The Return of Autoharp Radio!!!

Okay, at lonnnnnng last, I finally got my Autoharp Radio up and running on Live365. I don't have everything uploaded yet, but I added a LOT of music this weekend, starting with a lot of the people who first submitted music to me.

You can now find the station at Autoharp Radio.com . My Autoharp Music Tips page is still active though, and I even updated the recent flood of dead links. Feel free to let me know if there's anything missing.

I'd also like to add some other features like mayhaps some interviews, stations IDs, speciality programs, etc. Right now, it's just sorta basic though (as is the website).

Right now, only 25 folks can listen at a time, and I'm greatly enjoying the music now, so that leaves 24 right now. :)

If you have music you want on the station, check out the webpage.

Hope ye enjoy!

PS. Oh, I might oughta mention that there are only a few bard and solo songs. This is autoharp music by some of the best in the world! You've never heard anything till you hear someone play traditional Irish tune... at speed... on the autoharp.

Bards Out on the Porch

Last week at the Excalibur Fantasy Faire, we were interviewed by Jim Swift on KXAN News 36. Last night (and this morning), they broadcast the program on the news. It should be available online in a days.

Why interview us?

Last year, we released our CD, Memories of Middle Earth. That CD and our performance at Dragon*Con in September got us the attention we needed to be invited to the Into the West LOTR Oscar Party. We leave on Friday and are looking forward to having an awesome vacation before performing for this killer Oscar Party.

This'll be a great event. If you're out on the West Coast, make sure ye get your tickets asap.

If you like our Lord of the Rings music, you might be interested to know that we also have a limited edition Memories of Middle Earth CD set that we sell. It's not entirely done, but it features a signed and numbered copy of the CD in a special container with a bunch of bonus stuff. Check it out when ye get a chance.

Interesting Paradox

Well, I started reviewing some of the music submitted to my Celtic MP3s Music Magazine, and an intriguing thought occurred.

I've contacted a lot of professional bands inviting them to offer Celtic MP3s. I've offered advice and guidance to make them hits, but few take me up on it. Many seem deadgone set against MP3s. Few bands seem to accept them as a brilliant way to promote themselves, and with all the negative publicity the've gotten from the RIAA, I guess I don't blame them. Ye know, they're really missing out.

Actually, Dervish is the only band that's ever been kind enough to offer even reciprocal link. Course that's really no indication, since most folks don't seem to link back, but still.

So any case, the thought that came to me was it seemed that in many case, the better the musicians, the less likely they were to embrace the technology. Conversely, the more likely they were to embrace the technology, the faster they progressed in notoriety. It'd be kinda interesting to see a graph.

Actually, more appropriately, it seems the more traditional the music, they less likely to embrace the technology, but sometimes it seems the other way around.

I'd be very interested in to see how well Natalie MacMaster does. She has a number of free MP3s on Amazon.com. It'd be really cool to see the comparison in growth rates.

I would imagine that if a really popular traditional Celtic band embraced MP3s and promote themselves extensively, they could totally dominate the online market... Nevertheless, I guess, I'm thankful that none have. :) Leaves more room for us independents.

Excalibur Fantasy Faire presents... Songs of the Faire Folk

What smashing evening we had last night at Mother Egan's Irish Pub. I didn't really know what to expect of the evening, but I was absolutely delighted with the result.

About a eighty folks came out mostly in garb to kick-off the promotional events for Excalibur Fantasy Faire's sixth year. We started off the evening at 7pm and played an almost "best of" set of bard songs which warmed the way for the evening.

Lo and behold, a camera crew came out. I wasn't entirely sure why, but thanks to Hagar, they came out when he emailed them about our trip to Hollywood for the LOTR Oscar Party which I was surprised to realize is NEXT WEEK!

Well, we made do as they got right in our faces videotaping our show, bumping cameras and Andrew making some hilarious wisecracks, then out we went to chat with them about the event as O'Malarkey got setup.

The interview was a lot of fun and exciting. And we're told it will air This Sunday on KXAN News 36 (though there's a possibility it won't air until Tuesday). We'll be video taping the news program, and I'd appreciate it if you would too in case we miss it.

We got back inside with the last couple songs of O'Malarkey. I was a bit disappointed I missed their set, but they really seemed to get the crowd raging. They've a sound a lot like Gaelic Storm. The size of the band grew since I recorded tracks for them last fall. Very cool music.

Then, along came one of my personal favorites, the Bedlam Bards. To some degree, I consider the Bedlam Bards our mentors. We learned a lot from them in our first couple years at Excalibur. They taught us a lot about putting on a good performance, and we learned a few songs from them as well.

Cedric was a bit under the weather from a throat infection, so I wasn't sure what to expect, but they put on a great show as usual. Cedric is such an amazing fiddler and mandolinist. It really kinda boggles my mind cuz he's come such a long way since we started out.

They laid low on the bawdy stuff last night, instead favoring the Celtic faire music that makes their latest album, "Furious Fancies" such an awesome piece of work, which I hear actually even impressed a few of the local traditional Celtic musicians this past year.

Finally, Hands of Fatima danced up on the stage and mesmerized me eyes, for one. It was a great show all around. The main point was to promote the faire, and although there were a few minor problems in the publicity aspect, overall, I think it was a tremendous success. We gave out a lot of flyers to help promote the festival and got folks excited about this year's faire.

But probably, the most amazing thing of all was that it was on a Wednesday night! Just imagine if we held it on a Saturday or Sunday?!?

Well, I'm really hoping that we'll be able to do that. Andrew and I are throwing around the idea of putting on other big events like this in the summer and maybe a couple more times through the year. Let us know what you think of this idea.

And don't forget to head over to Excalibur Fantasy Faire to pick up season passes that are now on sale for the amazingly low price of just $40!

See ye at the faire!

The Be Good Tanyas

Sweet. A friend just introduced me to this band, The Be Good Tanyas. They're a band outta Canada. Great sound. It's very folky with some almost R&B type-impassioned vocals... but not like the crap you'd hear on Disney. This music grooves. Folk instrumentations, gorgeous harmonies. Sweet music!

"Their music has been described as beguiling, haunting, rustic, ambient, hobo-erotica, and goth-folk. They are Frazey Ford, Trish Klein, and Samantha Parton."

Check out The Be Good Tanyas on their website.

Buttercup's Lament climbs the charts of Amazon.com

Several of my songs are climbing the charts on Amazon.com. Most notably, is "Buttercup's Lament."

Interestingly, I wrote that song, sheesh, I guess it was the Winter of 2000. I had just gotten a Tascam 4-track for Christmas. I was visiting family in El Paso, locked up in a room recording music. I didn't have any effects at the time... except a flanger from years and years ago when I played guitar. I used it to fake some reverb.

The original version did really well on MP3.com, but when I decided to remix and master, there were a few things I wanted to fix. So I rerecorded the vocals, but I couldn't get the autoharp to sound as cool, so I recorded to that original autoharp track.

The song was an early attempt of mine to write a traditional folk song song. I was trying to think of a good name. I think about that time, I "Tolkien" was totally rocking so I decided to continue the movie-naming theme, even though the song's story is slightly different from the book and movie of The Princess Bride. But the song was about a woman who lost her love to the ocean, so it seemed fitting. Consequently, the Princess Bride addition has kinda stuck.

Meanderings on the weekend, Celtic MP3s, linking and all that stuff

Fairly nice weekend. Friday, I got to watch Under the Tuscan Sun that a friend had. Saturday, we had a fun show Things Celtic (read about it). And yesterday, I got lounge a wee bit, watch some movies, pack up some CDs for mailing, and head to the session.

Course, I'm still fighting my sinus infection. Don't think it's left yet, but it's not totally zonking me. If only, i could get a decent night's sleep, but my body never seems to want to fall asleep until late, late.

I also had an invite to perform in a play. Kinda throws me askew a wee bit. It'd be fun, for sure, but do I really have the time. Doesn't take place till next year, but it's a big role. Have to be weighing all the consequences since it'd probably affect bardic performances next spring. But sure would make a nice change of scenery. Hmm....

Also been making a lot o'changes to my Celtic MP3s Music Magazine. The big thing I've done is update the homepage and fix all the links that lead to other bands.

Ye know what's frustrating though is the lack of reciprocal links. I was visiting a few websites of bands we know online, and admittedly, it bothers me that some folks don't link to us especially considering how much I try to help them out online. I know, I really shouldn't expect links, and really, I don't, but it's a nice friendly gesture. It makes me feel like I don't mean as much to them as they do to me...

But I keep helping them. But then if I think on the reverse angle, there are bands that I don't care as much for who probably help promote us that I don't think about as much. Maybe I just need to identify them.

Seems a common challenge among bands... try not to get too arrogant. I think many folks, when they achieve any degree of success, forget to help out those around them. Or they focus on helping out more successful bands instead of helping out the less successful. You really need a nice balance.

I try to remember that, but then it's tough for me. I think the folks I've been most successful with I've done, really, just freely and have gotten a great response. Take The Rogues as an example. I love their music, and I'm one of the folks responsible for pushing up the charts on MP3.com. And I got no financial reward for doing so. Consequently, we've a good relationship of helping one another.

That must be the ultimate trick, I guess. Doing it selflessly, but it really is tough.

That's one of the reasons I rearranged the Celtic MP3s website. I added links to all the top folks linking to me. I'm afraid it'll probably hurt my google ranking, but ye know, who cares! It's my ever-so-miniscule way of saying "thanks."

Bards featured in Austin Chronicle's TCB

We just got another wee write-up in the Austin Chronicle's TCB section today.

Bards of the Ring

How's this for a gig? Austin traditional Celtic duo and unabashed Tolkien-lovers the Brobdingnagian Bards have already released the Lord of the Rings-themed album Memories of Middle Earth, and had their song "Tolkien (Lord of the Rings)" downloaded from MP3.com more than a million times. Now they've been tapped to play the official Oscar-night party for New Line Cinema's LOTR fan club Feb. 29. Bards Marc Gunn and Andrew McKee are currently scouting for sponsors for the trip, which will find them entertaining hobbits, Ents, and elves at the famous Hollywood Athletic Club on Sunset Boulevard. With Return of the King the odds-on Best Picture favorite, Gunn says he expects to have plenty of hobbits dancing on tables, but that the Bards will stick to their traditional kilts instead of more Middle-earth-like garb. "I was contemplating putting on elf ears, but I don't know how well they'll go with my goatee," he muses.

A full session confession

Not to long ago, a fellow Celtic musician asked why I don't go to sessions in Austin. Ye see, sessions seem to be a very communal experience for the Celtic community, so in some people's minds, I think people get upset with you if you don't join the fellowship.

Course, there are many reasons, but it doesn't detract from the fact that I love the music.

Then...
When the Brobdingnagian Bards started playing music five years ago, I started going to sessions, because I wanted to learn more about the music we were learning. Now there was at least one person in the community who kinda snubbed me, but for the most part the sessions were a lot of fun. The only problem was that I was playing an autoharp.

Interestingly, many autoharpists play fiddle tunes and whatnot, but as a new autoharpist, I really couldn't. This meant I was left playing chords. Well, quite honestly, strumming chord progressions that are mostly the same gets kinda old after a while. Add to that that I couldn't play some of the progressions, either from lack of understanding of the Irish music progressions or because my fifteen chord autoharp didn't have several prominent traditional chords like the E, Em, and A. That made it very difficult to play anything.

To top it off, Fado's Irish Pub was a very smokey place and at the time, I had a LOT of allergies, and I hated smelling like smoke at the end of the evening. Eventually, I just stopped going.

Now...
Things are a bit different now. The current Irish session is held at B.D. Riley's Irish Pub, which isn't too bad with the smoke stench though it's still there. My allergies aren't as bad thanks to allergy shots. And I'm a much better musician than when I started. But I still don't go much to the sessions.

Well, the reasons have largely changed. These days, I usually forget that I will come away smelling of smoke, since we play smokey pubs too often as it is. But when I do go, I don't even bother bringing my autoharp. I go to listen and enjoy some magical music. So what's new?

Well, nowadays, we spend half our weekends out of town with gigs. This has made me extremely anti-social when I am at home. I barely want to leave my apartment for any reason. My skill is better, but I'm still not that good at playing tunes, especially at the speeds they play. T'would be nice to have a good slow session around, but considering I don't know if I'd make the time to go to that, I'm sure not gonna start it.

My 21-chord autoharp is a wee bit better for sessions. I still don't have a decent sounding E chord, but the others are okay. Still pretty weak-sounding chords for my autoharp, and I have yet to setup an autoharp for playing tunes. That's been on my mind for a couple years, just hasn't been a huge priority. And still the speed of the tunes and my own inadequacies as a musician make it difficult for me to keep up with much more than basic strums and that gets old after a while.

So when I do have time to go, it's pretty just for listening. Yeah, I'd love to be able jump into a session and play those tunes with the best of them. I even started learning the penny whistle to give me a melody instrument to play. (Though I haven't done much since I found out how out of tune it was. Anyone know where to get a decent penny whistle?).

And ashamedly, there's still a LOT about traditional Irish music that I don't know. I think a lot of it is stuff you don't really learn from books, though it'd be nice to have someone step forward and educate the newbies once a month or something. What can I say, I've spent most of my time learning folk songs since my partner plays the melody instrument and hasn't actively sought out tunes. Course, our music is still a lot of fun, but I admit, I sure would love to be able to play some rousing dance tunes.

Something, I'm working on, but it'll be a while yet. For now, you can catch me at this week's session tonight.

Inspired by a Celtic Woman

Last night, I went to a meeting with Sarah Dinan who asked for advice on promoting her band online. Considering I was fighting another sinus infection, it was a bit o'a challenge to get out there. Very tired. But I did and I'm very happy I did.

I don't know how useful I was to her, but I gotta say she's a very inspiring person. She's only been singing professionally for about a year and during that time, her band has moved to the forefront of the Celtic music scene in Austin and for good reason. Not only does the band feature some of the best Celtic musicians in town, like Heather Gilmer and Jeff Moore, but ye also have Sarah's incredible vocals. I'm hoping, at the very least, to feature Sarah in an upcoming edition of the my Celtic MP3s Music Magazine once they finish the album their currently working on.

Any case, after an inspiring discussion, I did decide at least this week, since I'm free, I'm gonna head down to B.D. Riley's Irish Pub downtown on Sixth Street this Sunday to listen to the tune session. It's at 8pm, free and Sundays the parking isn't too bad. If anyone out there'd like to join me, I'd love the company. I don't know the folks that play the sessions, so it'd be nice to hang with folks I know.

Oh, and best o'all, my sinuses aren't doin' too bad today.