I had a good weekend. Sunday was our first relaxing day at home in months. The weather was cool. We sat out on the lawn. The girls built houses and played in the water. We talked and inhaled deeply the calm that had finally set in.
Not to say this will be a usual thing. There's still a lot happening in the weeks to come. We still have unopened boxes to unpack. But it was a good start.
Making a living…
There are so many kind and generous people who help me make music. I want to send a thank you to some of these amazing musicians and artists. This is literally just handful of the people I work most with who make their living with their crafts.
If you enjoy my music, you might enjoy them as well. So check 'em out!
Andrew McKee, The Irish Bard is my fellow member of the Brobdingnagian Bards. He performs mostly solo now and has big plans for touring in 2020. He and I host A Brobdingnagian Minute podcast. He’s a smart kind and generous person, and he’s a lifelong friend.
Oh! And Andrew's website is newly updated!
Rie Sheridan Rose is a Steampunk and fantasy author. She gave me lyrics to “Soul of a Harper” in 2002 or 2003. I was inspired to set them to music. We’ve since become a good songwriting team, writing songs inspired by hobbits and Firefly.
One day I got an email Samantha Gillogly. She was a Berkeley College of Music student in Boston who loved Celtic music and cats. I don’t remember what it was that inspired me to hire her for an Anne Rice Vampire Ball in New Orleans, but I took a chance. She was fantastic. She soon became my fiddler in The Shire at ALEP. She records on many of my songs and even compiles sheet music for me.
Samantha is currently living in New York making a living as a violinist and fiddler. She's the artistic director of the anime/pop culture quartet, Spellbound Strings. She plays with social justice, folk rock band Revival. And she's an integral part of the Celtic/Americana group The Winter Court.
It’s hard to believe that I met Randy Wothke nearly 20 years ago. The Bards shared the stage with his band The Rogues at the Texas Renaissance Festival. The quality of their music continues to blow me away (check out the new album). So I was very honored when Randy Wothke join me as 1/2 of Kilted Kings.
Mikey Mason plays geek rock. I would say comedy geek rock, but he is also my co-host for the In the ‘Verse: Song Crafting for the Firefly Universe podcast. There, his amazing, new songs may not be funny, but they rock the Browncoat soul. He also performs with the piratical ren punk group, The Varlots.
Jamie Haeuser led the wine tastings at the Louisiana Renaissance Festival for many years. She brought me on board as the house musician. We are both surprised at how well our voices blended. Eventually we officially brought it to the stage, and then recorded a CD together.
Miranda Nelson is a newcomer to my team. I think she found my music through the Irish & Celtic Music Podcast. She kindly volunteered her services for a couple years, making promotional graphics and even designing some CD covers for me. She also designs her own Celtic t-shirts.
Of course, this is hardly a complete list. I'm sure I'm forgetting a ton of folks (my apologies). There are folks like Nathan Deese and Daniel I Briggs who both recorded on a bunch of albums. But these are a the folks I work with the most. So please take a moment and visit their websites to find out more.
SHOWS THIS WEEKEND…
AND CELTIC HALLOWEEN SHOW!
This weekend, I'm heading back to Birmingham, Alabama for two shows. Friday night, I'll be at Interstellar Ginger Beer & Exploration Co in Alabaster. You haven't lived until you tried Interstellar's ginger beer. This is the first ginger beer I ever actually loved. I had a ginger beer last week here in Atlanta. It was SO disappointing… I can't wait to drink at Interstellar this weekend.
Most Irish pubs don't appreciate what I do. They want traditional Irish music, or Celtic rock. Celtic Geek? Not so much.
Brennan's Irish Pub in 5 Points of Birmingham, Alabama is a bit different. They have monthly traditional Irish music sessions, but the owner and most of the folks who work there are geeks too. I saw several at Dragon Con in September.
You get Irish and Geek music combined with great food and an open, friendly atmosphere. It is my favorite Irish pub. Because my peeps are there. Will you be there this Saturday?
And on Thursday, October 17 at 9 PM Eastern, I am performing my sixth annual Celtic Halloween Music Special. Yes, I have planned Halloween internet concert every October for SIX YEARS. Wow! Time just flies.
You can watch past episodes and listen to past Celtic Halloween episodes on a YouTube playlist.
You don't want to miss this show, so please mark your calendar and sign up to this mailing list on Reverbnation. This is the list for ALL of my gigs. I email you if you're within 200 miles of a city I'm performing in, or I'll email you when I'm doing a monthly internet concert.
Speaking of Dragon Con…
I posted this video on Facebook. It's from Dragon Con TV. You learn what filk is with an interview from Amber Hansford, the track director, and from yours truly.
New Celtic Heartstrings Coming Soon…
For many years, I tried to come up with an idea of what to do with my broken autoharp strings. I tried bracelets and cat toys. But it was the pendants that finally started to change hearts.
I got this photo from Laura wearing her Celtic Heartstring “Dragonfly”. That's one of several designs I create alongside the “Butterfly” and the “Infinity Heart”.
I'm hard at work making new Celtic Heartstrings as you can see below. Keep an eye and ear open for the next wave of necklaces that will go on sale in November.
Laura Stallcup writes: “I'm so excited to be wearing my autoharp/dragonfly necklace today! Any chance I get I'll be sharing the story of who from and where I got it, along with the music that is associated with it. (Please excuse the after-Con weariness in the picture.)”
NEW PODCAST EPISODES
Yesterday, I finished a three-part series on Firefly music as part of the Pub Songs Podcast. If you haven't listened to Browncoat Reunion. Listen now.
This not concludes the series, it also concludes the weekly episodes of the podcast. The next episode is out in two weeks.
Last week, I published a feature on Amazing Celtic Women as part of the Irish & Celtic Music Podcast. The podcast continues to highlight the incredible women who play Celtic music but don't get recognized because they are women. Please help these ladies get the recognition they deserve. Share the episode and find out more about FairPle. That's a non-profit that is addressing the gender imbalance in the Celtic music industry.
Stories from the Road is a podcast that is exclusively available to the patrons in my Gunn Runners Club. A couple times a month, I share my thoughts on various topics. I talk about upcoming or past shows. Frequently, I'm driving to a destination. The episodes are personal, and I think fun. And they are only available when you sign up on Patreon.
What I'm Reading…
“Getting to the Truth” is an awesome blog by Seth Godin. He reminds us that just because we have anecdotal “evidence” of something, that doesn't mean it is actually true. Rather, it is what you *feel* to be true.
Getting Things Done by David Allen is all about increasing your productivity and reducing your stress. My mind has been a mess this year due to all of the moving. This booked helped me to empty my inbox. (Well, I'm almost there. Seven messages to go) My mind feels a little more relaxed for it.
Favorite Podcasts Right Now…
the NewsWorthy is where I catch up on the day's news. It's about 6-10 minutes long. It tries to be actually fair and balanced and uses quotes from all over the political spectrum. And I think it's successful.
Akimbo is a podcast from Seth Godin. He's a marketer who teaches about changing our culture for the better, whatever Your culture may be. The podcast kind of reminds me of philosopher in Athens standing up in the middle of the square to speak about philosophical truths. Each episode packs a punch and makes you think about how you perceive the world and how you can help change it for the better.
FiveThirtyEight Politics is a podcast that looks at political issues through statistics and good polls. It's very insightful and offers a less-biased view of politics as a whole.
The Feed is a podcast put out by Libsyn, the world's largest podcast host. If you are a podcaster, you should listen. You'll be up-to-date with the latest podcast news.
Irish Music Stories is created by traditional Irish musician, Shannon Heaton. You'll hear the stories behind the traditional music of Ireland.
That's what's going on in my world. What about yours?
Oh! One final thing. Check this out. I'm #23 most-popular of all musicians on Reverbnation. This is one of the largest sites for indie musicians. Though there are also artists like The Irish Rovers and Celtic Thunder. This is normal for March. Not so much for October. So… pretty damn cool!
