Discount Web Hosting Review - Lunarpages

For the past few years I've been documenting all of the different discount web hosting services that I use. I used probably ten different ones for all my various websites, and I found a favorite--Lunarpages.

I judge my web hosts by how much they are online, and the services they offer. Lunarpages offers 1000MB and 40GB data transfers while using CPANEL. In the past year, I think I've noticed them down once.

Course, they now offer the cool Fantastico Script Library, and I've had nothing but great customer service. All in all you can't go wrong with Lunarpages. It's a great service.

Hey! If you want some other discount web hosting reviews, check out HOUSTON WEB HOSTING DISCOUNT - Houston Web Hosting Discount Reviews. There I list all my web hosting reviews.

Top 5 Free Music Downloads Websites

If you're looking for free music downloads, I'd start with these five places:

1. Directory of Free Music Downloads
   Rapidly becoming THE guide finding free music downloads online.
2. Free Music Downloads Ezine
   10,000 die-hard subscribers can't be wrong with this killer free music downloads ezine.
3. MP3DownloadHQ
   Unlimited music, mp3s, movies, all 100% save and legal. Very cool!
4. Kazaa's Free Music Downloads
   Kazaa is still one of the best programs for downloading free music.
5. Amazon
   Many people don't realize that Amazon offers a huge number of free music downloads by top artists.

Postal Humor

I love my post office at work. One of the guys there is always fun. You can tell he's trying to keep a sometimes boring job interesting. Not to mention it's a great example of the hypnotic trance some folks get into.

Example:

Post Office Employee: Would you like insurance?

Customer: No.

Post Office Employee: Do you want any stamps?

Customer: No.

Post Office Employee: That's $3.46. Do you need anything else?

Customer: No. (customers pulls a a twenty dollar bill)

Post Office Employee: Do you need any change?

Customer: No... hey wait!

hehe!

Avenue Q - Gut Busting Funny Music!

I've been really bored at work, but there's been a big plus side ot it. I discovered Avenue Q. LOL

My friend Johannes sent me this CD for my birthday months ago. I'm just now getting to it. This musical is bloody hilarious!

If you're not familiar with it, it's like a Sesame Street musical parody for 20-somethings.Though it has much greater appeal methinks. It hits pokes fun at every sorta stereotype. But with songs like "Everyone's a Little Racist" (would make Tom Lehrer proud) and "The Internet Is for Porn," how could it not right?

If you want a good gut-busting laugh and shocked smile, go get the CD. You'll be sorry... I mean HAPPY you did. *snicker*

Oh! You can find more funny mp3s and funny music through those links.

TRF Weekend Warning: Beardless Bard

Look at my picture. This is not the bard you'll be looking for this weekend.

I've decided to conduct a science experiment this weekend. So I shaved off the goatee. It's just me and my smooth face.

So what's the experiment? I'm curious to see the response of people who don't know me with regards to beard or beardless.

We've all heard the stories. People discriminate against people with beards. In the business world, having a beard means your "hiding something." In the busking world, they say, clean cut people do better than scraggily people. Whatever the case, I'm interested in seeing how true this will be at TRF.

I have already noticed a difference though, as I think about it. People who once would rapidly turn their eyes away while walking around campus, we'll maintain the gaze and respond to my smile.

Now, how much of that is just from me paying attention? Or feeling more open? Who knows? Obviously, I'm not a master of the scientific method.

Any case, instead of looking for a bard resembling the one on the cover of Soul of a Harper, look for some more like the beardless bard you saw at Excalibur in the spring. I plan to try it out this weekend, but it'll be back in time for Halloween. Gotta look extra scary after all...

Great Traditional Irish Music with Lunasa

There's definitely one big advantage to working at UT Austin. That was lunch time with Lunasa.

On Wednesday (I think this was the last of the season), the Cactus Cafe hosts love music outside of the Texas Union when the weather is nice. The weather wasn't great today, so instead, I spent my hour long lunch in the Cactus listening to one of the hottest traditional Irish bands around. They're in Austin for three nights sharing their love of pure drop Irish music, beautiful airs and rocking reels, jigs, and you name it.

I've been wanting to see Lunasa for a long time now. I've heard a lot about them, but what really struck my interest was the fact that they don't have a singer. The typical Irish music group formula features some hot instrumental tunes broken up by a female vocalist singing beautiful ballads. It works well for keeping the audience engaged.

I've also seen a number of groups who just have horrible stage presence. While their music may be good, the performance is boring. You'd just assume own the CD and not watch their live show.

That was not the case with Lunasa. The music was spectacular, and Kevin Crawford, the front man, kept us engaged with very short stories and a lots of fun Irish wit. It was a winning combination all around.

Lunasa is playing their final show tonight at the Cactus Cafe at 8pm. You can find details at the Texas Celtic Music Network website.

Creativity meets The Sex and Cash Theory

Another great eBook from ChangeThis.com is called "How to Be Creative." Writer Hugh MacLeod introduces a very inspiring little theory in point #7 called The Sex and Cash Theory.

THE SEX & CASH THEORY: "The creative person basically has two kinds of jobs: One is the sexy, creative kind. Second is the kind that pays the bills. Sometimes the task in hand covers both bases, but not often. This tense duality will always play center stage. It will never be transcended."

I've spent the last twelve years wanting to turn music into my profession. Next summer, I plan to make that a reality at long last this wee theory sheds light on one of my concerns.

Very rare is it the person who can JUST do their art. Typically, it's like they say in the music business. It's called the "music business." That means 50% music and 50% business. I learned that back 1998 when I quit my job with the Texas Department of Health to do music. The trouble was I had NO real plan to make a living with music. I had enough income to keep me afloat for about six months and that was it.

Sure, I was supposedly, "booking bands." I had recorded my first album, Ichabod's Geography. I signed up with NACA (National Association of Campus Activities) to try and get lots of gigs. But I had no know-how. By the end of the year, I was about to join the Air Force to start a new career.

Now in about eight and a half months, I'm gonna quit my day job, but I have a plan. I have a wee bit o'money saved. I have a decent internet income. I'll have two solo albums and hopefully a book, plus, art and photography to sell in smaller degrees. The Bards will have seven CDs for sale. We have a nice-size nationwide following and a lot of regular gigs such that we can fairly easily fill up our schedule throughout the year. It's a pretty good plan. The trick is balancing all the business while still continuing to create art.

Right now, the day job really gets in the way. At the end of the day, I have no energy to really do much promotion. I just want to pass out or veg in front of a DVD.

In eight months, I won't have any excuses. I'll have to put aside that movie to do what needs doing at home and on the road. That's actually a worry.

I fluctuate at how I do work and for the past year or so, I've been a bit burnt out on doing hard core promotion. I haven't written a press release in months. Mayhaps being at home with a long To Do List will help, but you never can tell.

I don't think it'll be a problem. I'm such a workaholic that I'll make stuff to do. Then perhaps I can find that sweet balance between work and play, Sex and Cash. Then at last, I'll have attained one of my long sought dreams.

European International Airports

I was searching the web today for European international airports. I'm getting ready for my trip to Italy and want to find a variety of international airports to which I might fly. The trouble is finding that information. Oddly enough, there are very few websites that list.

So to tell myself out, I compiled the following list. It includes the European city, the airport abbreviation. The order was based on a trip from Austin to Italy. Airports outside of Italy were sorted in order of least expensive to most expensive airfares. Best deals I found for airline travel were at Orbitz.

European City	Airport Abbrv
Milan, Italy	MIL
Venice, Italy	VCE
Rome, Italy	ROM
London, United Kingdom	LON
Paris, France	PAR
Munich, Germany	MUC
Berlin, Germany	BER
Brussels, Belgium	BRU
Amsterdam, The Netherlands	AMS
Frankfurt Germany	FRA
Madrid, Spain	MAD
Vienna, Austria	VIE
Zurich, Switzerland	ZRH

Incidentally, I also found this information.

Best Days to Travel (with regard to lowest cost):
in the U.S.: Saturday and Sunday mornings, Tuesday and Wednesdays
in Europe: Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday

Best time to order tickets: early, early on Wednesday

Great Airline Travel Deals: Smarter Living. They publish a useful email newsletter where I found an amazing deal on a flight to Paris from Austin.

Bard of the Fey, music for Elves, Pixies, Sprites, and other Fey Folk

The weather outside is just delicious. It's cool with a fresh breeze blowing. It was amazing there weren't more folks out at Texas Ren Fest this weekend. The weather was just perfect.

At one point, Andrew and I were visiting Poppyseed Graphics, visiting Lee and friends. We were talking about the weather when I realized my shirt wasn't drenched in sweet, which is pretty much always the case at faire.

Nevertheless, attendance was slow this weekend with only 25K for the weekend. It's normally about 30K. I guess the wee chance of rain and one short downpour scared folks away.

Well, I had a brilliant time. End of last weekend, I found out where the sand art fairies had moved to and so got to spend a little bit o'time playing music for them. That's always a delight. I really feel almost like a Bard of the Fey Folk. Kinda inspired me this weekend to at least think about that other CD I've been planning. It's an CD of music (mostly instrumental) inspired by the Fey I meet. I've already written a few. And I've many more on my mind.

One of my ealiest ones was one inspired by a fairy at TRF, named Ember. Dressed in red, the song is about a love affair between a Ember and her sweetheart, Figwort the Goblin. Course, most are instrumental like the two I recorded for Soul of a Harper.

If you haven't heard them you can listen to "My Titania, Wake You, My Sweet Queen" and "Kyara, Elven Mistress of Whispers" by click the song names (hi fi), or check out the free music downloads at SoundClick.

Free Music Downloads - The Master University List of Free MP3s

My list of free music downloads articles and websites continues to grow. Slowly, but surely, I compile links to those websites. Now there's my latest list:

University MP3 & Free Music Downloads Links
A list of free music downloads websites and articles, plus l links to all of my free music download websites.

University Music Promotion Ideas, Beat the Record Labels at their Own Game

I set up a new website a few days ago called University Music Marketing - Promo Ideas for Students of the Music Business. A lot of it features the music marketing and promotions tips found in my Bards Crier ezine, but it got me thinking...

Independent music faces a difficult challenge.They have to compete with Record Labels. Much of this promotion starts at Universities.

Fortunately, more and more Indie artists realize they can beat the record labels at their own game, by promoting extensively to small niche markets. I meet people all the time who define their musical tastes not by what's on the radio, but by the people they meet and the bands they hear online.

That's refreshing news for me, because Celtic, folk, and filk music are by no means some of the most-popular styles of music out there. I don't think I even knew much about them when I was in college. Sure, I knew of a few indie bands living in the Live Music Capitol of the World, but it is still a challenge.

Any case, here's a quick list of some of the articles on that site:

• Music Marketing Ezines
• Free Music eBooks
• Who Is Buying CDs?
• Online Viral Music Promotion
• CD Sales Chart through the Roof - Sweeten the deal!

I also have a site for Unsigned Bands Promotion - Tips & Tricks that has a few more useful articles, and of course, don't forget the Bards Crier Music Marketing and Promotion Ezine. It's packed full of great, free information.

Busking and Street Performing

I've tried to do some research on busking and street performing, but interestingly enough, not many people seem to write about it. Busking FAQ are not easy to find. Busking laws are even more difficult. I've gone all over the red tape in Austin trying to find out the laws, and they are poorly laid out at best. Then again, maybe that's for the best.

Any case, I compiled a few good articles and resources that are definitely worth reading if you are considering busking or street performing.

Street Performance for Pleasure and Profit
Looking to make a little money while traveling, or just play before a ready audience? Street performing could be your ticket. This article was from Strings Magazine and features some good tips for getting started at busking.

Busker/Street Performer Resources
Features a nice list of links to some busking festivals and websites by some buskers.

Performers.net Forum
There's a Busking Stuff section that seems to cover a lot of the basics and some good discussion on busking. If you have questions, this looks like your best bet.

For the busking and street performers out there, I learned some great tips for musicians wanting to boost their tips. My article, 14 Ways Musicians Can Increase their Tips, includes some useful advice for buskers and musicians in general.

Rain Days at the Texas Renaissance Festival

7am, Saturday morning. I was watching the approaching storm clouds on the weather channel. It looked like the first day of the 2004 Texas Renaissance Festival was gonna be a rainy one. The people Andrew and I were staying with moaned. I was just too excited. Not only do we get to head back to the world's largest Renaissance festival, but it was going to rain too!!!

Yes, the average person sees rain on the radar at TRF and thinks maybe we won't go to the Texas Ren Fest today, or this weekend. But I have a secret for you. If you love Renaissance festivals, go on a rainy day. You won't regret it.

Rainy days are always the best days at Ren Faires IMHO. Yes, they're not as profitable for the faire. The record-breaking numbers that normally show up on the first weekend don't make it out. Those who do have a much better time. Why?

You will have smaller crowds.
You'll hear more music.
You'll see more shows.
You'll visit more shops.
You will be up close and personal, a part of the festivities, not lounging in the background like when the faire is packed.

The Texas Renaissance Festival is enormous. Last year, there were 29,000 people out on the first weekend. Shoot! I still remember the 35K people in our first year. Autoharp? What autoharp? No one could hear me play. I couldn't hear myself play. 29K is not too dissimilar. It's just a bunch of noise. That's no fun!

What's fun... and magical about Renaissance Festivals is when you become a part of the festivities. Many performers try to involve you, but you haven't much hope when there's thirty thousand people. No, the best time is when it's rainy.

Then people gather in shops in cramped corners as musicians play for YOU. You stomp around in the water mud and visit big stage acts who've resigned themselves to putting on a great show despite the weather. You see more people you've longed to see. You get more hugs from friends. It's just a zillion times better on all accounts.

Sure, you need to remember to wear good shoes to keep your feet from getting wet, and an umbrella may not be Renaissance-y, but it's useful. The cold water may touch you, but I think you'll find many more warm hearts that will keep you toasty inside.

Lo and behold, the sun did come out on Saturday at the Texas Renaissance Festival. It was a bit humid and only 17,000 people showed up. When I finally laid down to go to sleep, a pleasant smile came over my face. I fell into a heavy sleep with the sweet dreams of many wonderful friends old and new and the joy that Sunday would be just as magical.