Brobdingnagian Bards Tales

Last Brobdingnagian Bards Tour of Ireland Ever!

2008-04-28T16:18:00.000-07:00

I paid final bill for the Brobdingnagian Bards Tour of Ireland to Celtic Ways. Eight days in one of the most-beautiful countries on the planet. Due to the weak American dollar and lower than expected attendance, we are losing money, but it's IRELAND. So I can't complain too much. Tickets are all booked up. We are ready to go!

Because of the low attendance, we came to a tough decision today. This is the last Brobdingnagian Bards Tour of Ireland. That's right bardic vacations are no longer in our foreseeable future. I was hoping to do Scotland and Europe in the future, but I'm forced to admit that it doesn't look the demand is strong enough to do these trips.

That said, we do still have room for about four more people on this final tour. So if you were wanting to join us in Ireland. This is indeed your last chance. Right now, the website says it'll cost you $2600 for the land travel and all meals. However, if you email me [marc at thebards dot net] before Friday, May 2nd, I'll knock off $100. But I need to know ASAP. So contact me soon!

Meantime, I'll be practicing my Irish songs for great music and craic!

Bards on Wandering Geek

2008-04-03T19:58:00.000-07:00

From a wandering geek:

Hi Guys,

I just thought I'd let you know that my music show WGPR #8 is posted with your songs "Exclamations & Happy Birthday Dear Hobbit Friend" in it. You were, of course, given credit and have a link in the show map for the episode. And, of course, I wouldn't be offended by a blog or podcast mention. Thanks for letting me use your music. I look forward to using more in the future.

Here's a link directly to that show if you'd like to check it out.

http://wanderinggeek.podbean.com/2008/03/28/wgpr-episode-8/

All the best, Curt

--
Curt "The Camera Guy" Arndt
The Wandering Geek Podcast
www.WanderingGeek.info

Austin Music Awards 2007-2008 - Celtic Winners

2008-03-13T18:48:00.001-07:00

Here's how we pulled in the latest Austin Music Awards, as well as some of our Celtic friends.

#1 Best Folk Band: Brobdingnagian Bards

#6 Instrumental: Doc Grauzer
#2 None of the Above: Brobdingnagian Bards
#7 Novelty: The Dubliners' Tabby Cats
#4 DJ: Boba Fett
#4 World: The Tea Merchants
#10 World: Bedlam Bards

#4 Misc. Instrument: Andrew McKee, recorder
#5 Strings: Marc Gunn, autoharp

#6 Local Label: Mage Records
#1 Acoustic Venue: Cactus Cafe
#7 Live Music Venue: Elysium
#9 Radio Music Program: Celtic Storm
#5 Record Store: Things Celtic

Link to the Brobdingnagian Bards

2008-03-13T18:29:00.001-07:00

We got a bunch of new banners to the Brobdingnagian Bards thanks to James McDaniel II who runs Dumb Ogre Designs. Really cool and fun T-shirts and such. Post these banners on your website.

Procrastination Pays Off - Ireland Vacation Tour and Beyond

2008-02-08T11:53:00.000-08:00

After a short break from recording my next cat CD, I finally booked my tickets for the Brobdingnagian Bards Vacation Tour of Ireland. And procrastination paid off. The tickets dropped $150 or so. W00t!

The tour is all a go. Right now, we have a nice 15 people booked for the trip. So there is still room if you would like to join us. We are asking for final payment by Feb 23rd. Though the date is a little flexible. So if you want to wait for your tax refund check. Drop me a line and let me know you're thinking of joining the tour.

When the tour ends on the 13th, Andrew and I are gonna do a wee bit of touring. We are looking for gigs. I have a good IN for Germany, but I've never seen England. So that's at the top of my list for places to play.

So if you are in England or can help us book a gig there or want to organize a house concert, email me. Or if you want to help us go to wherever you are, let me know. The big thing is we Will need your help to organize these gigs as we are booking this ourselves.

Bards at Two Rivers Renaissance Faire

2008-01-22T21:25:00.001-08:00

Our first year at this one weekend faire in Southeastern Arizona.

Two Rivers Renaissance Faire was born of a love for all things Renaissance. A time when chivalry was alive and well. When people were realizing art, science and exploration. The Renaissance Faire celebrates the music, food, and fun of the olde world village marketplace. Come experience life in Renaissance Europe. This will be another fun and exciting family event, unlike anything else in Yuma.

Feb 1-3, 2008
Two Rivers Renaissance Faire
West Wetland Park
Yuma, AZ

Limited Edition Bards Comic T-Shirts

2008-01-16T22:53:00.001-08:00

Yup. You can own one. Only a limited number will be printed.
Find out more here.

January 2008 House Concerts and Gigs

2008-01-02T20:19:00.000-08:00

Thu, January 10, 2008
Studio Joe
600 Autumn Drive
Little Rock, AR
Opens at 7:30pm (2-40 min sets)

Thu, January 17, 2008
House Concert at Cameron and Stephanie Rowe
3620 Azalea Dr.
Destin, FL 32541
Opens at 7pm. First set ~ 7:30pm.
Please RSVP. Ph: (850) 650-3002
stephanie @ crcdatatech.com

Fri, January 18, 2008
Haeuser House Concert
47167 Highway 445
Robert, LA
RSVP to ghislainederouen @ hotmail.com
Show at 8pm (2-40 min sets)

Lord of the Rings Music Videos

2007-12-29T04:44:00.000-08:00

Weathertop

Hobbit's Dance

Bards Comic, Book #2 Is Here

2007-12-16T03:45:00.001-08:00

From Nikki:

I would like to announce that the Bards Comic book#2: Let Sleeping Fairy Tales Lie is now available in my Lulu shop here: http://www.lulu.com/content/1476643

She has a lot of art on sale too.

Brobdingnagian Crier - Merry Christmas

2007-12-11T19:17:00.000-08:00

HIGHLIGHTS....
- End of the Season
- Ireland Tour Deadline Extended
- Fraud Update
- Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays
- Join Us in Ireland Where...
- Upcoming Shows: GAFilk
- MP3 Download: Bog Down in Christmas
- Quick links to the Brobdingnagian Bards

=============================
Brobdingnagian Bards Tales
=============================

Greetings Nagians!

Well, the year is coming to a close. We just finished our last show of the year at the Louisiana Renaissance Festival. The last weekend featured amazing, high 70s weather... in December. What gives?! But I'm not complaining. The faire had great attendance all-year long.

Now I am sitting in the New Orelans airport waiting to fly back to Austin. I have only a couple days to get stuff in order before I fly to Germany to visit family. With any luck, I'll have some cold weather. And there's even a small possibilty I'll be playing in a pub in Weisbaden. But we'll see...

SPEAKING OF EUROPE, IRELAND IN PARTICULAR
I had a number of people tell me that they were waiting for their IRS checks to arrive before they could make a decision about joining us in Ireland tour. We still have a few more spots available, so we decided to extend the deadline to January 23rd. So if you're still wanting to join us in Ireland, you have a little bit more time, but the sooner you put in your deposit, the better your chances of joining us! See the details of our Vacation Tour of Ireland here.

Andrew and I were also talking about skipping over to England for a few days after the tour ends on June 13th. We want to do a couple shows and see a little bit of that area too, having never been there. Consequently, we are looking for some venues. If you know of any venues or are willing to help us get booked, please contact us with as much info as you can find about the venues, especially active email addresses. Email me us.

FRAUD UPDATE
We want to thank EVERYONE who helped out financially and also spread the word about the Internet Fraud we encountered in October. I've had half a dozen people contact me and tell me that this information helped them because they ran into the same or a similar fraud. And when the Tartan Terrors were knocked off, we were also able to donate some of our surplus to help them them out as well, and pass it on. I'm happy to say, we are back in the black, and still didn't even unload all those DVDs. But thank you, thank you for your help.

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
The holidays are upon us. I'm really excited to see there are a lot of people who look like they are giving Brobdingnagian Bards CDs for the holidays. "The Holy Grail of Irish Drinking Songs" and our new live CD are really popular this year, and the Christmas EP is nearly sold out at CD Baby. So I need to get more of those there soon. Thank you for sharing our music for the holidays!

It's amazing that we're just two weeks away from Christmas too. I just am Not ready. I haven't done ANY gift shopping. But maybe I'll find some good gifts in Germany. I've barely heard any Christmas music this year either. I did take a moment to listen and laugh at The Limeybirds' Christmas Album. And ye know what got me listening to their CD this year? A fan at the Louisiana Renaissance Festival told me how she learned to say "Brobdingnagian" thanks to their version of "Twelve Days of Christmas". Too Cool!

Oh! I put together the shownotes for a Celtic Christmas show for the Irish & Celtic Music Podcast. I hope to have online in a couple days. Meantime, if you want some more Celtic Christmas music, check out my Celtic Christmas CD store.

Well, I hope your holidays are bright and filled with joy whatever you are doing this holiday season. Slainte!

JOIN US IN IRELAND WHERE...
Well before St. Patrick arrived in Ireland, before St. Patricks Day and before Guiness was invented the Celts celebrated 4 times a year during fire festivals. We visit the fantasy Brigit's Garden in Co. Galway that interprets these fire festivals. Learn how to make your own Brigid's Cross, and we hope to perform on one of the world's largest sundials that's in this garden.

Find out more at http://www.thebards.net/ireland/

UPCOMING SHOWS
Jan 11-13, 2008, GAFilk, Atlanta, GA

Our schedule for next year is filling up nicely. See details on the website...
http://www.thebards.net/shows/

DOWNLOAD MP3s & SHARE WITH YOUR FRIENDS
And here's a fun Christmas MP3 that you will NEVER hear Andrew ever do ever again. It's called "Bog Down in Christmas". He parodied "Rattlin' Bog" when we recorded our Christmas EP. It's mucho fun!

"Bog Down in Christmas" from Christmas in Brobdingnag, Vol. 1
Listen: Download: Buy CD: Buy MP3s:

Happy holidays and Slainte!
-Marc Gunn, Bard

=============================
Quick Links to the Brobdingnagian Bards
=============================

Join the Brobdingnagian Bards in Ireland in June 2008
Demand the Brobdingnagian Bards
Brobdingnagian Bards' CDs, MP3s, and Merchandise
A Brobdingnagian Minute Podcast
Celtic Lyrics
The Nagian Fan Community
Message boards, discussion groups, myspace, podcasts, discount CDs, bootlegs and much more!

Mystic Age Radio Artist of the Month of December

2007-12-02T15:46:00.000-08:00

I just got word that the Brobdingnagian Bards are the Artist of the Month of December on Mystic Age Radio. Many thanks to those folks.

Notes about the Louisiana Renaissance Festival

2007-11-08T10:20:00.001-08:00

Oh! I was just reminded of a couple of corrections I need to point out if you plan to come see us at the Louisiana Renaissance Festival.

If you've checked the faire's schedule, you'll note it differs a bit from the schedule on our website. The times are the same, but the acts are not. Our first two showtimes at 11:45a and 1:00p are listed as "Brobdingnogain". The best Andrew and I could figure out is that this is the Brobdingnagian version of Rogain. Andrew is before (short hair), and I am after (long hair).

However, our last show at 2:45 features "Barbie/etc". I have No Idea where the hell they got that from. I mean I don't wear high heels. And I don't think Andrew cross-dresses (aside from the obvious kilt jokes). But then... he did, after all, talk to the entertainment director. So? Hmm...? No. Even with that he's a bit tall to bother with high heels. Just doesn't make sense. But I digress.

Those times 11:45, 1:00, and 2:45 are indeed OUR showtimes, withOUT high heels or skirts. Just KILTS!

And even then, that schedule is only for the First Half of the Faire. At present, I don't know Where we will be for the second half!?!

So the best I can suggest is patience. We might just be playing in the lanes. If that's the case, my guess is that we'll be by Jamie's cottage most of the day. But wherever we are I will let you know as soon as I know something. Slainte!

Thank You Thank You Thank You!!! - Recovering from an Internet Scam

2007-10-24T12:21:00.000-07:00

Let me start by saying how much I appreciate EVERYONE who's written their sympathies, support and hugs. Wow! Ya'll are amazing! While I wanted to warn other musicians, I never dreamed we would get THIS MUCH support. THANK YOU!

Tons of people got the word out about our distress and these internet scammers in LJs, Myspace, Blogs and websites. The FuMP (The Funny Music Project) took a HUGE stand passing around the word. A HUGE thanks to Tom Smith, Sudden Death and Rob Balder! Ya'll are Amazing!

Ren Radio and Wander Radio put the word out on the netwaves. Rennies and even some music groups showered us with emails and phone calls. And the Nagians went above and beyond the call of duty with hundreds of dollars of donations and pledges, some asking Nothing in Return. Wow! Wow! And Wow!

I haven't done the full calculations today, but I'm fairly certain we are now back in the black. So THANK YOU! THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!

I am so very grateful to everyone who donated their money and energy to spreading the word about this scam. I think we Really Got the word out. I heard four other Celtic groups were contacted with the same offer and narrowly missed out on losing thousands of dollars too. Your efforts have worked. And I'm leaving open http://www.marcgunn.com/fraud/ to hopefully warn others about the dangers of internet scams. Feel free to post your stories and suggestions there as well.

All that said, I don't think we even went through all 30 DVDs that we offered to release. So my thought was to leave the donation button open just a little bit longer, at least until those 30 DVDs are gone, and donate all the surplus to a non-profit.

Do any of you know of any non-profits who help folks scammed like us? if so, please let me know.

Again, thank you a million times over. Your support in this stressful time was overwhelming. Thank you.

Bards Rebuilding from Fraud - You Can Help!

2007-10-23T10:29:00.000-07:00

We are $2500 poorer. I'm ashamed to admit that we were the subject of fraud. You can read about what happened here. We contacted the FBI, but as indie musicians, we can't afford this sort of loss. That money wiped out all the money we earned from the release of our new CD LIVE: Nex Monoceroti, Per Risibus and then some!

To help us recover, we've decided to do a special fund raising deal. If you read our message board, you know how many people would LOVE to see us perform live. That's one of the reasons we released the live CD. But we still don't have an official DVD.

SPECIAL NOTE! All 30 DVDs are now gone.

I want to seriously thank everyone who has donated to help us out and also to everyone who spread the word. We are now back in the black!

Now we are adding up the money and looking for a charity where we will send all surplus donations to help others who've gone through this same problem.

Thank you again. And if you do care to support the Brobdingnagian Bards further, please purchase a CD, t-shirt, or buy our MP3s.

However, we have received video recordings from fans. So we decided to take it to the limit. We are putting together THIRTY Fraud Rebuilding Gift Packs to help us recover some of the money we lost. That's it. There will be only thirty. In it you will receive:

ONE LIVE DVD from the Georgia Renaissance Festival,
ONE Virgins/Dragons T-Shirt of your size and choice (Small to 4X),
ONE Tote bag, and
ONE CD of your choice,
MP3s from our Live Show in Lisdoonvarna, Ireland, and
TEN "Real Men Wear Kilt" stickers, plus
OUR Eternal Gratitude!

The first few people who make a donation can also choose from some MP3.com CDs that are no longer available, including:

Nagians Only, Vol. 1 - some live show recorded in 2000, only 3 more copies left! never to be re-released);
Do Virgins Taste Better - a 4-song EP of songs that were later released on other CDs with an exclusive cover-only 20 of these exist at all... and I have five!;
A Million "Million Ducats" - the original version of this 6-song EP (we hope to release a longer version some day, but who knows when?) was done in 2000. It includes all the versions of "Ducats" that we had recorded in the studio at that time, four of which never made it onto another CD;
Marked By Great Size - our very first CD ever, no longer publicly available for sale; or
Gullible's Travels - our very second CD ever, also no longer publicly available for sale.

You can also pick any CD that we've released or that I've released as solo artist.

A special thanks also to Lunatic Fridge who donated the shirts and totes for this rebuilding.

PS. Please share this warning with your musician friends.

"Monster Mash" Video

2007-10-18T23:28:00.000-07:00

Find the "Monster Mash" lyrics here.

Brobdingnagian Bards in The Devil's Panties

2007-10-16T14:01:00.000-07:00

No. This really isn't some sort of perversion. Last week, we were featured in Jennie Breeden's web comic, The Devil's Panties. But then many of you prolly already know that. I had over fifteen people mention it to me. Sorry it took so long to post.

LIVE: Nex Monoceroti, Per Risibus #1 on CD Baby!

2007-10-13T20:16:00.000-07:00

We did it. Our new CD LIVE: Nex Monceroti, Per Risibus hit #1 on CD Baby today! Woohoo!

Thank you to everyone who purchased a copy of this fun new album. You ROCK!
Thank you! Thank you!

And as an extra special gift, it looks like The Holy Grail of Irish Drinking Songs also climbed into the Top 40 at #30. Way cool!

I hope you all have a brilliant weekend! Ours is extra nice.

Bards LIVE CD Hits #2

2007-10-12T08:48:00.000-07:00

We almost made it! LIVE: Nex Monoceroti, Per Risibus climbed to #2 today! (I thought the charts changed more than once a week... is it twice a week?)

Whatever the case, the CD is now just a pinch away from #1. Just a few more days until the sale ends next Monday. So pick up your copy asap!

The Bards sparkle live
author: Lynn McKinney
If you're a fan of live music, this is the album for you! On this album there's a lovely selection of Bard Banter, with audience participation and comedy improvisation. The guys were really on their highest level of wit when they recorded these songs, and the recording is a feast of humor and pop culture references for the media fan. But there's plenty of music too, in fine Bard Style! I've always maintained that the guys lose a certain something if you don't hear them live, and this is as close as you can get to being at a Live Bards Concert without actually being there.

Bards LIVE CD Still Fighting Its Way to the Top

2007-10-11T12:47:00.001-07:00

The new Brobdingnagian Bards CD LIVE: Nex Monoceroti, Per Risibus is still selling fairly well at CD Baby, though it has begun to slow down a lot. Right now, we are about 30 CDs away from my goal. As I recall CD Baby's Top Now Charts update once a week on Monday. So if we can pull in enough CDs over the weekend, we might chart a little bit higher. But I'm not certain at present if we're gonna have enough to top the charts.

Bards LIVE Is Editor's Pick on CD Baby!

2007-10-08T17:26:00.000-07:00

I know. I know. I'm posting a LOT about the CD, but I just saw that our new CD LIVE: Nex Monoceroti, Per Risibus is the Editor's Pick on CD Baby's Musical Comedy Charts. WOOT! Guess we did something right! :)

Live CD Update

2007-10-08T11:31:00.001-07:00

It's just past mid-day and the new the Brobdingnagian Bards' CD, LIVE: Nex Monoceroti, Per Risibus is selling well. We're about a third of the way from our goal for today. If we sell over 100, maybe 120 CDs, we should hit #1 on CD Baby in the next couple days. It usually takes a few days for the charts to update. So it might not show up tomorrow, but we can hope. We'll see how many we sell today.

A BROBDINGNAGIAN Thanks to everyone who's ordered the CD today. Ya'll rock!

Oh! And when you get the album, please listen and post a review at CD Baby as well. T'anks!

Middlefaire and Order Brobdingnagian Bards LIVE NOW!

2007-10-07T22:02:00.000-07:00

Back home from Middlefaire. My first faire solo. It wasn't too bad. I pulled off the shows well enough. Well, I did on Sunday at least. Saturday, I felt like I was in a daze. It was one of those days, I really wish Andrew was there because he could hopefully cover for 'space out' Marc. But again, the shows seemed to go over fairly well with my audience.

It was nice playing cat songs too. But it was also tough coming up with other original songs. So many people play the same songs at faires that I wanted to play songs that weren't quite as popular. Andrew and I have that with songs like "Exclamations", "Lily the Pink"... and most of the songs Andrew sings. LOL.

I need to find more songs like "Lish Young Buy-A-Broom". I played that a wee bit. I love that song. Such great lyrics. Kinda romantic. Kinda playful. I don't have enough songs like that one. Hmm. Maybe I should write song.

I did improv a song. Those are fun. And this was deteriorated into sick, perverted comedy quite quickly... But it was amusing. The Drunken Damsels listening in there didn't help much. The Pervs. ;) I had fun hanging a wee bit with those lasses. And of course, always with the Bedlam Bards too. The bastards have me listening to their music now. Grrr! :)

Oh and the Damsels have a cool virgin of "Versions"... wait! Flip that statement. Hoping to get those lyrics to post on the website.

But I was saying... Same songs. A friend mentioned the repetition of songs in the Irish music world. Admittedly, I'm HIGHLY guilty of that. But then, I have a devious plan *insert wicked laugh here*, which is to attract new fans to find our other music. And I have been writing a LOT of music recently. Sure, most are instrumental, but not all. And I'm moving in the direction I hope to.

Anyway, enough jabbering. It's late. In fact, it's almost midnight... which means.......

ORDER!
Brobdingnagian Bards
LIVE: Nex Monoceroti, Per Risibus

And help us push that song to #1 on CD Baby!!!!

NEW: "Live: Nex Monoceroti, Per Risibus"

2007-10-03T16:31:00.000-07:00

Well, the Brobdingnagian Bards' New CD, LIVE: Nex Monoceroti, Per Risibus, is here! And we need your help. We want to push this album to #1 on CD Baby. So we would like you help. Please order your copy of our new CD on Monday, October 8th.

As an added bonus, the CD will be on sale all next week.

Yes, you could buy it from me at MiddleFaire, but we want to totally terrorize the charts on CD Baby and send the CD to #1. So please, please, please purchase your copy of this CD on Monday. And help show the internet world that the Brobdingnagian Bards are better than the crap being forced down your ears by corporate radio.

Thanks!
Slainte!
- Marc Gunn

Oh! And if you're signed up to our newsletter, I'll be sending a reminder about his on Sunday evening.

PS. And if you already have the new CD from DragonCon, please post your review of the album on CD Baby. Thanks!

PSS. And please share this post with others!

Live on Destinies

2007-10-03T12:26:00.000-07:00

We were recently featured on Destinies, a radio program out of Stony Brook, NY. They played a live performance of us from I-Con. You can listen to the show online.