My husband Ken and I went to the Georgia Rennaissance Festival on May 5th, and we got to watch Marc’s performance with my son, daughter-in-law and 2 year old granddaughter, who was enchanted but would not let them stay for the whole performance. But we did, and it was delightful as always, even though it was Highland Fling weekend and the bagpipe band interrupted things twice. But that is the lot of the Celtic musician, right?

Anyway, because the weather was supposed to be bad the crowd was quite small, but it was made up almost entirely of friends of Marc’s, which made it very nice and sort of like a family gathering. Marc did “Kilted For Her Pleasure,” “WIld Mountain Thyme,” and several other tunes and then asked for requests so I requested my favorite twisted tune, “Lullaby.” I just can’t get enough of those demons under the bed..

Anyway, we all had fun and here are some photos for you to enjoy!

If you missed the post on Facebook, my boy Tiziano left for Catnipping Green yesterday.  I confess I was hit harder than I imagined by his death.  I brought Tizi and Torre home during a difficult time of my life.  I just  came out of a long-term relationship.  I was living alone and wanted companions.

I heard through the grapevine that a friend from Excalibur Fantasy Faire, Tink, had a couple kittens she was trying to give away.  After visiting her house, I came home with two kittens and no idea what I was getting into.  I grew up with Pekingeses after all, not cats.  My first cat was Jasper (Tabby Kitty Cat-y).  He went with my ex.  I was barely sure what I was doing.

So I brought them home and put them in my bathroom to get them acclimated to their new home.  I put a litter box and some food in there.  The next day I went to work.  When I came home, they were both gone!!!!

This is when I learned just how exceptional Tiziano was.  I searched the house.  Then I noticed that one of the drawers in the bathroom was cracked.  I pulled it open.  Nothing.  I pulled it all the way out.  There were Tizi and Torre, hiding BEHIND the drawer.

Thus was born the legend of the Tizi and the opposable thumb.  He could open any drawer in the house.  Many times, I would come home and tear it apart looking for them, only to see a dresser drawer slightly cracked.  I opened it.  If he wasn’t there, then he had climbed into the next drawer over!

Most people had trouble distinguishing between Tizi and Torre.  But not me.  By touch, he had the softest fur.  I couldn’t stop caressing it yesterday after he passed.

I called Tizi “my pretty boy.”  Torre has a sorta blank look on his face most of the time.  Tizi was just a pretty kitty.  His eyes were almost always bright and cheerful.  He looked forever young and cute.

He was also the smart one.  He realized early that if he mewed it made me giddy happy, and I usually responded to his request for food, to play fetch, or whatever he wanted.  It took months before Torre caught on, and his mreows, bless his heart, are not nearly as cute.

Tizi also licked me.  Okay, this is embarrassing, but I’m sharing anyway.

So one day, I woke up in bed and Tizi was lying next to my chest.  It was SO cute I couldn’t help but just to stay there.  I started petting him.  If you pet him on his back by his tail, he would start to lick the nearest place to me.  This time, it was right by my nipple.  Can you say “ouch!”?  It was cute, adorable and kinda hurt.  So I stopped.  But he liked it so much, I did it again.  Ouch!  And again.  Ouch!

So when I saw The Truth About Cats & Dogs, it really rang home.  ”Okay folks, this is where we talk about limits.  You can love your pets.  Just don’t love your pets.”  If you haven’t seen it, go watch it!

I love Torre too.  But of the two boys, Tizi definitely had a ton more personality.  That’s why half the songs I wrote were inspired by him.  I miss him terribly.

I want to thank you for the outpouring of love and condolences that were sent my way over on facebook.  It really means a lot to me.  Thank you!

Thank you also for sharing your own cat stories.  They help as well.  Again, thank you!

If you want to know more about Tizi, then get two of the songs most about him.  You can download “Tiziano Gunn” on CD Baby for free (for now, at least).  The song “To the Begging He Will Go” is another one about his incredible begging and playfulness.

Of course, the boys both showed up quite extensively throughout the Irish Drinking Songs for Cat Lovers CDs.  No doubt, they will again.  I do want to finish a trilogy of cat music.  So I’m not sure when, but more music will one day come as I am inspired.

If you ever happen to write a cat parody of a Irish or Celtic song, please be sure and share it.  You can post lyrics here or keep an eye on the cat music blog website.

One of the big reasons I chose Kickstarter over pre-orders on my website was for the publicity that they could offer. I’ve had more donations than I could possibly imagine. Now I want to promote my music even more. I want to ask for your help.

1. Post a link to my kickstarter on your favorite social media sites.

2. Email your favorite bands and ask if they would share it and help another indie Celtic musician like them.

3. Post to newsgroups, bulletin boards, and web pages where scottish and Celtic music fans might congregate.

4. Email 2 friends directly and ask them to support the album.

Here’s the pitch.

It will only cost them $1. That’s it. My 2 big goals are reached. Now I just want everyone to hear this cd. So ask them to contribute just one dollar and they too will own a digital copy of the CD.

Thank you do much for all your help. Slainte!
Marc

Thank you for supporting my Kickstarter so far. I hope you will continue to spread the word about this campaign.  Remember, it only takes one buck to own a copy of my Scottish CD. Every Scottish music lover will want a copy of this CD. So get the word out.

Thanks so much!

Go here and make a pledge!

If you are one of my Patron of the Arts, you can download and watch a full HD show (available this evening) over at Song Henge.  It’s free thanks to your generous support of my music. Thanks!

Rocky Road to Dublin

I hope to have more videos coming soon!

OH! I also recorded this song for my CD Not Every Day Is St. Patrick’s Day.  Buy it on Amazon or iTunes.

Some things just don’t click with some people. I still have the worst time coming up with ideas for music videos that tell a story, but are not exactly what the lyrics say.

Take the song “Take On Me” by Ah-Ha. Brilliant song. But even more brilliant was the video with a human sucked into the love story and turmoil of a comic book. I love that video. But the lyrics…? That’s not what they are about… Or at least not until the video and song were forever linked in my mind.

I would love videos to my songs. I’m very proud of the “Won’t You Come With Me” video by Jamie Haeuser and Chuck Davis. I’d love more like that…if I had an idea what to do. I don’t.

So my question to you is, do you have an idea for a music video to accompany one of my songs?

Think outside the box. Post your ideas below and let me know what kind of great ideas you’re creative minds can come up with.

While you’re at it, feel free to create your own music video with my songs and share it on YouTube.

I’ve had numerous people say, “I own everything you’ve released.”  Yet, I don’t think people truly understand How Many Albums I released over the years.  Heck!  I don’t really know that question either.  To solve this problem and to help you decide what you need to add to your collection, I created the Marc Gunn Album Checklist.  With it, you can check off every CD that you currently own and then decide which ones you need next.

Look through the checklist.  See what you’re missing.  Most items can be found in my Celtic Music CD Store.  If you can’t find it there, then LET THE GAMES BEGIN!

I quietly posted a new EP called Cat Songs a couple weeks back.  I did it quietly because you may already own these songs.  All four songs on the EP come from three different CDs.  There are two songs from Kilted For Her Pleasure, one tune from The Bridge, and one song from A Tribute to Love.  It is the last of these albums that I decided to write about it.

A Tribute to Love is no longer available (under my name, at least).  Even if you were able to get a copy of it and are a cat lover, you still may’ve missed the cat song from that CD.  It was called “Tiziano Gunn”.  It is a loving tribute to my boy Tizi.

If you don’t own a copy, check out the EP on iTunes or Amazon.  If you haven’t joined the Cat Drinking Songs fan club, do so here.

Are you able to go next year?

If so, where would you like to go?

Option 1 – Venice

I typically swap back and forth from Ireland and Scotland.  Next year, I would like to do something a wee bit different.  I have family in the Veneto in Italy.  They live about an hour from Venice.  I’ve made many trips to Venice in the past.  Yet, I always wanted to stay the night IN Venezia (Italian name for Venice).

My idea was we would stay two nights in Venice, and then 5 or 6 nights somewhere around Padova or maybe a wee bit closer to the mountains, like in Castelfranco, Bassano del Grappa, or maybe even Vicenza.   The Celts were one of the invading tribes of “barbarians” who passed through Italy.

While, at present, I’m not aware of any big Celtic sites in the area, my trips were never about that.  My Celtic Invasions are not about what you see as much as who you see it with.  Personally, I would LOVE to share some of my favorite places in Italy.  There are markets, mountains, and Venezia.  That’s an adventure in itself!

Option 2 – Return to Ireland

I accept that most of my Gunn Runners are Irish and Scottish.  You may only get one vacation to Europe ever.  You want to see Ireland.  If that’s you, I understand.  Post a comment below, but only if you definitely plan to go, please!

I have two options here.

My normal groups are small 8-15 people in cars, staying in two locations with lots of side trips.  It’s very intimate, personal, and comfortable.  We eat together in our temporary homestead.  We get lots of time to share together.  I also focus on giving you good food, good drink, and good company.  The usual price is about $2395 for a week of travel (not including air fare).  If I do another small group, then my plan is to visit Northern Ireland and the Giant’s Causeway.

However, I’m considering doing something a wee bit different if we return to Ireland next year.  There’s a company called Hammond Tours.  They organize trips for a lot of Celtic bands.  It’s a typical tour group in that you will see a lot more of the famous historical sites.  You’ll get a lot more of the history and legends from a professional.  Groups sizes are usually about 20-50 people.  With that many people, the price is usually a lot less.  I’m not sure offhand, but I’d say under $2000 (maybe as low as $1800 for a week). 

The downside is there are a LOT of people.  You change hotels every night.  Food is about 50/50 good to mediocre.  It can also be a bit tiring.  And of course, the locations we’d visit are more touristy.  You don’t quite get to live the lifestyle of a local, which is what I normally aim for.

Where would you like to go?

There ye have it.  Those are our options.  In fact, if you are more interested in the price, I bet I could find a company to do the same in Italy.  So lets go off to the polls:

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.
Thank you so much for responding to these polls.  If you plan to attend, then feel free to post comments below.

Slainte!

Over the past couple years, I recorded a bunch of songs.  Some are original.  Some are cover songs.  Some are traditional Celtic songs.  Some have yet to be recorded.  These are some of my favorite songs.  I originally billed it as a filk CD, but after reviewing the list, I only saw a few that were actually filks.  These are just some great songs.

If I can raise about $1500 more, then I can release two CDs at the same time.  If you saw my pledge levels, the $40 level will give you BOTH CDs.  You can even sponsor the Executive Producer level and be the EP for both CDs as well.

So what can you expect on the second CD?  Here’s some of the songs:

• Doctor of Gallifrey (Doctor Who song I asked Devo Spice to write for me)
• Come Take a Trip in My Airship (one of my favorite songs right now, it’s the ultimate Steampunk song with a fantastic chorus)
• The Smial or the Tree (lyrics by Nancy Flynn)
• Browncoats Keep Flyin’ (studio version)
• Bring Me Home, Boys (original studio version)
• La La La (Sesame Street song re-written for geeks)
• Sleepytime, Beddy-Bye Time (lullaby I wrote for my wife)
• King of the Road (Roger Miller cover, I love this song)
• O’er the Way (the first folk song I ever wrote that I loved)
• Sail the Sky (a Firefly song I learned from the Bedlam Bards)
• Star of the County Down (awesome song which didn’t make it to the St Pats CD)
• When She Held Me in Her Arms (a love song I wrote years ago)
• Charmed (an alterna-folk love song)

Hmm… Well, looking at that list, perhaps it is mostly filk.  Whatever the case, I LOVE these songs.  There’s no telling what other great songs will end up on it.

Whatever the case, I would love it if you helped me fund this album too.  Thank you for your generosity.  Slainte!