This is Jamie again – and word from Marc and the Celtic Invasion:

“Ciao tutti,

Italy is amazing. This trip has been almost perfection. I say almost
because one person had trouble connecting. And then I made the mistake
of driving in Florence. Dio! I won't do that again. It was horrible.
I'm still shaking in paranoia two days later. lol

Otherwise, I think I want to do this trip EVERY year. Okay, not sure
if I can by our Villa overlooking San Gimignano is stunning and
relaxing. We spent a couple evenings making dinner together, drinking
and enjoying the craic with even a wee bit o'music. Sadly, tomorrow,
we drive to Rome. So no more Toscana. Ah well… Next time.

Salute!”

More next week…and one of the intrepid travelers, Tom Emerson, has been blogging some at the Sunset Connoisseurs Society website – if you're not a member yet, join now and join in the fun – go tohttp://www.marcgunn.net/

“Happy Songs of Death” is Going to be GORGEOUS
Marc won't say enough himself about how great his new work is – so I will. I've been lucky enough to hear some of the tracks and can tell you that especially the new material is just breathtaking.

Marc had the good sense to work again with a great producer and musician, Ari Koinuma, who produced “Irish Drinking Songs: The Cat Lover's Companion” a couple of years ago. Ari just “gets” Marc and his music, adding great instrumentation that enhances Marc's voice and the harp. I love watching creative process, and have been having a blast watching all this coming together. Here's what to expect on a few tracks-

–Foggy Dew(Kearney/O'Neill)- that great chronicle to the Easter uprising of 1916 gets a whole new perspective with Marc in full rebel voice, some just scandalous trills and overall jazz treatment.

–Red, Red and Black-may be my personal favorite – but then I'm an historian and it's about the plague. Simple and fun!

–Waxies Dargle-you might recognize the tune as “The Girl I Left Behind Me” but this version is about the rousing annual outing to Bray by Dublin‘s candlemakers (“waxies”). The pay-off is in the last line – shhh – no spoilers here, and again, Marc's voice makes you want to jump up and run off with the waxies.

If Marc lets me when he gets back, I'll keep up the little notes about “Happy Songs of Death.”And since he's not back next week, I'll have at least one more go.

Look at past posts for the beautiful CD covers by twin art goddesses Ingrid Houwers (www.ImbasCreations.com) and Nikki O'Shea.

Listen to the Song of the Week: “Catnipped Kitty” from Live at the Cactus Cafe: Cat Songs and Celtic Music

CD of the Week:Soulstice by Todd Denman & Aniar – “an unlikely fusion of R&B, gospel, and Irish music that sounds so natural and obvious it makes you wonder where this music has been all this time.” – “Keyboard” review-daughter Katie gave me this one.

Book of the Week:The Passion of Artemisia by Susan Vreeland – Although the novel purports to cover the life of the painter, the painting serves as a touchstone, foreshadowing Artemisia's rape by Agostino Tassi, an assistant in her father's painting studio in Rome; the well-documented (and humiliating) trial that followed; the early days of her hastily arranged marriage; and her eventual triumph as the first woman elected to the Accademia dell' Arte in Florence. Beyond the paintings Artemisia left behind, Vreeland's vision may be as close as we can come to understanding the anger and ambition that kept this talented woman at the doors of the Accademia, demanding entrance, in a time when respectable women rarely left their homes.-Regina Marler

– Review these iMixes: Irish Music Hits, Irish Music Gems, and Irish & Celtic Music Podcast. Marc's started messing with iMixes on iTunes as a promotional tool. He could really use your help. Go post a review. And if you like some of the music, pick up a copy. It's filled with some of the songs and tunes from Marc's extensive catalog of Celtic music.

Marc on Podcasts…

• The Knitter with Critters Podcast played Lord of the Pounce.
  
• Podcast Fun Show played Beer, Beer, Beer.
• livingwestofdingle played Molly Malone… Cats Perspective/Planxty Hewlett.

–– UPCOMING GIGS

Don't forget to make a demand to see Marc perform!

• 5.7 (COVINGTON, LA) St. John's Coffeehouse
• 7.8 (NEW ORLEANS, LA) Neutral Ground Coffeehouse
• 5.13-22 (TUSCANY, ITALY) Celtic Invasion of Italy
• 6.5-6 (ARLINGTON, TX) Texas Scottish Festival
• 5.12 (COVINGTON, LA) St. John's Coffeehouse
• 6.21 (AUSTIN, TX) Fiddler's Hearth
• 6.26 (CEDAR RAPIDS, IA) House Concert – Laura Cummings
• 6.27 (ELMHURST, IL) Benefit Concert for Feral Fixers
• 6.28 (BROOKFIELD, IL) Irish Times Pub
• 8.28 (NEW ORLEANS, LA) Bacchanal Wine Bar
• 11.7-12.13 (ROBERT, LA) Louisiana Renaissance Festival
• 1.16.10 (NEW ORLEANS, LA) Concert with Jed Marum

— Check me out on Sunset Connoisseurs Society, Myspace,SoundClick, Demand a Show on Eventful, Wikipedia, Twitter,Facebook, Livejournal, Sonicbids, and DeviantArt. And if you'd like a CD…

More from Marc and the Invasion next week. In the meantime, run a warm bath, throw in some lavendar, put “Heart's Ease” on and relax!
Love and respect from Jamie

Originally published at Marc Gunn .com. Read. Interact. Breathe. It's easy; it's free.