I had an overwhelming experience today. A couple years back, I volunteered for an organization that plays music for people who are very near death. Irish music was requested by the daughter. So I went to a hospice to play a few songs. After one favorite song of the mother and daughter, the mother breathed her last.
I choked back the tears as we realized the mother passed on. Afterward, the daughter asked me not to leave, so I played a few more songs to comfort her. I can't really begin to explain how I felt and feel.
When I got in my car, I was in tears. I called my mother, who dealt with her own father's death not too long ago. I feel sad for the daughter, and blessed for being able to share that experience with her. My emotions are overflowing.
I want to send a HUGE thank you to all the hospice care workers out there. I commend you for your strength and heart for taking care of these people. You are amazing!
Originally published at Marc Gunn .com. Read. Interact. Breathe. It's easy; it's free.Labels: scribbles
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posted by Marc Gunn @ Wednesday, July 02, 2008
Ever since I remembered my
flying dream, I've had a bunch of other dreams fly through my mind. Most recently is Hawaii.
My parents moved there while I was in college in the early 90s. So I had a great place to visit during my semester breaks--Hawaii or Italy. Yeah, I suffered. Not.
However, I have two vivid experiences that haunt me to this day. One was on the island of Hawaii at the Southern-most tip of the United States of America. There were a bunch of people jumping off the clip. Some of the folks there talked me into jumping the 50 or more feet down into the ocean. I was terrified, but I did it. It stung when I hit the water, and when I swam to the surface and opened my eyes, I could see nothing, because I had bad vision.
Since then, I've had
LASIK surgery. And while I still owe money on it, it was the best expense of my life! However, at the same time, I'm left longing to see what I missed in Hawaii.
The other time was when I was on Oahu and a gungho friend of mine decided we would climb this mountain on the North Shore to this nature preserve. It was free climbing. The mountain was slate and crumbled as we climbed. I remember turning around halfway up and seeing the long shore currents attacking the island. It was stunning. But when we made it to the top, a light rain had begun. This stunning valley of lush forest, untouched by human hands was a blurry vision to me. I could not see a thing through the rain drenched glasses. I was heartbroken.
That, in particular, was the vision that made me decide to get LASIK. And now I find myself having not gone back to Hawaii. It will be a long while before I can make it back, but I'm dreaming of it daily, longing to climb that forbidden mountain again and see and feel. Dio buono! One day!
Time to finish mixing
What Color Is Your Dragon?! Most of it is done. Just a few more edits, and I think I can call it finished.
| Originally published at Marc Gunn .com. Read. Interact. Breathe. It's easy; it's free. |
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posted by Marc Gunn @ Thursday, May 15, 2008
Last night, I dreamed of flying. It is a dream that has been recurring for several months now.. I don't remember most of the details. However, I do remember it was a lot like scuba diving. I had the ability to levitate and fly by regulating my breathing. And last night, I was teaching someone how else to fly too, by breathing.
That struck a chord when I was telling someone about it today--control your breathing and you can fly.
What fascinating thought.
At the end of every yoga class, Anna, my instructor would guide us through
pranayama, which is basically the art of breathing. I always hated those, but I accepted and appreciated them because I trust my instructor to guide me well. But this takes on a new level. If I learn to breath, I can fly.
Maybe not in the literal sense, but the idea of breathing to experience life to its fullest is powerful. Anna talks about it time and time again that during the day we forget to breathe. Yet, it is one of the most-healing tools we have as humans.
A while back, my Grandma was having trouble thinking and getting weaker until she was put on oxygen. The trouble was she wasn't getting oxygen to her brain. We need it. It heals us. It guides us. It makes us feel.
Those were the thoughts that accompanied me home today as I plugged in my iPod and played a bunch of songs I compiled in a playlist yesterday that I titled "Spiritually Wow". It was list of songs that move me. I haven't listened to the entire list yet, but "Open" performed by
Serious Kitchen was on that list. The lyrics to "Open" are below:
"Open"
by Mike Scott
Open to the world
open to spirit
open to the changing wind
open to touch
open to nature
open to the world within
open to change
open to adventure
open to the new
open to love
open to miracles
open Beloved to You
Open to learn
open to laughter
open to being blessed
open to joy
open to service
open to saying "Yes !"
open to risk
open to passion
I have a lot that I feel. It's what inspired me to record
A Tribute to Love. It's what guides me to write and share music. And I guess it's also what makes me dream of flying.
| Originally published at Marc Gunn .com. Read news. Interact. Breathe. It's easy; it's free. |
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posted by Marc Gunn @ Wednesday, May 14, 2008
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!
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posted by Marc Gunn @ Thursday, May 08, 2008
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?
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posted by Marc Gunn @ Wednesday, May 07, 2008
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.
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posted by Marc Gunn @ Saturday, May 03, 2008
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!
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posted by Marc Gunn @ Tuesday, April 29, 2008
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.
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posted by Marc Gunn @ Friday, April 25, 2008
I'm not always a bright person. I do a lot of things, because I want to, instead of whether I should or shouldn't. It's partially vanity. But then sometimes, I do things to marketing test. They can be expensive tests.
For instance, if you heard my latest
Pub Songs Podcast, that I've released a few solo projects under different names, mostly notably
4 Irish Whiskey. This was a marketing test to promote music on iTunes using keywords. I duplicated that test with
Irish Stout, which was comparatively much less profitable. Thus, Irish Stout is going bye-bye, very soon.
The next step is releasing a compilation of some of these Irish brogue songs, called
Going for Brogue, under my own name. That's slated for the next couple o'months too, as I finish up several other CD projects. Meantime, let me thank everyone who picked up a copy of those albums, as well as
Live Songs from an Irish Pub. I hope you enjoy the music for years to come and especially the collector's aspect of these CDs, as they will never be available again.
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posted by Marc Gunn @ Saturday, April 19, 2008
I woke up with last night's moodiness on my mind. So I decided I would try to fight it by getting some work done. First thing on my list,
Song Henge. I didn't feel like putting it all together and thanks to Jan, I didn't have to. (thank you!) It was almost all done for me. I just had to add a few wee bits. And Voila! Ready to go!
Then there's Mike of
Celtophilia. I asked him for graphics for a CD compilation I want to release, and woke up this morning with a test cover. Those little things really make a HUGE difference. I'm feeling much more chippery now. Chirp! Chirp!
Oops. That's chip, not chirp.
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posted by Marc Gunn @ Friday, April 18, 2008
I don't know how many times I've heard that statement from fans wanting us to show up at this or that venue. It's sorta true. I *can* go to DragonCon, Scarborough Faire, Maryland Renaissance Festival, some Con in the mid-West, or whatever, but the problem is can I afford it? And the sad answer is "no".
Making a living with music is an interesting game. I don't make a lot of money. Every month is a struggle to make ends meat. Not to mention the price of gas is high.
Fortunately, I turned my career into one where I have paid 'vacations'. When I want to see a new part of the country, I try to book some gigs and go. That way, I'll at least break even and not send myself into horrible debt like I had in the 90s. But even that is not that easy. The cost of flying is expensive. Gas prices continue to climb. And many of the solo house concerts I book are poorly attended because most people still think of me as a member of the Brobdingnagian Bards and don't realize that I have my own music separate from that group.
Ultimately, unless I can turn my trip into a paid 'vacation', I really can't afford to take most trips at present. Not unless, I have an exceptionally good month selling CDs online to pay for the voyage.
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posted by Marc Gunn @ Friday, April 18, 2008
I hate booking gigs. I really want to play more around Austin and Texas, but find myself with not enough time to book gigs. Not to mention, we need of gigs in Europe after our
Tour of Ireland. I'm not getting that done, even though I own
"How to Be Your Own Booking Agent".
One of the reasons I got on
Eventful is I understand it's a great tool for measuring turnout of events. If you get enough demands, you can find an agent easier, because you are more likely to bring in an audience.
Instead of booking, it is easier to create my own gig, much like I did with the
Celtic music scene. Not enough places to review and promote my music? I'll create websites galore to do just that. If someone else won't promote me, I'll do it myself. I guess it is time to research rooms where I can create my own event.
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posted by Marc Gunn @ Thursday, April 17, 2008
I was flamed today. And I deserved it.
A couple weeks ago, I made a post about
Celtic Thunder. It's a new... let's say, show, because it's not really a band. It's a lot like
Celtic Women, and I admit, I'm not a huge fan of theirs. So when I saw this latest... addition... to the
Celtic music world, I was bit disappointed. Actually, that's not even it. There are two reasons why I didn't care for what I heard from Celtic Thunder: one, the production; and two, jealousy.
Before I get into the mundane human aspect, let me point out a common gripe that I made in my last post--production. I admit it, I can't stand the way music is produced these days. It's all about how much compression you can put on the music. Screw dynamics. Let's put it 'in your face'.
For instance, ever listen to classical music on the radio in your car? You'll notice sometimes you can barely hear the music over the road sounds. That's because the music has dynamics. Whereas on Top 40 radio, EVERYTHING is smacking you in the face, because there are no dynamics. Every instrument or vocal is as loud as everything else. It's like the trash compactor on the Death Star. "Were all gonna be a lot thinner."
Contemporary Celtic music, like much of the music industry is moving more and more towards over-production. Yes, I have no doubt that
Phil Coulter and Sharon Browne are producing an amazing and even dynamic performance with Celtic Thunder and anything else they work on. It's even nice to see that the show includes contemporary Celtic songwriting from folks
. But the production... the "forced" emotional appeal reminds me of... well George Lucas... or... no... Mel Gibson's movies.
The Patriot and
The Passion of Christ had a very fake "force" appeal to make you start sniffing. I enjoyed aspects of them, but not the sniffery. Watching the videos of Celtic Thunder on YouTube made me gag at the same inane tactics.
So when I posted "Celtic Karaoke... uh... I mean Celtic Thunder", I admit I was highly annoyed at the concept of
another pop music extravaganza, setting on my preferred musical genre-
Celtic music.
Yes, when I watched those videos on YouTube, I did see voices out of sync with the video. It is very likely that was an error in the conversion. The band probably is not lip syncing (
or is it? I don't know). But annoyance with another pop icon and as I said jealousy made me post that vicious attack. You see, I am only human.
I wish it were me... well, not exactly. But I do wish I had someone to push my own music to insta-success like these artists received. Despite R. Turner's claims that "Each one is a recording artist and performer in his own right", only one of the individuals in the group seems to have had any prior attempt at a music career. Instead, they are entertainers, launched to the top of the Celtic music scene by people with money.
That's the way of it though. How do you make a hit record? You throw lots of money into it's creation and promotion. The more you have, the better it will do. It's just like politics and, well, most things. But when you have to scratch and claw your way to the top, it's tough. It's not like any of those artists are any better than 90% of the bands I play in the
Irish & Celtic Music Podcast. They aren't. Celtic Thunder just has more money behind it. And it could be
Heather Dale,
Mactalla Mor,
Sligo Rags,
Ceann,
Athas,
Kennedy's Kitchen,
Bow Triplets,
Boston Blackthorne, or whomever. You put enough cash behind them and they will rock the casbah.
As several people posted in a cross-post, I should commend the show. They are putting Celtic music into the limelight. I might not be able to stand the pomp, but someone else might love it. It's a fantasy. And with any luck they'll find that the latest Celtic Whatever production is just the tip of the iceberg and find new passion in this musical genre I love.
So for my last vicious statement, I apologize. My only defense is I'm human...
Really not much of a defense, is it?
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posted by Marc Gunn @ Thursday, April 17, 2008
Every three months, I do so something rather atypical for struggling, indie musicians, I give away a lot of money.
Now I don't do so lightly. It's not like I can afford to dig into my pockets and pull out a ton of cash. I'm still struggling to make ends meat like the next musician. However, I created a way to do so without hurting my own pocketbook, I release
compilations CDs that benefit non-profits. Yup! By framing it as "this is
their money", I'm not losing any. Instead, I have the pleasure of giving away a hefty sum of money several times a year.
Last Quarter, I made a nice-sized donation to the
Arkansas Celtic Music Society. What was interesting to me about it was the response. I've given away thousands of dollars to some really good non-profits, but this one was different. From a few of the Celtic non-profits, I have received nothing in return. It's not like I'm looking for anything special. But that is what made this donation so special. This was the first organization that I received a thank you note from, I think, every member of their Board! And today from a Celtic group out of Little Rock.
That really got me thinking.
Every time, I get a donation from someone through
my podcasts or
website, I try to send send a thank you. Sometimes, I don't even know what to say, so it's short. But I thank you anyway. Like Diane in Louisiana, who regularly makes donations to support mine and
The Bards music. It blows me away when people like Thomas M., William A., Jennifer B., Christopher C., Miranda V., Albert M, Pawel P., and Glenn W. all donate a few bucks to help me continue my trade. The Arkansas Celtic Music Society kinda helped me to see just how important it is to say thank you.
Just imagine how you'd feel if you had a personal email or phone call from your local public radio station, an environmental non-profit, or even your local church.
As I said, it's not easy to do. But I so very much appreciate it more than not even recognition of receipt of my donation. It makes me feel good to give, glad to give. And it makes me realize just
how important it is for me to give thanks and
to continue releasing compilation CDs that benefit non-profit organizations.
If you'd like to find out more about these compilations, check out my
Celtic Music CD Store for albums like
The Secret World of Celtic Rock,
Victims of Irish Music,
Coventina's Well, and
Renaissance Festival Podcast Compilation that give away 10-100% of the profits to Celtic or Renaissance festival non-profit organizations.
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posted by Marc Gunn @ Tuesday, April 01, 2008
Oy! Haven't written anything in a bit. Turns out I had the flu. [sarcasm]What a lovely birthday present![/sarcasm]
I survived, T.G., and I'm slowly recovering. The cough still remains. But I'm hopeful I'll be rid of that in another week at least. Meanwhile, I'm finally starting to get back to doing work. I pretty much took the last week off to sleep and relax in front of the tube. I finally caught up on 3rd season of
Dr. Who and
Battlestar Galactica. *drool* Brilliant! Then I took some birthday money and ordered
Buck Rogers (really cheap too),
1st season of Gilligan's Island, and
Planet of the Apes.
A bunch of random movies that struck my mood. It's been fun watching some of those. Buck Rogers was much better in my memory. hehe! But still fun. But Gilligan's Island. Dang! That show is funny. I haven't noticeably chuckled out loud for while. Still a classic! I thought about buying
Happy Days too. Been forever since I've seen that show! But some other time when I scrounge up some dough.
Yes, DVDs are my one guilty pleasure... well, after food and drink, that is. The one Tangible guilty pleasure that lasts, let's say.
Really need to do some catch up. But March and St. Pat's was a fairly successful month. Hits and sales were down on my websites, but it still felt like a good month. I was really proud of the
St. Patrick's Day Celtic podcasts I did. Just need to catch up with the
Ren Fest Podcasts now... and
Pub Songs,
Cat Lovers and
Brobdingnagian Minute. All of which have files waiting to be edited. Next few days, me hopes. Another weekend off and then off to
I-Con in New York. W00t!
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posted by Marc Gunn @ Thursday, March 27, 2008
I just got done going to the
Invasion of the Go Girls Music at SXSW to see my Onya play. I met
Onya last year and once again, she reminded me why I loved her music then as much as now. She's a brilliant performer and she kicked off the show with a bang.
I also got to meet
Madalyn, the indie music coach who runs the
GoGirlsMusic.com website. I've seen her online for a while. So it was really funny when I walked in the door and saw this Very recognizable face. She's definitely branded her image well.
Watching the showcase got me thinking. I wonder if I could put together a
Celtic music showcase for the
Irish & Celtic Music Podcast? Could I pull together 10-20 artists into one venue, two songs each, and turn it into a huge promo for the podcast as well as for indie Celtic artists. That's one of the things I love about showcases. It's an awesome opportunity to help artists get their names out, and to sell CDs too. So many great artists in one place.
The other cool thing about the showcase was the
music business seminar that was put on by Go Girls Music. It was on obtaining sponsorships. I was thinking about talking about it in my
Pub Songs Podcast, once I publish the one from Two Weeks ago.
But first thing's first. Time to record the next Celtic podcast so I don't have to do that on my birthday!
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posted by Marc Gunn @ Friday, March 14, 2008
I was crashing at friends last night when I woke up with terrible indigestion and acid reflux. I couldn't sleep. There was no indigestion medicine in the house, so I got online to find some
indigestion home remedies and found a ton. I'm not sure how valid all of these are, but here's what I did.
- Mix equal parts of baking soda and water in a glass. That made me burp a couple of times, and I felt instant relief.
Not knowing if that would work, I had already started to make a tea.
- I forget the brand, but I saw it had peppermint and licorice in it. Peppermint is supposedly good for indigestion. It will help indigestion with out causing heartburn." Mint, raspberry, chamomile and blackberry are also good for it.
Some other suggestions include:
- Mix a tablespoon of lemon juice or cider vinegar in a cup of hot water before a meal to prevent acid indigestion.
- Drink one cup of ginger tea after meals to promote a good digestion
- Take 1 tsp each of mint juice, lemon juice, and honey.
- Mix 5-6 chopped basil (tulsi) leaves, 1/4 tsp sea salt, some black pepper in 3 Tbsp of curd, and eat it. repeat this 4 times a day for one week for complete reconditioning of stomach.
There are some other
indigestion home remedies listed here. Good luck!
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posted by Marc Gunn @ Tuesday, March 04, 2008
I was reading a playlist for a Celtic radio show, and I noticed that about 90% of the artists performing on the show were from Ireland or Scotland. Meaning their members were from one of those Celtic countries. Yet, as I understand it, 80% or so of the Celts, no longer live in those countries. That struck me as kinda crappy, because there are a helluva lot of brilliant Celtic musicians from around the globe who are of Celtic heritage but are 2nd generation or more. Yet, this one program largely ignores them. Does that not sound like a crying shame to you too?
So I think I found a topic for this year's St. Patrick's Day episode of the
Irish & Celtic Music Podcast--2nd Generation Celtic Ex-Patriots.
So I want your requests. What artist and possibly songs would you like to hear in the podcast that fit that bill?
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posted by Marc Gunn @ Wednesday, February 27, 2008
I got an email yesterday from someone asking about my show. They ask,
"I've been enjoying your wide ranging podcasts. I've been a Celtic music fan for years. I have been listening to Celtic music for a long time. In fact since I discovered the Thistle & Shamrock a very long time ago. I happened to catch just a bit of the Feb. 24/25 show and the question that came to mind is: What makes T&S a great show? Don't get me wrong your shows and Wendy Lee's show are good, but Fiona's is great. She has that "je ne sais pas." I know she has money and experience behind her, but T&S has always sounded like it does now. How does she do it?" - Mitchell
Now, I don't listen to Thistle & Shamrock. I think I've heard it once. It doesn't play in Austin. I responded,
"One, she's a professional broadcaster. My guess is that she has experience in the industry for speaking, whereas I don't. One of the reasons I started podcasting was to improve my speaking skills.
Second, she has a team of production people helping her to do what she does. I started from scratch. Everything I've done is from what I can learn on my own as time permits. Though from what I hear, she started much the same way.
Third, she has the backing of labels. There's no doubt about it that money makes things sound better. My self-produced albums don't sound nearly as amazing as those I've done in a professional studio. A good engineer makes a big difference. Record labels provide the money to make decent albums sound great. T&S plays mostly (though not exclusively) bigger named artists in the industry.
I approach the podcast differently. My goal is to support the independent artists who don't have the time or money to get heard by T&S. Many of these artists are just as good musicians, but they don't have the money to spend to make an album that sounds perfect. They do the best they can with the resources available and then release it to the world.
Ultimately, T&S is networked into a business world that independents can't compete in (yet). And I do my best to give them voice and say, there's an alternative to the old world system where the artists are not heard. So as you say, she has the money and experience behind her to make her sound professional."
Have you heard Thistle & Shamrock? What are your thoughts? I'd love to improve the overall sound of my podcasts to a level of T&S. But ultimately, I do prefer to support the independent Celtic musician. Thoughts?
I had a couple responses when I posted this for others which were enlightening to me.
"And Fiona Ritchie (who is Scottish, BTW) started out in a very similiar way to you, just different technology. She started as a volunteer on public radio as a grad student in North Carolina in the early 80's. She does have tons of experience. I'm not aware that she's gotten rich doing this work.
I am not comfortable with the divide between independent and commercial art. I think of it as a continuum. Some folks get lucky and break through to commercial success, and I have yet to meet an artist who was not happy to do so. You should be very proud of giving a voice to the folks who have not yet been heard. I see no discontinuity between what you do and what Fiona's been doing for nearly 30 years.
And I am not aware of any great differential in quality between the two. I focus on the music, and am glad to have both.
Her long experience, focus and resources result in a smoother production. And if this was all you were doing, you would progress along that path as well. Question is, is that what you want to do?
In sum - I see no conflict between you wanting to improve the overall sound of the podcast and a preference in supporting independent music. Is this question about the differential in production values of your podcast or of the music you play? You can still play the latter while improving what YOU do."
and also:
"Fiona. First her voice, with the quite thick Scots accent. Then, the way she narrates: It's like your closer on RenFest Podcast. The descriptions, history, and back-stories she gives takes you to Ireland or Scotland, to the back corner of a smoky pub with the pint glasses clattering and the common folk speaking of the day, then proceeding to forget about it with the music. Marc, she paints pictures with words, and then uses the music as a brush to fill in the colors."
I found especially that last post interesting, because that is a major difference that goes beyond indie or major label tastes. Fiona gives more facts and stories in her shows. I don't. Though Wendy's Cleveland Celtic Podcast focuses on that little more, as does the Celtic Folk Podcast. For the most part, I just play the music.
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posted by Marc Gunn @ Sunday, February 24, 2008
Getting sick sucks! And yet, I'm so good at it. Though this time, I think I caught a virus probably from reduced resistance from not enough sleep. At least I'm learning what causes my all too frequent illnesses.
So today, I'm at home, sleeping and watching
Anne of Green Gables, cuz I'm that kind of sap. No doubt the fact that my song "Here's to the Dreamers" was featured in the
Music Challenge of the Renaissance Festival Podcast, Show #91.
I'm feeling, major rambling mode. Which I kinda think makes a bad blog. But ah well. Not like I'm the best blogger in the world as it is.
Oh Friday, I was back in the studio. My friend Bethany recorded whistle on "Kitty Martin" and flute on "Kitty at the Door". We mixed down the former. Which means, I now have six songs basically done. Although listening to "Kitty Martin", I think the bass is a bit too high. So a quick remix and it should be finished.
In an effort to organize my thoughts for
Whiskers in the Jar, I made a nice little spreadsheet to follow up what's going on with the album. I should do that more frequently with music. It really helped me to figure out what was what. And I still want to release
What Color Is Your Dragon? as well as
Real Men Wear Kilts before next year. And right now I have no clue how far I am with those albums. I know with
RMWK that I was waiting for Andrew to finish several of his parts, but the
Dragon CD, not a clue. So hopefully, that'll help.
Okay. Time for more Anne and nap time.
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posted by Marc Gunn @ Saturday, February 23, 2008
It's funny being a musician... no, a businessman. Because in the real world, I don't think about what's coming up. Christmas is about the only holiday that makes me think forward in time. Things like
Valentine's Day,
National Feral Cat Day,
Robert Burns Birthday, or
St. Patrick's Day are usually last minute, "Oh look, it's time to par-tay" days. But when you run a business, especially in the music business, you have to think ahead.
I started planning for Valentine's Day and St. Patrick's Day when Christmas ended. I missed Burns Day entirely. I'm probably missing deadlines galore right now for magazines, newspapers and weekly rags. I should be letting the world know all about the
cat CD, or one of my
Celtic CDs. I should be telling folks about my St. Patrick's Day music website to boost free Irish music downloads. I should have internet press releases about the
Renaissance Festival Awards. But I don't. I have too many projects. I don't have enough time. And I don't think far enough in advance.
I do what I can though. I try. This blog is one example of me trying to get the word out. It's me trying to tell others how much I wish others would write about these very same projects.
Okay, that sounds just sappy and pathetic, as if I can't do it. Which ain't the case. I've long known what I needed to accomplish. And I get stuff done... with time. AND I am blessed to have tons of fans and friends who do share my latest need. I've had over 600 downloads of my latest
free MP3 of "Catnipped Kitty".
Thinking ahead as an important part of the
music business. And if nothing else, at least I am doing it.
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posted by Marc Gunn @ Wednesday, February 20, 2008
I love reading Seth Godin's blog. Seth provides a lot of great insight on marketing. But it's posts
like today's that really inspire me so much that I keep reading regularly when so many other blogs disappear from my mind.
Someone asked if he gets tired of blogging every day. Seth responded about "Have to vs. Get to". He looks at blogging as a... luxury. That's a great way to think of it. Especially right now.
I'm feeling wayyyy overwhelmed with all the projects I have to do: three CDs, two podcasts, three ezines, plus switching over to a strictly laptop lifestyle, plus a dozen other wee projects. And it's... I'm having trouble focusing on all the stuff I need to do.
But reading that... It's a little bit of hope. I mean, I'm fortunate enough to be able to hear and share all this great music in my podcasts. I got another email today, Rio writes:
"I got curious and listened to liveireland.com this fall and let me tell you they have nothing on your podcast. Again, I want to send out my sincere gratitude for your exponential growth in showmanship. Your choice of trad. Irish music gets better every time and your commentary seals the greatness. Hell, I give you full credit for the the A+ grades I've earned at college. Every time I'm having difficulty writing, reading, or doing math I just throw on your podcast and cha-ching, I complete my assignment. So, this is an addendum to my previous comment; I'm staying in school because of your podcast. Thank you!"
Seriously, how cool is that!
I'm just really fortunate that I share some great music with you. W00t!
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posted by Marc Gunn @ Saturday, February 09, 2008
Today, I performed at
Two Rivers Renaissance Faire with the
Brobdingnagian Bards. It was a good day, but I am wiped. I expected this too. As much as I love them, it's becoming more and more difficult to perform at
Renaissance festivals. My body just doesn't seem to handle the weather these days. I wasn't very dehydrated, just a little sunburned. And I still took it easy. Ah well...
The faire itself is nice. It's small with a wee body of water in the middle, much smaller than
Louisiana Ren Faire's, but just as effective at helping the faire to look larger than it is for a second year faire. But what really struck me as brilliant is the stages. Man! These folks really spent some time building up the stages... and they are mobile.
When I think about all the faires who struggle to build a HUGE stage that turns out to be worthless, and here's this one weekend faire on a non-permanent site, building portable, structurally sound and to top it off
beautiful, it makes me go, "Hmm? Why can't more faires do this?"
Hopefully, Andrew will get some pictures of the site tomorrow. As for me, I like what they are doing. And got to see a bunch of cool vendors and meet some cool new people like
"Lord Rusty" and
Scott Williams. Much more to see too.
Oh! And as a side. Apparently, we got booked thanks to
Kristen's Totally Inappropriate Bawdy Holiday Special. Yes. They found us on the Renaissance Festival Podcast.
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posted by Marc Gunn @ Friday, February 01, 2008
Thanks to the CD player in my new car, I'm listening to a lot of CDs that came to my mailbox over the past year or so. The latest was Patrick's Head's new CD "Arse Biscuits". I love it!
With a title like
Patrick's Head, I assumed it was a Celtic rock band, but it's not. Yes, the singers vocals remind me of Shane MacGowan, but they're cleaner, more user friendly, easier to understand. The music is straight up contemporary Celtic folk. Very lyrical, great song selection, and well done. "Raglan Road" belongs in some Irish movie. All in all, a fantastic CD, and I highly recommend it!
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posted by Marc Gunn @ Tuesday, January 22, 2008
I had a fantastic weekend. Best in a while. Friday night, we had a packed house concert in Louisiana and some craic that evening. Great company, wine and grappa. Yeah, it was fun! But Saturday took the cake.
My friend Jamie, a long-time New Orleans resident, invited me on a personal tour of New Orleans. So we drove down there with her friend Margaret, who publishes a blog called
Beyond Katrina, that tells about what happened and how the city is recovering. We met up with Jason, a N.O. street and Ren faire performer, and
Helen, a cello player living and working in the returning N.O. music scene. It was great getting to know the city a wee bit better.
We drove throughout the downtown and uptown areas of New Orleans. The city is still rebuilding over two years after Hurricane Katrina wrecked devastation on the city. Parts of the city are still in pieces. Marks on buildings stand as reminders of the dead and the attempts to return. We saw the
Musicians Village, started by Habitat for Humanity, offering homes to supplanted musicians. We saw debris still littering the city.
Admittedly, it's not all in pieces. Many of the older parts of town we're barely touched and are thriving once again. The city is fighting to return, but it is still a reminder of the fragility of civilization. This can and Does happen all over the world. And while I don't think we can really worry about what *could* happen, I do believe it is important to help those in need. So it was great seeing where some of those dollars for
The Circle, Ren Fest Podcast compilation, went. And there's still a lot to do. But people like Helen were excited about the growing music scene. New musicians are showing up and there's a lot of work available, as well as lots of opportunity for growth. It's rather exciting.
Well, our tour took us to a wide variety of places around the city. We ate at The Joint, tasted some amazing Loire Valley wines at Baccanal, had blood-orange-and-basil martinis at Lili's, listened to Spanish guitarist by John Lawrence, and finished up the evening with an orgasmic dinner at Besh's.
Course, best of all, was the company--Jamie, Margaret, Jason, Helen, were all fantastic, as were the people I met around town. Great, friendly people. I've been looking for a place to move for a while, and I think there's a big possibility that New Orleans might be my next residence.
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posted by Marc Gunn @ Monday, January 21, 2008
Simple answer. Yes!
I strongly encourage anyone to record (audio or video) any and every performance solo or with my band. Each show is completely different so record AND share! That's right. I give you permission to share your recording with others - just don't sell them.
For that matter, you can post files to my
Internet Archive to share with others.
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posted by Marc Gunn @ Thursday, January 17, 2008
Long time readers of my blog know that I've had a LOT of sinus and other "breathing problems" over the years. However, I received
an article today and continue to receive allergy advice that, while I appreciate, is no longer relevant. So I thought I'd share.
Back in mid- to late-90s, I was diagnosed as an asthmatic. I was having a lot of trouble breathing. I had perpetual allergy problems, horrible sinus drainage, and got a sinus infection at the drop of the hat. I still am prone to getting sick. However, I have learned a lot since then as to the reason I was getting sick.
Yes. I had a deviated septum. It was corrected in the early 2000s. Yes, I took allergy shots, which I feel helped me a lot with allergy problems in general. But those really had little to do with my ultimate problem. That was determined when I finally quit my day job and got some sleep.
Yes, sleep deficiency. I don't sleep well at night and back in the 90s I worked all the time. I took my inhalers and every drug under the sun to "cure" my problems, but none of it really helped. When I started the Bards, I got even less sleep, working late at home, then flying out on weekends and having no sleep Monday morning. I started to get sick.
I think the sickness just exacerbated my problems. My lungs "learned" that sitting in front of a computer 15 hours a day was bad for them. And it made it easier for them to stay sick and have problems. So now when I've been in front of the computer too long, I go for long walks or go to Yoga.
Yoga in particular has been really great because it requires me to stretch those chest and back muscles that get used to slumping in front of a computer. As soon as I do 15 minutes of that my coughing stops, and I feel better. Add to that a good, long night's sleep and I typically don't have many problems.
Yes, the drainage is always there. Yes, I occasionally have allergy problems especially during Cedar fever months. And no, I can't go running without major shortness of breath, but for the most part most of my breathing problems are gone. And I breathe happier.
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posted by Marc Gunn @ Friday, December 28, 2007
I was not raised on
Celtic music. I heard a little bit of bagpipes growing up when my dad took me to some Highland Games like those at
Grandfather Mountain in North Carolina. But that was about it.
When I was a kid, my dad's recreation involved playing
folk music in the folk scene of Maryland. It involved a little bit of bluegrass and a lot of folk. He played the autoharp, mountain dulcimer, and other folk instruments, but the banjo is what I remember him playing the most. There were a lot of great songs from the 60s, 70s, and much, much older. I still have one of the song books he compiled.
I mention it, because yesterday, I was supposed to be working on my
Irish & Celtic Music Podcast. Instead, I fumbled around on the net, and at the end of the day, I went for a walk with my
autoharp. I started writing.
It's kinda funny how I write sometimes. I start strumming. And then just let words flow from my mouth. Then I grab my recorder and start recording. But yesterday, something special emerged.
Yesterday, a chorus came to me inspired by Lil' Bit, a cat who lives at the Haeuser Hotel. I spurted lyrics. And inspired by the hostess of the house, I put a bluesy twist to the song. And the lyrics exploded forth. Voila'! A new song!
After making a rough recording to remember the song for later recording, I started looking at other music in a similar vein, and my folk heritage re-emerged. I think that's what I will record when I get to Germany.
Which is kinda funny now that I think about. Heidelberg, Germany was the first place I every busked. And what did I play when I was there? American folk songs.
It's like I've been rediscovering my musical heritage. And it makes me happy. Maybe eventually, I'll talk my dad into recording on an album with me.
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posted by Marc Gunn @ Thursday, December 06, 2007
Another weekend of faire is done. I'm not sure what to think. On the one hand, just one more weekend to go. On the other, after this I'm off to Germany for a much needed break. Looks like gigs won't happen, so instead I'm thinking I'm gonna spend a lot of time recording. I have a couple more CD projects that I want to finish, and I think I can get those done easily enough and meet a few more of last years Resolutions.
I've been thinking more about moving. And I am set on moving next year. Not sure when or where, though I have a few places I'm considering. North and East of Austin is the general direction. Hopefully, I'll come to a solid decision by the beginning of the year. Then I'm gonna start packing up my stuff, cuz I have a LOT of junk to move. Not looking forward to all that. But I am looking forward to living some place new. I originally planned on moving in 1996. Obviously, I stuck around longer than I thought I would.
This week, I'm hoping to make a trip down to New Orleans. I need to figure out what I'm gonna do when I get there. Guess I'll wander a bit. Feel free to throw out suggestions. Eating will be one thing, that's for sure. :)
OH! And the deadline for the
Brobdingnagian Bards Tour of Ireland deposit arrives tomorrow. So if you're thinking of joining us, get that in ASAP.
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posted by Marc Gunn @ Sunday, December 02, 2007
I had a couple of Interesting marketing observations about the dentist office, I visited today. Both were extremely negative in my mind.
One, the waiting room. They have Court TV running. What's with that? Is there any thing more stressful, except maybe gossip TV, which is also a regular feature last few times I went. If you want people to feel at ease, give them something interesting and
relaxing, not that sensational crap that raises your blood pressure.
Two, the dentist room. Okay, this is personal taste, but I really detest contemporary country music. And that is what was playing on the speaker, BOB Country, or whatever the generic multi-decade, Country music station it was. All I know is the music was terrible. Hearing people whining about losing their lover and dog doesn't do much, in my mind, to make me relax.
The lesson to be learned? Appeal to your audience... and maybe they are. And I REALLY need to find a new dentist.
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posted by Marc Gunn @ Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Every Thursday is the international meeting for the Sunset Connoisseurs Society. The goal of the Sunset Connoisseurs Society is to take a moment to cherish the beautiful sunsets that take place around the world.
How to Join?There are no membership fees. No need for hazing, unless you live in a part of the country where smog is really bad. It is absolutely free to join. All you have to do is do what our members do? (Though if you're Really Anxious to support something,
make a donation to the founder)
What Do Members Do?Every Thursday, an hour before sunset, you must find a good place to relax, maybe chat with a friend, or spend some some quiet time reflecting, and when the sun sets, enjoy the experience. Feel free to take pictures if that inspires you.
What Is the Mission of the Sunset Connoisseurs Society?The Sunset Connoisseurs Society was established to encourage relaxation and appreciation of the beauty of our planet by spending at least one day a week watching the sun set. We encourage our members to tell others about the Sunset Connoisseurs Society, to share their sunset experiences, and to show honor and respect to everyone. Because the sun rises and sets on us all.
I'll send good thoughts Your way this Thursday!
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posted by Marc Gunn @ Tuesday, November 27, 2007
I am celebrating Thanksgiving in Louisiana. It's probably the first time I've not celebrated Thanksgiving with family in... well, most of my life. Though I miss all my family this Thanksgiving, happily the Haeuser Hotel is very much like family to me... some of the best people on the planet!
This morning I received an email from CD Baby that my new CD,
A Tribute to Love, is ready for its final confirmation. Though the CD won't be released officially until February, I decided to make it available sooner to everyone who helped support the album. And it got me thinking of thanks. I am a blessed individual.
I am thankful to have a loving family.
I am thankful to have good friends around the world.
I am thankful to have two sweet, gentle, kind, loving kitties (who I miss terribly).
I am thankful to have visiting rights to my sweet boy, Jasper.
I am thankful to have turned my childhood dreams into a reality.
I am thankful to have so many fans who listen and support my dreams.
I am thankful to have kindred spirits with whom I can share laughs and joy.
I am thankful to have the chance to share the stage with so many talented musicians and performers.
I am thankful to have so many people who enjoy my podcasts and ezines.
I am thankful to have a creative mind and the ability to create.
And I am thankful to you for reading this blog. Thanks!
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
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posted by Marc Gunn @ Thursday, November 22, 2007
I listened to "Darkness Reveals the Beauty of Truth" by Aries9 and again, WOW! What an amazing album.
Aries9 is
Ari Koinuma, a Japanese rock artist, who creates sophisticated modern rock that combines grunge, metal and prog elements with evocative lyrics. If you're not familiar with Ari Koinuma, check the liner notes to my CD,
Irish Drinking Songs for Cat Lovers. He produced that album.
No. It sounds nothing like my cat CD, but it just goes to show that this man has an incredible talent for producing. "Darkness Reveals the Beauty of Truth" is fantastic. It has a great edge to it. The first songs in particular have a very contemporary sound. I was having trouble placing influences on those. They were reminiscent of early 90s Alt Rock, ala STP, Soundgarden, or Alice in Chains. If you like those bands or you just like to rock, this is a great CD for doing just that.
Pick up your copy of
"Darkness Reveals the Beauty of Truth" from CD Baby. You'll be glad you did.
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posted by Marc Gunn @ Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Everyone seems to release a Christmas Music CD this time of year. So it is no big surprise that there is also a lot of great Celtic Christmas music out there as well.
The idea of Celtic Christmas music is actually kinda funny since Christmas is not a typical Celtic holiday, except outside of Wales. Nevertheless, there are a lot of Celtic artists who celebrate Yule and the Winter Solstice. So Celtic Christmas music is Christmas or Yule music by Celtic artists. It might not entirely
sound Celtic, but in America, that's such a generic term as it is.
But that's a discourse for another blog. Meantime, I've compiled a few webpages that feature Cetlic Christmas music. Check 'em out!
And if you want to hear some of the Celtic Christmas music I've released check out our CD,
Christmas in Brobdingnag, Vol. 1.
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posted by Marc Gunn @ Thursday, November 15, 2007
Didn't I tell you James McDaniel II rocked!
My new slogan for the 2008 elections.
You can pick up t-shirts and yard signs on his
Dumb Ogre Designs site.
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posted by Marc Gunn @ Thursday, November 08, 2007
When I was a kid, I LOVED going to the dentist. Doc Yoc, we called Doctor Yockleson (sp?), my dentist in Maryland. It was fun. Sure, I'll admit it was partially the because after every visit I got a little toy, like that plastic monster you could put on your finger and go, "Grr Arg!" Very Wedon of it now that I think about it.
But over the years my faith has waned. It really began in college. I went to a dentist to have a tooth fixed. And the messed it up bad. It was hurting afterward. I told them about it and they said it was fine... or would get better... or some such B.S.. Me, being the cowardly, passive aggressive college student I was, I accepted it, found a new dentist, and lived in pain on and off for the past fifteen years.
So it was no surprise last February when I went to the dentist and they told me that fucked up tooth had tooth decay and needed a crown. I don't have the kind of money to fix that. But their computers were down when I finished so I was happy I didn't have to set a date, but expected it to be delayed. Delayed it was. They never called me back to set up an appointment. Eight months later, I call them and say I need another check up.
Last week, I went in and the dentist told me, "You need a crown still and
it's getting worse!" He didn't say it was rotting and it was essential. It was a dark, foreboding overtone as if my life will end soon. Sorta like when I went in for the cleaning and told them I've been a little lax at flossing recently. Except in that instance, I've done a great job brushing my teeth regularly thanks to the lessons I learned from Tiziano losing one of his teeth.
Yeah, the dentist left me with a feeling of
dread. But I still don't have money. And when they told me it would cost $1200 to do. Youch! Sorry, that'll have to wait. BUT if I could wait until the 1st of November then I'd be fully covered and wouldn't have to pay anything. Hell yeah!
So at the front desk, they confirmed that with the insurance. November 1st. Great! That means I can't leave for Louisiana at the same time as Andrew, but at least I won't have to pay anything for this crown.
Skip ahead to today when the world magically changes before our eyes.
I check in to Castle Dental of Austin. They take me to The Chair where I spend a grueling hour and half trying to keep from choking, tasting that awful cement crap they use to take an "impression", and stressing out big time... By the end I was almost at the panic attack mode... which I've never done before! And certainly not at a dentist!
I go out to the counter to get my release sheet and miserably wave bye bye when they tell me I'm not covered AT ALL! And even if I WAS covered they'd only cover $170. BULL SHIT!!!!!!!!!!!
Now my face in number from the anesthetic and I'm horrendously pissed, trying my best not to curse too much of a storm, but finally realizing where the term "hopping mad" comes from! I was furious and about to go orbital!
After thirty minutes I call my dad to calm down and see what kind of people I can contact to report dental fraud, because when you tell me I'm not gonna have to pay something and then say, "I'm fucked!" That to me is lying and fraud. And it's treating your costumers with contempt!
But it happens a LOT. My dad began telling me how his dentist told him hey needed a crown over some tooth that's been vacant for 30 years. Is that shit REALLY necessary? No! As my dad said, Dentists perhaps are scared. Too many people are brushing and there's not enough rotting teeth around to pay the bills. So instead, they're making up bull shit excuses to "FIX" your teeth. It's B.S.! And I'm sick of it!
When I walk back in they tell me they tried to make a temporary change to my inception date with my insurance since that cock up moved it from November 15th to November 1st. But the insurance company wouldn't budge. The dentist later called me and told me that they were appealing because the insurance people DID SAY November 1st. And there's some documentation of that. So it was the insurance companies fuck up.
But before that happened, the dentist people told me, that the $1200 Quote they gave me was an "error" and it was only $750. Hmm... Which makes it sounds just as fucking fishy to me! I mean, so were you raping me before by charging me $400 than you needed to? OR do you have to LIE about how much it costs to give me a fucking price break?!
Lesson Number One:While I appreciate the price break, YOU FUCKED UP! So be honest (for once) and say, we'll give you 50% off or some bullshit.
Lesson Number Two:Dentists! Stop raping your costumers. Treat them with honor and respect and they will be back for another cleaning.
Lesson Number Three:More little monster finger toys.
Nevertheless, I left there fuming and fucked with indigestion from the fucking medication and feeling like shit all over.
To top it off, my faith in dentists--7% and falling FAST!
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posted by Marc Gunn @ Thursday, November 01, 2007
Growing up, I always felt that I was wise beyond my age. But over the last five years, maybe even ten, I feel like my age has surpassed my wisdom.
I'm not sure why I mention it. But tonight, I was invited to a Shamanic Meetup by a friend. I had no Halloween plans and thought this might be an interesting experience. So I went. And it was.
In some ways, it reminded me of my yoga experiences except with a little bit more ceremony. Well, unless you consider yogic positioning to be ceremony. Maybe I should say, external ceremony. I think of yoga as very internal. I don't use props. I just use my body and my experience to do as I need. That, in turn, helps my mind to focus on meditation.
The Shamanic Journey was a similar with less body manipulation. Instead, a drum cadence helps to guide the mind into meditation. Once there, it's not about just meditating... or maybe it feels different, it's about exploration of choices and goals and the universe or whatever.
Personally, I didn't really feel like I went on a journey. But I did feel like my mind and soul worked on some issues I've been thinking about of recent. It was rather peaceful and mentally stimulating. I had more feelings than visualizations like others had. The only visual I had were some bright lights amidst blackness, weaving and interlacing among it, sorta like a web. But more like a reverse shadow of perhaps a hammock.
Significance? Who knows? But I certainly feel a bit more centered, which is
not how I've felt much over the past week or two.
I've been racing around trying to figure out what to do with my cats, manage the fraud that nearly crippled us, make my home a home, and just do the everyday things I gotta do. Focus has not been my specialty. And it doesn't help that I haven't been to Yoga in a couple weeks either.
Now I'm back. Tomorrow, I go to the dentist. I will try to bring my
Renaissance Festival Podcast compilation CD to a close and try to start the second half of that compilation idea. Friday, I drive to Louisiana for the first weekend of the
Louisiana Renaissance Festival. Then back to Austin to spend more time with my kitties and try to complete a few more projects before I disappear to Louisiana again.
Then I have planning for a bardic New Years celebration and maybe a gig in Germany. Yes, I finally have a confirmation. My mother is flying me to Germany for Christmas. So plans there? And then there's those other future plans. Will I move? How will I fulfill my life goals.
There's much on my mind. But at least my path seems a little clearer.
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posted by Marc Gunn @ Wednesday, October 31, 2007
So this is for our musician friends:
I'm miserable right now, and $2500 poorer. My band was the subject of internet fraud.
So rather than totally wallow in my own misery, I want to educate you on how it happened and how You can avoid this same problem. Because Your band may be next.
In September, we go an email for a wedding gig from "Pitt Andre". They found us through our wedding website. It was a little difficult for Andrew to work out the details with the folks getting "married". But we negotiated payment--$1500. And we would drive to Oklahoma.
We ask for a non-refundable 50% up front. So we waited and contacted and followed up with them to get payment. Finally they sent a check... for $2500. Then they called and told us their accountant sent the wrong amount. Could we send them the back the difference?
Sure, once the check clears. But before that happened. They canceled the wedding. The mother-in-law had a heart attack. They were pissed. They asked if they could have back the non-refundable money. We agreed. And after
three days, the check seemed to have cleared. And Andrew sent money back via a
Moneygram. Today, five business days after the initial deposit, the check bounced. A little research revealed this is a typical scam.
So what are the lessons to be learned?
- Even in this day and age, it can take 7-10 days for a check to clear.
- NEVER send money back hastily. If they are that urgent to have their money, then tough luck.
- Even YOU can be scammed by something this stupid. So be on your guard. Lean on the side of caution to avoid losing big money.
Now time to wallow in my own broke misery...
And if you care to help us recover from this financial hit,
we are accepting donations.
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posted by Marc Gunn @ Tuesday, October 23, 2007
A little catchup. Indie rockers,
Radiohead, known for songs like "Creep" and "Karma Police", ditched their record label and recorded their new album. They decided to release it exclusively through their website. Here were their options:
- Buy a box set for 40 pounds which included vinyl records, a CD and artwork, or
- Make a donation and you can have the album for free as a high-quality download.
The band got a helluva lot of publicity from this promotion. Bands and marketers were buzzing for the last couple o'weeks. One week after the official release of the album and the results are in. The band sold 1.2 million albums. At an average of $8 per album sold, they made a gross profit of over $10 million dollars. Wow! That's amazing!
So what does all this mean? Is it the end of paying for music forever as some assume?
Hardly.
Bob Baker pointed out one of the more important points of this promotion, namely the upselling factor. Seth Godin points out the
value of permission marketing, namely that the band now has one million people they can contact to sell to when their next album comes out as well.
I've been giving away music downloads for eight years now. As a
music marketer, I try out a ton of promotional ideas to try and build my own fan base. And if my downloads were half as successful. I'd be a rich bard. But alas... I'm still struggling.
Does that mean I won't try something similar? Ye never know. As I said, I try a lot of promo ideas. Let's see...
I have a TON of ideas I've seen and learned and implemented from other marketers. Not all of them are successful. The live recordings and bootlegs, have yielded minimal sales. Whereas Song Henge is a nice bonus to my monthly income. My Celtic and Ren Fest Podcasts generate a lot of goodwill and build fans. But thusfar, MarcSongs Podcasts has yielded no noticeable response.
Ultimately, Radioheads success is the tip of the iceberg. They were the first to generate the publicity and make a splash in the world with this technique. A lot of copycats (including me) will jump on the bandwagon at some point or another. But none will see the results that Radiohead has seen. The trick is to make it fit for what you have to offer.
For instance, this is something that appeals greatly to me for the release of my next solo CD,
A Tribute to Love. I've been looking for an idea like this with a proven response. Though my ideas are not quite together on it either. So fortunately, I still have time before it is released. So stay tuned for amazingness!
As for Radiohead, I commend them on an outstanding promotion and pretty dang good album too!
I'd love to hear your thoughts on it.
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posted by Marc Gunn @ Saturday, October 20, 2007
I'm watching
Season 2 of Buffy, the Vampire Slayer. I love this show so much. But the commentary by Joss Whedon on "Innocence" made an interesting point that I thought rang true as well for my CD,
Irish Drinking Songs for Cat Lovers.
In it, Joss said,
"The show works only if it resonates... People like to talk about the horns, the fangs, and the makeup..., but the fact of the matter is, the only thing that separates this show from any other... is the kind of emotional resonance that we can get to by playing the entire thing as true life, just a little bit wonkier."
That quote sorta rang with me on a few different levels. On the one hand, I think the reason
Irish Drinking Songs for Cat Lovers has done so well is because my goal with it was to make it as traditional sounding as possible. I wanted it to be Irish trad music
first. And a CD about cats separate.
Consequently, I've received a lot of comments from people who listen to it and remark on the high production value (special thanks to my producer
Ari Koinuma, who has a
new CD out!). The CD goes beyond the novelty of music about cats and provides fun, traditional music.
Now, that raises an interesting thought. I was privy to a recent discussion about the Austin Celtic music scene and the lack of traditional music, which is sort of bollocks. Yes,
The Tea Merchants are going their separate ways next year, I believe (so
get their CDs while you can). But they fit the mold of trad music. Whereas, if you lack a fiddle or flute (I was seriously lectured once by a Celtic musician who told me these were essential qualities of "good" Celtic music), or you don't sing with a brogue, then often you are shunned, or at least brushed casually under the rug.
Perhaps for trad music he was right for now. But there are many different styles of "Celtic" music. And personally, I would hate to see good music, Celtic or otherwise, dismissed because they don't have have those qualities. Great music has emotional resonance, whether it is wonky cat music, typical pub songs, or finely tuned fiddle.
I think I got sidetracked in my thought process. Oh well...
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posted by Marc Gunn @ Thursday, October 18, 2007
Nothing is impossible. That's been my rule of thumb for a while. The toughest thing is dreaming up the impossible and then pursuing it whole heartedly. But as
Seth Godin points out,
"when you do something that everyone said was impossible, or that they never even considered, you get remembered for a long, long time."
I must say it has served me well. I wasn't the first to jump on the free MP3 bandwagon. But I was became the champion of "
free Celtic MP3s". I found new ways to own that market. I also wasn't the first to
give away MP3s in podcasts, but I learned how to master that market too.
Seth continues,
"once you demonstrate that the jar actually doesn't have a lid on it, people start jumping out left and right."
That's what I did. I became the sequel. But with a little aggressive marketing, I've done well.
But what is next? I admit I'm not the most aggressive when it comes to adopting new ideas, unless they really appeal to me like
podcasting did. What am I up to seven podcasts now? But with a little creativity and lot of persistence, you too can create and dominate a market.
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posted by Marc Gunn @ Friday, October 05, 2007
If you do any bit of surfing on Myspace you see most artists have five songs. But now and then you'll see an artist many more than five. How did they do it? How did they get more songs on their myspace music profile?
I've been trying to find out that for a long time. Many of the artists are Major label artists, but there are also quite a few independents. And I think I found out the secret of how they got more songs on Myspace... they added one profile... accidentally.
The site is
Bodog Entertainment. They have a special offer that if you add them, they will give you a fifth song. I heard others mention it, so I tried it. And it worked. On
Marc Gunn's Myspace, you will see my fifth song now posted. It worked like a charm. Right now, I have available my new Halloween MP3, "A Rabbit for Halloween". It's a song based on the Bugs Bunny and Witch Hazel cartoon. It's from my new CD single
Three Movie and TV Songs for Geeks Like Me.
The next question--how do you post more than four or five songs on Myspace?
I haven't found the answer to that yet. So if you know feel free to post a response and let me know how you do it.
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posted by Marc Gunn @ Saturday, September 29, 2007
I've been having a theological discussion recently with a friend recently. She sounds disenchanted with church and consequently no longer believes in God. What I find frustrating is not that she doesn't believe, because everyone must make their own decision about their faith. What is frustrating is the "Christians" who kill our faith.
Yes, I call myself a Christian. But I am not proud of the direction the Christian faith has gone. It's gone the direction of the Pharisees in Jesus' time. They lost the point of what God was telling them. Jesus came back and said,
"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second resembles it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself." -Matthew 22:37-39
That's it. Love God, love your neighbor, and love yourself. That's the entire
Bible in a nutshell. All else is stories to convey that point.
Now my friend was at some sort of youth gathering at her church where these twenty year-olds preached abstinence before marriage. That's all based on some quotes by Paul: "everyone striving for the mastery must abstain from all things" (
1 Corinthians 9:25); and "let us exhibit ourselves as the
ministers of Christ in labours, watchings, and fastings."
Wow! That's grand Paul. He had some good points. Yes. If you're to be a servant of God, that'd be grand if you can focus
only on God. But Jesus would be the first to spark up and say, "Love first and foremost.
THAT is most important.".
I remember going to a gathering, like my friend's, back in high school. They told me what they told her. Pre-marital sex is evil. Lust is the work of the devil. Resist that temptation. But Paul conceded that not everyone is cut from the same rock and can abstain from sex and marriage. So is there something wrong with wanting it? It depends on your reasons.
I spent most of my childhood feeling sexually repressed. What does "sexually repressed" mean? It means I did not experience sex in any form. I had an internal, natural need for love but no way to physically express myself. I suffered because of it. I hurt my spirit because I was sexually repressed.
I did not love allow myself to be free from sexual repression.Now I'm not saying, I should go out and screw anything or anyone. No. I'm saying I denied myself the love God commanded me to give. What I am saying is by teaching people to sexually repress themselves,
they are teaching them hate for their own bodies!That is inexcusable. Love God, your neighbor and yourself.
Now don't get me wrong. I think it's good to teach people sexual responsibility. And that
may include abstinence for some people. But to teach it as the only way to avoid "the devil", is evil and against God's commandments.
God taught me that love is most important in life. I believe in Love. I believe that it is our ability to express love and share it that makes us children of God. And we should spend more time teaching love and less time corrupting the minds of its people by teaching hate. Because that is what we teach every time we tell someone to deny themselves something. That is not the responsibility of the Church. That is our responsibility.
Teach love. Teach what is right and good. Lead by example. And remind them that they must come to their own decision. God gave us that choice, because he loved us. Show God the same courtesy by making a choice to love.
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posted by Marc Gunn @ Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Today, I was in desperate need of getting out of the apartment. More than that I wanted to go for a walk. But I didn't want to go to Lady Bird Lake (That's the new name of Austin's Town Lake, which officially goes into effect on August 6th, and is named after the recently departed Lady Bird Johnson). So I went for a drive, out through Bee Caves, out to Hamilton Pool, which turned out to be closed. So I continued driving to
Pedernales Falls.
Pedernales Falls is one of many state parks in Texas. I know from all the recent flooding I probably wouldn't be able to swim, but I brought a bathing suit just in case. It was humid, but fairly mild overall. The water at the falls was rushing faster than usual this time of year, but not so bad that you're gonna get swept away. So while you could swim, it was not encouraged.
Wearing good walking shows, I tromped and hopped among the rocks. I saw a couple sun bathing and thought lying out on the rocks in the surrounded by running water sounded nice. So I walked up stream past that couple and saw a nice place to go.
Now, let me explain. I was planning on mostly hiking. So I had my hiking shoes on, and I was listening to my iPod,
Democracy Now. I had a "Real Men Wear Kilts" tote bag holding a towel, some goggles, and my cell phone. And when I got to this location, I took off my hiking shoes and put on my flip-flops for crossing water. I tied up the laces and threw them over my shoulder along with the tote bag.
I then started hoping a few slabs of stone. In some areas where there was a light cascade of water running between stones, I carefully maneuvered my way across to the next stone to bring myself closer to the center of the river. But I finally came to an area where I couldn't easily hop anywhere. It was about six feet across to the next stone with water running through it.
The water was murky brown from the sediment. So I couldn't see the bottom. But unless I wanted to run and jump... I could see myself trying, then slipping with my iPod slamming broken onto the rock and falling face first into the stone as well, blood gushing from my broken teeth and nose. Yeah, not so appealing.
That meant I had to wade. The water wasn't rushing too fast, so I felt safe I wouldn't get swept down stream. I put my first sandled foot into the water. It was about a foot deep. So I felt a little reassured and felt around for the next step, more rock and maybe six inches deeper. With that I was a third of the way through. Not too shabby.
I must've gotten too cocky, because I took another step and fwuump! I dropped two feet. The water was now at my chest. My iPod was held high and I was able to keep the tote from getting wet, but one show dangled in the water. I would've just thrown it all to the other side, being halfway through the divide. The problem was my left flip-flop.
Because of the awkward step, the flip-flip that had partially come off my foot. I didn't want to lose it. And I didn't want to ruin an iPod or a cellphone either. So I stood there a minute against the waters wondering what the hell I should do. And there up stream was a woman laughing at my comical predicament. No doubt more intrigued by this than the latest Soap Opera.
After trying to maneuver to get the zoree correctly back on my foot without success, I decided to save the rest of my stuff. I was able to easily toss my tote bag and my shoes onto land. That left just the iPod. With one ear bud now dangling in the water, I felt a little bit more confident about lifting my left leg to grab the precarious sandal. I got it!
Then I took another step forward, tossed the iPod on the soft tote and climbed up to the other side. A few more stones further and I found a place to lie down under the cloudy sky to attempt to dry my drenched body.
Thirty minutes later, it started raining. Thinking that'd really suck if the water picked up and I was
stranded out on those rocks, I decided to head out of there.
I have to say. For as much as I daze I was in going out there. As much as I had no intent of getting drenched in sedimenty water while visiting the park, it was a wonderful experience. And no doubt a memorable one too. Not saying there's room on my CD, but that experience too seems like a perfect
tribute, no matter how quirky,
to love.
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posted by Marc Gunn @ Sunday, July 29, 2007
Yesterday, I was listening to an audio book by
Seth Godin. He talked about living the marketing message you want to share. I realized that's probably the reason
Irish Drinking Songs for Cat Lovers has done so well. I love cats!
Last night, I was watching a movie and Torre climbed up on little fold out table and stood there like an Egyptian God. He stared off quietly as cats do, looking off into a parallel universe or something.
When he saw me staring, he took a careful moment measuring the distance to the sofa with his eyes. His legs flexed, and he leapt onto the sofa and climbed on my lap. He looked at me to see if I would object. Of course, I didn't. And a couple minutes later, he circled and lay down quietly to nap.
I love when cats do that. I love the way they love. It's so different and yet similar to the way we humans love. My cats are extremely loving and faithful to me. They know their daddy and show it all the time. Sure, sometimes it's a bit stand-offish, but that's just the nature of the cat. If you try petting him when he doesn't want a petting, he shakes you off and walks away. Torre hates it when I kiss him on the forehead. Sometimes he bares it. Sometimes he struggles away. But he's always back with more love to give and share.
That's the amazing thing about love. I'm working on a CD called "
A Tribute to Love". Admittedly, I'm far from an expert. I am single, after all. But I do know that love is two-way even if I can't always adequately balance it.
In order to receive love, you need to give it.
But too often our pride gets in the way. We let it hinder our ability to receive by not giving it to others. It works in many arenas too. That's one of the reasons I try to help indie bands so much. It's to receive that feeling of respect that I so greatly desire too. Love is the same way. You have to give it to receive it.
I was thinking about this as I was driving home listening to that Seth Godin audio book, thinking about it in terms of my Love CD. I don't just want to release another CD. This feels like it should be something different. The album is mixture of love songs. Some are traditional Celtic, but most are original songs that I've written over there years that express different aspects of love that I've experienced.
Yesterday, I was thinking about even raising the price on this CD while donating a significant portion to a loving charity. I've thought about limiting the release to only people of a certain loving disposition who want to love and be loved. But I'm not sure either of those things really get to the
heart of what I want.
I want something that shares my love with others. I want something that
you can share with people you love. I want to hear hearts beat rapidly throughout the world, all in the name of love.
Maybe it's a little hopeful since I still need finish recording and mix the album. Maybe it's too big a dream to expect from one little album, but love is important in life. And with any luck, I hope to bring a little bit more into the world.
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posted by Marc Gunn @ Friday, July 27, 2007
I got an email today from someone in Belgium who showed another bit of synchronicity between cats and drinking in Dutch:
Your own songs are also great and I also love the way Marc has put some new lyrics on traditional songs, about cats. Well, I also love cats and I enjoyed that. Maybe I do not consider it as crazy, because in my language there is a connection between cats and drinking. Believe it or not, but we use the same word to indicate a hangover and ... a tomcat. The word is KATER (pronounce the a a bit like i).
I love finding out stuff like that.
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posted by Marc Gunn @ Sunday, July 01, 2007
So need one more reason why the Alamo Drafthouse is the greatest movie theater ever?
Sure, you have full, tasty meals. You can order alcohol and a better assortment of non-alcoholic drinks as well. Friendly, clean. Then there's the pre-previews where you can watch old video clips relating to the movie you're about to see. But there is another reason.
Friday afternoon, I made a trip the Alamo Drafthouse Village to see the latest
Die Hard movie (AWESOME!!!!). At the ticket booth, they had a sign. "Today Is Baby Day" (or something like that). Every Tuesday and Friday afternoon, parents can bring their babies with them to watch movies Without worrying about whether they will disturb other movie watchers. If the baby cries, the baby cries!
To me, that's just a beautiful sign of respect and love for their customers. Mothers and fathers can enjoy a movie without fear of disturbing others because I Was Warned. Mind you, there were no babies that afternoon. And I think the explosions and my whoops might've been enough to wake any baby, BUT
I LOVE ALAMO DRAFTHOUSE! Greatest movie theater ever!
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posted by Marc Gunn @ Sunday, July 01, 2007
"Holy Crap! You found me!"
That was the latest comment I got when I posted a "thank you" in a fan's Livejournal. She had just finished writing a praise-filled post about how cool my
Irish Drinking Songs for Cat Lovers CD was, when I appeared... just two hours after she wrote it!
That's not the first time I have blown away fans by personally responding to a blog that they would
never have expected me to respond to. So what's the deal? Am I mind-reader?
Yup! They call me Mind-Reading Marc. Okay, not really. In fact, I found Technorati a long time ago. It allows me to track what people are saying about me and my websites in their blogs.
Any music marketer worth half their weight knows that tracking the results of a campaign are essential to the success of their marketing. Technorati works with blogs or any RSS feed. You enter a word or URL and it scans those feeds. Then it comes back with the results. And it also tells you how long ago they posted the information.
Thanks to this amazing site, I learned that David Meerman Scott posted a thank you to me after finishing his New Rules of Marketing & PR. I learned that Pink Mermaid used the chorus for one of my songs in a list of quotes about forgiveness. And I got a great review and feature by AssociatedContent regarding my latest CD,
Irish Drinking Songs: The Cat Lovers Companion.
Of course, I also read how a fan loved my original CD so much that she posted a link to it in her blog and got a HUGE surprise when I commented and said, "thanks!" Guess that is not too bad a tool for helping you to market your music and surprise the hell out of your fans.
Bard Marc Gunn of the
Brobdingnagian Bards has helped 1000's of musicians save and make money with their musical groups through his monthly newsletter,
Bards Crier Music Marketing and Promotion Ezine. Now you can get FREE "how-to" music marketing and promotion advice by visiting
www.bardscrier.com. No time to visit the site? Subscribe to the Bards Crier Ezine for Free. Just email
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posted by Marc Gunn @ Friday, May 11, 2007
I read Seth Godin's
iPhone Challenge, and I'm gonna have to agree with him.
Seth made the claim that the iPhone will sell two million units this year and more next. Meanwhile others are saying it'll be an earlier adopter thing that is promptly abandoned. I just can't see that.
I really don't want an iPhone. But ye know what... I've kinda fallen for the buzz too. Apple makes cool products and this is one. The iPhone is just cool. And I've never used it or know anyone who has. But I do have an iPod. And despite some features I don't care for, I Love it. And it's cool.
So personally, I'll place my bet on Seth's prediction. The iPhone is the start to something that consumers will get behind and will help Apple to keep their market growing and in about three years. I'll prolly be one of five million units. Maybe sooner if they take Verizon...
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posted by Marc Gunn @ Tuesday, May 01, 2007
Well after dealing with far too many
Inappropriate Ads on the Yahoo! Publisher Network, I've determined that Yahoo! just doesn't have the foothold to make it valuable enough service for my webpages.
I demand excellent targeting, and Yahoo! doesn't provide that. Thus, I've decided to abandon use of their Publisher Network on the majority of my webpages until such time as I sign up with Google Adsense or they improve their targeting, which I'll keep an eye open for.
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posted by Marc Gunn @ Wednesday, April 11, 2007
I recently signed up with the Yahoo! Publisher Network. I'd been waiting for this for a long time because I have a number of great websites that offer brilliant content that I know Yahoo! advertisers would love. Why do I know that because I've been advertising with Yahoo! before they acquired the late great Overture. It's been a while.
Now I joined the Yahoo! Publisher Network. The problem is I am getting a lot of crappy ads that have NOTHING to do with the content I provide. That is annoying because you make money by people clicking on your ads. But if the ads are not relevant, people won't click on them.
So what to do? Well, I contacted the Network and ask them what gives. They gave me suggestions. One suggestion was to block certain urls. So I started loading up my site with blocked ads like LowerMyBills.com, Honda.com, and others. Well even with these blocks, it didn't help. Then I found out the secret. And it's stupid from their perspective, but necessary.
Create an ad block to YAHOO.COM.
Is that dumb or what? But the idiots who are spamming my webpages are largely based at Yahoo! They are affiliates to Yahoo. So by adding a block to Yahoo!, you will improve the accuracy of listings.
It's pretty sad to me that I have to block the very company that is giving me the opportunity to add advertising to my websites and to make a few extra bucks, but dammit, I know all about marketing. Inappropriate ads are not gonna get me clicks that will earn me money. So until this arses wake up and realize that selling out their ads to idiots like Honda. But then how much are they making. Probably a crap load.
It just saddens me. God grant me the serenity to treat my fans with respect... unlike Yahoo!
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posted by Marc Gunn @ Thursday, April 05, 2007
I was reading an article by Seth Godin called "
Good Is Not Almost As Good as Great" where he mentions firing half of your sales force of "good" sellers and keeping the "great" ones. That really kinda struck home with me due to a recent experience.
We play at a convention where we have a regular group of sellers. They were good-hearted kind people who don't earn any money by helping us sell. They just get free entrance and some CDs. They love our music, but I'm not sure how great they are as sales people. It's kinda hard to say.
Well coming up soon is that same convention, but this time we will have our DragonCon sales team there. They are fantastic sellers! We'll find out just HOW fantastic at the convention.
I guess maybe if we were paying our sales team, maybe we should consider better sales people. But as we are using fans, who are unpaid, it's hard for me to not hire someone back if they are just "good" instead of "great", because they are fans and we have a history together. They 'may' not be great sellers, but they are great friends and fans. It's more about loyalty
I guess ultimately, that's a different dynamic to consider than when you're paying someone. For that, I think Seth is probably correct. And mayhaps if we wanted to continually improve our sales, we would hire great sales people and make up the sales difference through great help. But for now, I'm happy to have someone who loves our music selling our CDs and doing a "good" job at doing it.
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posted by Marc Gunn @ Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Read Part 1 of my Lasik Eye Surgery in Austin Review of the Eyes of Texas Laser Center here.The rest of day of surgery I spent adding Artificial Tears to my eyes, occasionally adding the Anti-Biotic and Muro. Little by little my eyes stopped itching. It was tough to forget about the itching too because every thirty minutes I had to add more drops to my eyes. By 10pm I was ready to go to bed. Good thing too, my cellphone battery was dying.
I added the last drops to my eyes, climbed in bed and instinctively reached to take off my glasses. But no need. I then started to read. That was a wee bit bothersome. Thusfar, it looks like my reading vision is not as good as it was. But I could nevertheless read without assistance. Thirty minutes later I put the protective shields back over my eyes and fell asleep.
When I awoke, I didn't bother reaching for my glasses. I just looked up and saw that mysterious clock on the wall that you hear exists but never does with glasses. I read it perfectly. It was 8:37am. My eyes are no longer itching. Just a touch of dryness which means more drops every thirty minutes or so. In a few hours, I have the follow-up doctors appointment. Overall, I see significant improvement in my vision.
---
I was a little worried with all the Artificial Tears I was using that I would run out. So I took the plunge, got into the car and drove to HEB wearing my sunshades outside as Dr. Wong suggested. I was a little bit nervous about driving. But overall, my vision was great. There was a little bit of a hazy halo around things. So I figured this wouldn't be much of a problem for driving. And it wasn't.
I got back to my parents and just relaxed and read some more, adding Tears every thirty minutes. I think my book reading vision was improved too though it still looked a bit hazy. But then, as I recall, it always was hazy reading. Now it's just a different sort of haziness.
I took a wee nap and woke up around noon. I bid my step-mom farewell and thanked her for ALL her help. Then I drove back to Eyes of Texas Laser Center. On the drive, I noticed my left I had slightly better vision than the right eye. It still seemed like I couldn't see some road signs as clearly I had hoped, but really there were no problems reading the signs or whatnot. It was a safe drive.
I stopped at Starbucks and grabbed a Latte and looked around. It was pretty cool, I could see all the store signs. I got back in my car and continued my journey.
I arrived early at the Laser Center. They took me back in and asked me how my eyes were doing. I told them about the somewhat hazy reading and strength of my left eye over my right eye. They did a re-imaging of my eyes. Then I waited to talk to Dr. Wong.
Ten minutes later, right before I found out who was the father of Anna Nicole Smith's baby, they admitted me into the eye exam room. Dr. Wong arrived a few minutes after. Again, I mentioned the couple o'issues with reading and eyes and he said things will clear up in a week. Just keep taking those drops. Very friendly as usual.
As I thought about my eyes leaving the center, I realized my eyes adjustment sorta feels like when I first got new glasses after a prescription changed. Things are extra sparkly. And at times a little tough to see perfectly. But even now as I've been typing this latest entry, I realize that I can see my computer screen a little bit better. Though I need to add some more eye drops in a wee bit.
So how was my overall experience?
They asked me that before I left the eye center. Overall, I was a bit nervous. But it was fairly easy to do. The toughest thing was focusing on little dots, but as that didn't last more than a minute or so, that was no big deal. The scratchy eyes were annoying, but those too cleared up after a day. Now my eyes feel great. No swimming any time soon, but overall great.
Doctor L. Shawn Wong and associates were wonderful as well. Kind and friendly. They talked a little fast for me to really absorb all the information, but they provided information sheets which helped me immensely to remember all I needed to do to take care of my eyes.
I'll be going back in July for a follow-up. And if my eyes aren't focused up by then, Eyes of Texas Laser Center offers a discount touch-up service so I can fix up those eyes and improve my sight.
Overall, I'm happy. I've been wearing glasses for at least twenty-five years. And now... I CAN SEE!
Kinda makes you wonder what else we can accomplish
?
Find out more about the
Eyes of Texas Laser Center at www.texas2020.com.
Read
Part 1 or
Part 2 of this update now.
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posted by Marc Gunn @ Wednesday, March 07, 2007
It was back in 1994 when I ran into my friend Laura outside the tower at the University of Texas at Austin. I remember her from high school. She had had thick glasses. Not nearly as thick as her sisters, but thick just the same. She had no glasses on when I met her. We got to talking and she told me she just had her eyes corrected. I don't remember if it was LASIK, but having only hear occasional reports back then, I thought, "Cool! Maybe some day I'll trust laser eye surgery enough to do it myself."
Over thirteen years later, I finally decided to take the plunge. Today, I had LASIK performed on my eyes. And my vision is still improving. I thought it might be nice for others if I shared my experience.
I arrived with my step-mom at 8:00 am this morning for our 8:30 appointment at
Eyes of Texas Laser Center over on Spicewood Springs Road. My mom and I had an early start. I'm sure it helped that I was pretty much awake when my parents got up this morning. I couldn't sleep much last night. The bed was uncomfortable. I was cold. And of course, I was thinking a lot about the surgery. I should have done more yoga before I went to sleep like I usually do to sleep better, but I didn't.
So when my dad knocked on the door this morning, it didn't take me much to get out of bed. I got up and put the last three eye drops in each of my eyes. They started me on those two days ago. One was an anti-biotic called Zylet, the other Muro (whatever that is) called
Sochlor, and the third, Artificial Tears (Refresh Tears by Allergan). Afterward, my step-mom made me breakfast and we drove to the eye clinic.
After paying the piper, the first thing they did was give me some Valium. Then they took me into the optometrist room. The nurse instructed me on how to take the rest of my eye drops. She put doctors masks on me, covering my mouth, hair and shoes. Then she left me alone to wait. I took a much needed nap. When I awoke a few minutes later, I had trouble standing. The Valium must've kicked in.
The nurse held my arm as she took me into the laser room. She gave me a cough drop which I didn't expect would help keep me, Sir Coughs-A-Lot, from coughing, but it did. I sat down on the bed. Then Doctor L. Shawn Wong came in and he asked me to lie down.
Dr. Wong told me not to move. And I did my best. The left eye went first. The doctor taped back the eye lids and lashes. Then he applied some tool to keep my eyes open. It kinda pinched and hurt a little with insertion. But once it was in place, everything was fine. Meanwhile, the nurse held my hand. I was thankful about that, because I was still a bit nervous.
Then the doctor told me to stare at a green light. As I did that, I think this was when he pulled back the protective covering over the eye. Kinda weird, but it didn't hurt. When he pulled back the covering, things got really blurry. Then most of what I could see was red blobs. That was a bit disconcerting, because they moved some. He told me to stare at the center of the red blob, and I did as best I could. Doctor Wong was very reassuring and kept telling me I was doing great. That definitely helped me to relax a bit.
After maybe a minute, he put the eye covering back, and I *think* he sorta smoothed out the eye covering. Again, it didn't hurt at all. The tough part was to keep staring at the green light.
Next, he taped my left eye shut and did the same with the right eye. This eye had a stigma. So at some point I heard this machine make a zapping sound and smelled ozone. The nurse told me about this before the operation. It was normal. And better yet, I didn't feel a thing.
After that, the doctor went back to the left eye. And I think he was smoothing out the eye covering again. Then he added two or three different drops to my eyes. Once we were done, my eyes felt scratchy, sorta like there was some sleep in my eyes, or maybe as if I had contacts that were a bit messed up. My eyes were still watering so I had trouble seeing, but when I could see, things looked clearer than they used to.
My step-mom helped me back into the waiting room. We took five minutes as the Valium still made it difficult to walk. Then my step-mom guided me out to the car with sunshades on. We got in and drove for the next thirty minutes. I turned on my cell phone alarm and applied eye drops every five minutes of the trip. And I was seeing much better, signs, things around the car, you name it.
We got home. I applied the last required eye drops before I napped. Then I tapped my eyes shut, added some protective coverings, put on my sleep mask, turned on some
celtic music and slept for a couple hours.
When I awoke around 1:30, my eyes were REALLY itchy. I drank a huge glass of water and started on the Artificial Tears every five minutes for the next two hours. After about thirty minutes, I started feeling relief. Two hours later, I've taken off my sunshades that I was wearing inside. My eyes are little itchy still but and there's a bit of a haze and halos around things. My dad, who also had Lasik done before I did, said that's normal, even for the next week.
So now I'm sitting at the dining room typing now. There's a mirror on the wall, and I can actually see myself. My eyes still itch, and they are watering so it's not super easy to see. But it's more than I've seen in over twenty-five years. Already things are looking good!
Read
Part 2 of this update now.
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posted by Marc Gunn @ Wednesday, March 07, 2007
The North Texas Irish Festival is here once again. And sadly, I'm gonna miss it this year. I've only gone three times now, but I do enjoy the festival. Last year's festival was my favorite. They had an amazing lineup including quite a few
Austin Celtic groups. Not as many Austin groups this year which is rather disappointing.
So thinking about NTIF, I decided to compile some of my past posts regarding the festival and a few links that you might find useful. But first, here are some special features from my
Irish & Celtic Music Podcast that highlight many of the bands at last year's show.
Some past reviews of the North Texas Irish Festival:
Well, I may not be present, but I'm sure there'll be a lot of folks who are. So I can't wait to hear what people think of entertainment. Do check out
Arabesque who are on my new
Victims of Irish Music compilation CD. They sound Fantastic!
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posted by Marc Gunn @ Friday, March 02, 2007
The new millennium marks the 36th anniversary of the birth of the Irish Rovers. These incredible musicians have charmed and entertained people around the world, and continue to delight audiences with their exciting stage shows. The Irish Rovers have never lost their timeless ability to deliver a rollicking, rousing performance of good cheer, that will soon have you singing and clapping along.
The group began in 1963 in Canada when George Millar and Jim Ferguson, both new emigrants from N. Ireland, met in Toronto at an Irish function. They ended up singing together 'til dawn; and so the Irish Rovers were launched. They performed as a duo until George's cousin, Joe Millar, immigrated to Canada the following year. Joe, who played button-key accordion and harmonica, and also sang traditional ballads, was recruited as he stepped off the plane. After several months of engagements around Ontario, the trio made their way to Calgary, Alberta, where they joined forces with George's brother, Will Millar. The four Rovers then headed off to "Americay"...
At the famous folk club - "The Purple Onion" - in San Francisco, they ended up headlining for an unprecedented 22 sold-out weeks. The folk clubs of California became the learning grounds for the young Rovers, and (through old-fashioned hard work and a wee bit of Irish luck) they were offered a recording contract with Decca Records.
In 1966, "The First Of The Irish Rovers", a live album recorded at "The Icehouse" in Pasadena, was released. It generated enough excitement to warrant another album, and from this release came the million selling single "
The Unicorn", the band's signature song to this day. Wilcil McDowell, an old friend from Ireland, joined the band at this time, enhancing their sound and rounding out the group.
In 1980-81, The Rovers once again soared to the top of the pop and country charts with "Wasn't That A Party". This real-life celebration was written by their friend, U.S. folk singer Tom Paxton, after he witnessed one of the band's famous post-show parties. It went on to become an international anthem of good cheer. The band recorded "Grandma Got Run-Over By A Reindeer" in 1982, which has become a seasonal hit.
The Irish Rovers continue to perform in theatres around the world, with original members George Millar, Joe Millar and Wilcil McDowell. Will Millar retired from the band in 1995; and sadly, Jimmy Ferguson passed away in 1997. Completing the Irish Rover line-up today is Kevin McKeown, who has been with the band since 1984, and John Reynolds and Wallace Hood, who both joined in 1995. Sean O'Driscoll, a multi-instrumentalist, accompanies the band on many of their tours, and plays on new Rover recordings.
The Irish Rovers are still passionate about performing and will continue to tour and entertain their legions of fans. Like the Unicorn, the Rovers are legendary and magical, and a good time is guaranteed for all.
Find out more about the
Irish Rovers.
Similar Artists: The Clancy Brothers,
The Dubliners,
Brobdingnagian Bards,
Marc Gunn,
The Dubliners' Tabby Cats,
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posted by Marc Gunn @ Wednesday, February 28, 2007
The Dubliners are one of the best known bands in the Celtic music world. They got together in 1962 and were soon recording album after album together. Their first hit single "Seven Drunken Nights" launched them into international popularity and frequent touring. A stint with The Pogues brought them a new audience and more top hits.
But what seems most interesting to me is that The Dubliners are THE band one should know about when talking about pub songs. Whenever you go to any store and look for a compilation of traditional Irish songs or pub songs, you will find The Dubliners. They seem to have or be on more compilation albums than any other Celtic band out there!
Find out more about
The Dubliners.
Reviews: "
The Best of the Dubliners"
Similar Artists: The Clancy Brothers,
Irish Rovers,
Brobdingnagian Bards,
Marc Gunn,
The Dubliners' Tabby Cats,
Pubcrawler,
The Stationary Willberries, Jonathan Ramsey, King Laoghaire,
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posted by Marc Gunn @ Wednesday, February 28, 2007
It's that time of year again--
St. Patrick's Day. People are getting ready for and searching out the wazzoo for everything Irish. So
Irish drinking songs are popular once again.
That's good news to me because Irish drinking songs is what I do. Whether it be
Irish Drinking Songs for Cat Lovers,
Irish Drinking Songs: The Cat Lover's Companion,
The Holy Grail of Irish Drinking Songs,
A Collection of Irish Pub Songs, or even the
Pub Songs Podcast, this year I practically have a monopoly on Irish drinking songs... or at least the term.
Because exit the internet, and no one has heard of
Marc Gunn or the
Brobdingnagian Bards. They're still hung up on
The Dubliners, the
Irish Rovers,
The Clancy Brothers,
The Wolfe Tones, and other groups who've given a name to the drinking songs of Irish music. And with good cause. Those bands are awesome. Those are the groups from whom I learned many of the Irish drinking songs I sing today. So raise a glass to them.
Yet where they made a name for Irish music in middle of last century, I'm trying trying to do the same in the digital era. No one is out promoting
Celtic music. That's why I started the
Celtic MP3s Music Magazine and the
Irish & Celtic Music Podcast. My goal is to keep Irish folk music alive. So I have all those CDs above, plus, I have a
traditional Irish music compilation CD and try to promote
Celtic groups as I am able.
That said, St. Patrick's Day is almost here. And you can bet I'll be doing a lot for the Irish holiday. Keep an ear open for podcasts and MP3s and magazines and of course new CDs of Irish drinking songs, because that's what I do when I want to promote
St. Patrick's Day music.
And why shouldn't I?
It's my birthday after all.
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posted by Marc Gunn @ Tuesday, February 27, 2007
If you're looking for great music for your
Austin wedding, I have a great recommendation--the Brobdingnagian Bards. I know, I know. I play with the band, so I'm biased. But hey, don't take my word for it. Check out these referrals:
"We had planned on having a string quartet at our wedding. While looking on the web for groups, we ran across The Bards. We immediately called Karen's dad, since he was footing the bill, and played Tolkien over the phone. It was an instant hit and we later chose it as the solo for our wedding ceremony. We decided to be a little different and use Maids in the Meadow for the recessional. It was wonderful!"
--Karen and Erik Hayden, Austin Wedding Newlyweds
It's not very easy actually to hire us. We tour outside of Austin constantly, but our Austin wedding music is always available. One of our most-popular CDs is
A Celtic Renaissance Wedding. Yes, it's an album of Celtic-style wedding music.
Our Austin wedding CD has been used in countless weddings by both fans of Celtic music and non-fans a-like. It's available for just $9.97 online, or you can purchase a copy exclusively offline at Things Celtic (ph# 512-472-2358) at 1805 W. 35th Street if you want to avoid shipping. Incidentally, I understand it's their best-selling CD!
Check out these samples to see if this is your type of music:
Shepherd's Serenade 
Tolkien (The Hobbit & Lord of the Rings)
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posted by Marc Gunn @ Sunday, February 04, 2007
I played the autoharp this weekend at a house concert. I really love my instrument. It has such a beautiful sound. Today I was thinking it is the perfect
wedding ceremony music instrument for people who want something beautifully different.
Imagine for a moment the sound of a classical guitar. Full and soulful. That's the autoharp. Add on top of that heartfelt and original. That's the autoharp. The
autoharp is magical instrument. No one plays it, mostly because it is slow to tune. But it has such a wholistic and peaceful sound it can take your breath away.
That's one of the reasons I'm recording a
CD of instrumental music, to highlight the magical sounds of the autoharp.
There's more to it than that, though. My band, the Brobdingnagian Bards, doesn't play too many
Austin weddings, but listening to the autoharp over and over, I think it is the perfect wedding ceremony music. With or without the recorder, it's lush and tasteful. Just like
Celtic weddings in general. When it's done, I'll probably release the album as a
wedding CD too.
The music is just too cool not to.
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posted by Marc Gunn @ Sunday, February 04, 2007
Just listed, without comment or recommendationsDone the Impossible
The movie that tells the story of how Firefly fans brought a failed TV show back to the big screen.
http://www.donetheimpossible.com/Operation Bloody Station
In the verse, reavers are a horrific reality. A new operation has been initiated by Alliance Scientists to remove reaver’s aggressive tendencies. This undertaking is known as Operation Restoration. Unfortunately in the verse, some things will never change.
http://www.addictingclips.com/Clip.aspx?key=67C6135DF0952B2FInto the Black
http://www.intotheblack.ca/Faith Of A Man (2006) is a fan film set in the verse of Joss Whedon's Firefly. It is a story based on a piece of fan fiction written by Obsidiana Girl. Faith of a Man reveals one man's reflections of a civil war. As a captain on the losing side, this man is privilaged to have had the opportunity to reflect on such experiences, and therefore finds his beliefs to be enlightened through hindsight.
Mosquito (parody)
http://www.mosquitoverse.com/index.htmlRedemption (in production)
Malcolm Reynolds bought his Firefly class ship from a used shipyard. This is the story of the crew of that ship before it made it there to the shipyard.
http://fireflylives.co.nr/The Bellflower
Earth-That-Was could no longer sustain our numbers, we were so many. We found a new solar system: dozens of planets and hundreds of moons. The central planets formed the Alliance. Ruled by an interplanetary parliament, the Alliance was a beacon of civilization. The savage outer planets were not so civilized and refused Alliance control...
And that's us, out here on the raggedy edge. Proudly independent, resisting authority, determined to make our own way in the 'verse (sometimes even by honest means).
Welcome aboard the Bellflower. She may shake a little, but she'll get your package delivered on time, every time......Well... Most times... ...Meh! We'll get 'round to it some time...
http://bellflower.sigil777.com/index.phpWaiting for Serenity (2005)
THE BIG DAMN FANFILM...
On a frontier planet, two Privateers head for a secret rendezvous - only to discover two rogue law-men with the same intent. Tensions rise until it's revealed that they're all waiting for the same ship.
It's first come, first served... Unless, of course, you're faster with a gun...
http://film.sigil777.com/Waiting_for_Serenity/Download.asp
50 years in show business, 20 years of stand up comedy (including a world tour entertaining US troops) a dozen novels, several CDs, a couple of short story collections, produced plays (both stage and screen), and a daily comic strip. All of this and C. Wayne Owens considers himself as just getting started.
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posted by Marc Gunn @ Sunday, February 04, 2007
Yesterday was another relaxing day. From
Eugene, I drove back to Portland, checked into the hotel and spent some time with a new friend I made at the
cat show, Jennifer. She invited me to see the mountains where she and her husband have a nice cabin in the woods North of Vancouver, Washington.
Wow! It was amazing. We drove out through a park and stopped off at park where she used to roam as a kid. We wandered though the rough trails, saw glassy waters, cascading falls, and immaculate beauty. I crouched on some rocks opposite one of the falls and watched the water spray on my glasses. I poked shards of ice in puddles. I closed my eyes and meditated with the sound of rushing water.
It's funny. I don't meditate nearly as much as I feel I should. I've started to more before bed. But when I do... Dio! It's pure joy. My senses come alive. Every touch of stone was more precious. Every water-logged branch that I found from recent flooding was more sensual. I could smell fish on the bark. I could taste the pine in the air. The water splashing on my face. Life was just that much more precious.
We wandered through the trails, the mud, rocks and ice. We climbed over fallen trees cleaned of bark and silky smooth. It was delicious.
Then up to the cabin, we went. Right on the river, it sat humbly admiring the vista. Though I never saw one, Jennifer showed me a picture of a bald eagle that called that stream I-1 as it flew proudly above the rushing waters. We lit a fire and drank
hot jasmine tea. I sat by a stove fire and napped in the warmth.
My senses were heightened. I heard the sound of steaming water to my left. What thought was a minute later must've been more. Because when I awoke. I found a kettle on the stove smoking... on my right. And cabin empty. I hugged myself warmly and walked out onto the deck with the brisk air tickling my breath.
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posted by Marc Gunn @ Wednesday, January 31, 2007
The sun was now setting so it was time to head back to Portland. But before we got there, we stopped off at
Jennifer's Cat Sanctuary in Vancouver. Jennifer is a
cat whisperer. I'm hoping to feature her in my
Cat Lovers Podcast in a month or so after I do a feature on the cat show.
A cat sanctuary. Prrrr! Well over a decade ago, Jennifer and her husband moved onto a nice tract of land with a few feral
cats. One by one and she started helping them, feeding, caring for their health and spaying and neutering the
cats, and then finding homes for the sweet babies. Many years later, she has an amazing sanctuary.
We walked into this home and were greeted by dozens of the sweetest, most loving little putty tats. They purred, meowed, and begged for loving attention. They got as much as I could give. I felt like Dr. Lazarus from
Galaxy Quest as we strolls in arms raised after having helped released the Thermians from suffocating death. They were very loving, but Jennifer is definitely their mom. She has one beautiful cat that should've lost his eye two years ago, but through Jennifer's love has kept it for longer than a vet would've expected. She has kitties with dental problems, some with FIV, three-legged cats, cats with skin problems, feral cats, and most desperately in need of loving homes where they can be worshiped as they deserve.
It was touching to see all the loving
kitties. And I feel a wee bit more committed to finally visiting Austin's own cat sanctuaries.
Oh! On a similar note, a friend who found a cat two years ago that was diagnosed with Feline Leukemia turned out to be a false positive. So a special note. If you find a cat diagnosed as such, have the cat re-tested before you take further actions. And on another note, Jennifer apparently has helped three out of four cats overcome Feline Leukemia. So learn how you might be able to help your feline friends.
MREOW!
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posted by Marc Gunn @ Wednesday, January 31, 2007
I was watching the
first season of Rome and had an interesting idea for portraying the news.
In modern times, we have political cartoonists, television shows, radio programs, that all discuss the news. In Roman times, they had actors on stage acting out the "news" of recent battles in a comical fashion. I just saw one showing Vorenus saving Pullo in the arena, which sparked this idea.
What about a comedy troupe that acts out modern news in a comical fashion. I wonder if this is done at all? It's not based on repetition like plays. It's more like an NPR 5 Minute News Update, live on stage, making fun of the current news.
That'd be interesting. It's just fascinating to see the Roman equivalent to things that are still being done today. Time to go hunt down the Onion podcast.
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posted by Marc Gunn @ Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Tonight, I wrote some news that I sent off to the
Ceili, a newsletter put out by
Southwest Celtic Music Association. It got me thinking of my successes.
I'm not really one to brag about about my accomplishments. Most of the time, I forget to tell people about them period. Part of the reason is because I forget to. But mostly, I'm just not like that. I grew up with the idea that it is best to be humble. Consequently, I have trouble bragging about myself, my band, or my many accomplishments in the Celtic music world.
That is what press releases are all about. It's one of the things any band, or even business, should do to secure their success. But for me, it's a constant struggle. I kinda wish I had a manager who could do that for me. Someone to manage my affairs and say, "he's pretty cool". But then, that's every musicians dream. Isn't it?
I remember early on in my music career, bands were always wanting managers. I've probably paid my dues and could do with a manager meself. Though I don't think we could adequately afford to pay one. It always comes to down to money though.
Well, any case, I did the best I could about providing news that quantified success as I was able. Here's what I hope will be added in the next edition of the
Ceili:The Brobdingnagian Bards released their ninth album, "The Holy Grail of Irish Drinking Songs" in December. The album is a compilation of drinking songs from several of their earlier albums, plus a few new songs from upcoming CDs. The Bards, in conjunction with Things Celtic in Austin, are hosting a tour of Ireland, June 7-15. The tour was designed with the Rennie in mind with a host of fantastic historical spots.
Marc Gunn is currently working on another solo CD to compliment his 2005 hit album "Irish Drinking Songs for Cat Lovers". This CD entitled, "Irish Drinking Songs, the Cat Lover's Companion" features all the original Irish songs that were parodied on the cat CD. Also, for well over a year now, Marc Gunn has hosted the Irish & Celtic Music Podcast ( www.celticmusicpodcast.com). The show has maintains the honor of being one of the top 20 music podcasts on iTunes with over 20,000 downloads of each show. Gunn also recently ended the voting for the 2nd Annual Celtic Music Awards. These awards are maintained by his Celtic MP3s Music Magazine ( www.celticmp3s.com) and allows fans to vote for their favorite Celtic music groups. Results will be posted in a special edition of the Irish & Celtic Music Podcast and in the magazine in March.
Aside from the iTunes comment and a quick "hit album" for my cat CD, there's really not that much bragging there. Is there? I didn't mention our upcoming interview in
Tribeza magazine for our
Celtic Wedding CD.
Instead, I look at it and think, "What
really is important?" I mean, I've published my
Celtic MP3s Music Magazine for over nearly seven years now. I may have a good 15,000 subscribers, but is that really important?
Ultimately, no. Ultimately, I'd rather say, I brought some degree of joy to people's lives. I'd rather find at the end of my life that I've helped someone in some way, that I've inspired someone.
One of my heroes is
C. Wayne Owens aka
Seymoure. Once upon a time, he was a touring comedian and Renaissance festival entertainer. But it wasn't just the humor or talent with improv and puns that really stood out to me. It was his ability to inspire. When I talk to Seymoure, I find new meaning in my life. I find direction about what is important. Seymoure inspires me to think, about life, the universe, and everything. And if I had one wish for my dying days, it would be that I was able to inspire people as Seymoure has inspired me.
I don't think I'm nearly as eloquent as he is. He thinks on his toes, while I think, deliberate, toss ideas around and then comment. But maybe in other ways. I will find my direction to inspire and help people, selflessly, to the joy of many.
If I had one prayer, it's that my life might be one of inspiration, healing, and sacrifice.
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posted by Marc Gunn @ Friday, January 19, 2007
About this time last year, I had this brilliant idea of creating a monthly Celtic calendar and distributing it around Austin so folks in Austin would know when Celtic happenings are happening. I created a template, even went so far as to purchase a domain--
www.austincelticcalendar.com. Then gigs and life got the better of me and I never did anything further with the website.
It's a shame really. I think Austin really
needs this calendar. And while I'm motivated enough to get it running, I just don't have the time. I have too many projects as it is.
That said, I've been craving more social interaction with folks around Austin. So with the success of my
Austin Italian Language Meetup group, I decided to start a few more meetups. The latest is the Austin Celtic Meetup. This new meetup has taken over the website for the Austin Celtic Calendar and designed to increase interaction among the Irish, Scottish, and other Celts of Austin. There are a bunch of us. And hopefully, I'm not the only one hoping to meet more people. We'll find out next month!
FYI. The third meetup group I started is the
Austin Yoga Meetup Group. I'm fairly new to Yoga, but I like the folks that do it. They typically are very colorful people with an interest in healthy living, like I have.
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posted by Marc Gunn @ Sunday, January 14, 2007
I just saw
Stranger Than Fiction. I typically detest any movie with Will Ferrell. I really haven't cared for him much as a comedian, focusing on over-the-top comedy. But I did see the Ballad of Bobby Whatever and afterward thought, "Not bad. I bet he'll be doing a more serious film soon."
Lo and behold along comes Stranger Than Fiction. And much like the over-the-top Jim Carrey of yesteryear who evolved into a good actor, Will Ferrell did a great job in a fantastic movie. I went in with a snarky attitude and came out feeling all good about life and stuff. Great story and development. I loved the movie!
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posted by Marc Gunn @ Wednesday, November 29, 2006
100s of blogs have been alive with news of Umada and Yunyun, aka John Wilkinson and Charlotte Law who marched into the United Nations Building and handed in a letter that lobbies for annual International Day for Tolerance on November 16th to be re-named as "Interstellar Day of Tolerance".
Umada and Yunyun are "members" of the 390,000 British people who declared their religion is the "Jedi Faith" on the form of the UK 2001 Census. This made the Jedi Faith the 4th largest religion in the UK!
My response was to both laugh at and congratulate Umada and Yunyun as well as write an article of what may be the ancestral foundations of this faith, which is far deeper than the Star Wars movies.
More thoughts on
The Jedi Faith. For Jedi who love to drink and sing Jedi music, check out the
Jedi Drinking Song.
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posted by Marc Gunn @ Tuesday, November 21, 2006
In the beginning was the Irish Stout, and the stout was good.
The Irish Stout was SO good, in fact, we started singing about it--Irish Pub Songs. The Irish songs flowed as prolifically as the stout.
Irish Stout is no longer just a dark beer made from roasting malts and barley. Now it is also a band--a couple friends who love drinking songs as much as they love drinking. We don't care about politics, religion, or being the most-traditional band in the world. Our sound is sharp, unique, and designed for hours of good old-fashioned song as you drink the night away.
So if you're looking for traditional "Celtic music", leave now. We're gonna show you the FUN, RAUCOUS side of Celtic music. The type of music that might get your toes tapping, your beer splashing, your hearts racing, your eyes laughing, your thoughts crafting, your body thrashing, and your voice cracking from too much singing. Yeah. We know what you want to hear. Because we want to hear it too!
So go ahead. Grab a pint of Irish Stout and join us in the pub. It doesn't have to be the same Irish pub. Yours will do. Just bring the CD out and give it to the bartender and say, I want music I can sing to! Then let the Irish Stout start flowing and satiate your thirst so that every day is St. Patrick's Day, thanks to Irish Stout.
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posted by Marc Gunn @ Thursday, November 16, 2006
Austin Texas is known for its music scene, and it also happens to be the home of the Brobdingnagian Bards--a Celtic Renaissance musical duo. The Bards combine the folk songs of Ireland and Scotland with a little Lord of the Rings styling as well, making for a truly unique and interesting sound. The instrumentation is not necessarily what you might find in all the old country songs; mandolin, autoharp and recorder, but then again, the Bards are pretty much known for doing their own thing . . .
Wearing kilts on campus at the University of Texas could get you a few odd stares. For Brobdingnagian Bards members Andrew McKee and Marc Gunn, however, it got them into a band. The Bards didn't limit themselves to on-campus play, and their music spread quickly, branching out with loyal followers to everything from music festivals to renaissance faires and weddings.
The next logical step was to produce a CD. The duo's first effort was "Marked By Great Size" in 1999. "Gullible's Travels" was next in 2000, followed by "Songs of the Muse," an instrumental album in 2001. The group continued producing CDs, and two themed ones were next; "A Faire To Remember" and "A Celtic Renaissance Wedding." Next came "Songs of Ireland" in 2002, followed by "Memories of Middle Earth" in 2003. "Brobdingnagain Fairy Tales" came out in 2005, and hit #1 on CDBaby's charts.
Awards and recognition have come to the duo, and they have garnered many, including Best Renaissance Men in the Best of Austin poll for the Austin Chronicle in 2003. They blazed trails as the first Celtic band ever to win for Best Novelty Band, and received an Austin Music Award for that honor. The Bards also were the headliners for the Oscar party for "Lord of the Rings: Return of the King."
Things just keep getting bigger and better for the duo, and Gunn has had more than a few spin off's from the humble beginnings at school to keep him busy. He holds a weekly podcast for Celtic music fans, puts out an E-Zine "The Bards Crier" for music marketing and promotion tips and operates the Celtic MP3s Music Magazine, which reviews Celtic music and offers free downloads to tempt readers with the latest bands. Gunn also runs his own Celtic CD label, Mage Records.
Since it seems like these guys are going somewhere pretty darn fast (or because you like to look really smart), you might also want to learn how to pronounce their name; its
brAHb'ding-näg-EE-en. Go ahead, say it!
Visit the Brobdingnagian Bards at
www.TheBards.net or book them at
www.BardBooking.com.
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posted by Marc Gunn @ Wednesday, November 08, 2006
In 1995, my band
Skander broke up. I started looking for another band and found a band called Societal Jive that featured friends of mine from the an acting troupe I helped start called The Moore Hill Players. David English was one of the members. I really loved their heavy metal sound. So when David decided to transpose the group to Austin, meaning Jon English could no longer sing for the band, they went searching for a singer. I jumped at the opportunity.
For whatever reason, I didn't last long as their singer. The new bassist Ryan Holley took over vocals. The band changed it's name to
Plow Monday, and I started managing and booking of the band. The first thing we did was record a six-song EP entitled
Societal Jive. It was one of my first lessons in producing. I didn't do a good job at it the album had its high points. Then I spent my time jocking the band to radio, newspapers and trying to book gigs. I did a decent job, but the end result was mediocre at best. I felt the band needed to do this on their own.
So I quit managing the band and started my own band,
Breastfed. And a couple years later with the re-addition of Jon English into the band, Plow Monday really took off.
Here's what their biography states about the band:
In a city like Austin, some of the best music can sometimes go overlooked. For years, this was the case with Plow Monday before they emerged from obscurity as one of Austin's most popular live acts. When the band finally hung up their guitars in the fall of 2003, they played two sold-out farewell shows at Austin's Hard Rock Café. Both shows hosted more than 500 tearful fans, screaming the lyrics to every song at the top of their lungs.
Now the band exists only in cyberspace and in the occasional nostalgia-fueled reunion show. But for years, the fans that stumbled upon this modern-rock phenomenon cherished their music and live shows as if they had discovered the next big thing in music. Many believed they had. And no one could believe it when they called it quits.
At the end of their run, Plow Monday was a five-piece group featuring Jon English on lead vocals and some guitars; Ryan Holley on rhythm guitar, lead guitar, some lead vocals and almost all the background vocals; Clif Haley on lead guitar, Michael "Bobbo" Swanson on bass; and the legendary David English on drums. Jon, Ryan, Clif and David were all high school friends, growing up together in Marble Falls, Texas (Ryan was 10 miles away in Burnet).
David, Clif and Jon played in various high school garage bands together over the years, before David and Clif graduated and moved to Austin to attend college at the University of Texas and Saint Edwards University. Ryan headed on down the road to Southwest Texas State in San Marcos, and the three formed the power-trio Societal Jive in 1995, then quickly renamed the project Plow Monday.
In those days, the group was more of an experimental jam-band with a grunge-rock edge. Their first album was a Seven-Mary-Three type effort titled "Societal Jive". The disc received a three (out of four) star review by the Bible of Austin music, the Austin Chronicle.
In 1997, Dave's little brother, Jon, graduated from high school and joined his friends in Austin. They handed him a bass, and the Plow Monday lineup was set for a number of years.
The group immediately set about the task of creating the kind of catchy-yet-eclectic music that is birthed by the combination of youth, inexperience, bravado, and staggering musical ability. These guys were no grunge-rock college act. They were already fully seasoned musicians even though the bands average age was just over 20 years old. Ironically, their most incredible work was never formally released. "Head Full of Windows", their 8-song EP was recorded in 1997 and sold as burned copies at shows over the next few years. For fans of the group, the disc is now a collectors album. Through the magic of CD Baby, the tracks are now available for purchase and download over the internet.
Despite regular gigs at such legendary Austin clubs as the Backroom, the Mercury, Liberty Lunch, and Emos, at such a young age plans and visions can change. In the spring of 1999, Jon felt he needed a break from music to explore other directions for his life. The group consequently disbanded.
But the music wouldn't die.
During the time off, Jon rented a simple four-track recorder and a microphone, and proceeded to spend three months locked in his college dorm room recording a collection of songs that had never fit the Plow Monday style. When he met with his old band mates to play them the tunes, the group unanimously decided to reform to play the songs from the album. Jon would handle most of the lead vocals this time around.
The new songs were much less eclectic and much more radio-friendly. And whats more, in the year since the band had broken up, the advancement of music on the internet made it possible to reach a broader audience than ever before. The group entitled the collection of songs "Blank", and they released it digitally over Mp3.com. Soon, Farmclub.com and Alternative Addiction.com had their hands on it, and a full-on internet phenomenon was born.
Within a month their track Joke was featured on Farmclub.com's top 10 list for the rock genre. In September, the group posted the CD on mp3.com, the world's largest collection of free music. The title track Blank went straight to the Alternative General top 40 and stayed there for over a month, along side other top groups as Third Eye Blind, the Offspring, Linkin Park, and Paul Simon. For years, they were Austin's most downloaded rock group, and eventually discovered they were the number one most downloaded band in the country of France. The tracks, all recorded in dorm room, eventually added up to almost 100,000 downloads over the period of approximately 2 years.
In the Spring of 2001, Plow Monday debuted on the prestigious site Alternative Addiction. The song Blank was given a chance in the on-line Battle of the Bands. Much to everyone's surprise, Blank took an overwhelming 94 percent of all the votes cast in the contest, sending Plow Monday into the Unknown Top 10 List at number eight. After just one month, the group was at number 1 on the Unknown Top 10, topping such artists as Carey Pierce, Five For Fighting, The Clarks, Blue October, and Jay Quinn Band. Blank stayed as the number one track for four months. Their third release, the track "Lies", would also hit number one and stay for three months. At the end of the year, the fans of the site voted Plow Monday 2001's "Unknown Band of the Year." Their website,
www.plowmonday.com, was handling thousands of hits a month during this time.
The tracks also received airplay from Austin commercial and college radio. On the strength of their success on the web, the band developed an international fan base that stretches from the States to every single continent (besides the one covered entirely by ice). Austin's premiere rock station, KLBJ, honored the band two years in a row as one of their top unsigned bands at their annual "Schmoozefest" during the South By Southwest festival.
Back in August of 2000, the group had begun gigging regularly again and landed a weekly show at Austin's legendary Black Cat Lounge, a club that birthed the careers of such acts as Bob Schneider, Ian Moore, Sister 7, and Push Monkey. Plow Monday left the club after nine months of regular gigging in March of 2001, and started playing regular shows at other top venues in the area eventually landing at the legendary Stubb's BBQ in downtown Austin, where they would play monthly for almost a year. It was during this time that Bobbo hopped on board the Plow Monday Express as the bass player, bringing about the full, powerful sound that became Plow Monday's signature.
The national buzz about the band grew, and they found themselves taking a trip to the West Coast during the summer of 2001 to play a showcase for the music world's top executives at SIR studios in Los Angeles. In 2002, the group made a similar trip to New York City, where they played a showcase to a packed house at the too-legendary-to-quantify CBGB's. Rounding out their national exposure were also multiple tours to Nashville, where they were a featured act during the Nashville New Music Conference in 2002.
As the publicity surrounding the band grew and grew, they dedicated themselves to producing a record that surpassed the dorm-room sonics of "Blank". Teamed with Austin A-list producer/engineer, the group wrote and recorded "Second Glance Appeal" during the winter of 2002 and the spring of 2003. Insite Magazine, one of Austin's most significant music review publications, gave the CD a letter grade of "A", and called the album "familiar and new, retro and fresh… Plow Monday is uniquely Austin with major mass appeal."
When the CD dropped, the band also produced a series of videos that aired on the local Austin Music Network. The video for "Lies" became a local top-ten hit and brought the band even more exposure. The video premiere was a sold-out affair at the Lucky Lounge in Austin, and the CD release party was also a capacity crowd event at the Hard Rock Café.
It seemed that Plow Monday was the can't-miss next big thing. But in the fall of 2003, everything that had been built over the years dissolved in a matter of months.
By 2003, Clif, Dave, and Ryan had been playing together in the group for eight years. But despite the popularity, there was little or no money to accompany the success and the interested record labels always seemed to be "very close" to signing the band, but never getting closer. With his 30s on the horizon and nothing but an empty box of music-industry promises to plan his musical future around, Clif finally decided he had to quit the band cold-turkey before he spent any more of his life waiting for the mythical "record deal" to finally materialize. He tearfully informed his friends in the group that he would play no more, forever.
The remaining four fought for about two months to continue the band without Clif, but the experience was hollow and the sound was all wrong. At the crossroads of their musical and personal lives, the other members of the group decided together to play two final shows with all five of the members of the band before calling it quits.
The Hard Rock Café was the venue, and the line was around the block. The group went loudly into that good night, with no regrets. New Year's Eve, 2003, was the final show for Plow Monday. Once a year for the last two years, the band has reformed for a reunion show. Apart from that, there is no longer any Plow Monday music being performed.
Ryan Holley has since continued his climb to the top of the Austin music scene through his myriad of projects. He fronted the band Pavlov's Dogs for a number of years, played on again and off again with Blue October, co-fronted the super-group A+ Machines with Matt Novesky of Blue October, and is currently the guitar player for Goudie as well as the front man for his new project, The Warning.
Clif Haley has recently decided to make a much less publicized go of it with his new acoustic rock act, Always the Fall. He has also been a force in the internet movie review phenomenon, DumbDistraction.com.
Michael "Bobbo" Swanson is doing somethin' down in Houston. He's going to school or something. Not real sure. We really need to talk to that guy more!
David English is a system's analyst at Apple Computer, the father of two cats and two dogs, and very happy to be planning his eventual escape from society to his Earthship in Liberty Hill.
Jon English has continued to write and record music, and is planning on releasing his first official collection of new songs in the fall of 2006. Jon, Dave, Clif, Ryan, and Bobbo can all be found around Texas, occasionally playing a party or a happy-hour gig at a bar on 6th Street for old times sake. They're all still close friends and supporters of each other in all that happens. And they all still miss their old fans.
You can keep up with the band at
www.plowmonday.net, and you can get their CDs at CD Baby.com or any of the digital music outlets (I-tunes, etc). Or you can do an internet search and find some crazy things that always make the guys smile when they see that they really did touch some people's lives, if only for a short time.
But no matter how it hurts, they will never stop grinning on the floor.
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posted by Marc Gunn @ Wednesday, November 08, 2006
I was dreaming rather heavily when I woke up this morning. I don't remember exactly what I was dreaming about, but I woke thinking about playing music on a weekly basis in Austin.
Austin is a peculiar place. It bills itself as the Live Music Capitol of the World. So the city is flooded with musicians wanting gigs. Consequently, only the cream of the crop end up with gigs that pay. Everyone else scrambles for the leftovers, all of which are unpaid.
That really sucks, because I, like most, just want to play music. While I want to get paid for my performance, I am happy to play for free if it will ultimately yield me a good income or will pay me in the long run. So I've been looking around for such a venue with little success. Few seem willing to build a relationship with us.
Or at least that's what I think is going on. Honestly, I don't know if that is totally the case. I remember when I was performing with
Skander a few years, we used to sit around and bitch about clubs not booking bands. It wasn't until I stopped bitching and focused on doing that I finally started getting gigs with
Plow Monday, then
Breastfed. I've talked to at least one pub in town that is semi-willing to work with me, but they don't seem willing to pay. The question is: is that worth it?
That's what I was dreaming about this morning. I look at bands like
The Tea Merchants who started playing weekly at Fado's Irish Pub about four years ago. It makes me think that we grew too quick... at least in our own mind. We achieved some big successes early on and then started demanding to get paid too quickly.
And now? Now we don't know if it is worthwhile doing weekly gigs that are unpaid. We could make some decent money from tips and CD sales and continue to build a local fan base. But is it worthwhile to compromise our morales such that we don't get paid at all, when we our work should be paid?
Or maybe I'm looking at it the wrong way. Maybe it should be we just need a venue. Then the audience will pay us in tips and CD sales if we play? Re-frame the argument. And grow our fan base in the process.
December approaches and I know I can't get The Bards to do weekly gigs. But if I was willing, I might be able to do just that... if I was willing?
There's a part of me that just wants to work at home recording new music and not tour any more. Hmm? Admittedly, a regular gig in Austin would work well to that end. And perhaps with time, a decent income could be made from tips and even a regular pay? Maybe I'll talk to Mick when I get back and Andrew sooner.
There are so many good bands in Austin that play for free. They're paid in tips and CD sales. And they can afford to have big bands despite just being paid in tips. So maybe that is something that is possible for me as well.
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posted by Marc Gunn @ Wednesday, November 08, 2006
I was listening to NPR this morning with their program, "
This I Believe". They had an essay on the power of failure as a building block to success. That made me think of knowing my limits. When is it when I need to ask for help to do what I need doing. Like office helpers. I get office helpers when I find myself unable to finish basic tasks like mailing out CDs and such. Or recording a CD, I hired a producer to help me complete my
Cat CD, which I knew would take five times as long by myself. So this idea came to my mind:
"There is no shame in failure.
There is only shame in not asking for help to succeed."
Not sure I entirely stand behind the second half of that concept, but it sounds nice...
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posted by Marc Gunn @ Monday, October 09, 2006
Last night, I went to see Eugene O'Neill's classic play
A Moon for the Misbegotten. I've never really read or seen anything by Eugene O'Neill. So I didn't know what to expect. I did know that it was presented by the Renaissance Austin Theatre and sponsored by the
Celtic Cultural Center.
Last night's performance was also sponsored by the
Austin Celtic Association who brought out a dramaturg from St. Edward's University to talk about Eugene O'Neill and explain what had happened in O'Neill's life to influence this play. That was an amazing introduction to O'Neill. It was invaluable to understanding what O'Neill was dealing with, lots of guilt from a highly dysfunctional family. It was fascinating.
While it was fascinating, it was not necessary, for this brilliant play. Eugene O'Neill definitely had a talent for writing about the human condition, and for portraying his own personal war with God. The text started off slow, but by Act 2, I was mesmerized. Overall, the actors did a fine job dutifully playing their roles and catapulting the audience onto the emotional rollercoaster that makes this such a great piece. I commend them. This is no easy work!
While overall, it was enjoyable. I had a few gripes that had me concerned. The first actor who came on the stage aside from Josie Hogan, played by Lorella Loftus, was Steven Laing, who played Mike Hogan. Stiff as a board. That's how I'd describe him. Fortunately, it was a short role. The actor was gone in five minutes, only to return a little later for another stiff role as T. Stedman Harder, a little bit more appropriate, but bad acting overall.
Mike D'Arcy as Phil Hogan did a little better. I saw good potential in his acting had he had better direction. He too needed to loosen up. By the end of the first act, as the audience started laughing at the comedic aspects of the play, he and Loftus, both loosened up and fell better into their roles. I would like to have seen him be more natural on stage too. I enjoyed the comedic interaction between Loftus and D'Arcy. But it lost a little due to the stiffness, especially in the actors' arms.
Charles P. Stites as the haunted Jim Tyrone, Jr. had a slow start, but really clicked in to his role. By the third act, Loftus and Stites carried the show. Yes, it was the third act that ultimately made the show for me. The chemistry between the two actors on stage was brilliant! It was the first time I got truly lost in the play and tears began trickling from my eye. There was a strong connection between these two characters that deepened as the scene played through all the emotional ups and downs of their relationship.
In that scene, we find Josie Hogan scheming revenge on her fractured lover, Jim Tyrone, Jr., only to find out that he was as faithful and in love with her as ever. We learn the dark secret that haunted and kept him drunk and led him to whoring in a powerful drunken revelation of not just his character, but of humankind, trying to escape its own past.
Our dramaturg professor explained that during the last few years when Eugene O'Neill was still able to write (he suffered from something like Parkinson's), he spent weeks crying as he wrote about his brother who was similarly wracked with guilt. Stites did a wonderful job fighting that internal demon trying to decide whether to tell the woman he loved. Loftus, in turn, responded appropriately to each of his revelations. Propelled by Josie Hogan's own demons, she ultimately gives way to love and compassion. There was noticeably more depth in Josie's relationship with her lover, where each nuance and subtelty was fully played out, than in Josie's relationship with her father, which seemed more shallow.
Yes, Act 3 sold me on this show. The final act was done well. I was worried when D'Arcy came back on stage, but it was short and necessary to unveil the end of a beautiful storyline. Overall, well done!
The only other complaint I had was the music. One of the quotes in the program from Eugene O'Neill [and one of the reasons it was produced by one of our local Celtic organizations] said, "One thing that explains more than anything else about me is the fact that I'm Irish. And, strangely enough, it is something that all the writers who have attempted to explain me and my work have overlooked."
That's a fascinating quote. Consequently, the play tried to incorporate music with very poor results. Anyone who listens to my
Irish & Celtic Music Podcast knows I LOVE
The Tea Merchants. But the first few tunes were loud and overpowering and they didn't fit the mood of this play. The Irish guitar pieces at the end by Jeff Moore were a bit more appropriate, but still seemed a bit too refined for the content of the drama.
What struck me almost immediately about this quote as I watched the play was that the play is based in the early 20th century in Connecticut. I realized that Eugene O'Neill was an
Irish American but that the music was all contemporary Celtic music. In a time when Irish American music was mostly the balladry of "When Irish Eyes Are Smiling", one would expect more Irish parlor music than the rockin' reels of the 21st century.
Happily, I was easily able to look past my criticisms and focus on the magic that Lorella Loftus and Charles P. Stites brought to the stage with this production of Eugene O'Neill's play. And I must say that I find myself inspired to find more plays by O'Neill. Eugene O'Neill was referred to as the American Shakespeare and I now see that's well-spoken. My commendations to the Renaissance Austin Theatre for bringing a fine production to the stage.
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posted by Marc Gunn @ Saturday, September 16, 2006
I hate it when music goes the way of the Dodo Bird.
I was watching
The Legend of Zorro when the Pinkertons were mentioned. I couldn't remember much about them, so I went over to Wikipedia and read up on them. I followed several links, including one that went to The Molly Maguires.
One of the first tape someone lent me when we started playing Irish music was about The Molly Maguires... well, mining songs in general. But I just made a copy of a copy and thought the group was called The Molly Maguires until I met a band in TN who owns the copyright for a band named The Molly Maguires.
*breath*
So that page listed a group called The Irish Balladeers who wrote a song called "The Sons of Molly". So I searched there and found that Chuck Rogers from PA was the author of the song and a member of the group The Irish Balladeers.
So finally, I found that The Irish Balladeers were the authors and performers of this much loved album of mine. But the sucky thing is... the album is no longer in production! That bites hard. Cuz it was an awesome album. I haven't, yet, learned their songs, but there's a few I would love to learn if I could understand the lyrics.
I wonder if I can get ahold of someone from the band?
Hmm. Ah well, Kathleen Rogers is apparently the daughter of Chuck Rogers. She is now the owner of The Banshee, a pub in Scanton, PA.
Some
Liam Clancy's website, I found that the album was released in 1968 on the Avoca label.
The band members were mostly brothers: Chuck Rogers, Bob Rogers, John Rogers, and their brother-in-law, Ted Andrews.
The recording also featured their father, Charles, Sr. on accordion and Eddie Lennihan. Avoca Records is no more. I wonder if the band is able to re-release the album independently?
There's more information about the band at
Mudcat.
Fantastic! The email address for Bob Rogers worked.
THE MYSTERY REVEALEDWell, after lots of searching, the disappeared band is not so gone. In fact, The Irish Balladeers have seven albums and are still playing weekly at
The Banshee. It looks like they are still selling their albums at the pub. I even found an MP3 of theirs that I downloaded a long time ago from MP3.com. So now I just need to see about purchasing their CDs.
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posted by Marc Gunn @ Tuesday, August 22, 2006
Words by Marc Gunn and Lorella Loftus. This fake advertisement was created for the Renaissance Festival Podcast.NARRATOR: Do you suffer from lumps in your groin? Are your armpits swelling up? You may be have the bubonic plague?
MAN: Betty, I got something under my arm?
WOMAN: Away and boil your hed!
MAN: Boil! Aye it's a boil. It's HUGE!
WOMAN: Don't be stupid.
MAN: I' is. It's got hairs on it and it's all purple.
WOMAN: Ahhhh… Oh Jimmy. I think it's the plague.
NAR: That's right. Jimmy is suffering from the bubonic plague. Luckily, there's a new ointment to soothe away Jimmy's pestilence-PlagueAway Potion is just what Jimmy needs. Made from the finest and freshest organic material, like ground boar snout [pig squeals], saliva of Werewolf, giant's toenail, and revolutionary flakes of leper skin. Now available at your local apothecary.
APOTHECARY: Good morrow, mistress. How may I help you?
WOMAN: Good morrow [whispering] My husband's got… he's got…
APOTHECARY: Ahhh. No need to say anymore. [lowers voice] We just got a new order of PlagueAway. It's a miracle cure.
WOMAN: Oh! Thank you, thank you!
NAR: Betty went home and applied PlagueAway to Jimmy's boils. In just three days, Jimmy felt relief.
JIMMY: O Betty. Come to bed. And bring the PlagueAway.
WOMAN: Aye Jimmy.
NAR: Jimmy lived to the ripe old age of 32. And you can too with PlagueAway, the pestilence potion.
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posted by Marc Gunn @ Sunday, August 20, 2006
Tonight, I went salsa dancing. I haven't been dancing in a long time. It was exhausting, but a heckuva lot of fun. I need to go dancing more regularly when I'm in Austin.
Last week, I started looking up swing dancing. The big thing is I want to do social dancing. I want an opportunity to meet more people. So this was fun. I got to dance with a number of ladies though not nearly as many as I'd like to. That's one thing I like about Ballroom dancing socials over other styles. There are some slower dances so you can catch your breath better. Salsa dancing is non-stop fast dancing.
Though I must say salsa dancing seems a misnomer. Rather, here in Austin, it seems to define Latin dancing in general. There was Mambo, Cha Cha, Samba, Merengue, and Salsa all combined in the music of the evening. I thought there'd be lessons, but there weren't quite. There was an instructor who individually danced with various people wanting "lessons", but they weren't what I expected. I wanted to learn some moves. I'm sooo rusty with dancing. But that's not quite what it was. It was more open social dancing with someone who occasionally instructed.
I figure there are a lot more opportunities for swing dancing in Austin, but really don't know for sure. It's time to review the various opportunities and pursue them.
So here are some of the dance resources in Austin.
Ballroom DancingSwing DancingSalsa DancingLabels: scribbles
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posted by Marc Gunn @ Sunday, August 13, 2006
After my recent blog entry on
busking in Italy, I got a reply from a fellow Renaissance festival entertainer,
Vince Conaway. He had this to say about Italian busking:
I just ran across your July 16 post on Italian busking. I'm going to be busking in Italy next June and July based on trials I made while touring Europe with the Aerial Angels this month. Regulations are really lenient (this from talking to both buskers and cops), with "permit" laws very slackly enforced. The penalty for busking without a permit is..."move along", and is generally only used against buskers who are deemed a nuisance. Also, the police do not enforce permits, and the officials who do don't have powers to fine or arrest.
As far as effectiveness, I'd recommend doing some busking at home first. Faires are the obvious beginning. Also, busking in downtown Cincinnati isn't all that different from busking in Florence, and the key skills of getting a crowd and getting them to give are the same. The biggest challenge I faced in Italy was that the audiences I had were really unimpressed by Celtic music, but fortunately they really liked my original material.
I would definitely recommend it, but you might want to give it a trial before going full-on. I'm thrilled that I did the busking while overseas for other reasons (performing at festivals with the Angels) because it gave me the chance to experiment without needing to live off my efforts. I just wish I'd brought more CD's - the ten I did bring went very quickly (I'm looking into alternative packaging to make it easier to bring them overseas next year, and IIRC - I'm going to double check - customs in Rome didn't care about merchandise while the customs officials elsewhere, particularly England, give you the third degree over any hint you might do any sort of work locally). Take a vacation, bring the autoharp, and give it a shot!
-Vince
Thanks a million Vince! That is some great information.
I definitely need to start with just some local busking before I'll be ready to do so in Europe. Need to get my busking chops up. Outside of faires, I've only been busking once in Heidelberg, Germany, quite timidly in college. But I wasn't playing in a scheduled location so was asked to move along.
CD sales are definitely a big plus for buskers. I understand in Italy CDs are legally mandated to sell for 20 or 30 euros (I forget which), basically $30-40. Course the cost of living is high. But that'll definitely allow you to survive quite well in Europe.
Even though most CD's in Italy are pretty expensive (20-30 E), I was selling (and will sell) mine for 10. Selling cheaply to many has treated me well, especially since most of my customers were American tourists who would find 20 euros excessive.
Feel free to post my comments, it's my pleasure. I'm planning my next trip already, and if you find anything really helpful I'd appreciate anything you could forward on. See you in a few months!
Always great information. Thanks Vince! Check him out at
www.VinceConaway.com and on Myspace at
myspace.com/vinceconaway.
Love to hear comments from other buskers too.
I have to say, I'm more anxious than ever after hearing him write. I just need to get out there and start busking. I find myself just very apprehensive about it though, and I'm not sure why.
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posted by Marc Gunn @ Saturday, August 05, 2006
Irish Songs & Lyrics. That's the official title of my Irish song lyrics website. The Irish Songs & Lyrics website began nearly six years ago. Originally, it was the Brobdingnagian Bards' Celtic Lyrics website. The goal was to feature Celtic songs, lyrics, chords, MP3s and sheet music (though sheet music never made it on the site) so people could learn songs the way I did, but ear. Our Celtic Lyrics website was focused on songs that we performed. So later, I decided to expanded the website to include Irish song lyrics that we did not necessarily perform. Thus was born the the Irish Songs & Lyrics website.
When the site first began, there were very few Celtic lyric websites. Probably the best was Cantaria. They had a nice collection of Irish songs popular among the SCA, plus audio clips. But I preferred streaming audio, and there were no chords to the songs. Playing an autoharp, that was something I considered important. So I decided to create our own Celtic lyric directory.
The Brobdingnagian Bards site grew wonderfully and brought many new fans into our fold from people who were searching for Celtic lyrics. The service we provided was important. But as it grew, we got requests for a couple songs we didn't play. Then we started performing more filk that didn't really fit into the Irish song lyric idea.
So in 2004, I started the Irish Songs & Lyrics directory. This site would continue with what the Brobdingnagian Bards' website had started, but I would add more Irish lyrics. Instead of fully produced music from the Brobdingnagian Bards, I decided I'd just record some solo songs, live, raw recordings so that people could hear what the songs sounded like. Thus was born the current incarnation.
The downside to the Irish Songs & Lyrics website is that I haven't had much time to really record all the songs I wanted to do. Consequently, the site hasn't grown nearly as fast as I wish it would. I'm almost tempted to add music from others, but I think having songs sound mostly the same is probably better overall.
One of the latest features of the Irish Songs & Lyrics website is that you can now download some MP3s from various websites and listen to them at your leisure thanks to services like iTunes.
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posted by Marc Gunn @ Tuesday, August 01, 2006
So I posted the
Psychics and Precognition entry the other day where I lamented that my darn visions haven't told me the lottery number yet. But today it happened! Here they are: 33-19-7...
Okay, not really. Actually, what I realized was that perhaps the visions were not as useless I thought.
When we first began planning our tour, we were to visit my Grandma's at the beginning of the tour. So I told my Uncle that we were coming up there on the first day. Then Andrew started booking a gig in Oklahoma City. It threw a wrench in the plans. I called and cancelled our visit. My Uncle was highly disappointed. I was too.
I don't remember if it was after I hung up, or when Andrew told me we needed to cancel that part of the trip, but I was extremely upset. I didn't know when I would see my Grandma and Uncle again due to our erratic schedule. But it was during one of those two times that I had my precognitive day dream.
Though the dreams were not bad, I was very distressed by our change. As a result of that dream, I made sure that we reorganized our schedule to stop there on the way back, even though it meant a long 13 hour drive from Kentucky.
All in all, I am very happy I got to see my family.
So perhaps, though I might not have the winning lottery numbers, my precognition was indeed useful. It did actually help me to change my future...
This is the first time I've ever noticed Precognition being functional...
That's really cool!
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posted by Marc Gunn @ Monday, July 17, 2006
I was chatting with a friend about psychics yesterday. She went to a psychic and had some revealing revelation. It got me thinking. When I think of psychics, I think, "What a waste of money and a scam!" Guess I've seen one too many Psychic Network commercials or something. Yet, as I think about me and people I know, I think, perhaps it's not all a scam.
Earlier this week, while visiting my Grandma and Uncle, I had FOUR precognitive visions realized in one day. That's highly unusual for me. Precongition is such an unusual trait as it is. For years, I've "forseen" things happen. They're always seemingly inconsequential things, but they happen.
I remember the moment a few weeks ago when these "visions" appeared. I was planning on when I'd see my family, when one of them came to me. I didn't think too much of it at the time. It's too much like daydreaming, and if you know me, you know my mind wanders a lot. And when the first vision was realized, it was like normal. But by the fourth, "Whoa! Too weird!"
That said, I was thinking that perhaps psychics selling their services aren't a total load of B.S. like I imagine. I mean, I know several people who have different types of psychic, shall we say, "powers". If I'm to go by my psychic training in Dungeons & Dragons, then there are many different types of psychic powers. Precognition being just one. Mind-reading being another.
So when my friend told me that this psychic she visited nailed some things about her life... really far-reaching, and one that pretty much had MY name on it for her. I thought perhaps she was psychic. But what kind of psychic. I would imagine the most-successful psychic does what every skeptic assumes, they tell you what you want to hear. And assuming this psychic could read minds to some degree, she could easily tell my friend what she wanted to hear.
I say this because the comments regarding the "musician far away" just didn't stand up in MY mind. One of my other friends went to a psychic and was told exactly what she was going to do with her soon-to-be fiancee. But it sounds a lot more like a mind reader to me. Not a fortune teller, or someone with precognitive abilities who will be telling you the lottery numbers like I wish my precog would do. No, just a mind-reader who tells you what you're already thinking, or hoping for.
And for that, well, I see that as a rather valuable service. I mean, sometimes it is nice to have a picture painted for you that shows exactly, without any doubt what you already know. Because I, for one, am frequently blinded to the things that are plain as day to others.
But it also serves as a warning. If they are just reading minds, then you run the risk of believing that the vision is outside of you. When, in fact, it is just your own desires.
As for me, I'm quite happy with my simple precognitive visions. Though dang, I wish it would send me next week's lottery numbers!Labels: scribbles
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posted by Marc Gunn @ Sunday, July 16, 2006
I'm having that annual craving to hit the road and go busking. Busking in Italy to be exact. I've never really done much busking outside of Renaissance Festivals. And honestly, I haven't ever really *tried* to effectively busk.
I mean, we have shows and all. But to find a location, lay out a hat or better yet, develop an attention-getting routine and show that will attract people to give you money, I've not really done.
The busking I've done alone or with the Brobdingnagian Bards involves me finding a nice location, laying out a hat and playing the most-placid songs and tunes I know. No good for busking.
I'd need a routine. Loud energizing songs. Or do I need those? Christene Le Doux mentioned playing soft, melody songs. I guess that's an option as well. The trick is to make it stand out and not just disappear which is what I typically aim for. Lack of confidence on my part. But I'm getting better. I'm playing out some solo shows more which helps.
But with Andrew, we've
never been successful busking. We play for vendors at faires and they'll tip us. Sometimes patrons will take notice as well. But usually. Nope. I just haven't figured out the Art of Busking.
Side: I wonder if there's a book called
The Art of Busking? Good title.
Anyway, some of what I read over at Busker Central (see more
busking resources and
more busking links) kinda inspired me to think more about it. The autoharp attracts attention, that's for sure, because of it's strange look... IF they see it, that is. But it's the art of getting them to see it and respond. And then how to get them to tip? That's what I'm not sure of at present...
Why am I even bothering to mention all this? Because I was looking into the possibility of moving to Italy. I'm checking all the resources to find out what is necessary. If I was living with family, I think I could make a good living in Italy. I just need to know the laws and such. Especially in regards to musicians. I'm not sure if they're considered self-employed which requires one document, or not. I assume so. Makes sense, but then when does Italy make sense? *smirk*
Finding laws for busking is no easy task. It'd almost be easier just to try and book a club gig... I think. Alas, even that's prolly a helluva challenge, especially for a solo Celtic folk singer. But if I could work it out, I could make some very nice money. I think it is time to start planning next summer's gigs, that may be include a few festivals in Italy as well.
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posted by Marc Gunn @ Sunday, July 16, 2006
The Bards Crier Music Marketing & Promotion Ezine was first called
The Bards Crier. The magazine features "free guerrilla music marketing and promotion tips for working musicians." The name changed to
The Bards Crier Music Marketing and Promotion Ezine when I learned a wee bit more about search engine optimization (SEO). I thought it would do better in the search engines with that name. I was sorta wrong.
While on the one hand,
The Bards Crier Music Marketing & Promotion Ezine has done amazingly well in the search engines. It is regularly one of the top 5 for both "music marketing" and "music promotion", its individual articles lost a little bit o'popularity overall. But that's not why I'm writing this article. My goal here is to explain what
The Bards Crier Music Marketing & Promotion Ezine is.
Back in 1997, I started the Texas Musicians Network with my brother. We started putting together a site to help educate and promote Texas musicians. Our limited web design and programming knowledge put limits on our ability to continue too far with that website. However, I started learning a lot about music promotion.
A few years, I started the Brobdingnagian Bards and started sharing some of the simple, yet effective music marketing techniques that I'd learned promoting my band.
The Bards Crier Music Marketing & Promotion Ezine was an instant success. Readers liked my short, simple, and straight-forward writing style. They liked the practical music marketing tips. The magazine sky-rocketed in numbers and became one of the most-popular music marketing and promotion ezines online.
Unfortunately, I ran dry of music marketing tips. Well, not really. Music marketing is a continual process, so it never Really runs dry. But as the Brobdingnagian Bards became more successful, I ran out of time to write articles, especially new and innovative ones. So I stopped... for the most part. Now
The Bards Crier Music Marketing & Promotion Ezine comes out about once a month or so. Several thousand musicians read it passionately. You can find out more about it here:
The Bards Crier Music Marketing and Promotion EzineI do keep thinking about continuing the magazine more than I currrently am. Time constraints prohibit me from doing too much sadly. But keep an eye open every month or so for a new article to challenge the way you market your music.
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posted by Marc Gunn @ Thursday, July 13, 2006
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 HomeTypically, 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 RoadRecording 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.
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.
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posted by Marc Gunn @ Thursday, June 29, 2006
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.
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!
Labels: mp3s, scribbles
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posted by Marc Gunn @ Wednesday, June 21, 2006
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
- Pez
- Got No Brains...Singing
- Peach Cobbler Pie
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posted by Marc Gunn @ Wednesday, June 21, 2006
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:- Parliamo Troppo
- The Lolly Song
- Reflexology
- Lounging in La La Land
- Bella's Highland Jig
- Dying Flame
- A Walk Through the Land of Empty
- Something More
- Irish Ballad
- Monster in My Mirror
- 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.
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posted by Marc Gunn @ Wednesday, June 21, 2006
Would you like Live Celtic music in your home?
Think you can get 15 people to pay a few bucksto 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- Contact your family and friends in your area. Tell them you are hosting a house concert for the Brobdingnagian Bards.
- We'll contact a few of our fans in your area.
- Ask them to donate money for the ticket price.
- Post some flyers around town and get the word out.
- 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!
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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.
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posted by Marc Gunn @ Friday, June 16, 2006
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 - Rhapsody In Ritalin
- Fresh
- Numb
- Razed
- Nervous
- Worth A Billion
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posted by Marc Gunn @ Saturday, June 10, 2006
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:
JanuaryFurther ConfusionSan Jose, CA
FebruaryMurrrdi GrasSt. Louis, MO
AprilGenConParis, France
MayRocket City FurMeetHuntsville, AL
MarConColumbus, OH
CalifurCosta Mesa, CA
JuneDucKonWheaton, IL
AnthroConPittsburgh, PA
C-ACEOttawa, Ontario, Canada
A-KonDallas, TX
JulyComic ConSan Diego, CA
AugustEurofurenceNuremberg, GA
GenConIndianapolis, IN
SeptemberDragonConAtlanta, GA
FeralAlgonquin Park, Ontario, Canada
Mephit FurMeetMemphis, TN
OctoberOklaconRoman Nose State Park, OK
NovemberMidwest FurFestSchaumburg, IL
GenConAnahiem, CA
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posted by Marc Gunn @ Friday, June 09, 2006
I've been hearing about the 11th Star Trek movie. It's still not yet in production, but they are planning it. The movie executives are all sitting around a sterile table on the 30th floor of some building in L.A..
"Alrighty, we've done nothing new with the Star Trek franchise for nearly a year since we killed of Enterprise. The fans are ripe for something new in the series. What kind of scripts do we have?"
"Here's one."
"What's it about?"
"Who cares? Fans don't! I mean, it's STAR TREK!!!!! They're a bunch of geeks. They don't care about how good the story is... do they?"
From a corner. "Um... excuse me, but... um."
"What is it!?"
"Do listen to those podcasts?"
"Pod-what?... Oh yeah, I think there was one of those things led the harrassment about Enterprise. Don't pay attention to that crap! We KNOW our series! So script. Throw me on and let's make the movie!
Star Trek vs Predator. I LOVE IT!"
Nine months later, we get another piece of sh*t from the theatres. If anyone is game for placing a wager, I'd go 10:1 that the script will suck!
Anyone, anyone?
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posted by Marc Gunn @ Friday, April 21, 2006
I can't wait. Just a few more weeks and we start our great adventure.
It's nearly a year since, Andrew and I started playing music full-time as the
Brobdingnagian Bards. I quit my job at the University of Texas because I wanted to be a musician. It took me over ten years to reach my goal, but then something happened I didn't expect.
You see three years earlier, we were at the
Houston Highland Games. There I spent a few moments talking with
EJ Jones and and Jennifer Hamel of the band
Clandestine. They had recently announced that they were breaking up. One of the reasons for it was because they were tired of touring.
EJ told me they would spend two months on the road. It was exhausting. He also said that three was about the longest they could easily handle.
I took their advice to heart. Working with the
state of
Texas, I couldn't do three week or two month tours. Now that I am a full-time
musician, I can. However, the opportunity has never presented itself.
That's all about to change. Come May, we are doing
our first three week tour. I'm excited too. We're driving to
Cassidy's Irish Pub in Corpus Christi to the
Georgia Renaissance Festival. Then we hope to supplement those shows with a couple gigs in Missouri and Nebraska, followed by a grand finale at the amazing
Opus Fantasy Arts Festival in Denver, Colorado.
Grand time for all.
But first, we're heading back to
Long Island for a
Renaissance Festival.
Good times ahead!
-
Marc Gunn, BardLabels: scribbles
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posted by Marc Gunn @ Saturday, April 08, 2006
I just got a phone call from some SEO "expert" regarding my Celtic weddings website. Normally, when someone calls or emails about Celtic weddings sites, I ignore them or flag them as spam. But their intro email was good. I thought it might be worthwhile to give it a shot for a "free article". But the guy sucks. All he did was inspire me to write articles on Celtic weddings that are keyword-rich like I'm doing with this one.
What's the Celtic wedding website?
Originally he called about our main
Celtic weddings website to promote the Brobdingnagian Bards. However, I directed him over to my Celtic weddings website, because it has its own URL and also has more content on Celtic wedding stuff.
The CD's ultimate goal is to sell our CD,
A Celtic Renaissance Wedding which is doing well, but is not high-enough in the search engines. We used to sell a lot more CDs, but when my
Bards Crier Music Marketing and Promotion Ezine website slipped in the search engines so to did my Celtic wedding website. Now we only get a few CD sales a month, which is a shame, because the Celtic CD is one of the best out there for people who Celtic music for their wedding. EVERYONE who's bought one loves our Celtic wedding music CD.
Alright, that's all the jabbering for now about Celtic weddings and Celtic wedding music. Find out more at our
Celtic Weddings - Celtic Wedding Songs & Music.
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posted by Marc Gunn @ Friday, March 24, 2006
A ST PATRICK'S DAY POEM
by Marc Gunn,
http://www.thebards.net/St Patrick's Day music,
St Patrick's Day drink,
St Patrick's Day merriment,
Grand birthday for me.
All are Irish on St Patrick's Day
Shamrock stickers stuck to cheeks
Bluegrass mixed with Irish drinking songs
Makes your heritage feel complete.
People dressed as leprechauns
Drinking green beer
Living the life of the "Irish"
While making some people sneer.
But the Irish unite around the world
Singing songs on St Patrick's Day
Tapping toes and whirling jigs
While the Fae folk hide and play.
Finnegan grabs his mug of beer.
Paddy works hard on the railroad.
Lanigan dances. Biddy Mulligan cheers.
And down in the valley, the bogs explode.
St Patrick's Day culture.
St Patrick's Day birth.
St Patrick's Day poetry and song
Filled with magical St Patrick's Day mirth.
Join the St. Patrick's Day Party!
http://www.stpatricksdayparty.net/HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!!!
and
HAPPY ST. GERTRUDE'S DAY!!!
(she's the patron saint of
cats)
Slainte!
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posted by Marc Gunn @ Tuesday, March 14, 2006
Do you remember the animated TV show,
Dungeons & Dragons? It was a cool TV show from the 80s and I'm watching some old episodes.
Right now, Venger is busy trying to get ahold of some DragonsBane so he can defeat Tiamat. The show before, he was after some amulet. Before that, he was trying to generally take over the world in a million different ways.
Not to say I'm a meglomaniac or anything, but it occurred to me.
Venger sure does get involved in a LOT of different things... just like I do. He's busy trying to conquer a world. Me I'm just trying conquering a small piece of the Celtic world online--celtic magazines, podcasts, mp3s, websitse...
I MUST be related to him...
That's cool.
But don't worry. I won't try to hurt innocent children or rob people to get my way. I'd rather do it by helping people. It's a lot nicer that way.
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posted by Marc Gunn @ Friday, February 17, 2006
I was born on
St. Patrick's Day, March 17th. So as I've said before, it's kinda ironic that I now play Irish music. In fact, I notice a lot of synchronicity in my life these days. Like the fact that I wrote a CD called
Irish Drinking Songs for Cat Lovers and March 17th is also
St. Gertrude's Day. She was the patron saint of cats.
But that's a side note. I wanted to talk about St Patrick's Day.
We usually have a few gigs on St Patrick's Day. Since I stopped booking, we now only have one or possibly two gigs on St Patick's Day, so it makes me wonder. Unless I want to actively try to book a gig, maybe I should look into having a St. Patrick's Day birthday party.
I've never been one to throw a party for myself. But someone has to do it. I want to play music on my birthday. I think of
Ed Miller who has an annual birthday bash at the
Cactus Cafe. Maybe I should do the same.
I mean, it's not like there won't be plethora of
St Patrick's Day Events in Austin that people can celebrate on this Irish holiday. But for me? A birthday party? Hmm...
I'm seriously considering it, that's for sure.
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posted by Marc Gunn @ Wednesday, February 15, 2006
I was listening to
Joe Vitale's 4th podcast today.
Joe Vitale, known as Mr Fire, is a brilliant marketer. He has an enormous mailing list and makes lots of money from his mastery of what he calls, "hypnotic marketing".
In the podcast, he mentioned how people were flaming him at PodcastAlley, because last month, he posted his first podcast, and it went #1 in 36 hours. Unbelievable? Not for Joe.
However, reading some of the comments raised some interesting points. Except for show #3 where he podcasted some of his audio content and interviews, the podcasts were useless.
One person wrote, "He's a self absorbed, narcissist who drops names, only here to sell his books." To some degree, I think they're right. He does a lot of name dropping. And he talks a lot about himself.
In fact, I remember emailing him once because I was upset with one product he was pimping. It felt like he was taking advantage of the list for profit. Nevertheless, his mailing list is filled with some outstanding marketing tips, so I let some of the
spam like that slide.
But ye know, that is why he is called a
hypnotic marketer. Anyone who's read his work would understand that it is your ability to connect with your audience by telling stories in a very personal manner that you will help you to sell stuff. And these flamers proved the point.
Over a year ago, I created a website for my
Irish Drinking Songs for Cat Lovers CD. Someone posted it on Fark.com. The next few days were filled with hundreds of comments about my CD. 90% of them said that this was the dumbest idea they'd heard of, and I must be drunk. The other 10% wanted the CD and/or to have my cats' babies. That's when I knew that the CD was a great idea!
You see, people respond to the extraordinary. Check out Seth Godin's book,
Purple Cow to find out more about that. It is your ability to be remarkable that polarizes people.
Joe may well be "self-absorbed" and a name-dropper. Yes, he does it to sell more books and make a living for himself. However, he doesn't do it for the flamers. Meaning, they are NOT his target audience. So obviously, they won't "get" his message.
And yes, they are gonna be pissed off when he publishes a podcast with no content, and it rockets it up to #1. Bugged me too, but I voted for him. That doesn't say anything about his content. Rather, it has more to do with Joe Vitale's ability to affect his fans. He is top-notch at inspiring action.
So if you're interested in learning more about marketing, drop by
Joe Vitale's blog and analyze what he writes. When you analytically read his writing you understand why he moves people to make him #1.
Now go sign up for his mailing list. Do the same as you do with the blog. Read it with an analytical mind. Even the spam. Read what writes about some marketer's new book that Joe has never read. But don't buy them.
If and when you find something worthwhile, you can be confident that the content you want is just what you are looking for. Because that's what marketing is truly all about.
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posted by Marc Gunn @ Thursday, February 09, 2006
I own, oh, about seven
autoharps. What can I say, it's an addiction.
Actually, it's not. Rather, I put my autoharps to the test. I don't know of any other
autoharper out there who works their instrumentions as hard.
Don't get me wrong, thinking I'm bragging. It's not that. It's just that I work at
Renaissance festivals. Faires are extremely demanding physically, mentally, and to my autoharps. The ones I play are usually hot and humid. This wrecks havoc on my autoharp strings.
In fact, several years ago I brooke
22 autoharp strings in one weekend!Can you imagine?
I think that was the weekend when we were performing at the
Texas Renaissance Festival. It was in the high-90s with about 70% humidity all weekend. I was sweating like a dog. My
House of Dra Cossak shirt was drenched. It was late afternoon when I broke three strings, two in one song. This was annoying.
Then we were playing
"The Mermaid Song" when a G-string broke. Maybe it was the horror of the joke to follow if I broke another G-string. Or maybe it was Andrew just trying to protect his life. My string snapped and fly straight towards him.
It was like something out of
The Matrix. Playing his recorder, Andrew leaned back almost 90 degrees, the music still pumping. He was still playing.
Fortunately that show ended soon. Twenty-two
autoharp strings in one sitting is no inexpensive deal. The strings cost like $3 each
if you're lucky! We didn't even make sixty bucks in tips that weekend. Good thing we were fairly well paid.
That said,
what kind of autoharps do I own?I own a wide variety. I have a few
autoharp reviews on my
Autoharp Music Tips website. Just check out the site. It'll tell you everything you ever wanted to know about the autoharp... or if it not, it'll tell you were to go to get the info!
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posted by Marc Gunn @ Wednesday, February 08, 2006
Hundreds of years ago in England, many children dressed up as adults on Valentine's Day.They went singing from home to home.
One verse they sang was:
Good morning to you, valentine;
Curl your locks as I do mine---
Two before and three behind.
Good morning to you, valentine.
In Wales wooden love spoons were carved and given as gifts on February 14th. Hearts, keys and keyholes were favorite decorations on the spoons. The decoration meant, "You unlock my heart!"
Some people used to believe that if a woman saw a robin-flying overhead on Valentine's Day, it meant she would marry a sailor. If she saw a sparrow, she would marry a poor man and be very happy. If she saw a goldfinch, she would marry a millionaire. A love seat is a wide chair. It was first made to seat one woman and her wide dress. Later, the love seat or courting seat had two sections, often in an
S-shape. In this way, a couple could sit together but not too closely!
Think of five or six names of boys or girls you might marry, as you twist the stem of an apple, recite the names until the stem comes off. You will marry the person whose name you were saying when the stem fell off. Pick a dandelion that has gone to seed. Take a deep breath and blow the seeds into the wind. Count the seeds that remain on the stem. That is the number of children you will have. If you cut an apple in half and count how many seeds are inside, you will also know how many children you will have.
Valentine's Day Music Links:
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posted by Marc Gunn @ Thursday, February 02, 2006
