Greetings Gunn Runner

St Patrick's Day is re-released and it's back on CD for a limited time. Selcouth moves closer to completion. A little bit of kindness goes a long way. And Get a sticker and access this month's Celtfather Live by joining the Gunn Runners Club on Patreon.

It's all on Celtfather Monthly for February 2021, show #274

0:22  – PODCASTS

The Pub Songs Podcast started with some strong evergreen episodes. The first highlighted the re-release of my St Patrick's Day CD. More about that in a bit. Then there was an interview with Bruno Maia of Tuatha De Danann. I shared my recording of “Johnny Jump” and then shared Tuatha De Danann's Celtic rock version. I love that recording.

I also did a Robert Burns Day episode. That one features Scottish kilt-loving songs. I have an interview with Devo Spice. He's a huge Doctor Who fan who wrote the song “Doctor of Gallifrey”. He shares a little Whovian facts.

I love these interviews. And I want to do more. But I realize that it might be easier if I only plan to do one episode per month. And then the second one is mostly music.

I'm not saying that's how it will be. But the first episode of February is a Top 5 Irish Drinking Songs episode. So stay tuned for that.

Over the past few years, I themed new episodes of the Irish & Celtic Music Podcast.  A couple years ago it was Celtic women. Last years was the love of planet earth and nature.

I feel my themes go on the wayside though. I released a two hour episode at the start of this year where I announced a repeat of the Planet Earth theme. It was sort of a do over year for the podcast since last year's theme was replaced by the pandemic. Then we had an insurrection.

It was then I realized I already established the theme for 2021 a few months ago when I said I was voting for Joe Biden. I voted for kindness back in the White House. And kindness for America.

Well, if there's one thing I can hope and pray for our nation, it's that we can bring kindness back to our country. Less name calling. Less anger. More forgiveness.

Kindness is what you can expect to see more from me through everything I do this year.

I'm keeping that as my mantra as I peruse Facebook. If it's not kind, I try not to share it or like it or whatever. I want to see a return to Kindness.

2:40 – VIDEOS

The new Coffee with The Celtfather is back. As usual, it's a free to watch show. I'm trying to have at least one show with my “hit songs” so newbies might be interested in watching too. So far shows are getting decent attendance. But I'll keep it up.

Of course, if you enjoy the show, tips are always gratefully appreciated.

The next Celtfather Live concert is scheduled for Thursday, February 18. I'm trying to decide how to theme this show. If you have any theme requests, let me know ASAP.

That show is still a ticketed evening event. Tickets are $8. You can get them in my MageRecords.com store. Spend $15 or more in the store, you'll also get access. And of course, if you are a member of the Gunn Runners Club, you will get free access.

I was struck at the end of last month with the question. Is it worth my time and effort to release video singles every week?

I looked at the numbers and realized the answer is no.

It's not the best strategy. Yes. If I record a stellar performance of a song during a Coffee show, then sure, it's probably a great idea to release a single like “Hallelujah” back in November. But I think that's the exception to the rule.

So I'm starting to think about how to edit a solid music video highlighting my music instead. It's a little tougher to do. But oh well…

4:38 – IN THE STUDIO

I finally had a good sit down to look at my recording schedule. What do I have left to do to finish Selcouth?

One of the big things is deciding what instruments I want on a recording.

I finally heard back from Nathan Deese. He's gonna start working on “Breathing”. I think he will be perfect for this song.

“Favor of a Dance” was sent to Vicki Swan & Jonny Dyer. I'm still waiting to hear back from them. But it sounds promising. Though I might've suggested an extra difficult way of recording. The song reminds me of West Side Story with The Jets and The Sharks doing a dance off battle. That's sort of what I want for this song. Again, I might be asking too much.

“Kilty Pleasure” feels like it needs to be a rocked up. Since the beginning, it had a sort of Pogues feel to me. So when Jeff Shaw of The Muckers showed up at my Tucker Brewing Company gig this month, I decided to ask them. I'm patiently waiting to see what they come with.

After chatting with The Muckers, I decided to work next on “Bright Side of Everything”. That has a pop sort of to it. The first band that came to mind was Screeched Inn out of Canada. They are a Celtic rock band. But they have a super friendly sound. I sent the tracks to them. They started working on it immediately. And it's going right in the direction I hoped it would.

Meanwhile, I finished recording and mixing “Battle of Aughrim/Star of Munster”.

I also recorded the autoharp tracks for “Just A Hero”. This is the last song that I NEED on the album. And there are only two more songs that I HOPE to have on the album. If I can nail those vocals, I'll be on the final steps of finishing this. And if I can make it happen, I might get another guest musician for that song.

Finally, St Patrick's Day was officially re-released at the beginning of the month. So far things are looking good. But there are some downsides.

First, I screwed up and accidentally listed one song as Explicit. CD Baby said they can fix that. But it's gonna take a while. Will it be fixed by St Patrick's Day? I don't know.

I also wish I waited to release the album in February.

That's because the album is doing great on Spotify. Spotify is releasing new tracks to the release radar every week, I think. You'll see in the stats. Several songs already have a couple hundred new plays. Including “Purple Flower”. I love that song, but didn't expect it to go anywhere because of the title. So color me impressed.

I'm hoping it'll get some more visibility especially since I don't have any new tracks scheduled for release yet. So here's hoping it kicks butt by March 17.

8:18 – MERCH

Gunn Runners asked that I release a physical copy of St Patrick's Day on CD. You can now buy that in my MageRecords.com store on Bandcamp. That's selling for $20.

Or you can get a 4 CD Celtic Collection for just $40. These offers good from now until March 17, St Patrick's.

I should also point out that St Patrick's Day is a seasonal release. That means, it won't be available again until next year.

If you're subscribe to my mailing list, you get a discount code to save 15%.

I don't remember what inspired it. But I just sat Inara down to do some art. I didn't feel like painting or drawing. I thought I should do the art I enjoy. So I went and grabbed the items I need to make Celtic Heartstrings.

I sat down and thought, “What should I make a butterfly? A dragonfly? Hm. A firefly?”

So I did a quick search to see what a firefly would like like. Of course, I immediately thought of the TV show too and lo and behold, I saw a beautiful picture of the ship and decided to try and make one using my techniques. I finished. And I gotta say, the final pendant is pretty cool looking.

Seems others liked it as well. I'm gonna make a few and then we shall see if this will be come a regular part of my Celtic Heartstring products.

10:00 – CELTIC TRAVEL

The Celtic Invasion of Scotland is officially delayed until next year.

Sign up at CelticInvasion.com if you want to be one of the first on the list.

11:15 – WEBSITES

I updated lyrics for the Irish Song Lyrics website, including:

• “Kilkelly, Ireland“
• “Johnny Jump Up“
• “Rocky Road to Dublin“
• “A Man’s A Man For A' That“
• “Skye Boat Song“
• “A Man Who Wears A Kilt Every Day“
• “Wild Mountain Thyme“

11:50 – SHOWS PLANNED FOR FEBRUARY

THURS: Coffee with The Celtfather, YouTube (Season 8) @ 12:00 PM EST

FEB 12-14: Boskone 58, Boston, MA (online event)
FEB 18: Celtfather Live on YouTube @ 8:00 – 9 PM EDT. Tickets $8.

MAR 11: Celtfather Live on YouTube @ 8:00 – 9 PM EDT. Tickets $8.
MAR 13: Ironshield Brewing in Lawrenceville, GA @  7:00 – 10:00 PM.
MAR 14: Tucker Brewing Company in Tucker, GA @ 3:30-6:30 PM  Pending
MAR 17: The Lost Druid Brewery in Avondale Estates, GA @ 4:30-7:00 PM. Birthday Party!

APR 23-25: Sherwood Forest Faire, Paige, TX
MAY 1-2: Sherwood Forest Faire, Paige, TX

13:41 – STATS

Mailing list subscribers = 1201 is up from 1191
Celtic Music Magazine = 4030 is up from 4027

YouTube Subscribers = 4961 is up from 4907
Facebook Likes = 3752 is down from 3755
Instagram = 1869 is up from 1858
Spotify followers: 1712 is up from 1684
# Number of listens on Spotify: 3929 is down from 7838

Latest Spotify Single Stats:
“Hobbit Hornpipe” released Aug 26: 441 is up from 373
“Tough Times” released Oct 21: 14 is down from 69
“The Hero of Christmas” released on Nov 17: 178 is down from 1454

“Firefly Jingle Bells” on Dec 1: 9 is down from 81
“Grandma Got Devoured by Reavers” on Dec 1: 8  is down from 69
“12 Days of Firefly Christmas” on Dec 1: 5 is down from 93

Latest Spotify Album Stats:
Browncoat Christmas: 200
St Patrick's Day: 1.7K

Most-popular songs on Spotify: The Widow and the Devil (1.5K), Hobbit Hornpipe (441), Doctor of Gallifrey (429), Christmas in the Shire (330), A-Working in the Garden (305), Danny Boy (252), “Slainte Mhaith Christmas” (249), Nancy Whiskey (240), Drunken Sailor (192), A Drop of Nelson's Blood (191), Purple Flower (189), Hero of Canton (188), Rising of the  Moon (185)

Most-popular songs on Amazon Music: “Hero of Canton” (690), “Doctor of Gallifrey” (442), “The Widow and the Devil” (89), “As Long As I'm Flyin'” (70), A Drop of Nelson's Blood (61)

Top albums: As Long As I'm Flyin, Sci Fi Drinking Songs, Going for Brogue, Scottish Songs of Drinking & Rebellion, Don't Go Drinking With Hobbits

Fun Christmas Songs for Kids & Families = 1991 is up from 1927

Last year's playlists from this time last year:
Top Irish & Celtic Music: 556 is up from 547
Sci F'Irish Music: 12 (same)
Nagians Only: 21 (same)
Celtfather Experience: 29 is down 30
Hobbit Drinking Songs: 5 is up from 4
Firefly Drinking Songs: 122 (same)
Christmas Drinking Songs: 39 is up from 36
Joyful Celtic Christmas Music: 109 is up from 89
Irish Drinking Songs for Cat Lovers: 59 (same)
Jedi Drinking Songs: 31 is down from 32

18:16 – PATREON

Patreon Subscribers: 158 is up from 155
Patreon Monthly Income: $1184 is down from $1202

I just posted a Special Offer on Patreon. Everyone who signs up to my Patreon and is a member on February 15 will get access to my next Celtfather Live concert on the 18th. Plus a Marc Gunn sticker.

Oh! And you can now get an annual membership through Patreon. You'll also save 15% off your membership when you sign up that way.

Thanks as always for supporting my music. Streaming music gives you a quick and easy way to sample all of my music. Digital sales keep my business running. Tips and CD sales allow me to tour. Kickstarter funds physical products like CDs, shirts and other merch. And Patreon funds my songwriting!

Join the Gunn Runners Club on Patreon to support my songwriting. You will step behind-the-scenes with new music, bonus podcasts, videos, and live concerts.

20:25 – RANT

There's a meme from the presidential debates. Obama and Biden are sitting together. Obama asks Biden, “Did you take the high ground like I told you?” Biden replies, “I told him to shut up.”

I would like to say that I took the high ground these past four years. I did not either.

Trump will go down in history as the most divisive president ever. No one has polarized America so much as Trump. That's one of his worst legacies. He intentionally pit Americans against Americans. That division has weakened us as a nation. So of course, I am happy that he is no longer the leader of our great country. He dragged us down.

But now that he's gone. I see the high ground again. And I confess, I am ashamed.

I allowed his petulant behavior to drag me down to his level. As it has with so many Americans.

Yes. There will always be division. Especially with competing media sources telling us different extreme ideas.

But I am ashamed that I allowed myself to become angry and nasty. I have no excuse  for that.

One of the many reasons I voted for Biden was to bring kindness back into the White House. Back into our nation. Sure, Biden is far from perfect. But he's kind. Or at least he's kinder than Trump could ever be.

We need a kind president. Because that sets the tone of the nation. Kindness, generosity. Those are the way you build up a community of people.

I  still get Facebook posts of people lambasting the president or his supporters. But I know from talking to some that most are not bad people. Most just support a conservative ideal.

I remember when I talked to conservatives in the run up to 2016. EVERY SINGLE ONE said their #1 issue was to reduce the national debt. It was not about the racist agenda Trump later pushed and used to divide us. Most called themselves fiscally conservative but socially liberal.

These are people who just have a different opinions of the federal government. They believe in the same inalienable rights of our Constitution. The only difference is they don't want the government spending so much money on social services.

That is not my enemy.

I disagree with the role of the federal government. But that's a difference of opinion.

What's more important is that we are kind to one another.

I keep seeing a call for unity. I agree with it. I believe we need to take a step back and be kind to one another. Because it is very likely we are not seeing eye-to-eye because we are all just blinded by anger.

The best way to beat anger and hate is by kindness and forgiveness.

And if there's one thing I learned about forgiveness is that it does have to be unconditional. It also heals. It's magical.

It doesn't mean we forget. It means we recognize our own negative contribution to the situation. We correct it. Then we ask forgiveness for our part, and we heal.

Because never in the history of ever were there two different competing perspectives where one is right and the other is wrong. They both always screwed up.

And that's the only way we can move forward.

Not spouting conspiracy theories. Or blaming someone else for our own failures.

But by recognizing our own fault in the situation. Because that's when we realize things aren't all as bad as they seem.

We are able to see the high ground. Through the lies, through the anger and through the hatred.

On the side is a world of kindness and healing.

Thank you for supporting Sci F'Irish music at Celtfather.com!

#CFMonthly

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