A little late remembering to mention it, but on March 16th, I was featured on Eye of the Storm in Boston, WBNW 1120AM radio. I was invited to talk about my Irish Drinking Songs for Cat Lovers CD as well as other fun Celtic music projects of mine.

Here are the most-recent podcasts my music was played in: Aspire, Astral Audio Experience, Average Joe Radio, Cross and Canvas, DALECAST, DigiVegas Indie Podcast, Far From the Pulse, Guy In A Tie, KidsCast UK/ KidsCastSCiFi, Mat - on- NutCast, Mischief and Mayhem, My Pocket Player - Mój odtwarzacz, Open Mike Insert Foot, Podcast Ping, poltercast, Power Ogg, The Kahn Man's Comedy Corner, The Tone Deaf Radio Show, and Week in Geek. I was also featured on Mellow Melodies March show.

You can hear my music or play it through the Podsafe Music Network.

Victims of Irish Music, the instrumental compilation CD released by Marc Gunn's Irish & Celtic Music Podcast, is fast sweeping the Celtic music charts as it climbs to #20 on iTunes World Music Charts. The CD features some of the hottest, new and independent Celtic musicians playing Irish music today from around the globe. A portion of the income earned from the CD benefits Celtic non-profits. Download Victims of Irish Music off iTunes today!

I posted some new banners to my website. You can help promote my music by using these banners. Special thanks to James McDaniel II of Dumb Ogre Designs who created the graphics.

Here's how we pulled in the latest Austin Music Awards, as well as some of our Celtic friends.

#1 Best Folk Band: Brobdingnagian Bards

#6 Instrumental: Doc Grauzer
#2 None of the Above: Brobdingnagian Bards
#7 Novelty: The Dubliners' Tabby Cats
#4 DJ: Boba Fett
#4 World: The Tea Merchants
#10 World: Bedlam Bards

#4 Misc. Instrument: Andrew McKee, recorder
#5 Strings: Marc Gunn, autoharp

#6 Local Label: Mage Records
#1 Acoustic Venue: Cactus Cafe
#7 Live Music Venue: Elysium
#9 Radio Music Program: Celtic Storm
#5 Record Store: Things Celtic

Looking for live Celtic music for St. Patrick's Day this year? I now have a list of St. Patrick's Day in Austin gigs posted thanks to Jan. At present, neither Brobdingnagian Bards nor I have any public gigs scheduled. But I still hope to have a gathering of some kind.

Oh! If you want a great CD, check out Victims of Irish Music. It is one of the most-popular Irish music CDs on iTunes and it was an Editor's Pick on CD Baby.

Have you met Marc Gunn? Well, the folks at FaireNews.com called me up and interviewed me just in time for the 3rd Annual Renaissance Festival Awards. Learn a little bit more about me. Read the article.

I got notice that an interview I did a couple week's back is now up at Bengal's Corner.

There is now a new Dr. Demento request page at http://drdemento.com/request/ and it allows you to make requests in text or audio format. He's going to start playing audio requests on the air, just like phone calls in the old days!

So if you would like to request one my songs on the show, here's two that made it on the show.

1. "The Cat Came Back... The Cat's Perspective"
   
2. "I Saved the Planet Earth"
   

The FuMP does it again! My song "I Saved The Planet Earth" was played on The Dr. Demento Show #08-04 - January 27, 2008. If ye like the song, go request it there. Maybe it'll end up on the monthly T0p Ten. Incidentally, I hope to add that song to my upcoming CD, "What Color Is Your Dragon? Folk Music with Delusions of Grandeur". I haven't started mixing the CD yet, but hope to this week before we head off to Arizona.

Nikki O'Shea, author of The Adventure of the Brobdingnagian Bards Comic, let me know that Book 2 of the comic book is being set up. I may even be available in time for Christmas.

But if you can't wait for that, order a copy of The Bards Comic Book 1: Do Virgins Taste Better. It is now for sale at Lulu.

So tonight we did a promo at the Louisiana Renaissance Festival site. Andrew and I were playing "Wild Rover" by the beer garden. After the song, the pretzel man stopped us and said, "Have you heard that CD, 'Irish Drinking Songs for Cat Lovers'?" I laughed. He then went on to say how he played it every morning at some faire in Illinois. hehe! Rockin'!

Let me start by saying how much I appreciate EVERYONE who's written their sympathies, support and hugs. Wow! Ya'll are amazing! While I wanted to warn other musicians, I never dreamed we would get THIS MUCH support. THANK YOU!

Tons of people got the word out about our distress and these internet scammers in LJs, Myspace, Blogs and websites. The FuMP (The Funny Music Project) took a HUGE stand passing around the word. A HUGE thanks to Tom Smith, Sudden Death and Rob Balder! Ya'll are Amazing!

Ren Radio and Wander Radio put the word out on the netwaves. Rennies and even some music groups showered us with emails and phone calls. And the Nagians went above and beyond the call of duty with hundreds of dollars of donations and pledges, some asking Nothing in Return. Wow! Wow! And Wow!

I haven't done the full calculations today, but I'm fairly certain we are now back in the black. So THANK YOU! THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!

I am so very grateful to everyone who donated their money and energy to spreading the word about this scam. I think we Really Got the word out. I heard four other Celtic groups were contacted with the same offer and narrowly missed out on losing thousands of dollars too. Your efforts have worked. And I'm leaving open http://www.marcgunn.com/fraud/ to hopefully warn others about the dangers of internet scams. Feel free to post your stories and suggestions there as well.

All that said, I don't think we even went through all 30 DVDs that we offered to release. So my thought was to leave the donation button open just a little bit longer, at least until those 30 DVDs are gone, and donate all the surplus to a non-profit.

Do any of you know of any non-profits who help folks scammed like us? if so, please let me know.

Again, thank you a million times over. Your support in this stressful time was overwhelming. Thank you.

No. This really isn't some sort of perversion. Last week, we were featured in Jennie Breeden's web comic, The Devil's Panties. But then many of you prolly already know that. I had over fifteen people mention it to me. Sorry it took so long to post.

We almost made it! LIVE: Nex Monoceroti, Per Risibus climbed to #2 today! (I thought the charts changed more than once a week... is it twice a week?)

Whatever the case, the CD is now just a pinch away from #1. Just a few more days until the sale ends next Monday. So pick up your copy asap!

The Bards sparkle live
author: Lynn McKinney
If you're a fan of live music, this is the album for you! On this album there's a lovely selection of Bard Banter, with audience participation and comedy improvisation. The guys were really on their highest level of wit when they recorded these songs, and the recording is a feast of humor and pop culture references for the media fan. But there's plenty of music too, in fine Bard Style! I've always maintained that the guys lose a certain something if you don't hear them live, and this is as close as you can get to being at a Live Bards Concert without actually being there.

My song "Silhouette of Longing Love" is topping the charts on Spirit With, a free New Age radio music to relax your mind and energize your soul 24hrs/day.

Here are the latest hot music picks chosen by our radio audience.

1. Jon Rattenbury - Fly Away - Eternal Spirit
2. Australis - Lifegiving - Lifegiving
3. Renaud Schmitt - Giants - RensMusic
4. Jennifer Haines - Trooper - Thoughts & Dreams
5. Rodrigo Rodriguez - Inner Thoughts - Inner Thoughts
6. Marc Gunn - Silhouette of Longing Love
7. Jon Rattenbury - Timeless Quest - Eternal Spirit
8. Bernward Koch - Childhood Hour - Walking Through Clouds
9. Linda Seeley - Orion's Wish - Make Something Happen
10. Michele Ippolito - Mystic Mood - Mystic Moods

Find out more at www.spiritwithinmusic.com.

I know. I know. I'm posting a LOT about the CD, but I just saw that our new CD LIVE: Nex Monoceroti, Per Risibus is the Editor's Pick on CD Baby's Musical Comedy Charts. WOOT! Guess we did something right! :)

Hey Marc! Something kinda cool happened today. You see, I was sitting in Theatre class just after the bell rang, and I heard a very interesting rhythmic ensemble of chiming. It sounded so very familiar...I think it was, hmmm, autoharp? Or something like that? Two more bars into it the recorder came in and I proceeded to flip out with much squeeing.

My Theatre teacher at North Mesquite High School has a Song of the Day every day, and a question to go with it (a writing prompt for our journals). The question today was, "What would you do if you had a million dollars?"

Marc said he would buy someone a keep, and Andrew repeated diligently to emphasize the point. Wait...do you know these guys?

My Theatre teacher's a fan. Everyone in the class gained 5 points for their test that day because I knew "If I Had A Million Ducats" by the Brobdingnagian Bards.

Thought I'd let you know.

Melanie

I've been messing more and more with Soundclick. Yesterday, I compiled ALL of our songs in one station on SoundClick. So if you want a nice mix of music by me and the Brobdingnagian Bards, then give it a listen. There's enough here to keep you busy ALL DAY on Friday and then some!

Course if you like any of it and want to support the us, you can always buy our music.

Now playing: marcgunn's station - MarcSongs

Some of you may know that I am a HUGE Firefly fan. I admit it. I watch a few episodes of the TV show or movie at least once a week. I bought the Collector's Edition with the hope that we'll get a second movie. I play firefly music by the Bedlam Bards in my podcasts. And one of my favorite podcasts of all is The Signal.

The Signal is a podcast about Firefly and Serenity. It has all the latest news and fun tidbits that make me watch the show even more. I'm a huge fan. And oddly enough, two of the hosts Les and Kari are fans of the Brobdingnagian Bards. This year at DragonCon, we finally got our shot to perform on The Signal.

While Andrew and I were in Ireland, I got an email from someone telling me about the Sing A Song for Saffron Contest. The idea was to write a song about Saffron, aka YoSaffBridge, from the TV show. I've been wanting to write a song for Firefly since the show came out, but nothing came to me. But there I was, in Ireland, and a melody popped into my head and I started writing. I got home, made a recording, and sent it off to the competition. A few weeks later, I learned I won "Best Filk Song" in the competition. I just received a couple o'shiny prizes in the mail today.

The song is called "She Said Her Name Was Saffron". And thanks to that song, Andrew and I were invited to perform on The Signal. The DragonCon special was posted live today. Go hear my new song.

Interview with Marc Gunn

Hey Everyone!

Last Sunday I had the awesome opportunity to interview Marc Gunn of the Brobdignagian Bards. If you want to listen to it, it is now available on my site at www.pnwcmpodcast.com.

It was a live interview, made possible by the good people at Blog Talk Radio. This format allow me not only to interview artists, but allows fans to call in and ask questions, or just fawn over thier favorite musician. Hopefully this is the first of many. I plan to do one live interview a month, to suppliment my once a month podcast posting.

If you are an artist who would like to participate, feel free to email me at pnwcmpodcast@gmail.com. I would like to schedule them out as far as I can, so if you have a CD or tour you want to promote at a specific time, contact me.

If there is an artist you really want me to interview, whom you would really like to ask questions or fawn over...feel free to email me too.

Enjoy the interview!

Becky Johnston
Pacific Northwest Celtic Music Podcast

I got an email yesterday from Dr Demento who said my song, "The Cat Came Back... The Cat's Perspective" will be on the Dr Demento show, July 7th weekend, and he featured "Exclamations" a week or so a go. Woohoo!

All thanks to The FuMP! That's the Funny Music Project to the uninitiated, where you can download free comical songs by comedy musicians. I finally signed up the Bards and myself to the FuMP and we were featured while we were in Europe. Hope to have more FuMPS in the near future too.

And hopefully Lucrezia can find my notebook. My European journal of events and notes. I left it in Italy, and I'm heartbroken. First glance, she didn't find it. It had a new song I wrote about Saffron from Firefly for a competition. Don't think it'll be done in time for the competition now since I don't have the damn lyrics. Grrr...

On another note, I'm listening to my friend Rimbo's CD, Rimbosity. It had a few tracks where I sing. Very different style. More electronica, but awesome CD! Saw it was on iTunes which is what reminded me to listen again.

And I was reminded about it while looking to see that Irish Drinking Songs: The Cat Lover's Companion is NOW ON iTUNES as well!
You can save money by ordering it there if you haven't picked up your copy yet.

Umm. What other tangent can I go on?
Guess that's it now. I need to start catching up on stuff.

Well, the reviews are pouring in for my new CD of Irish Drinking Songs: The Cat Lover's Companion. I've gotten a LOT of fantastic reviews, everything from women wanting to mother my children to fond recognition of my stylistic differences between The Bards and solo work to blissful enjoyment of traditional Irish songs. Come to think of it I don't think I gave everyone warnings when I sent out those CDs. I always consider myself more a balladeer than a comedian. I think this CD does a good job of reflecting that.

It's actually kinda interesting to see what happens when Andrew and I get together and play music. We have a style all our own. It's always fun. But how can it not be with Andrew there. He's got amazing wit and comedic timing, plus a helluva musician who puts me to shame. I'm much tamer than my old rock music days.

I've also decided I'm gonna try to put together a special release to see if I can top some charts on iTunes. But all that's another month away.

Meantime, here's the first of the reviews:

• You gotta check this out!
• Celtic CD Review
• Irish Drinking Songs: The Cat Lover's Companion
• My Review of Marc Gunn's new Irish CD
• Irish Drinking Songs Review
• Marvin's CD Review 001&002 The Cat Lover's...
• You Can Never Have too Much...
• Marc Gunn's New CD
• Yay Irish Music!
• Arikla's Ramblings
• Review of Cat Lover's Companion
• CD Review
• Dianna

Wow! I haven't seen it yet, but I got an email from someone who told me about a feature for the Irish & Celtic Music Podcast. As he describes it ABC World News Video Podcast went out to find some popular podcast and my podcast was one that was picked for it!

Now if I can just download the video, I gotta see it! Look 15:15 minutes into the show. It's the 3/27/2007 show.

AUSTIN, TX (March 15, 2007) - Indie Celtic music favorites the Brobdingnagian Bards were named Best "None of the Above" Band of 2006-07 at the prestigious Austin Music Awards held last night at the Austin Convention Center, kicking off the music portion of the international South By Southwest music conference. The AMA's are celebrating their 25th Anniversary this year and have long been the standard for recognizing the best musical talent coming out of one of the best music cities, Austin, TX.

Sponsored by the Austin Chronicle, the awards celebrate local bands, Austin based releases and individual musical performances. Categories range from Best Drummer to Best Experimental Performance and everything in between. The awards also sponsor an Austin Music Hall of Fame that includes past inductees such as the Killer Bees, the Butthole Surfers and Soulhat.

For more information on the awards and affiliated events go to http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase/Awards/MusicAwards.

***

The Bards, self describe their music as Scottish and Irish folk songs combined with the Lord of the Rings music and a wee bit o'Celtic fun. The Brobdingnagian Bards (pronounced brob-din-nahg-EE-en) are The Original Celtic Renaissance music duo from Austin, Texas. Their unique brand of folk music on the autoharp, recorder, and mandolin has made them one of the most-popular Celtic music groups online where they give away thousands of free Celtic MP3 downloads daily.

The Brobdingnagian Bards perform coast-to-coast, and in a given month might be at a Lord of the Rings Oscar Party, a Celtic festival, or a Science Fiction Convention. However, they are an absolute favorite at Renaissance Faires where they add high-energy and wit to make every show a memorable experience.

ABOUT The Bards (Andrew McKee / Marc Gunn)

Andrew McKee played guitar and saxophone in high school. He grew up with a classical music background and found the transition from saxophone to recorder to be seamless which led him to perform on Marc Gunn's first solo album. He is entirely self-taught on the mandolin.

Marc Gunn is an Irish and Scottish folk singer with a strange affinity for Celtic ballads, drinking songs and cats. He is the lead singer for the Brobdingnagian Bards, an internet music promoter, podcaster, poet, photographer and publisher of many, many things on and offline. Communicate with me through my websites:

-- Brobdingnagian Bards, Celtic Folk Music
-- Marc Gunn's Irish & Celtic Music Podcast
-- Renaissance Festival Podcast - Music and Entertainment from Ren Faires

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
http://www.celticmusicpodcast.com
February 12, 2007
CONTACT: Marc Gunn
(512) 470 - 4866

THE IRISH AND CELTIC MUSIC PODCAST HITS #1 ON THE MOST POPULAR MUSIC PODCASTS AT iTUNES

AUSTIN, TX (February 12, 2007) – Let's face it, everybody likes to be #1. For the Irish & Celtic Music Podcast (http://celticmusicpodcast.com/) that chance came this week when they reached the top spot on iTunes list of music podcasts. Not only did they top the music podcast chart, they also ranked 14th of all podcasts in the world since iTunes is the #1 distributor of podcasts. The Irish & Celtic Music Podcast is a free, bi-monthly, downloadable radio show of independent Irish & Celtic music. It features Irish drinking songs, Scottish folk songs, bagpipes, music from Ireland, Scotland, Brittany, Wales, Nova Scotia, Galicia, Australia, the United States, and around the world.

Two exciting podcasts are slated to be released by the Irish and Celtic Music Podcast this March. The first is a St. Patrick's Day podcast, featuring perennial Celtic music favorites as well as historical tidbits and other St. Paddy's Day fun. Also coming in March is a podcast which will announce the Celtic Music Award winners for 2006 and feature music from the winners. Selections are made by popular vote and are hosted by Celtic MP3s Music Magazine (http://www.celticmp3s.com). The awards honor the most popular online Celtic music groups and individuals. Both podcasts are sure to be among the best of the coming year.

With the increasing popularity of iTunes, a more diverse crowd of listeners is clearly seeking out their music choices from iTunes vast catalog of downloads. The popularity of the Irish & Celtic Music Podcast is clear evidence of this ever-widening circle. Listeners are encouraged to vote for their favorite songs and submit suggestions for podcasts they would like to hear. The Irish & Celtic Music Podcast also has a page on my Myspace.com (http://myspace.com/irishcelticmusicpodcast) where information about recent and upcoming podcasts can also be found.

The Irish & Celtic Music Podcasts are sponsored by Song Henge (www.SongHenge.com) a website offering the largest selection of totally free and legal downloads of Celtic music.


ABOUT Marc Gunn / The Bards

Marc Gunn is an Irish and Scottish folk singer with a strange affinity for Celtic ballads, drinking songs and cats. He is the lead singer for the Brobdingnagian Bards. He is also Celtic music podcaster and promoter as well as publisher of Celtic MP3s Music Magazine.

http://thebards.net Brobdingnagian Bards, Celtic Folk Music
http://celticmusicpodcast.com/ Irish & Celtic Music Podcast

Renaissance Festival Podcast - Music and Entertainment from Ren Faires http://www.renaissancefestivalmusic.com/

XXX

For Further Information Contact Marc Gunn (512) 470-4866.

Cross-Published at PRWeb.

The Renaissance Festival Podcast, Song Henge, and the Brobdingnagian Bards are pleased to announce the winners of the 2nd Annual Renaissance Festival Awards for 2006. These performers were voted on by you, the Renaissance festival fan.

Keep an eye on this website for more Ren Faire Awards, and enjoy the podcast.

The Brobdingnagian Bards host the annual awards, we are ineligible to win. Special thanks to everyone who voted for us nonetheless, and if you care to suppport us in a similar fashion, please vote for the us in the Austin Chronicle's annual Austin Music Awards poll.

Best Music Groups of 2006

1. Bedlam Bards
2. Bocca Musica
3. The Rogues
4. Bounding Main
5. Marooned

Best Music Soloists of 2006

1. Craig of Farrington
2. Owain Phyfe
3. Darcy Nair
4. Heather Alexander
5. Joni Minstrel

Best New CD of 2006

1. On the Drift by Bedlam Bards
2. We Are Entertainers by Bocca Musica
3. Broadside Buddies by The Bilge Pumps
4. Who's your Patty by Tartan Terrors
5. Intertwined by Three Quarter Ale
   

Best Non-Musical Group of 2006

1. Tortuga Twins
2. Barely Balanced
3. Washing Well Wenches
4. Hack and Slash
5. The Pickled Brothers Sideshow

Best Non-Musical Solo Act of 2006

1. Ded Bob
2. Christophe the Insulter
3. Zilch, the Tory Steller
4. Moonie the Magnificent
5. Rick Rock Zoo

Best Childrens Act of 2006

1. Hobgoblin Hills Puppets
2. Patrick Franz - Robin Hood and St. George & the Dragon
3. Ric Roc Zoo
4. Nancy Daily Green
5. Wyndsong the Snowdragon

Best Renaissance Festival of 2006

1. Maryland Renaissance Festival
2. Bristol Renaissance Festival
3. Michigan Renaissance Festival
4. Kansas City Renaissance Festival
5. Pennsylvania Renaissance Festival

Best New Renaissance Festival of 2006

1. Kentucky Highland Renaissance Festival
2. Middlefaire
3. White Hart Renaissance Festival
4. Derbyshire Renaissance Festival
5. The Acadiana Medieval Faire

Best Jousting Troupe of 2006

1. Noble Cause Productions
2. Hanlon-Lees Action Theatre
3. The Knights of Valour
4. The Free Lancers
5. Brothers In Arms Joust
   

Best Stage Combat Group of 2006

1. The Duelists
2. Maryland Ren Fest Fight School
3. Hack & Slash
4. Don Juan and Miguel
5. Red Griffin Productions

Best Dance Troupe of 2006

1. Oklahoma Renaissance Festival Dance Troupe
2. Sisters Malek Troupe
3. NommoBugunte
4. Carnivale Min joon
5. Midnight Lotus

Best Vendor of 2006

1. Thee Dragon Laire
2. Wondrous Works in Wood
3. Wolfstone Kilt Company
4. Windwalker Shoes
5. White Pavilion

Best Ren Faire Web Community of 2006

1. Renaissance Festival dot com
2. Friends of the Maryland Renaissance Festival
3. Kentucky Ren Faire Forums
4. NE Rennies
5. The Bristol Board

Hall of Fame of 2006

• Seymoure aka C. Wayne Owens

Best Ineligble Band of 2006

1. Brobdingnagian Bards ;)

Read the press release.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Renaissance Festival Podcast
January 23, 2007
CONTACT: Marc Gunn
(512) 470 - 4866


RENAISSANCE FESTIVAL PODCAST ANNOUNCES THE RESULTS OF THE 2006 RENAISSANCE FESTIVAL AWARDS

AUSTIN, TX (January 23, 2007) – It is official, voter's have chosen the Renaissance Festival winners of 2006. An online popular vote for the best of the best in all things renaissance which has been hosted for the second year by are Marc Gunn and Kristen Rogers (details here). Voter's were invited to choose their favorite Renaissance festivals, performers, podcasts and more. Voter's had from September to December 2006 to sign on and vote for their favorites in categories such as Best Musical Group, Best Solo Performer, Best Festival and even Best Vendor. Now that is a comprehensive list!

Participants placed their votes online at www.renaissancefestivalmusic.com. Anyone involved in creation of or performance at a faire in 2006 was eligible to win. Voting closed Dec 31, 2006 and the results for 2006 were announced via podcast in February 1, 2007. Some of the highlights were Best Music Group: The Bedlam Bards, Best Soloist: Craig of Farrington, Best Renaissance Festival: The Maryland Renaissance Festival, and (we know your curious) Best Vendor: Thee Dragon Laire. Information about all of the winners with links to their respective websites are available online at the renaissance festival music site:

http://renaissancefestivalmusic.com/awards/.

The awards were sponsored by the Song Henge (http://www.songhenge.com/) and the Brobdingnagian Bards (http://www.thebards.net/). The awards continue to be tremendously popular with Renaissance Faire enthusiasts and the sponsors salute all of the winners for 2006 and look forward to sponsoring the awards once again at the end of 2007.

---

KRISTEN ROGER grew up and lives on Long Island in New York. When she was little, her folks used to take me to a few local Ren Faires at both Sands Point and the Unitarian Fellowship in Huntington. She was hooked from a young age. It was so inspiring - all of the colours and the garb, not to mention the crafts, and of course the joust. She always wanted to go to the big one in Tuxedeo, and plan on it, hopefully this season. She hopes that people will hear our podcast, and come to be as inspired by the music itself, as I was.

MARC GUNN is an Irish and Scottish folk singer with a strange affinity for Celtic ballads, drinking songs and cats. He is the lead singer for the Brobdingnagian Bards, an internet music promoter, podcaster, poet, photographer and publisher of many, many things on and offline. Communicate with me through my websites:

http://celticmusicpodcast.com/ Irish & Celtic Music Podcast

Renaissance Festival Podcast - Music and Entertainment from Ren Faires

XXX

For Further Information Contact Marc Gunn (512) 470-4866.

AUSTIN, TX (October 16, 2006) – The Celtic MP3s Music Magazine, the Irish & Celtic Music Podcast, and the Brobdingnagian Bards are proud to announce the opening of the 2nd Annual Celtic Music Awards. The awards page began with the goal to try and determine who the most-popular independent Celtic music groups are online through popular voting.

In 2005, only the top 10 Celtic music groups, by listener votes, were counted. This year, the voting opportunities are expanded with the addition of new award categories to better recognize contributors from the individual Celtic music genres (including folk, traditional, rock, new age). Listener’s can vote online from now until December 31, 2006. The results will be announced in March 2007 with a special Irish & Celtic Podcast that features music by the most popular artists in each category. You can see who the winners were in the 2005 Celtic Music Awards on the website. CDs from these select artists are also available for purchase at CDBaby.com and Amazon.com.

Complete contest rules can be found on-line at http://www.celticmp3s.com/awards/.


ABOUT Marc Gunn / Brobdingnagian Bards:
Marc Gunn is an Irish and Scottish folk singer with a strange affinity for Celtic ballads, drinking songs and cats. He is the lead singer for the Brobdingnagian Bards, an internet music promoter, podcaster, poet, photographer and publisher of many, many things on and offline. Marc Gunn is the lead singer for the Brobdingnagian Bards. He is also Celtic music podcaster and promoters as well as publisher of Celtic MP3s Music Magazine.

http://thebards.net Brobdingnagian Bards, Celtic Folk Music
http://celticmusicpodcast.com/ Irish & Celtic Music Podcast

Renaissance Festival Podcast - Music and Entertainment from Ren Faires http://www.renaissancefestivalmusic.com/


XXX

For Further Information Contact Marc Gunn (512) 470-4866.

AUSTIN, TX (October 6, 2006) – The Renaissance Festival Podcast in conjunction with the Brobdingnagian Bards have announced the commencement of the second annual Renaissance awards. In 2005 they held the first ever such awards (that they know of) for best Renaissance Festival performers. Nominated and voted on by podcast listeners and Ren Faire Fans, these awards selected the cream of the crop. In 2005 the number one musical performers were The Lost Boys and the number one act in the non-musical category was the Tortuga Twins. The awards were so well received that it will become a permanent fixture on the Ren Awards Scene.

To add someone to the voting pool or select your favorite among the existing nominees, participants can access the voting function and contest rules at http://www.renaissancefestivalmusic.com/awards/. Voters can cast their ballots from now until December 31st, 2006 with winners being announced in January of 2007. For those interested in nominating someone, the number one criteria is that they have performed at least one time during 2006 at a Renaissance Faire.

This is a rare opportunity for Renaissance Faire enthusiasts to recognize the performers that they enjoy most at the Faires.


ABOUT Marc Gunn / Brobdingnagian Bards:
Marc Gunn is an Irish and Scottish folk singer with a strange affinity for Celtic ballads, drinking songs and cats. He is the lead singer for the Brobdingnagian Bards, an internet music promoter, podcaster, poet, photographer and publisher of many, many things on and offline. Marc Gunn is the lead singer for the Brobdingnagian Bards. He is also Celtic music podcaster and promoters as well as publisher of Celtic MP3s Music Magazine.

- Brobdingnagian Bards, Celtic Folk Music
- Irish & Celtic Music Podcast

Renaissance Festival Podcast - Music and Entertainment from Ren Faires

I was excited to hear my name at the end of a special feature on NPR this morning. It was a 2nd Window Production on Voice of the Troubles: 25 Years After the Irish Hunger Strike. Wow. They played quite a few songs.

They played The Dubliner's Tabby Cats recording of "Cats Chasing Butterflies". That's Cedric of the Bedlam Bards on fiddle. They also played "The Parting Glass" from Soul of a Harper.

But that's not all. The Brobdingnagian Bards were also on the show. They played a short clip"My Irish Valentine" from A Celtic Renaissance Wedding at 7:30 into the second podcast (yes, the show was podcasted). And I just noticed that melody sorta reminds me of "Featherlight" from Songs of the Muse.

My Irish Drinking Songs for Cat Lovers CD has been a hit since it was released. Now you can help it gain five thousand new fans.

When I first released it, it number one CD sold on CDBaby for a couple weeks. Today, I was checking out the Top Selling CDs in various categories on CDBaby and the album is listed as the #10 Most-Popular Spoken Word CD on CD Baby. This category includes all the Comedy CDs on the site!

Every August, CD Baby holds a contest to promote their top-selling CDs. The top 100 CDs will have a song included on a compilation CD that goes out to over 5,000 of their customers. The top 10 songs are included are included as audio tracks. The rest are MP3s. The CD should easily make the Top 100. But can it reach the Top 10? I think so.

To achieve that, I need to sell at least 125 copies. So if you ever wanted a copy of the CD, or wanted to give one to a cat lover. Now is your chance. To aid you in this endeavor, I knocked THREE DOLLARS off the CD sales price. Buy more than one copy and you'll save an additional 20%! Plus, there's a secret URL in each CD insert that will give you access to a free bonus MP3 that I couldn't add to the album because it's about Harry Potter!

Buy Irish Drinking Songs for Cat Lovers

Thank you for all your help. And if you could do one more wee favor and repost this for your Celtic and cat lover friends, I'd purr for you! :)

Mreow!

Looking for Podsafe music? I have a lot of podsafe music available, and more and more podcasts are finding it and sharing it with others. If you have a podcast and would like to do the same. Join this growing list of great podcasters.

• Antecubital Liposuction
• AudioAttitude / Procrasticast
• Daily Source Code
• Dear Sigmund, Don't Panic
• Deliberate Noise
• Get Jacked
• Holistic Economy
• Information Salad
• KnitTunes
• Life Science Nexus Podcast
  
• LoveHouse Radio
• MacCast
• New Age Podsafe Music
• Paul and Lynn Show
• Pod Playlist
• Podsafe Comedy Countdown
• Procrasticast
• RDF Underground
• Snark Infested Waters
• Tea Lovers Room TeaCast
• Team K Online
• The Bears Grove
• The Gigcast
• The Multiple Sclerosis Blog Podcast
• The Musicians Cooler
• The Traveling Juke Joint
• The Write Stuff
• World of Fantasy Podcast
• Xens Show
  

I'm still getting added to a lot of new podcasts. The latest is actually Niche Music Marketing interview I did with the Musicians Cooler. I haven't had a chance to listen yet. But it felt good when I did it. Niche and internet music marketing are a specialty of mine.

And looks like my music is on KnitTunes, which combines knitting and podsafe music. They played the same song I ended this weeks Renaissance Festival Podcast with--"The Parting Glass" from my CD Soul of a Harper.

Brought to you by Song Henge, the online archive of free and legal Celtic music downloads. Find out more at SongHenge.com

#10 Great Big Sea

"Captain Kidd"
Great Big Sea
from The Hard & Easy

#9 Blaggards

"Bog Songs"
Blaggards
from Standards

"The Chieri"
Avalon Rising
from Storming Heaven
also from The Secret World of Celtic Rock

#8 Dervish

Dervish

#7 Dropkick Murphys

Dropkick Murphys

#6 Charm City Saints

"Never Go Home Again"
Charm City Saints
from Never Go Home Again (EP)

"Born to Be a Bachelor"
Gaelic Storm
from How Are We Getting Home

#5 Flogging Molly

"Factory Girls" with Lucinda Williams
Flogging Molly
from Within A Mile of Home

"The Orange and The Green"
Brobdingnagian Bards
from Brobdingnagian Fairy Tales

#4 Amadan

"Johnny Cope/Green Groves of Erin"
Amadan
from Hell-Bent 4 Victory

"Banshee's Jigs"
Switchback
from Bolinree

#3 Fardaxu

"El Pericote"
Fardaxu
from Revolucion Celta

"Gwydion's Song to Lleu"
Emerald Rose
from Archives of Ages to Come

#2 The Elders

"Moore St. Girls"
The Elders
from American Wake

"Back When the Craic Was Grand"
Boston Blackthorne
from Better Late Than Never

Next time music from Niamh Parsons, Sarah Dinan, and Heather Dale in a special feature on Celtic women. Find out more about the podcast at http://www.celticmusicpodcast.com/

#1 The Bloody Irish Boys

"Drunk Tonight"
The Bloody Irish Boys, http://www.thebloodyirishboys.com/
from Drunk Rock

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Marc Gunn is an Irish and Scottish folk singer with a strange affinity for Celtic ballads, drinking songs and cats. He is the lead singer for the Brobdingnagian Bards. He is also Celtic music podcaster and promoters as well as publisher of Celtic MP3s Music Magazine.