

noreply@blogger.com (Marc Gunn) — Wed, 07 May 2008 01:52:00 +0000

Busy day. I can barely remember it. I cleaned, did laundry, practiced, watched some movies, and I made biscotti... or attempted to. I'll try them out tomorrow and see how good they taste.

I also realized that one of the cats pissed on some pillows and such. Oh, and I published a Cat Drinking Tails newsletter announcing Whiskers in the Jar. I just realized I forgot to tell my readers that the new CD is done. I also had to resend a new master of the CD, because there were scratches on the first one. Another delay, grr. So much email to go through.

First Weekend of Oklahoma Renaissance Festival

noreply@blogger.com (Marc Gunn) — Tue, 06 May 2008 01:28:00 +0000

I am home lounged in front of the TV watching Music & Lyrics. Tiziano climbed up onto the couch, circled and plopped down leaning against me to hinder my ability to refill my bourbon. Torre is crouched quietly on the other side of the couch.

I love coming home. My weekend at the Oklahoma Renaissance Festival was fun, but exhausting. I must confess too much so. I feel wiped, and we head back on Thursday for a Three day weekend. That will be touch methinks. But it's hard to complain when I had the joy of spending time at Mother Pockets Soup Kitchen with the whole family. And family they are. I love that group. Such kind, good-hearted people, they take away the stress and worries of the world by being.

The weekend had lots of other pleasures too. The Castle Muskogee is a good faire. They have a strong cast and some of our most-amazing friends through the years perform there, like Bedlam Bards, Queen's Gambit, The Lord Mayor's Company, and many more. I got to meet Alexander James Adams, see The Jolly Rogers, Lord Kerridwyn, Nancy Daily Green, and of course, there were shows.

Our shows went great. I got to meet my friend Emilee's new baby (stunningly cute!). We hung out with our Monkey, and played music better than ever. Aside from the physical exhaustion, it was a good weekend. And there are three more to go! :)

Foul-Mouthed Crypticism

noreply@blogger.com (Marc Gunn) — Tue, 06 May 2008 01:20:00 +0000

Hmm? Did I let the cat out of the bag and shouldn't have?

A while back a published a CD. It served two goals. It was a test project and it was a CD to publish some bawdiness. After mentioning it for Going for Brogue and on the latest Renaissance Festival Podcast, I've seen a surge of CD sales. I'm not sure I really want that. The CD is a little foul mouthed and bawdy to a small degree. I like what I did, but I put the best, most family-friendly songs on the Brogue CD. Not to be cryptic or enticing, but I published the album under a different name for a reason. So unless you're into skankiness, don't bother. And I prolly will publish another album under that name in the future, because it gives me an outlet for something different.

Stuff on My Cat

noreply@blogger.com (Marc Gunn) — Tue, 06 May 2008 00:57:00 +0000

This is too cool! I got several posts from people who saw a picture of my CD, Irish Drinking Songs for Cat Lovers on Stuff On My Cat. That's a beautiful thing.

I'd love to see more pics of people with my solo CDs, T-Shirts, Celtic Cat Wooden Mug, whatever. If you have any fun pictures of those, post them on Flickr or on Myspace. Or what about doing a special video with my CDs that you post on YouTube?

Once you've done something, post a comment here where your picture or video is at and I'll send you a free live CD of mine.

The Clothes Make the Man (or Woman)

noreply@blogger.com (Marc Gunn) — Sun, 04 May 2008 04:09:00 +0000

In 2003 or so, I published an eBook called "Ten Tips on How to Bring the Fans Back Time and Time Again". Today, I got my first criticism of it. Their complaint was that I sounded more like a politician than a musician.

I'm used to criticism when it comes to my music marketing tips. I've was really aggressive in the past. No where near as much now. But I decided to go back and read that book. I still stand by all those tips.

This ebook and all my articles are educational tools designed to build character that will lead to success. Sort of like Bob Baker's Artist Empowerment Podcast and stuff. Not all these tips are for everyone right now. To illustrate this, I'll repost my reply:

Thanks for the feedback. I understand your point, but I have a different philosophy which not everyone understands. It's the concept that if you give selflessly, you will receive. That article is designed to educate musicians on ways to give selflessly. I am an idealist and I look at the greater issues, not sales of CDs, but the betterment of humanity. Putting on a great show or showing your love and respect for you fans is part of that goal.

You see, to be successful in any business, you have to respect they people who support you. And the way to do that is to learn how to respect people. It's not an intuitive part of human nature. People naturally want to be greedy or to take care of themselves.

As an example, a few years ago, I decided to selfishly donate a percentage of CD profits to non-profit organizations. My goal was to publicize the donation and thereby attract media to build my fan base. The problem was I didn't publicize it.

Instead, I gave away money. I turned those donations into a habit. Now I regularly give away a few thousand of dollars a year to non-profits. And the most unexpected thing happened... I did not profit from the publicity. Instead, I profited internally, spiritually, I got thank you letters from organizations who said how much they appreciated my donations.

The same thing with the Celtic MP3s Music Magazine. It began as an ezine to promote MY band. But eventually, I stopped promoting MY band selfishly and started promoting other bands. Then I started the Irish & Celtic Music Podcast. All of a sudden, I got fan emails from people telling me how much they appreciated me sharing this great music with them!

The point I'm trying to make is that on the surface those tips may seem like "selling out". But they are not. "Selling out" is a state of mind. If you do not agree with them and you are an artist, don't do them. Because THAT is selling out. But to read those tips and realize that by doing so you will make other people feel good, to ingrain those tips into your heart so the next time you see a "fan", you give them a hug, because you learned to CARE about them. That is not selling out. That is improving your social conscience. And I believe that that is good for humanity.

I don't know if I made my point or not. But I do believe that if you act a way that you think will benefit you, you will learn one day not to "act". It will become a part of your nature. And then you ARE that person. And hopefully, that person is better than the one that started.

I know I have a Lot of faults that still need correcting, but that is the opportunity of life.

ReverbNation

noreply@blogger.com (Marc Gunn) — Fri, 02 May 2008 16:38:00 +0000

I'm all packed and ready to go to Oklahoma Renaissance Festival. Going to pick up Andrew in a few minutes. Meanwhile, I'm passing time watching Buffy and doing some web updates. I added Going for Brogue to the CD special at Whiskers in the Jar ordering site.

I also signed up for ReverbNation. A number of bands that I know and respect use the site. So I'm going to give a run and see what it can do for me.

A Day of Podcasting and Weekly Update

noreply@blogger.com (Marc Gunn) — Fri, 02 May 2008 04:27:00 +0000

Whoa! Time for a breather. *sigh* It was a busy day. I decided to take a break from recording What Color Is Your Dragon? to get other stuff done:

Renaissance Festival Podcast #94 posted, an ezine was sent out, and I redesigned the podcast website. It looks a lot cleaner... maybe too clean. Let me know what you think?
Vote in the Musical Challenge. There's a new form to vote in the Ren Fest Podcast Musical Challenge. Go vote!
Practiced with Michelle. I love playing with percussion. It's a completely different dynamic.
Sent out the latest Marc's Musings.
Worked with Diskfaktory to keep the production going for Going for Brogue: Irish Pub Songs and Sea Shanties and Whiskers in the Jar: Irish Songs for Cat Lovers. They should both arrive at the end of the month.

In other news from the week:

What Color Is Your Dragon? Folk Music with Delusions of Grandeur is progressing nicely. I had some rough mixes that I hope to clean up next week. Still no song list yet.
I haven't restarted MarcSongs Podcast. I'm gonna try and get that rolling again on Tuesday.
Brobdingnagian Bards Tour of Ireland. This is your last ever chance to join us in Ireland. We're discontinuing after this year.

Going Brogue Could Save Your Life

noreply@blogger.com (Marc Gunn) — Fri, 02 May 2008 04:15:00 +0000

MARC'S MUSINGS -- May 1, 2008

- Marc's Music News
- Going for Brogue and more New CDs
- Last Chance for an Ireland Tour
- My Blog Could Save Your Life

Published 1-4 times per month. To manage your subscription, go to the end of this newsletter. Visit My Store Now!

Marc's Musings

Greetings amici,

Texas, having beautiful spring days, who would've thought?

Every time I stepped outside after the big thunderstorm last weekend, I was amazed. The weather was delicious, cool, and lovely. The only problem is I haven't been out to enjoy it. I had a lot planned and not enough time to do it. But the results are getting me excited

MARC'S MUSIC NEWS

Thanks to my acupuncturist, I am at last feeling great. My sinus problems are all gone, and my motivation kicked in over the weekend.

You see, I've had several CDs that I planned to finish this spring. The first and most important was Whiskers in the Jar: Irish Songs for Cat Lovers. It is at the printers as we speak and should arrive by the end of May.

The second was a CD called, What Color Is Your Dragon? Folk Music with Delusions of Grandeur. It's a CD that I've been recording over the past year and releasing as singles on the MarcSongs Podcast. There were a couple songs that still needed recording. So I kept putting it off... until this weekend. The music is now recorded! I hope to mix it this week.

The third was a last minute decision. It's a an album of Irish songs and sea shanties that I recorded over the past few years with an Irish accent for my Irish-Song-Lyrics.com website. It's called Going for Brogue: Irish Pub Songs Songs and Sea Shanties with an Accent (go fig!). That album was my big accomplishment for the weekend. I remixed it, and sent it off to the printers. You can now pre-order a copy, and you should have it by the time I make it to Ireland in June.

MARC GUNN LIVE!
Speaking of Ireland, we came to a big decision. This year's Brobdingnagian Bards Tour of Ireland is the last tour we're gonna do. Quite sadly, this is the second year we're losing money on it. While we have a great time, we're still indie musicians and can't afford to take big losses. So that's it.

That said, we do have four more spots available on this year's tour. This trip will be a one bang up party that you don't want to miss. So if you're interested in going AND you can afford it, email me ASAP. Right now, the trip lists for $2600. But if you let me know immediately, I'll knock off $100 from the price until Monday.

Meantime, we're heading back to the Oklahoma Renaissance Festival this weekend and the next three. This will be our last engagement before we fly off to Ireland.

READ MY NEWS AT MARCGUNN.COM. IT COULD SAVE YOUR LIFE!

Okay, maybe it really won't save your life, but I hope you'll enjoy it! hehe! :)

I made a big change a couple weeks ago. I decided to start using my homepage blog more. In the past, I blogged on Livejournal or Myspace quite regularly. Both are great websites, and I haven't abandoned them. But I feel I can offer more when it's coming straight from my homepage. I have a new RSS feed which will allow you to add my blog to your newsreader--http://www.marcgunn.com/blog.xml .

That said, there's a LOT of news I posted in the past week as I made updates to my website. I reorganized my CDs and merchandise page to make it easier and more accessible. There are some questions that need answering (here and here) and much more. You can even get email updates of blogs. Lots to do. I hope you'll be a part of my community.

---
Thank you for interacting with me. Please drop me a line and say hi. Slainte!
- Marc Gunn

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Marc Gunn is Celtic Geek songwriter from Austin, Texas with a strange affinity for ballads, Irish drinking songs, acoustic Alternative Folk, podcasting, Sci Fi, and cats.

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Simple Guide to Hosting a House Concert

noreply@blogger.com (Marc Gunn) — Thu, 01 May 2008 20:45:00 +0000

How would you like to have live music from Marc Gunn in your home? You can with house concerts.

House Concerts are intimate musical performances held in private homes, usually without a sound system to an audience of 20-40 people. It is a fantastic way for you to hear my music live and interact with me in a relaxed social setting.

Your job is to Promote the Event to as many people as you feel comfortable having in your home. Send email or postcards to all of your family and friends and to people you know are interested in Celtic and folk music. Then watch as you become the envy of them all, in hosting this fun and light-hearted show.

Duration is typically two hours long with two sets of 45 minutes and one twenty minute break between sets.

Admission to the house concert typically requires $15 donations from attendees. It is a good idea to have someone collect money from attendees. Donations should yield between $300-600 for the evening's entertainment.

It is best to take Reservations for the house concert. Overbooking will insure that you have a full house even if someone cancels. As this is technically a private event, please do not put your address on flyers.

Many hosts serve Food and Drink, but this is not required. BYOB is quite acceptable. Chairs should be acquired for each of your reservations. You can rent them from party supply companies for as little as $1-2 a chair.

Lodging may be requested if I am coming from out of town. If I fly in for a house concert, I may also request Travel to and from the airport.

CD Sales are the lifeblood of all musicians. It's very important to have a table to sell CDs and frequently, it helps to have someone sell the CDs during the intermission or after the show.

House concerts are amazingly fun and rewarding. They do require work, but the feel-good rewards will last a lifetime.

For additional information on how to host a house concert, or have a question? Please email me.

More Tips on How to Host a House Concert?

House Concert Articles:

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 H.

What Color Is Your Dragon? Update

noreply@blogger.com (Marc Gunn) — Thu, 01 May 2008 03:41:00 +0000

Today was another day of mixing and recording for What Color Is Your Dragon?. Didn't feel nearly as productive. I have about four songs that are right on the edge of being finished, but are on hold. One, "Don't Go Drinking with Hobbits". I think I have to re-record. It's a very clean, sharp-sounding recording, but it sounds boring.

That's one of the reasons I like recording live. It usually captures a fresher, more energetic sound. Not cold and sterile. Course, this one was recorded live. But I think I recorded it too late at night.

If I get it done, I'll have 18-20 songs on the CD. The songs are a lot shorter overall, barely three minutes. But it sounds less freaky, like I expected it would. I think it's just "If I Were a Horse" that is freaky. So I'm debating whether I even want it on the album.

I am hoping to bring in my friend Clif Haley to record guitar on one song. Haven't seen him in forever. He used to play with Plow Monday. Fantastic guitarist and interestingly, he's playing more blues rather than rock these days.

Web Host Downtime

noreply@blogger.com (Marc Gunn) — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 14:26:00 +0000

Grr! For the past 24 hours, my Fans of Irish & Celtic Music web host has been completely down. Grr! So I decided to transfer the Renaissance Festival Podcast to a new server altogether. I'm still uploading stuff. I think I need to do the same for the Irish Songs & Lyrics website. Those are two of my most-popular sites on that server.

If I Were a Horse and Other Bits of Insanity

noreply@blogger.com (Marc Gunn) — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 07:13:00 +0000

I spent much of the day mixing songs from What Color Is Your Dragon? It's coming along well. In fact, I only have about three more songs to mix and fifteen songs done. But this CD is definitely taking a twisted turn. Looking at the track list, I'll call this a comedy CD overall. But some of the songs strike as, well, bizarre.

I decided a while ago that this CD would include all those freaky songs I've written like "If I Were a Horse". I wrote it in college. It has just weird lyrics. My friend Johannes will testify to that unless he's blocked it out. Some are good fun. And I've had some gem lyrics sent to me that I've included like "The Lusty Young Sith". It makes me giggle.

Overall, I'm not sure what to think about this CD. You'll either love it or hate it. Either way, it's an amusing insight into the insanity of Marc Gunn.

Visualize Whirled Peas... I mean World Peace

noreply@blogger.com (Marc Gunn) — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 21:19:00 +0000

Do you ever see something, or hear something that reminds you of something else, and then you have to go see, hear or do that something else?

Yesterday, I started posting the sad news that we're not doing a Brobdingnagian Bards Vacation Tour of Ireland next year. Today, I started writing about it some more to send a message to our mailing list. Now I'm jonesing for Ireland. I have so many great memories from last year. They keep flooding back to me every time I think of the trip.

Some of my highlights from last year's trip:

Lisdoonvarna Pub Sing-A-Long. Me and twenty fans singing a mix of Irish and original songs, all together. Too cool!
Cliffs of Moher. Especially when I ran along the restricted area. The water, the view, the drop, the birds, the thought of land breaking off and plummeting to my death. *sigh* How I miss it!
Wandering the streets of Dublin. Odd, this. Because as much as I bitched about it, I have some fun memories, wandering Grafton Street or even the bastard bouncer at the Temple Bar.
Stopping here and there. Seems like everywhere we stopped, and exited the bus for just a few minutes had this flood of wow-ness and longing.
Friends. All the great people I had the pleasure of hanging out with, drinking with, sharing moments with. It was a total pleasure.

*sigh* Ah well... I can't wait to see what happens this year!

GOING FOR BROGUE: IRISH PUB SONGS AND SEA SHANTIES WITH AN ACCENT

noreply@blogger.com (Marc Gunn) — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 23:42:00 +0000

Several years ago, I started the Irish Songs & Lyrics website to help musicians like learn new songs by ear. The site features Irish song lyrics, chords, and streaming audio files so you can listen to the songs you want to learn.

Unfortunately, the website stopped growing because we stopped recording. I decided to expand the website in 2006 by recording a bunch of Irish pub songs under a different name--4 Irish Whiskey. To make it more "authentic", I recorded the songs with an Irish accent.

Then a year later, a fan sent me a book of sea shanties. I thought some of those songs would make nice additions to the website, so this time I took on a pirate persona and added new songs to the website.

Now I decided it is time to release the music officially under my own name. I remixed the songs and compiled the two CDs into one. It's called Going for Brogue: Irish Pub Songs and Sea Shanties with an Accent. The CD features 19 Irish pub songs and sea shanties performed by yours truly with a variety of bizarre Irish accents. There's over 68 minutes of music on one environmentally conscience CD. Going for Brogue is raucous fun that shines like the heart of Irish folk music.

Track Listing:

The CD is now mixed and off to the printers as of today. It should arrive back in Austin in about a month.

PLUS, when you order the CD you'll get a link to download a digital pack of graphics for your computer, website and profile, and a 37-page ebook of song lyrics, chords and information about the album.

Pre-Order Going for Brogue: Irish Pub Songs and Sea Shanties with an Accent, $15 + shipping

or better yet...

Buy 3, Get 3 FREE! This is the ultimate Friends Reward. Share the music with your friends. You'll both be happy you did.

Last Brobdingnagian Bards Tour of Ireland Ever!

noreply@blogger.com (Marc Gunn) — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 22:33:00 +0000

I paid final bill for the Brobdingnagian Bards Tour of Ireland to Celtic Ways. Eight days in one of the most-beautiful countries on the planet. Due to the weak American dollar and lower than expected attendance, we are losing money, but it's IRELAND. So I can't complain too much. Tickets are all booked up. We are ready to go!

Because of the low attendance, we came to a tough decision today. This is the last Brobdingnagian Bards Tour of Ireland. That's right bardic vacations are no longer in our foreseeable future. I was hoping to do Scotland and Europe in the future, but I'm forced to admit that it doesn't look the demand is strong enough to do these trips.

That said, we do still have room for about four more people on this final tour. So if you were wanting to join us in Ireland. This is indeed your last chance. Right now, the website says it'll cost you $2600 for the land travel and all meals. However, if you email me [marc at thebards dot net] before Friday, May 2nd, I'll knock off $100. But I need to know ASAP. So contact me soon!

Meantime, I'll be practicing my Irish songs for great music and craic!

Harold and Kumar Escape from Dragons

noreply@blogger.com (Marc Gunn) — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 08:40:00 +0000

Nothing like financial problems to motivate you to exceed.

This weekend was ultra productive. Saturday, I spent the day mixing some old recordings for Going for Brogue, and album of Irish Pub Songs and Sea Shanties all sung with an accent. It was relatively quick mix since all the recording was pretty much done many, many, many months ago. Then I took a break and had a photo shoot at Opal Divine's for the album cover. There were some beautiful shots that make me all giddy with vanity. hehe!

Sunday, I spent putting final touches on the CD. After watching Harold and Kumar, I took a look at some finances, cried a little, obsessed a lot, and then got motivated to try and fix my financial situation. How so? Recording.

One of the things I had on my To Do List for the weekend was to finish TWO CDs. The recording for the both albums was mostly completed. All I needed to do was mix. So after the finances, I started working on What Color Is Your Dragon?. There were a few tracks I wanted to record for this CD. So tonight I recorded the last of the tracks for the album. Now all that is left is mixing. And thanks to my recent mix of Going for Brogue, I have a bunch of presets to make that a breeze. W00t!

Now it's four in the morning, and I need some sleep because I have to take my car in the shop for maintenance. Why the heck did I ask for an 11am appointment? Ugh! Night.

Things to Do and a Poll for You

noreply@blogger.com (Marc Gunn) — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 17:40:00 +0000

Last night, I went to see Voltaire perform at Elysium. As always, he put on a fantastic show, and his opening act Ego Likeness had a good sound too. I must say I love going to Elysium. It's a very comfortable club for me, prolly cause I consider myself a Gothophile. I like the Goth culture.

While I waited for Voltaire to perform, I started compiling a list of things I want to get done this weekend. I have lots to do, if I can get motivated to work. Things on my list:

Record a Renaissance Festival Podcast,
Order Celtic Cat T-Shirts,
Mixdown songs for Going for Brogue,
Mixdown songs for What Color Is Your Dragon?
Update business cards,
Record a Pub Songs Podcast,
Post new MarcSongs Podcast,
And post a poll...

I am hoping to do some more solo shows here in Austin once I get back from Ireland. It got me thinking...

What songs that I sing would you like to hear live?

and What are your favorite songs by me?

For Geniuses, Sliders Aren't Very Smart

noreply@blogger.com (Marc Gunn) — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 01:27:00 +0000

After a busy day of working on finances, I decided to take a break and watch Sliders before Voltaire's show tonight at Elysium. The show is amusing enough. Admittedly, after a full run through, I don't think I'll watch it again, but for now, I enjoy it, except... when the Sliders are being stupid... which is most of the time.

The group supposedly as two geniuses and smart gal in the mix. Yet, it gets annoying when in every other show, they get themselves involved in a very stupid way, "We have to leave in five minutes, let's jeopardize that by trying to [fill in the blank]."

I mean, if you're entire goal is to get home, and if you DON'T go through in time, you're stuck forever... Seems to me, you have one option. Maybe I'm just a little more realistic? But it starts to reek of Three's Company's mistaken identity. Gets annoying and makes me pissed. Okay, let it go Marc.

*grumbles* Stupid Sliders! ;)

Free Cat Game - Parachute Cat

noreply@blogger.com (Marc Gunn) — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 07:28:00 +0000

Okay, I'm sure someone else has come up with this game too, but I just got done playing Parachute Cat (yes, I made up the name too;). Do you remember playing with the parachute in gym class growing up? All the kids in gym would grab a side of the parachute and pull it taught. I always loved that game though I forget what happened next. Was it a ball on the parachute that we bounced all around? Or did we just run underneath it? I don't remember.

But a couple years ago, my tabby cat, Torre, fell in love with a similar game with bed sheets. Every time I wash my sheets and am about to put them on, Torre races in and pounces on the sheets. He runs underneath them, tackles corners, or jumps on top triumphantly. It's the cutest thing.

Sure, my arms wear out quicker than he does as I flap the sheet up into the air for another round of Parachute Cat, but for ten minutes we have a grand ol'time. Tiziano even joined the fun today. So now go try out the new game with your kitty and let me know if they enjoy the game too. For extra added fun, you can play my Cat songs while you and your cats enjoy the game.

Happy Celtic Earth Day!

noreply@blogger.com (Marc Gunn) — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 06:46:00 +0000

It was a largely unproductive day, but I pulled in a wee bit o'productivity at the last minute while watching Anne of Green Gables: The Sequel. Yes, I'm that kind of guy. And it's a sweet movie. :)

Today's tasks:

Irish & Celtic Music Podcast #49 completed. And started show #50.
Celtic Music CD Store updated.
I also finished the credits for Whiskers in the Jar... finally. Hope to get that to the printers tomorrow.
And I got some great practice with Michelle Hedden. I've been working on some Celtic bluesy songs that are coming together, including a blues version of "Beer, Beer, Beer" that really grooves. It's fun playing with percussion.
And... I also watched Sliders on Netflix. W00t!
Happy Earth Day!

KILTED FOR HER PLEASURE

noreply@blogger.com (Marc Gunn) — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 19:48:00 +0000

I had this big discussion a while back about the whys and what fors of kilt wearing. I love my kilt. I love the colors, the comfort factor. The only downside really is my boots, of which I need a better replacement. While I love it, I also recognized that a large number of women love to see me, and other men, in kilts.

Before I ask the psychological question "Why?", I thought I'd announce this new idea for a compilation CD--Kilted for Her Pleasure. Originally, I was just looking at creating t-shirts for the Irish & Celtic Music Podcast. Then I thought, this too cool a title not to make into a full album. So I decided a CD of music by Kilt-wearing Celts was in order.

Like the CD idea?
Also, if you enjoy seeing people in kilts, why?

More on the album as it progresses. Meantime, Celtic bands can submit music here (if they haven't done so already).