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 […]
Author Archives: Marc Gunn
PLOW MONDAY
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 […]
Dreams of Regular Gigs in Austin
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 […]
Pub Songs #18: Interview With a Pirate, Captain Black Jack Murphy and Pirate Songs
I had the pleasure of interviewing a pirate named Captain Black Jack Murphy as we started working on a CD together with Murphy on vocals and me on autoharp. Songs: “Bonnie Ship the Diamond” by Captain Black Jack Murphy from An Interview With A Pirate “The Mermaid” by Captain Black Jack Murphy from An Interview […]
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
October Sessions
In the Spring of 1998, I quit my job to play music full-time. It was a lofty goal… especially since I had no real plan on how I would make money. I released Ichabod’s Geography and tried booking gigs. It was an epic failure. But I learned a lot. By October, I was almost out […]
A Rabbit for Halloween (Lyrics, Bugs Bunny & Witch Hazel – Broom-Stick Bunny)
by Marc Gunn With Halloween nearing, I started thinking about Bugs & Witch Hazel in “Broom-Stick Bunny”. I sat down with my autoharp and started retelling the story of an ugly witch who is threatend by Bugs Bunny dressed as an uglier witch for Halloween. But when Witch Hazel finds out that Bugs is actually […]
Monkeys Over Mongolia
by Marc Gunn, October 8, 2006 I’ve always liked nonsensical songs. Early in my Brobdingnagian Bards music career, I wanted to write songs using suggestions from the audience. The closest we ever got to that was “If I Had A Million Ducats”. That was not quite what I envisioned. After asking a few people, I […]
Pub Songs #17: Mongolian Monkey Devil of Tam Lin’s Ballad
Back with lots of new gigs with Brobdingnagian Bards. Plus I ponder how to start my own Renaissance Festival. Songs: “Whiskey, You’re the Devil” by Bruno’s Boys from Last Call “Monkeys Over Mongolia” by Marc Gunn from unavailable “Tam Lin” by Nick Hennessey from Of Fire, Wind and Silver Stream Notes: Brobdingnagian Bards – Irish, […]
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Irish & Celtic Music Podcast #25: Feature on Celtic Men
Brought to you by… The Brobdingnagian Bards’ TOUR OF IRELAND. Do you want to go to Ireland? Ever wanted to see the Cliffs of Moher or drink Guinness straight from the source? Next June, you can do just that with Marc Gunn and the Brobdingnagian Bards. Visit http://www.thebards.net/ireland/ for details. Do you download your podcasts […]
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Is There Shame in Failure?
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. […]
