I started writing a blog before I went to Dragon Con. But I really didn't have time to finish it. So I figured I'd share some of the bright happy moments from the convention. And here we are.
DRAGON CON 2023 IN REVIEW
Dragon Con was amazing. I always loved this convention. The past couple of years were even better for me. That's because my wife joins me at the con. She hangs out with friends while I work. Every now and then, I get to spend time with her and friends. It makes the whole show even more fun.
There were some amazing shows all weekend. Thursday, we had a Geeky Sea Shanties sing along. It was a blast! All of the performers were out there. A few of the participants sang some geeky songs too. It was a great way to launch the convention. I can still see the happy smiles that made the event so much fun.
FRIDAY
Friday is the big Firefly day. But I started it on the “What Is Filk?” panel, followed by an open filking with “Filk & Cookies.”
It's nice doing open filking because I can sing songs that I normally don't get to sing. Especially new songs, which I did this time… I'd tell you the song, but I can't remember. LOL. It was a long weekend.
The Firefly Drinking Songs show was WILD! We had the same room that we had in the past. The line wrapped around the building and unfortunately, not everyone could get in. My partner at the event, Mikey Mason, was in top form.
The Firefly Drinking Songs show streamed live on YouTube with the Filk Music track. There were dancing Mal's and Jayne's. The sing along was a blast. I usually watch to see if people leave during the show for whatever reason. I don't know that a single person left this year. It was just amazing.
I feel like we rushed the ending a little bit, but we were all caught up in the euphoria of the moment. It's kind of hard not to. And I don't think anyone else noticed.
SATURDAY
On Saturday, Inara came downtown to watch the parade with us. She was bouncy and happy. It was great. I particularly loved the Cult of the Carpet and then the Sandcrawler at the end of the parade was mind-blowing awesomeness. Plus there Jawas who captured a TARDIS.
Oh! And Carol, one of our Gunn Runners, was out there in the Doctor Who section dressed as Stormageddan.
At one o'clock, the Brobdingnagian Bards had a packed house on the Concourse for a short show we did. We actually started the show early. So it was a surprise 15 minutes into our show when Clyde introduced us. LOL.
We had another fun run with “Love Song to Alcohol” which is the new Brobdingnagian Bards song we wrote. I feel like it's gonna be a crowd favorite in no time!
In the evening was the Dungeons & Dragons Group Sing with the Filk Track. I sang my new “Dragon's Graveyard” song as well as “Those Characters Died”. That one in particular was a blast. AND I finally figured out how to NOT blow my voice during the song. Basically, instead of me shouting “DIED DIED!!” at the top of my lungs with every chorus, I let the audience do it. It was amazing! I might be able to play that song in public again. LOL
Photo by Curtes Mitchell
The Brobdingnagian Bards show that was after the Group Sing had a BIG audience. I feel like it grew from last year. It was so much fun.
We went through many of our most-popular songs. All with that fun bardic twist. Our “Love Song for Alcohol” song went on for quite a while too. Oh! And my Wookie imitation returned for “Jedi Drinking Song” since my hair is so much longer again.
Oh! My wife got me a rum bucket before the show started. Andrew commented about that during the show so she brought one to him. I was a bit shocked and amazed when he proceeded to drink the entire thing while I introduced a song. heh
Again, the show went great. Once again, the Nagians went crazy with the “You have Cddddssss!” or “Musical pinss….” or “USBssss” or anything they could think of to repeat. It was fun!
SUNDAY
By Sunday, I was feeling pretty darn tired. But that didn't stop me from doing my best. I started it off with a panel.
The original idea was “How to Write Drinking Songs”. I meant to spend time thinking about it and guiding people into writing drinking songs. That's sort of what I did. I forgot to prep for the panel. But I had a good idea. The idea turned out to be solid gold.
I shared the things I learned and screwed up over the years as I've been playing and writing drinking songs. I played snippets of some songs. Others I played the whole thing. Each time, I used the songs to share something about how to write a drinking song.
The only thing I can think of now that I forgot to mention was that a great drinking song is frequently something that you can sing a capella. It just helps that the song is THAT catchy. So if you saw the show… now you know.😉
I went back to the table after the panel, and I spent much of the afternoon selling CDs… with a couple of breaks to take a nap down an empty hallway. I was kind of wiped. And Hobbit Drinking Songs was still to come.
The Hobbit Drinking Songs show was earlier than normal. It was at 5:30 PM. They put us in a smaller room as well. It was the same room as Evening at Bree. So there was a big dance floor in front of the stage, which hobbits and elves used.
It looked like a LOT of fun. For folks stuck in the back, it solved some of the sound issues in the room. A bunch of hobbits moved to the front of the room to dance and sing.
The downside for me was that the ballads we did at the end of the show kinda got lost. Don't get me wrong. It was still awesome. But I wish we had more seats and closer to the stage instead of this setup. Ah well… It was still brilliant!
Charles Quinn drew a Brobdingnagian picture of the Brobdingnagian Bards 15+ years ago. I have the picture, but just this weekend I found out who drew it!
MONDAY
I figured by Monday I would be wiped and voiceless. Wiped yes. But I still had a solid voice. That's great because I close out the Digital Media track every year with a live recording of Pub Songs & Stories.
The track labeled the podcast event as Irish Pub Songs. On the one hand, I'm fine with that. That's how I got my start. I love Irish songs. But it's still kind of weird to me because most of the songs I do at con are the Sci F'Irish pub songs more than the traditional.
There were several folks who showed up expecting Irish songs. But I don't think anyone left disappointed. There was great craic and fun sing alongs. It was amazing!
Andrew and I finished up the con hiking over to the Hyatt to say goodbye to fellow filkers and ended up talking about merch with The Faithful Sidekicks. It was super productive.
All in all, a great convention. I'm ready to sleep and go back again next year!
Here's the complete list of Musical Pins that are currently available, while supplies last
NEW MUSICAL PINS AND CD REPRINTS
The big summer news is that I decided to reprint Selcouth. It's one of my newest CDs. If I'm gonna sell CDs at shows. I'd like to focus on the new ones.
There's also a new album cover for the reprinted CD along with a new mix of “Kilty Pleasure”. The cover is the same as the musical pin I released for this album last year.
I also reprinted Don't Go Drinking With Hobbits. The CDs arrived just in time for the Hobbit Drinking Songs show at Dragon Con.
I printed a bunch of new Musical Pins this summer as well. I'll roll them out online in the coming months.
Musical Pins is what I previously called Album Pins. I tried out the new name at Dragon Con this year to see if I prefer that over the name Album Pins. It's taking a bit of an adjustment, but they definitely get more attention than the “Album Pins” name.
The newest one online is the Kilted For Your Pleasure Musical Pin. But there are others, including a brand new Brobdingnagian Bards one. That'll be released next week. I'm super excited to share it!
Mitchell was excited to find an impromptu Irish session that happened almost daily at Dragon Con this year!
UPCOMING SHOWS
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SEP 14: Bandcamp Internet Concert @ 7:30 PM
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Sep 16: Pontoon Brewing Company, Sandy Springs, GA @ 2-5 PM
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SEP 23: Ironshield Brewing, Lawrenceville, GA @ 5:30-8:30 PM
STUFF YOU MIGHT'VE MISSED
WHERE CAN YOU HEAR ME PLAYED?
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The Dr. Demento Show #23-33 – August 19, 2023
Remember, subscribe to my mailing list, save 15% off your first order.
STATS
Mailing list subscribers = 1123 is up 13 since June's 1110
Celtic Music Magazine = 4139 since June's 4165
YouTube Subscribers = 6019 is up 52 since June's 5967
Facebook Likes = 4076 is up from 4054
Instagram = 2042 is up from 2010
Spotify followers: 2324 is up from 2269
# Number of streams on Spotify: 5315 is up from 4997
55 new followers on Spotify. That seems higher than normal.
LATEST SPOTIFY ALBUM STATS
Most-popular songs on Spotify, Last 28 Days:
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The Widow and the Devil (4329)
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Hero of Canton (1921)
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Doctor of Gallifrey (1467)
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Hobbit Hornpipe (1248)
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A-Working in the Garden (790)
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The Old Grey Cat (580)
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Pan-Galactic Gargle Blaster (523)
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Reavers, Malcolm, Reavers ( 353)
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Don't Go Drinking With Hobbits (184)
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I'll Tell My Ma (140)
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Doctor of Gallifrey (1405)
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Hero of Canton (159)
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The Widow and the Devil (137)
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Pan-Galactic Gargle Blaster (58)
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Reavers Malcolm Reavers (47)
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Sci Fi Drinking Songs (1806)
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Don't Go Drinking With Hobbits (345)
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As Long As I'm Flyin' (227)
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Firefly Drinking Songs (160)
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Kilted For Her Pleasure (159)
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Irish & Celtic Music: Best of 2023: 110 is up from 87
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Irish & Celtic Music: Best of 2022: 223 is up from 220
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Sci F'Irish Music: 17 is up 1
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Top Irish & Celtic Music: 721 is up from 707
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Hobbit Drinking Songs: 8
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Firefly Drinking Songs: 150 up 1
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Irish Drinking Songs for Cat Lovers: 104 is up from 96
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Joyful Celtic Christmas Music: 152 is up 1
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Fun Christmas Songs for Kids & Families: 2038 down 10
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Christmas Drinking Songs: 81 is down 1
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Celtic Christmas Women: 42 (Apr 2023)
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Christmas Drive: 42
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Irish & Celtic Christmas Music: 35
PATREON – SUPPORT WHAT YOU LOVE
Because it could go away at any time.
There are so many people who tell me how much my music means to them. But I could not create and share the music I make without the generosity of people just like you.
The modern music business is based on kindness and generosity. Sometimes that's from people buying CDs (Let me hear ye…) or Musical Pins. Sometimes it's from buying a Celtic Heartstring which helps pay for the incredible number of strings I break on my autoharp.
One of the absolute best ways to support my music is through patronage.
I started my Patreon page in 2014. Patreon has allowed me to keep making a mild living because you're paying me a mere $5 per month just to keep doing what I do.
Of course, what I offer is a lot. Every month, I release podcasts. I share new music and videos. I have so many stories from the road. I play a weekly video concert. But mostly it's because you love the music I create.
It is all through your generosity. So thank you for being a Patron of mine.
Patreon Subscribers: 156
SPEAKING OF PATREON
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, pin 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.
Thank you for supporting Sci F'Irish music!
#CFMonthly
