Travel Ireland, Scotland and Beyond with Celtic Invasion Vacations

The new Firefly album As Long As I'm Flyin' is currently in production. I already hit my initial Kickstarter goal too. I still hope I can hit a few stretch goals But for now, I decided to reflect on my recording process and what makes something great. I call that "Perfect Imperfection". This guiding principle has allowed me to release over 20 solo albums in 13 years of recording.

I'll share some of my thoughts about recording the new album and my favorite songs that I play.

• Make a Pledge for the Firefly Album on Kickstarter
• Get a digital-only copy of the album when you support me on Patreon.
• Video: A Pirate's Confession
• New Orleans Travel video
• Find out more about How America Saved Irish Music
• Celtfather Classics USB Drive coming soon

If you enjoy this podcast, please LIKE and SHARE. You can then subscribe at celtfather.com.

I find it intriguing that I know the names of lots famous male composers through the centuries: Turlough O'Carolan, Mozart, Bach. But I can't name even one woman. So I got really excited to talk with Apryl Knight at Sherwood Forest Faire a few weeks back. She had me captivated by her knowledge of women in music through centuries.   But first, I have a big change to share. I started this month with the goal to raise $1200 on Patreon for my next album. Sadly, I've only raised about $100 in the past 18 days. There are lots of reasons for that. But one of the biggest is that I think crowdfunding will work much better on Kickstarter.   And so I'm pleased to announce a new Kickstarter for my Firefly album. Go to marcgunn.com/kickstarter to find out more about it, pledge your support, and get some great rewards.   I have one more Facebook Live scheduled for next Tuesday at 11 am Central. That's all of the live internet shows planned. If you want free internet shows, join me on Patreon. YouTube just started offering free live streaming. So I'm gonna give that a shot next month.   Apryl Knight has been playing music since she was 3 years old. She plays the bowed psaltery and the hurdy gurdy at Renaissance festivals SCA events around the country. She does it solo as well as with her band Tulstin Troubadours.    She started telling me about women in music in history. I decided to sit down and find out more through an interview. She shared some of her favorite medieval women in music, plus thoughts on traveling as a solo female on the road. And her favorite app while traveling as a vegan too.   Right now, she's making a Thing a Week on YouTube. You can also support her on Patreon.

• Music: “Sellenger’s Round” from “Dance The Knight Away"
• Happy Cow app for vegans
• Apryl Knight
• on YouTube
• on Patreon
• Maria Anna Walburga Ignatia Mozart
• Hildegard von Bingen
• Cantigas de Amigo
• Trobairitz

My next album is being funded on Kickstarter. It's an album of Firefly music. You can support the album now.   If you enjoyed this podcast, please share your feedback on iTunes. Then subscribe to my mailing and the podcast at http://celtfather.com. 

I adjust easy to change. Last week, I hit a new milestone which yielded a 4-song EP of Firefly Drinking Songs. But when I sat down to record, far more than four songs came out. In fact, my next album to be release is for the Browncoats.

My ability to change directions easily made me think of the Salmon of Knowledge from Irish mythology. So in this show, I tell the story of that famed salmon Fintan and I talk about the upcoming release.

You can own this album for as little as $1 per month when you join the Gunn Runners Club and become a patron of my music.

If you enjoy this show, subscribe to the podcast and my mailing list at celtfather.com.

Travel is a grand adventure to me. So I love talking with other adventurers. One such person is Carl Asch. He's a musician and juggler named Giacomo the Juggler. He sings with the band Empty Hats. He is also the co-founder with Paolo Garbanzo of Ren Adventurers, a tour company that takes you on small European trips much like my Celtic Invasion Vacations. But today, I wanted to talk to Carl about a bicycle trip he did across Italy.

In this episode we'll explore:

• The origins of Giacomo the Jester
• How juggling, magic, and street performing can take you around the globe
• Double Indemnity and Empty Hats
• How to write a compelling show for Renaissance festivals
• Bicycling from Sicily to Venice following places mentioned in Shakespeare's plays
• Shakespeare's Guide to Italy
• Some of the trips on the Ren Adventures
• Find out more about Carl Asch
• Three more weekends of Sherwood Forest Faire

You support my next CD Irish Adventures on Higgins' Moon when you join the Gunn Runners Club on Patreon.

If you enjoyed this episode, then please post a review on iTunes or your favorite podcatcher. Then head over to my website to subscribe to my mailing list and download free music at celtfather.com.

If you love adventure, then you will find your heart pumping with an interview I did with Vince Conaway. He plays hammered dulcimer, is an incredible busker, and every year, he goes to exotic locations in abroad to play music in the streets and to become a part of the culture of the region. Having had years of Celtic Invasion Vacations where we sort of do the same, his story is dear to my heart.

From Florence to Machu Pichu, Austria to Croatia, plus the Renaissance festivals he does the rest of the year, Vince has been all over. He even can explain what the dulcimer is in those various languages, which is just too cool.

Vince will share his favorite memories and best travel tips. You can find him and his travel blog and photos at vinceconaway.com and he's also on Patreon.

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I'll be at Sherwood Forest Faire this weekend. Once again, I have four shows daily. I'm also launching the fundraiser for my next CD Irish Adventures on Higgins' Moon. You can get a copy of that album when you join the Gunn Runners Club on Patreon.

If you enjoyed this episode, then please post a review on iTunes or your favorite podcatcher. Then head over to my website to subscribe to my mailing list and download free music at celtfather.com.

This year's St. Patrick's Day promotions have been a lot easier and far more worth my time than they have in past years. That doesn't mean I still haven't run into Troubles with both time... and people! But I am finding a bit of freedom with a big success on the charts.

 

What kind of St Patrick's Day music I am I sharing this year?

• St Patrick's Day & Wild Rover Pub Songs #154 
• #299: St Patrick’s Day Celtic Top 20
• #298: 17 for St Patrick’s Day
• #297: San Patricio Fantasy

I also finished my annual article "17 Free Celtic MP3s for St. Patrick's Day". Subscribe to the Celtic Music Magazine to be notified about where you can download that on March 15, 2017.

This week, I will release episode #300 of the Irish & Celtic Music Podcast, featuring 2-Hours of St Patrick's Day Music!

The Irish & Celtic Music Podcast is also featured on the Podcast Homepage on iTunes!!!!

 

The Troubles

Last year, one of my podcast assistants was emailed by a Celtic musician saying he took offense to me using the moniker "The Celtfather". I thought we were friends, even if not close. So I emailed the musician directly and inquired.

Six months later, I got a response. His trouble with me stems from two things. 

1. That I don't know much about "traditional [Irish or Scottish] music".
2. That I make money off of other musicians through the podcast.

Both accounts are true. Last year, when I was writing tunes (instrumental Celtic music) with Kilted Kings, I realized I still don't intuitively know the difference between jigs, reels, polkas and hornpipes. I'm still crap at determining different types of tunes. I am slowly learning. But sort of like my understanding of pronouncing Gaelic, it's not fast.

As for the podcast, this has weighed on me a LOT over the years. However, I have lost money most of the years of the podcast. It really hasn't been until the last 2 years when I got on Patreon that I have truly pulled the podcast into the black.

The Irish & Celtic Music Podcast pulls in between $1100-1600 per month on Patreon. I donate 10% of that money to Celtic Non-Profits. I spend about $450 per month for web hosting, MP3 hosting, mailing list and internet so I can get those files online

In 2013, when last I checked my monthly expenses, I spent another $250 per month on average on tech support, web maintenance, some some light promotion.

Last year, I hired a guy to help share stuff on Facebook. I also spend about $100-200 per month advertising on Facebook.  That's about $300 right there. 

So that means I'm earning between -$100-$400 per month from the podcast. Plus, I advertise my Celtic Invasion Vacations and once and a while my shows.

So while I do hope that one day I might have a good solid part-time income from the podcast, at present I don't. I make money most months.

 

What it boils down is this podcast is for Celtic music fans. It always has been. If I didn't love the music, I should've stopped losing money years ago and focused on my music career. But I love Celtic music. And I love helping Celtic bands. 

Which is why if someone wants to criticize me for doing so, I should just ignore them. If they can't appreciate that, then it's on them.

Thanks for listening to my rant. My apologies for rambling. But as I said, it's weighed on my mind.

Slainte!

 

Final Notes

If you're not yet subscribed to The Celtfather, click here. While you're there, you can join my mailing list to get some free MP3s and sample my music. You can also join the Gunn Runners Club there as well. Do so before March 17, 2017 and I'll send you an autographed copy of Not Every Day Is St. Patrick's Day.

Finally, don't miss my internet concerts.

Bob Lefsetz wrote:"you must march into the future, you cannot live in the past" in a recent post called "Truth". That quote really struck a nerve with me as I think about how I have adjusted to technology over the past 20 years in the music business. Times are changing. And we must change with them.

When I started Brobdingnagian Bards in 1999, there's a fast growing company called MP3.com that was revolutionizing the music industry...against their wishes.

It took me at least a year to jump on the bandwagon. I got there right before it peaked. Then the record labels began suing the company to stop the future from coming.

YouTube started changing the world in 2005. I heard about it. But again, I was slow to get on because I didn't have the video recording technology or skill set. It took me 8-9 years before I finally tried to step into that world.

In 2011, Spotify entered the market. I heard music futurists shout, "streaming music is the next big thing". I didn't mess with it much. But eventually, they were right.

CD sales continue to decline. Digital sales have dropped as much as 1/3. Patronage seems the most viable alternative for musicians to support themselves in the future.

I was a fairly early adopter of Patreon. But I never figured out how to properly leverage the website, even today.

Now, I am starting to plan the release of my next album--Irish Adventures on Higgins' Moon. I decided to fund raise that album through Patreon. I honestly don't know if this is possible. I've been talking about Patreon a LOT over the last 6 months trying to get more of my fans to become patrons for as little as $1.

Not too many have signed up. Is that because they don't see value in supporting artists? Do they not understand this is the only way musicians will be able to make art in the future? Or do they just need further convincing and education on the topic?

I don't know. But we must continue to march toward the future, not live in the past. That's one of my many goals.

You can support my art. Make a pledge on Patreon. If you want to find out more about my music and subscribe to this podcast, go to www.celtfather.com.

One of the most-famous Irish songs is called "Whiskey in the Jar". It's about a highwayman who is betrayed by his lover. It's been covered by everyone from The Dubliners to Celtic Thunder, The Pogues to Metallica, Brobdingnagian Bards to me.

I first recorded it with the Brobdingnagian Bards on our album A Faire to Remember. But this version was released on my latest Irish album Not Every Day Is St. Patrick's Day. The album features 20 song that perfect for St. Patrick's Day or any day of the year.

You can own this song and the album it's on for as little as $1. From now until March 17, 2017, you can join the Gunn Runners Club on Patreon. Make a pledge of any amount: $1, $5, $25, $95, $897.23, and I will send you an autographed copy of my St Patrick's Day CD for free.

Plus, you'll also get all over the amazing content that is a regular part of the Gunn Runners Club, including free MP3s, exclusive album downloads, bonus podcasts, and lots more. 

Become a Patreon at marcgunn.net

If you want to subscribe to The Celtfather and also my mailing list. It's free! Head on over to www.celtfather.com.

"Name On My Soul" is the most-romantic love song I have written. It's a great Valentine's Day love song. And I come from the Elvis Presley School of Love Songs. So I know. (Though some may think it's from the Neil Diamond School...)

The song was inspired by my lovely wife, Gwen. We met at a house concert in Virginia. The next day, we met up in Maryland and went for drive. We stopped along the side of the road to walk in the countryside. It was our first adventure.

We've had many more since. We will have many more in the future.

There's nothing like being in love to make you write a song, as well as to share it. I wrote "Name On My Soul" two years ago. It is still one of my favorite songs to play. It also gets a bigger reaction than just about any other song I sing. 

That's why I recorded it on Kilted Kings debut album Name On My Soul. The album is filled with Heroic, Celtic world music. These are the type of songs that make you want to sing and dance. You'll have fun and feel proud to own this album. So please...

Buy Name On My Soul now!

I sincerely believe it will make your life a little better.

Sing. Dance. Smile

With Kilted Kings

Because we wear kilts and you are royalty!

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I am back on Concert Window this Thursday, February 16, 2017 at 8 PM Central. The show is once again free to attend. Just logon at 8 o'clock and enjoy an hour-long show with me singing my heart out. I'll even take some of your requests.

Go to celtfather.com/watch for more details and to get notified about the show.

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If you want to find out more about my music and subscribe to this podcast, go to www.celtfather.com,.

 

As Facebook gets darker and darker with political posts filled with hateful comments, I find myself at a crossroad. How can I make a difference, bringing fun and happiness back into the lives of people who are hurting.

It struck me that this is what I envisioned for my band, Kilted Kings. We call our style Heroic, Celtic World music. The goal is to lift up the downtrodden and make you feel like royalty. I feel like our new CD has done that.

It's called Name On My Soul. It features 10 tracks of inspiring music that make you want to sing and dance. But there's also a message underneath that I just now realized was staring me in the face in the song "Slainte Mhaith".

Buy Name On My Soul CD 

"Slainte Mhaith" is a gaelic phrase meaning "here's to your good health." But it's the lyrics that I feel are so essential to Facebook:

"Many times in my life, I forgot the kindness code
I reaped the sorry seeds that I sowed
But when I gave instead of took
That's when my spirit growed
My charity turned into liquid gold"

We are all caught up in our biases so much that we forget that we are friends and family. We all deserve joy and happiness in our lives. Instead, we share fear and hatred...for our friends... and our family.

I don't discount anyone who is upset by current events. I am too. It makes me depressed thinking about it. But I want more fun and happiness.

For that reason, I plan to continue my Daily Facebook Fun at 10 am every weekday. I hope you will continue to watch and share. Bring a small amount of happiness to your friends.

I also want to ask you for another favor. Share the "Slainte Mhaith" music video. But not just share it. If you agree with what I said above. Share that as well. You want to see more joy and fun on Facebook. So share the kindness code. Share some Celtic Kharma and lets hope it comes back tenfold to all of us!

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You can subscribe to The Celtfather podcast at www.celtfather.com and find my mailing list as well. 

If you want to help me to keep making music, please join the Gunn Runners Club on Patreon. For as little as $1 per month, you'll get several albums, MP3s, podcasts, videos, and more stuff than you can possibly imagine. Plus together, we will bring more happiness and FUN into people's lives. Join our community at patreon.com/marcgunnmusic