This post is part of the Lyrics Dump Promotion. To read more about the promotion, please see Soap Box – Various and Sundry.
A while ago, I got it in my head to write a song about Cerridwen. I don’t even remember what put the idea there, but I’m glad it came to me. So with this idea in mind, I went about looking up some information on Cerridwen. I didn’t know enough about her at the onset to really write a song, so the research was quite helpful with that.
Cerridwen was believed to possess a cauldron that would inspire any who drank from it. An awenydd is someone who has been so inspired by Cerridwen. This concept actually strikes a deep chord, for obvious reasons, so I latched on to that bit of inspiration and came up with this.
It took me forever to come up with a tune for this song. I was worried for a while there that I wouldn’t be able to and that I’d have to swap in a different song for the Lyrics Dump promo. But I let it percolate for a while and eventually I did get something. I’m actually really pleased with what I did get, and I think I’ve gone and written another earworm. I tend to take it as a good sign when I get my own songs stuck in my head.
So here’s a song for a Welsh Lady Muse.
Awenydd
Lyrics and music by Katt McConnell
Greetings, traveller—been on the road long, have you?
Your feet are grey with dust and your eyes are dim with sleep.
Join me at my campsite. The road is long and dreary,
And I can offer conversation and some tea I’ve set to steep.
You may wonder what I’m doing in the countryside alone,
What brings a woman of my years to travel on her own,
Well, it’s just that I’ve been thinking, and thinking makes me walk,
So sit you by the fireside, come stay a while and talk.
What chance is there that brings two such as we together?
The land is wide and long, and very few now go this way.
But if you look back down your lifeline you’ll find this was meant to be,
That sometimes some things happen in which we never have a say.
The tea is done, I think, and it will soothe away the chill.
Take a sip and watch the stars—they so beautiful out here.
With nothing but the open sky and the evening moon to watch,
Just drink your tea, and soon you’ll see your mind is set and clear.
You’ve been looking for a sign, though you don’t know it,
Asking the gods for direction.
Well, answers are often where you least expect they’ll be,
And this is no exception.
Now I need to tell you what you have likely guessed—
I’m not the simple crone you see, and that heady draught’s not tea.
Lay everything you think you know down at my feet, my child
Now you’ve drunk from out my cauldron—go be what you wish to be.
At the end of the small set I and my friends performed as part of my Capstone project, I took questions from the audience. One of those questions, posed by my friend Brat, was “Would you be willing to make a theme song for my game?” She was referring to her own Capstone project.
My response to her question was a very confident and reassuring, “I will try!”
She contacted me about it again in January. I was both pleased and nervous. I was pleased because it was my first song commission and I really wanted to take the project. But I was nervous because creativity has its own whims and I wasn’t sure I would be able to bend those whims to my will. But I took the project and Brat sent me some details for it.
These details mostly consisted of background on the game she was working on. I needed this information, of course, so that I had something to write about. And even so, it was really interesting writing this song. Usually when I write songs I have a much greater understanding of their background, whether it’s something I’m basing off my own life or off a book, TV show, et cetera. With this game, all I had were Brat’s notes and that was it. I felt a little bit like I was flying blind. Therefore, I resolved to fling some words at a sheet of paper and then see what she thought of them.
The Muses were merciful in this instance and I was able to get the first verse and a tune at the same time. And quickly, to boot. But I found after writing the first verse that I wasn’t able to think of anything else to write and that I needed more background. So I sent what I had to Brat for approval, which I got, and I also sent her a list of questions to try and suss out some other details so that I could finish the song.
And then Brat got sick.
As I’m sure everyone knows, being sick sucks. So It’s no wonder I didn’t hear back from her for a little while.
A month later she sent me the info I needed. I sat down and hammered out a second verse and managed a chorus. I wasn’t one hundred percent sure about the tune, but I sent the entirety of the lyrics off to Brat. She responded with enthusiasm, so I figured the next step was to take the song to my musical partners in crime to get it chorded and arranged. They knocked it out in the space of about an hour and a half, and they helped me figure out the last kink in the tune. When I say my bandmates constantly amaze me, this is the sort of thing I’m talking about.
So by this point it was the second week of March. Brat needed the song fully recorded, mixed, and mastered no later than April 6th. …yeah. Commence Operation Get This Bugger Recorded.
Sean and I spent the next week and a half running through the song at least once a night most nights (with the exception of the night of our concert as part of S(cubed)apalooza). Then it was time to start recording. I was very excited to get back into the studio (and am also very excited about my next opportunity).
This was Sean’s first time in the studio to record guitar. I’d shoved a microphone in front of his face before for “The Stallion and the Rose: The Debt” and “The Singing of Dragons”, but even so, I think he was still a bit nervous. It didn’t help that we haven’t really done any practicing with a metronome, but I always record with one. (And we’ll be making an effort to practice with one more often from now on.) But even so, he did an excellent job.
The main vocal was a cinch. It’s not perfect, but I try to recognize the fact that it’s not possible for anything to ever be perfect. Otherwise, I will drive myself insane trying to achieve the unattainable.
In the interim while I was waiting for my scheduled time with the other musicians I worked with, I laid down the tambourine and djembe parts. For the tambourine, I had recently acquired this nifty rig that bolts to a mic stand (or other similar apparatus) and holds the tambourine steady. I then hit the tambourine with timpani mallets (which are padded). It was a much better way of doing things. I had quite a bit more control over the instrument with this set-up. When I played tambourine for “Stepping Stones”, I was just shaking it, and it didn’t work nearly as well.
The djembe recording was pretty straightforward. I hope to someday have a kick mic to pick up those low frequencies better.
The next instrument I recorded was a real treat. I’d never recorded bass guitar before, let alone a purely electric bass. Ally helped me conscript our friend Stephen Luckett (whom I call “Anime”—long story, don’t ask), with whom she’d been in a band a few years ago. He was enthusiastic and very fun to work with. He was even barely hampered by the fact that my set-up currently doesn’t allow for echo during recording. So he couldn’t hear his part at all while he was playing.
He left the studio saying that when Ally had showed him the scratch recording, he wasn’t sure what his playing a bass part could add to it. But after listening to the current mix with his part added in, he understood why we thought bass was a good idea.
Lastly, I needed vocal harmonies. Ally was on board for those. She arranged them herself (in addition to Anime’s bass part) and knocked tracks for both parts out quite quickly. This was the first time I had recorded vocals for her, and as always, she’s fun to work with.
This is easily one of my most favorite songs I’ve written if only because it’s so much fun to perform. I hope you enjoy listening to it as much as I enjoy performing it.
Buy it here
Surviving Through the Game
Lyrics by Katt McConnell, music by Katt McConnell with thanks to Wax Chaotic
Commissioned by Brat Conway for the game “The Chronicles of the Lost Dimensions”
It was always easier to hide,
To never turn to face the shadows
Behind
Or the monster inside…
My secrets should never be revealed,
For they’re dangerous to all those I
Love—
But now they can’t be concealed,
For the nightmare is real,
And the truth will at last be my shield!
Some choose adventure
Some are chosen by fate
If I know what’s good for me I’ll choose
To escape
To some, it’s all about winning
To some, it’s all wealth and fame
Here, right now, it’s only about
Surviving through the game.
You are not the only one that finds
They have a destiny that tangles and
Binds
With chains of many kinds…
If it kills me, by gods, I’ll follow through—
I’m not a hero, I just do what needs
Done.
But this I promise you:
Your fetters I’ll undo!
(And maybe I’ll save myself, too.)
Lyrics by Katt McConnell, music by Katt McConnell with thanks to Wax Chaotic
Performed by Wax Chaotic, feat. Stephen Luckett
Katt McConnell—Main vocal, percussion, engineering, mixing, mastering
Sean McConnell—Guitar
Allyson Clarkson—Vocal harmony arrangements and performance, bass guitar arrangement
Stephen Luckett—Bass
So far in the “How to Bard” series I’ve been talking a lot about the philosophical side of music. This time I thought I’d turn my attention to the things that are more tangible. Instruments are pretty durn tangible.
Physical instruments—guitars, flutes, violins, et cetera—have always seemed to me to have definite and individual personalities. I tend to personify them, like I think a lot of musicians do. The Pagan side of me does believe they have their own spirit or energy, which is how I feel about a lot of other inanimate objects. So I suppose that’s why I tend to think of my instruments as being my partners rather than mere tools.
Bodhran
This is my bodhran. Her name is Star. She is an 18″ tunable bodhran with a natural skin head and black finish.
I am also building a small army of tippers.
“Bodhran” is a word that comes to us from the Celts, so the spelling is quite counterintuitive. It is pronounced “BOU-ron”. As if you were talking to your friend Ron and exclaiming, “Wow!” Aren’t silent letters fun?
I have had Star for around a year and a half at this point. My interest in the bodhran was piqued first by Brenda Sutton, who was kind enough to give me some tips on playing and maintenance, and then by my cohort Gabrielle Aumei when she brought her own bodhran back from Colorado. I hadn’t really done much with percussion since leaving orchestra at the end of 6th grade, but playing this drum has revealed to me a part of myself I didn’t know was missing.
I bought Star from Amazon, in addition to a case that is quite handy. If you’re interested, here is the bodhran and here is the case.
Star is my go-to physical instrument in most cases. And no, I will never have enough tippers.
Djembe
Next I decided I needed to procure a djembe. Djembes are awesome, and I largely blame Debbie Gates and Sally Childs-Helton for making me want one. I was able to save up and get one last year. Allow me to introduce Bigboom.
That’s not thunder you hear.
Bigboom has thus far been featured on “Stepping Stones” and the “Stallion” songs. He is a 24″ tall djembe with a 13″ diameter natural head. He was carved from a single piece of wood and I bought him from World Wide Drums. Unfortunately they no longer appear to carry this particular drum, but they have lots of other nifty things to look at if you’re so inclined.
Bigboom is the reason I hope to have a kick mic for my studio soon. My other mics just can’t quite capture the low end of this drum’s range, which gets pretty far down there.
I’m still a little under confident with this drum. Despite the fact that I’m a great typist and I can sew without stabbing myself too horribly (usually), I’m not always able to coordinate both hands to do what I want them to do when I want them to do it when it comes to playing this drum. So I’m still honing my skills with this bad boy, and of course having a good time doing it.
Various percussion
What percussionist’s bag of tricks is complete without a bunch of other random noisemakers? None, of course. I’ve got quite a few random noisemakers that I think are rather nifty. Here’s a group shot of all of my extra percussion things.
I have a birthday coming up…
The cowbell and the tambourine attach to any mic stand or mic stand type of thing so that I can hit them with various objects, such as the timpani mallets that are probably wishing I’d left the store without them. I thought this was a nifty rig because, while I have a non-mounted tambourine, I wanted something that I could really control. This rig is great for producing more complex rhythms with a tambourine. It also makes it easier to control when the tambourine stops. I bought this to use on a new single that will be coming out at the end of April, and it’s already one of my favorite things.
And now to identify everything else. I have two egg shakers, which are technically my husband’s, but which I usually play instead. I have a wooden frog that my thoughtful in-laws bought me for Christmas (along with some of the tippers pictured above—and which missed this round of photos). The sleigh bells I bought for “Kiss Me, Jak Frost” and will hopefully find another chance to use at some point. And in the meantime, hey, I have sleigh bells! I also have zills, various lengths of copper pipes that make fun noises, and last but not least, yes, that is an anvil. I bought it for a single I hope to be releasing this summer and I found it, of all places, at JoAnn. It was in with their beading stuff. And it’s cute and hey, I have an anvil.
And lastly, for the peep show I promised you all…
Voice
Voice has been my primary instrument since I was twelve or thirteen. I’ve already talked a lot about it, so this time I’m not going to say very much. I will instead leave you with this.
I swear.
Making the phone call to ask my doctor for this photo was probably one of the weirdest calls I’ve ever made.
And so that’s pretty much it for this installment. This entry was a little random and probably kind of pointless, but I had fun with it anyway.
Next time I’ll be discussing the technological side of my music-making, with which I have decidedly limited experience compared to many other musicians. Then again, I’ve only been in this for about a year now. Either way, I hope you’ll come back as I continue to explore the physical part of how I do what I do.
In keeping with the habit I’ve cultivated of posting a con review after going to a con, here are my thoughts on MARCON. This one’s going to be a wee bit different from all the other ones I’ve posted, though.
Like all the others I’ve written about so far, however, this was a first-time convention experience. I’d never been to MARCON before, though I’d heard really great things about it from various friends and had always wanted to go some year (especially last year when Leslie Fish was the Music Guest of Honor…sigh).
Unlike all the other conventions I’ve reviewed, I saw very little of this one. The reason for this is that we vended at this con, which meant that I spent most of the weekend behind a table. Sean was with me—Ally stayed in Indy that weekend because of Easter commitments to her church—and our neighbors didn’t mind if we made a bit of music in our booth space. We also got to talk to some new people, and I got to see a couple of Ohio friends I don’t see very often.
MARCON does a couple of really nifty things that I haven’t seen at any other conventions. Number one, because we were dealers, we got to partake in snacky things. Every so often, people with trollies would make a circuit of the dealer’s room and offer us soda. As someone who doesn’t regularly drink soda, I wish they had had water on the trolley as well, but as someone who was in the mood for soda at the time, it worked out all right anyway. And they did have water in the corner of the room where they kept the soda when it wasn’t being distributed on trollies. They also had baked goods in that same corner that were there for the dealers to munch on.
The other thing I thought was nifty was the green room they had set up for panelists. There were seating areas for talking and relaxing, a special check-in table so panelists didn’t have to wait in a long line (vendors had a special check-in line, too), and oh yeah, more snacky things.
The convention staff were helpful and friendly, which is always a major plus. The hotel staffperson who helped us unload our car was very professional and helpful. And overall it was a good weekend.
But as always, there are downsides. Probably my biggest gripe is that we had to pay $8.00 a day to park. Of course, that’s not the convention’s fault and they have no control over it—and actually, $8.00 a day was the event rate, so being conventioneers meant we got to pay less.
The garage was also really confusing and the ceilings are low enough that I don’t recommend unloading anything out of a hatchback. Again, not the convention’s fault.
So there’s the con review for MARCON, such as it is. If we go back next year—which we might not due to it being on Easter weekend and Ally having prior commitments that weekend—I hope to be able to experience more of the programming.
As it was I sat for a bit in open filk, which was fun. It was good to see Peter Alway again, even if I didn’t get to talk to him much, and hear his dulcimer piece “May Damsels’ Dance”.
And of course there was our concert, made slightly weird by the fact that it was just Sean and myself. Not bad-weird, just different-weird. It was a lot of fun nonetheless. Our audience seemed into it. Three of our listeners even bought copies of “Cold September Ground” after the fact.
Oh, and I will have a v-blog of the weekend up at some point. But first I need to have the time to edit it. …yeah.
Thanks again to the friends who put us up for the weekend. You were a tremendous help, and it was fabulous to see you again.
Next stop: Penguicon
This post is part of the Lyrics Dump Promotion. To read more about the promotion, please see Soap Box – Various and Sundry.
This song was inspired by that special kind of burn out you get when you’re just tired of everyone and everything, including and especially yourself. It was inspired by the frustration that arises when we find ourselves chaffing at the limitations imposed upon us by all sources, both interior and exterior, that prohibit us from taking time to ourselves, or from being ourselves, or from making our dreams manifest as reality. I will shamelessly say that I hope this one gets a lot of votes, because it’s one of my favorites.
Break Out
Lyrics and music by Katt McConnell
I need a vacation
From my inhibitions
To let the exception
For once
Be the rule.
I burn with frustration
At my limitations,
And in my desperation
I slowly
Come unglued.
I can barely think through my exhaustion.
Hiding my true self is pretty tiring.
I look for a way to bolster my strength,
But the world is so uninspiring.
I can’t find the balance in my life
That comes with knowing your label.
Would that I could nosce te ipsum,
But so far I haven’t been able.
I find myself in confusion—
I’m spoiled for choice, but have none.
My mind’s running ’round in circles,
But I’m pretty damn certain of one
Thing
I need a vacation
From my inhibitions
To let the exception
For once
Be the rule.
I burn with frustration
At my limitations,
And in my desperation
I slowly
Come unglued.
The world has impossible standards
That I try to meet all the same.
Pretending I’m not really me, see,
Well, it’s all just a part of the game.
Just once I’d like to know freedom,
To let the freak inside of me out.
But being that weirdo would frighten
The people I care about.
This puzzle has so many pieces,
Some of them blank, and some of them gone,
That I can’t even see the whole picture,
But I can see that I need to be on
A
Nice lengthy vacation
From my inhibitions
And let the exception
For once
Be the rule.
I burn with frustration
At my limitations,
And in my desperation
I slowly
Come unglued.
Society has its demands, sure,
But you know, I’ve got a few of my own.
I don’t think it’s asking too much to
Sometimes just be left alone.
I think of the world and its interests,
Try to be kind to my fellow man,
But sometimes the energy leaves me
And I have done all that I can.
I see that you’re weary like me, yeah?
So let’s find a new place to go.
God knows what waits on the flip side,
But it’s far more important I know
That
I need a vacation
From my inhibitions
To let the exception
For once
Be the rule.
I burn with frustration
At my limitations,
And in my desperation
I slowly
Come unglued.
As promised, here’s another installment in the series “My Experiences with Learning How to Bard”. This week’s topics will be much more philosophical than last week’s. Keep an eye out for future installments as well, as I’ve already got some neat ideas planned.
Last week I ended by talking about how you shouldn’t let other people discourage you from being a musician by telling you you’re not “good enough”. My main argument was basically, “Being ‘good enough’ is not necessarily the point”. I wanted to continue on that train of thought by saying that any perceived lack of musical talent doesn’t mean you’re not a bard (or a minstrel or rocker or rapper or whatever suits your fancy). If it’s important to you, never let your music escape you.
The reason I keep ranting about this is because, at least in the US, we have developed this mentality that if you’re not a good enough musician to be a professional musician, then you shouldn’t be a musician at all. I find that to be a horrible way of looking at something that is so intrinsic to our humanity that it’s one of the most universally valued things across all times and cultures. In this country, we package and cultivate musical talent until it becomes a sterile, soulless representation of what everyone has inside them and we encourage the philosophy of That’s How It Should Be.
But music doesn’t have to be “pretty”. Music doesn’t have to be “good”. Music only has to be whatever you want it to be, especially if it’s your music. If you need a flawlessly executed aria, then that’s what you need. If you need to just make primal sounds for your own brand of catharsis, that’s ok, too. And yes, over-processed, vapid pop music has its place, as well. As I said, it’s about you getting/creating what you need at the time.
So experience music however it is you need to experience it. And don’t feel like you have to exhibit your music publicly in order to qualify as a musician. As long as you get something out of it, that’s really all that matters. I’ve said that I primarily view music as a vehicle for storytelling. But writing this I realize I can lump a few more concepts into that category—healing, for one.
In addition to the above, I would also like to encourage anyone reading to be bold enough to be independent. And not only with music, though that’s the only thing I’m going to touch on in this particular blog entry.
For a very long time, it’s been the case that, for most people, if you wanted to be a professional musician and actually be able to, you know, eat on a regular basis, that you had to get signed to a label. From where I’m sitting, getting signed to a label had and still has three primary benefits for an artist: Legal protection, which I won’t get into here, promotion, and recording.
All three of these services are very expensive and require many man hours and resources. In Ye Olde Times, they were prohibitively expensive for small-timers and independents. And not only did you have to have access to things like recording equipment, you had to have access to someone who knew how to use it, too.
A lot has changed. A lot. Of course, there’s still plenty of stuff that’s the same, but one of the biggest differences between then and now is that now you don’t have to be signed to a label in order to make a living from music.
For me, this particular light bulb went on when I started seeing SJ Tucker in concert. She breezes through Indianapolis every once in a while, puts on a heck of a show, and then heads off for her next gig somewhere in another state. And she does this full-time. She has almost a dozen professionally produced albums and various singles for sale on her website. Of course, she also vends at her shows, as well. She plays at conventions, she plays at festivals, she pops in to someone’s house for a day or two and rocks the shit out of things. And she’s able to make a living at this because over the course of the somewhere-around-seven years she’s been doing this, she and others have worked tirelessly to promote her and her music.
It wouldn’t be fair to say she does it all herself because I know there are many awesome people who join in the fun. But she sure as shit isn’t able to do this because a big label is financing everything for her. She is a musical entrepreneur, and she is one of many of them out there who is leading the way for the rest of us dreamers.
So there’s a precedent. It’s possible. You want to be an independent musician? You can actually make a living at it these days. So many things are so much more accessible now than they were even ten years ago—hell, I have a pretty decent recording studio in one of the spare bedrooms of my house and I paid for it by saving up money while I was a student in college. It’s not fancy and it’s pretty small, but it suits my needs. And with the internet, the promotional possibilities are staggeringly greater than they were in, say, the 1970s. Musicians don’t need labels anymore. Quite frankly, I think the labels need us a lot more than we need them.
So there’s your bit of whatever this qualifies as for this installment. My next topic will be my various instruments. That entry will be posted the week after next, as next week is the next Lyrics Dump post.
I’m really looking forward to the next installment in this series. I’m planning to show off a picture of one of my body parts that only a select few people have ever seen.
Until then, proceed with the kicking of life’s ass.
The path of music has been a long one for me and is joyfully growing ever longer. Even when I wasn’t actively performing or writing, music was a big part of my life and had been since I was a child. I thought, therefore, that it might be interesting to write about some ideas I’ve had and observations I’ve made along the way. Thanks to Sean for inspiring some of the content of this blog entry. And as I think of new ideas to discuss, this may turn into a series.
First I’d like to start with a topic that’s less philosophical and more technical. I’ve been working on my singing technique since I was twelve or thirteen, which is more or less when I became interested in filk. Actually, I believe it was my interest in filk that really spurred my desire to become a better singer. There was something about filk that made me instantly passionate about it, and because of that passion I developed an urge be a filker myself. And I’ve never been one to do something halfway. When I decide to do things, I always mean to do them well.
So I joined choir in seventh grade. I was in choir again in eighth, and then in a different choir in ninth once I moved on to high school. As anyone who’s been in a choir can (I assume) attest, part of the general instruction given by the choir director is how to improve your singing technique. The director is trying to make you sound good for whatever concert is coming up, so they’re always listening for things that need polishing. My high school choir director was particularly adamant about this sort of thing, and so I definitely picked up quite a bit during that period.
At the same time as I was attending choir in school, I was also voraciously devouring as much filk as I could get my hands on. I was listening to it and memorizing it and then singing it on my own. There were no bardic circles I could join in Ohio, but that didn’t stop me from filking. And I was performing these songs on my own, I was doing my best to imitate the tone, timbre, and technique of the artists who were performing them in the recordings I had. Once I started doing that, it was only a matter of time before I began examining the stylistic choices the artists made during their performances and deciding that it would be fun to play around with other options. This is how I started to develop my own unique voice.
What’s the point of this trip down memory lane? The point is that if someone insists that you can’t be a good singer without years of formal training that you should laugh at them. It’s quite true that my method of learning will not work for everyone—but then neither will the method of learning that adamant proponents of formal lessons prefer. I just wanted to illustrate that if you want to be a singer and you can’t afford formal lessons that you don’t necessarily need them. Find a singer whose technique you admire and then imitate them. Your own voice will come to you in time.
And for the record, I have actually had some formal one-on-one vocal lessons with a voice teacher. I took one semester of these lessongs in college after I had already been singing on my own for years. I’m not sure how much I took away from that experience, but it was fun at least.
Also, I would like to point out that while I do have my own standards for my personal vocal ability, one of the reasons why I claim to be a good vocalist is because that’s what other people tell me I am. Let me state that if you are an aspiring vocalist, exterior validation is not a necessity. In my case I enjoy it because it’s nice to get feedback from people so that I know I’m on the right track. And in some cases it’s also amusing and incredibly flattering. One of the gentlemen who listened to some of “Cold September Ground” on Capstone night asked me how much formal training I had. When I told him I’d had only a semester’s worth, his eyebrows when up quite quickly.
So, why music? Or more specifically, why filk?
If there’s one thing I’ve been for my entire life, it’s a storyteller. As a child, games where I could put myself into another world as another being, often as another species, and act out that character’s story were always my favorite. I’ve been formally writing down narratives since I was eight (thankfully, my grammar and spelling have improved since then). And I’ve always loved to participate in others’ stories by reading them. I was one of those eight/nine year-olds who had their own library of books that they were actively adding to.
To me, music is a means to tell a story. It doesn’t matter what the genre, style, or instrumentation is. Music is about storytelling. So finding that I could actually do it—because for the longest time I was wondering if I was tone deaf—was like finding a puzzle piece I hadn’t realized I was missing. I can never stop being a musician. And that’s one of the many reasons why I’m constantly so ecstatic about getting to perform as part of Wax Chaotic.
So what if you feel the same way about music that I do—it’s as much a part of who you are as your arm or your genes—but you don’t think you’re any good at it? Or even worse, you’ve actually been told that you’re not good at it?
Important note: Everyone has their own standards for “good” and you can’t please everybody.
But say someone at some point told you you’re a bad musician and it’s discouraged you. What then? Give it up?
No. Fuck that. Fuck everything about that. Music is part of who you are—literally, actually. Anything that moves produces a vibration, including things like electrons. As you are comprised of things like electrons, you are quite literally made of music. So don’t give it up.
Maybe you’ll never be as wildly popular as, say, the Beatles because you lack a talent and that lack is holding you back from the bright lights and fame. But is that really what music is about? I’ve detailed what the purpose of music is for me, and everyone has their own views on the subject. Honestly I wish this blog had a bigger following so I could get some reader input on those other views. But so you might never be famous. That doesn’t mean you can’t still be a musician. You can still express whatever needs expressing through the vehicle of music. Don’t ever let anyone tell you otherwise because you’re not “good enough”. Being “good enough” is not necessarily the point.
I have more thoughts to delve into, but I think I’ve rambled enough for this entry. So it looks like there will be a part two after all. Until then, I will leave you with this. Watch it and absorb it.
And remember the power of “unless”.
TEDxUW – Larry Smith – Why you will fail to have a great career
Wow, it’s been quiet around here lately. Let’s fix that, shall we?
Since this blog and the entire Dragon Scale Studios website were created as part of the “Cold September Ground” project and that project is now completed, I thought it might be interesting to discuss what I’ve been up to these last few months. And perhaps more intriguing would be what I have planned for myself and for Dragon Scale Studios.
First off, if you’re here and the formatting seems a little wonky, I beg your indulgence. There are some styling things I need to take care of, and in the process of doing so things might get a bit messy around here.
After the album’s release on December 1st 2011, I breathed a sigh of relief. Then I had an oh-shit moment and frantically scurried around getting everything read for Capstones. I hadn’t really put a lot of thought into anything much beyond those two dates, although I was keeping Wax Chaotic commitments in the back of my mind. So finally after Capstones, the tension broke a bit and I could relax and enjoy the holidays.
Since then I have been…being. It’s an existence with the potential for much more relaxation built into it. The last two months have had their stressful moments, but despite them I’ve been able to de-stress and get more and more of my brain back. And as my brain has started to come back, I’ve been working on things.
My first priority was to get the Kickstarter rewards out finally. And so I did. Way behind when I originally wanted to, but they say late is better than never. I took some photos of them to share!
Which reminds me. I still have some trinket boxes that need to be sent out and I haven’t been able to reach their intended recipients in order to get the addresses needed to ship them. If you’re reading this and you donated at any of the levels where the trinket box was a reward and you have NOT gotten your trinket box, please contact me! I want to get your goodies to you.
Other than that, I am currently in the midst of three freelance projects, two websites and one layout design. I am thoroughly enjoying them and I’m happy that I’m able to take them on. I was doing some freelance work during school but I was never able to take on as many projects as I wanted to because, well, school. I’m excited to release these projects into the world, and I hope that such will be possible soon.
I am also looking for a full-time job that will allow me to utilize the skills I learned in school. Because guess what? I am now officially a college graduate! I have my diploma and everything. And I will be participating in Commencement exercises this May. I’m pretty damn excited. And I keep getting thrown for a loop because at times it doesn’t feel like I graduated from high school almost seven years ago.
And I’m writing. Oh, am I writing. I’m mostly writing music, although I’m also working on some prose. One of the things I’ve been working on is actually a song commission for a friend’s Capstone project. She’s working on a video game and wanted me to create the theme song for it. This is my first song commission, and I’ve been having a blast. My Wax Chaotic partners in crime have been helping me with it and it sort of rocks. I’m very proud of this song. And I’m also pleased to announce that I will be releasing it as a single at the end of April once Capstones are over.
So, freelance projects, job hunting, music, fiction…
Not gonna lie. There’s be some time spent gaming. Skyrim, as you might recall, came out a few days after I sent my album off to the printer. I didn’t get as sucked into it as I was expecting to, amazingly enough—I chalk that up to the fact that I had other things, namely more music, that I wanted to work on—but I’ve been enjoying it.
And part of my work on more music has been scheduling concerts for Wax Chaotic. I intend to go more in depth about band-related things in another post, so for right now I’ll just say that I am indescribably excited about the people I get to work with and about the things I get to do with them.
So that about covers what I’ve been up to. Now it’s time for what I intend to do in the future.
As for myself, I intend to continue writing and creating. Over the course of the last year or so I’ve found two pieces of myself that were missing. I am a percussionist. And I am a performer. These parts of myself that have gotten next to no attention over the years and it is wonderful to finally be nurturing them.
I am also once again nurturing the part of me that loves to write lyrically. And I’m surprising myself. I’ve never really thought of myself as someone able to write music, yet now I’m doing it. Cautiously, carefully, and trying not to take anything for granted, but I’m doing it. And not only that, but people are enjoying my music. It’s humbling and awe-inspiring and a whole lot of other emotions that I have trouble putting into words. However, I can definitely, emphatically state that it’s fucking fun.
Also on my to-do list is finding a decent day job that will allow me to support myself and my family by doing things I love to do. I intend to continue taking on freelance design projects whenever I’m able. I intend to continue using my design talents to promote Wax Chaotic and our interests.
I do not, surprisingly enough, intend to sew. Sewing has been a major part of my life for years now. It’s a skill that, if employed in the right capacity, I still wouldn’t mind using to make my living. But sewing for my wedding seriously burned me out. It’s taken me some time to admit that to myself because I didn’t want it to be true. Unfortunately, however, what I want and what’s actually the reality are pretty different in this instance. And so it’s time for a break. The only sewing projects I intend to work on for the foreseeable future are existing commissions and Kickstarter corsets.
The other reason I’m going on a sewing hiatus is that I am finally fed up with the commercial pattern industry, specifically McCall’s, Simplicity, and Butterick. These companies produce barely any patterns for individuals my size and they don’t produce any costume patterns in my size. At least none that I’ve found and trust me, I’ve looked. Being that my interest in sewing is almost exclusively costuming-related, this presents a major hurdle for me.
But there’s one more reason that I need a break. And this last one’s a doozy.
For this we go back a few years. When I was a junior in high school, I began having problems with acid reflux. I self-medicated with over the counter acid reducers for years and they seemed to be managing the problem quite well. Then in 2009, my reflux began to get progressively worse and it’s been getting worse ever since. Last spring I had that cough for four and a half months that interfered with working on the album and took a toll on my sanity. (That is not hyperbole, either.) That was acid related. So my doctor sent me in for an upper endoscopy in November.
It turns out that I have a hiatal hernia. I layman’s terms, it means my stomach is protruding up through my diaphragm through the hole that the esophagus normally passes through, but through which the stomach isn’t supposed to go.
Yeah. Slight problem.
This means that corsets are a BIG no-no for me right now. Which means that I don’t want to spend any time making any more for myself if I don’t know when—or even if—I’ll be able to wear them again.
And actually that last reason for my sewing hiatus leads into the next thing I intend to do.
I’m quite tired of having a hernia, as you can probably imagine. It doesn’t actively hurt the way I’ve heard abdominal hernias do, so for that I’m quite thankful. As you’ve seen, however, it’s causing a lot of other problems. So I’ve made an appointment to talk to a surgeon about fixing the cause of those problems.
With that, I think this entry has gotten long enough. There’s my update. If you’ve cared to read it, I appreciate it. The next few blog entries I have planned will be more about the music, so if that’s mostly what you’re interested in, keep an eye out. You’ll get heads ups about them via Facebook and Twitter.
Until next time, remember to kick ass and take names. Someone has to, after all, and it might as well be you.
This post is part of the Lyrics Dump Promotion. To read more about the promotion, please see Soap Box – Various and Sundry.
This is a long one. This is a ballad. I can see this being performed by a minstrel in a tavern somewhere when the evening is wearing on and the patrons are a sheet or two to the wind and everyone’s in the mood for a good drinking song.
The character in this song is one of my nearest and dearest characters. She first appeared on an RPG message board when I was in middle school, and since then I have created a lot of mythos for her. And certain aspects of my personality and life have started to mirror hers, which is weird.
If you go to the Fiction Index over on the main Firesong Productions site and look under the “Delicate Balance” heading, she’s that crazy redheaded chick I keep writing about. This song is actually based on events that take place in a novel I’ve been working on for a very long time, which I hope to one day have finished. In the meantime, you’ll have to settle for this ballad, which, despite its length, I rather enjoy.
Oh, and a quick note to avoid any confusion later–you’ll note that this song talks about the sun rising in the west. While it is true that the sun rises in the east here on Earth, the story on which this song is based is most definitely not set on Earth. Therefore, the sun rises in the west.
The Banners of War
Lyrics and music by Katt McConnell
You may have heard of a woman
And thought all the tales of her lies.
Surely we minstrels embellish,
And history we revise.
But this woman I speak of needs no remaking—
Her actions are spun from the fabric of lore.
Beware of the warrior who charges into battle,
Her hair flying free as the banners of war.
Ride, ride down the highway,
Chase the nighttime into dawn.
Break them like waves on the mountains,
Hammer the anvil ’til the flaws are all gone.
Like many of you, I’ve heard stories
Of the head of our national Guard.
I, too, found them mostly fantastic
Although I myself am a bard.
But this season I went on campaign with the army,
Invited along to help bolster morale.
One battle has altered how I view the captain,
And it’s that I propose to regale you with now.
The army went west toward the border
On reports of our foes being seen.
A day from the mountains we bivouacked,
To march in the morning again.
But well after nightfall the enemy found us
And rousted us all from our uneasy dreams.
It’s then that I saw as the battle raged ‘round me
Our captain is very much more than she seems.
She whirled in the fray like a dancer,
With impossible beauty and grace.
Her sword was a blade made of lightning,
And she her opponents’ disgrace.
As the bodies of foemen piled higher around her
And the scent of their blood permeated the air,
I tossed aside notions of black-hooded reapers,
For the angel of death is this fiend with red hair.
Our foes, although numerous, retreated,
For the Guard fought like demons from hell.
We next turned to tending the wounded,
No more by the battle bespelled.
While some helped the Healers and others did clean-up,
Still others piled wood for what looked like a pyre.
But nobody brought forth the dead, as is custom,
Yet still they ignited their monstrous fire.
As evening wore on, we took shelter,
For we knew that our duties were done.
But the captain stayed out by the bonfire
That blazed like the bright summer sun.
Yet as I watched, the flames dimmed and dwindled,
Their marks left as embers on smoldering logs.
The darkness fell on me like some kind of omen—
And that’s when I noticed the first wisps of fog.
All was in shadow around me
As the ground turned a nebulous gray.
The fog did not seem peculiar
Til it began moving away.
It writhed as if living and moved toward the mountains,
Heading, I thought, where our enemies had gone.
I silently shuddered inside of my shelter
While distant screams ripped through the air until dawn.
You’ve heard now the story I offered,
And likely you all think me mad.
But I know damn well what I saw,
Yes, I know what adventure I had.
And still I feel nightly the awe and the terror
And wish to return to the nightmare once more,
For my heart is lost to the warrior in battle
Whose hair flies as free as the banners of war.
This weekend was Capricon 2012 up in Wheeling, IL. It was also the start of Wax Chaotic’s 2012 road tour. I could not have asked for a better start to things.
This was my first Capricon, and also the first time I’d ever been to a four-day convention. I was surprised at the size of the convention and impressed at how smoothly things seemed to be running. I really didn’t attend many panels that weren’t music related, but just wandering around in the hallway I got the impression by all the signage and whatnot that Capricon is a well-oiled machine. That’s something that I always enjoy seeing as a convention attendee.
Most of what I did over the course of the weekend had to do with the music programming. Those in charge put together one heck of a program, which included concerts in the Capricon Café, open filk, other, longer concerts, and a (toast and) jam session on Sunday in the café. I’d like to thank everyone involved for not only putting together a great music program for the weekend, but also giving my bandmates and I a friendly, well-organized environment to get this year’s tour off to a good start. All three of us had an absolute blast. Special thanks go to Debbie Gates, one of those in charge, for inviting us to play in the café and giving us a way to justify coming to this awesome convention.
The other parts of the con that I participated in were pretty much just the consuite and the dealers’ room. I would enjoy having a wider selection of food to choose from next year, and also having more things that are less nibbly and more filling. But like the rest of the convention, the staffers in the consuite did an excellent job of organizing and then working that part of the con.
The dealers’ room had a lot of steampunk vendors. A lot. I almost want to say it had a bit too many steampunk vendors, but all of them had nifty things for sale and there was still a pretty wide variety of products that they were offering. But I know many conventions try to include a wide variety of dealers in their dealers’ rooms, so I suppose it seemed a little strange that there were so many steampunk vendors. There were also, I should note, at least two book vendors, one of whom appeared to deal exclusively or at least primarily in out of print editions, t-shirt vendors, toy vendors, game vendors, an artist with a really nifty display and some cool work, and a music vendor. Honestly, the music vendor got most of my monetary attention. This whole attending-multiple-conventions-a-year thing might be dangerous for my bank account–but I’m sure Roper won’t mind.
Aside from that, I attended a panel on hair braiding. That was fun and informative, even if everyone was a little not-quite-awake-yet.
I’m hoping we’ll be invited back to perform at Capricon next year. Either way, I’d like to go back for another four days of awesomeness.
This post is part of the Lyrics Dump Promotion. To read more about the promotion, please see Soap Box – Various and Sundry.
This song was originally written to give me an excuse to shamelessly show off the corresponding short story, which can be found here. I wish to extend many thanks to the people who helped me edit the story.
The White Wolf
Music and lyrics by Katt McConnell
I see from my window the forest,
And above, a sky filled with stars.
The moon turns the snow into diamonds,
And I wonder where you are.
It’s been several weeks since I saw you last—
I’m sorry—my babes kept me bound.
But now I am ready to try again, dear,
And pray a way out can be found.
I try to tell myself it will be enough—
There’s nothing to fear in the eyes of a wolf.
This riddle has only one answer I see,
And I pray to the gods that my love will set you free.
The staff all complain of the monster
That carries our livestock away.
They’d never imagine it also
Steals more of my sister each day.
It kills me to know I might lose you
Forever to a horrible fate,
But the steel of that curse was tempered
In the fires of your enemy’s hate.
Unless I act soon I’ll go crazy,
And unless I succeed we’re all doomed.
So into the forest I venture,
Led by my heart and the moon.
Come find me now in the nighttime,
Cross now the slumbering land—
And don’t mind the smell of the stranger,
He’s just here to lend us a hand.
I try to tell myself it will be enough—
There’s nothing to fear in the eyes of a wolf.
This riddle has only one answer I see,
And it seems to me now…that his love will set you free.
This post is part of the Lyrics Dump Promotion. To read more about the promotion, please see Soap Box – Various and Sundry.
I wrote the original version of this song in high school in (dubious) honor of a friend who went from sheltered to aware and unsure to abusive over the course of the three years I knew him. After I graduated and moved away, the song, which was by nature incredibly topical, lost most of its appeal. But I still enjoyed the chorus and the basic concept, so I decided to rewrite it.
I like this version much better. It’s still about someone I know, but I am not at liberty to name them. Those of you who know me well enough will probably guess anyway.
While I enjoy using language to rip to shreds any object of my ire, this song is intentionally short. I try not to waste my breath on people who won’t (or in this case can’t) truly listen to me, so I bit back my bile and truncated what could have evolved into a lengthy piece.
The tune, however, was not intentional. It works wonderfully, I think, but the irony it creates amuses me. Here I have these lyrics, which are actually pretty angry and bitter, set to a bouncy, almost jazzy tune. So really, because of that, this song is that giant middle finger you give your evil, hellspawned boss on the day that you finally quit the job that’s been eating at your soul for years. It’s fun.
Cracked
Lyrics and music by Katt McConnell
I can think of a few choice words that I’d love to say to you,
But none of them will change a thing, so I’m sorry to say that I’m through.
I don’t have time for all of your problems—you’ve caused enough of my own,
So I’m jumping ship while a way out remains and glad that at least now I know
That you’re cracked—
In the world’s worst way,
You’re cracked
And what else can I say?
You don’t feel, and you aren’t aware,
You’re lesser than whole and can’t be repaired,
‘Cause you’re cracked.
You can pretend to be hurt all you like, but see I’ve grown wise to your game.
Which is no small feat considering that the rules are never the same.
I can no longer ignore all the damage you’ve done—just prevent you from doing me more,
And you’ve proven to me that you can, in fact, miss something you’ve never had before
‘Cause you’re cracked—
In the world’s worst way,
You’re cracked
And what else can I say?
You don’t feel, and you aren’t aware,
You’re lesser than whole and can’t be repaired,
‘Cause you’re cracked.
In the world’s worst way,
You’re cracked
And what else can I say?
You don’t feel, and you aren’t aware,
You’re lesser than whole and can’t be repaired,
‘Cause you’re cracked.
Fine salutations at the dawn of another year, everyone! I hope that your holidays went as well as you could have wished them to. I’ve been enjoying the time to relax with my friends and family, but the wheel rolls ever onward. As such, it’s time to start looking ahead to what 2012 will bring. And if you’re a Mailing List subscriber, this information will seem slightly familiar.
Right now I would love your input. If you’ve been to any of my non-convention shows with my band, Wax Chaotic, you know that we like to raffle things off at them. It’s a chance for you to win prizes and it’s fun for us, too. Well this year we’re adding some new things to the raffle list and I need your help.
I would like to raffle off cards that will entitle the lucky winner to a free download of a track from “Cold September Ground”, but I want to know which of the album’s thirteen tracks are the most popular before I go generating a bunch of codes. So if you would be so kind as to go vote for your favorite track on the Facebook poll, I would greatly appreciate it. It will only take a moment, and you’ll be helping me out a great deal. You can find the poll here.
If you want to listen to the full tracks, they are available on my Bandcamp page. The player on the DSS website is not secure, so the samples there are no longer the full tracks.
I would really appreciate some input here, so please vote. It won’t take much of your time to share your opinion (although I suppose if you’re like my sister it might take you a minute or two to narrow down which one to vote for). Either way, thanks for helping out.
And lastly, keep an eye on the DSS Schedule page for upcoming Wax Chaotic performances! We’ll be bringing more live music your way starting in February.
No, the two really aren’t related, but they happened on the same weekend. Therefore, they get blogged about in the same entry.
First off, Friday the 9th was the day of Capstone presentations. There were several other students aside from me who presented that evening. I was unfortunately unable to get around to see any of the other projects, so I hope things went well for everyone.
For those who don’t know, the way this worked is that I set up in my presentation space and attendees wandered around from room to room to look at all of the projects. It was an evening largely comprised of talking to people, some of whom I knew and some I didn’t, answering questions. It was much more fun than I’m making it sound.
Then at around 7pm, Sean, Ally, Ashley, and I headed downstairs into the auditorium to perform some songs from the album. The audience was wonderful and, as always, I had a lot of fun being on stage in front of people and singing my heart out. My friends Beth and Michael were kind enough to take video of the performance, which you can view on my new YouTube channel:
Wet Velvet
Fall from Grace
9 Lives
And of course I have to thank the School of Informatics tech crew, who were, as always, wonderfully helpful.
Unfortunately, neither Crystal nor Gabrielle were able to make it that evening. Crystal was sick and Gabrielle is off kicking life’s ass on the road. (She has a really nifty blog over here.) But I was fortunate enough to have the help of my wonderfully talented husband Sean and my wonderfully talented friends Ally and Ashley. They stepped in pretty late in the game so that the show could go on, and I can’t thank them enough for it. And incidentally, you may recognize Ally’s name from the credits for flute on “The Garden” and vocal arrangements on “The Singing of Dragons”.
After that there was delicious, delicious pasta at Some Guys.
Honestly, I wish the day and evening could have lasted longer.
But time stands still for no (wo)man, and so the following day it was time to head down to Star Base Indy. Star Base Indy is a local science-fiction/Star Trek themed convention held on the eastern side of town. I’m familiar with the hotel from InConJunction, which is held in July, so it was a little odd being in the hotel when it was only thirty degrees outside.
This was my first year attending SBI. There wasn’t really much in the way of programming that interested me, but it was still fun to hang out and talk to people and to see all the creative costumes that the congoers had to offer. And there were many of them. I’ve never seen so many Klingons in my life (and it was awesome).
Despite not attending any of the programming, I can say that the program head did an amazing job. You may remember this woman from such other endeavors as “Kiss Me, Jak Frost”. So I may be a little biased. But nevertheless, it doesn’t change my opinion. Also, from a panelist’s perspective, Judy was wonderful to work with.
Crystal managed to kick the bug that had been bothering her, and on Saturday evening, she and I moderated open filk. I gather there hasn’t been much filking at SBI in past years, so the panel wasn’t very well attended. But Crys and I had fun and those who attended seemed to enjoy themselves. Plus another of my friends of whom I don’t see enough stopped by, and I got to hang out with her afterward.
The next morning, it was time for Wax Chaotic to take command of the bridge—er, stage. Well, both, really. They had constructed a really nifty set on the stage in main programming, and it resembled the bridge of the Enterprise. Well, sort of the Enterprises. I got the impression that it was an amalgamation of a few of them. Either way, it was pretty damn nifty to perform on the bridge of a star ship.
What wasn’t as nifty was that our concert was a ten am on Sunday, but I don’t hold that against madam Judy. She had a lot of balls to juggle, and that time slot was where the one with the Wax Chaotic label just happened to come down. I do hope that in the future we will be able to secure time slots that aren’t so early, however. Even if I do enjoy having an excuse to sleep in late for a couple of days after the convention is over.
Despite the unfortunate hour, the concert was a lot of fun. I saw toe tapping amongst the audience members, which is something that’s always really awesome for a musician to see. The lovely program head even took time out her busy schedule to come see us. And as an added bonus, the—well, I don’t remember what his official title was, but Rob Pyatt gave us an awesome introduction.
I hope to return to SBI again in the future and perform again. I don’t know that I will be going back next year, however, as I heard they are moving back to their accustomed time of Thanksgiving weekend, and, well…by that point in the year my sanity might benefit more from the atmosphere at ChamBanaCon. But we’ll see. Either way, I wish the SBI folks all the best and hope that anyone reading who’s into sci-fi will consider giving this convention some patronage. I think you’ll really enjoy all it has to offer you.
This post is part of the Lyrics Dump Promotion. To read more about the promotion, please see Soap Box – Various and Sundry.
When most mythology nerds hear thunder, they think of the Norse god Thor. When they see lightning, they think of the Greek god Zeus. Normally, I’m right there with them. But this one night in the spring of 2011, when the wind was crazy and the sky was vociferous and there was this peculiar feeling in the air, I made the leap from storm to Hephaestus. For those of you who don’t know, Hephaestus, sometimes known as the Ugly God, is the Greek god of the forge. He’s a crafter and an artisan. He’s the guy who all the other Greek gods go to when they need some armor made or a weapon forged. He is also Aphrodite’s husband. And while I’ve heard that she frequently enjoys the fact that he works late (you can’t expect a goddess of love to be monogamous, can you?), during this particular storm I heard her trying to lure her hubby away from his anvil and furnace and go engage in another equally hot and steamy activity. And then this fell out of my head.
Rumble
Lyrics and music by Katt McConnell
Down in the forge
There’s steam and there’s heat
And sweat an’ blood an’ fire,
And workin’ to the beat
Of
Hammers poundin’ metal—
Need to make the scene complete…
Let’s get a whole lotta rumblin’
Goin’ on.
With lava for the furnace
And poundin’ for a song
You work your glowin’ metal,
But your workday’s oh so long.
No
Time can quell this yearnin’—
Even iron’s not as strong.
Hey, there’s a whole lotta rumblin’
Goin’ on.
You’re better with your hands
Than any other I could name.
Sparks are sure to fly when
Your hammer takes its aim.
Though
I’m born of the ocean,
Oh, I’m tantalized by flames.
See, there’s a whole lotta rumblin’
Goin’ on.
With every bead of sweat
That the forgin’ makes you shed
The air is growin’ hotter,
And hey, I’m seein’ red.
I
Think I’ve got a fever—
Won’t you take me off to bed?
Oh, there’s a whole lotta rumblin’
Goin’ on.
Said there’s a whole lotta rumblin’
Goin’ on.
This year was my first year attending ChamBanaCon, a little relax-a-con located in central Illinois. The idea is that you go to the convention and spend the whole weekend…relaxing. I had heard about it last year, but being in the middle of school and post-Thanksgiving stupor, plus not having enough money to go meant that I had to miss out. This year, however, Wax Chaotic was invited to perform by the lovely conchair, Brenda Sutton, and it’s hard to say no to the conchair. Especially when she’s Brenda. So I got to experience my first relax-a-con, and let me tell you, folks, I needed it.
ChamBanaCon had your usual convention attractions—panels, dealers room, consuite, room parties, banquet, filking, games, and variegated silliness all throughout the weekend. I thought I’d post a review of the con as I’ve been trying to do whilst touring with Wax Chaotic (I totally forgot to write one for OVFF, so I’ll do so now in two words: It. Rocked.) to try to encourage new people to attend next year’s con. Here, then, is my review of ChamBanaCon broken up by subject and listed in no particular order.
Panels
There really isn’t much I can say about this facet of the con, as I only went to one panel. That panel, however, was awesome. We had a NASA scientist talk to us and show us things. He even showed us some photographs—actual photographs—of the landscapes of Mars, Venus, and Mercury. Several of them were even taken, like, on the planet, as opposed to from orbit. I didn’t know they had photos like that, so I thought it was particularly mind-blowing. I gather that the rest of the panels were enjoyable, but as I said, I didn’t go to any of them.
Consuite and gaming
The consuite and the games room were one and the same, which I thought was fabulous. Sitting at a table Friday evening, munching foodz and drinking soda whilst playing a card game and intermittently carrying on conversations with total strangers, I suddenly realized why I felt instantly and totally at ease. See, I’ve been going to Regional Gatherings held by Mensa groups since I was quite young. These RGs, as Mensans call them, are engineered to be what ChamBanaCon is—it’s a weekend where you go and hang out with your friends, some of whom you only see once a year at that event, and catch up, be silly, relax, play games, and maybe take in a panel or two if the mood strikes you. I don’t quite get that feeling at other cons because they just aren’t as low-key, so it was nice to find a con where I did. This in and of itself is enough of a reason for me to want to go back next year even if I didn’t know that the guests would include Tanya Huff, Michael Longcor, and the Passavoys.
Phread and crew did a wonderful job of always making sure there were enough drinks and noms to keep a peckish congoer going, too. They even provided some crock-pot meal-like items, though I remember the selection being a bit slim for breakfast. There was, however, always coffee.
Banquet
While we’re on the subject of food, this seems like a good thing to talk about next. We did not go to the banquet. Instead, we went out to Miko Restaurant, a local teppanyaki/sushi/sit-down-and-eat-delicious-food place. The portions were generous, expertly prepared, and reasonably priced, and also just frickin’ gorgeous to sit there and stare at, the staff were friendly and went out of their way to be helpful, the building and atmosphere were comfortable and very conducive to eating and enjoying the company of friends, and the entire experience was overall fabulous. I would seriously drive two hours, which is about how far away they are from my house, just to enjoy another meal at Miko. We went there not once, but twice, and I want to eat there as often as possible during next year’s ChamBanaCon. If you enjoy Asian cuisine and live within a reasonable distance to Miko (note: To me that is apparently within two hours’ drive) go there, and go there often. Noms.
Room parties
The only one I was aware of was thrown by Barfleet, and I did not go. I went swimming at midnight instead. However, I gather it was fairly small, but pretty rockin’. Party on, dudes.
Dealers room
There were corsets and awesome little glass figurines and a Smith and books and games and various wonders to behold. I was sadly unable to spend any money there this year. But it was an awesome arrangement full of lots of vendors with some really neat stuff. I hope to be able to do more than window shop next year.
Art show
I did not go to this either—actually, I spent the majority of my weekend hanging out in the consuite playing games with my adventuring party—but I gather that it was less than well attended. Since I think art shows were awesome, I thought I would mention the less-than-optimal attendance so that the situation can hopefully be rectified next year. I mean, come on. One of the artists had a robot burlesque piece (that a member of my party swiftly snapped up). Awesome? I think so.
Filking
I only went to this for a little bit on Friday night. I’ve never been a big fan of attending chaos filks, which seems to be the way that Midwesterners prefer to do things, and I’ve finally decided that if it’s going to be chaos, I’d really rather just not go. It’s nothing against any of the attendees, at least not at this convention. The time I spent there Friday night was pleasant and enjoyable, and full of filky goodness. I just don’t work that well in chaos filk, so I elected to stay away on Saturday night and play games and go swimming and then go play more games and then go pass out instead. I do gather, however, that the open filk experience at ChamBanaCon was an enjoyable one, so don’t let the fact that I personally do not enjoy chaos filk in general lead you to believe that this con mistreats filkers in any way.
Since they’re music-related, the two concerts I attended are getting filed under this section. The first concert I attended, I attended because I was in it with Wax Chaotic. Our audience was great, and apparently not shy about giving feedback. My bandmates reported being told throughout the course of the weekend that our music was enjoyable. This is, of course, always nice to hear. I also had a lot of fun performing this concert (due largely to the epic win created by my bandmates, of course), even though not having a sound system was a little weird. The room was small enough and the acoustics such that it didn’t matter, however. It was actually fun being able to belt things without having to worry about putting strain on the audience’s ears or the sound tech’s nerves.
I also attended Tom Smith‘s concert, but I shouldn’t need to write at any length about what sort of experience that was (hint: Awesome).
Variegated silliness
There were giant, plush bananas standing to greet you as you entered the consuite. ‘Nuff said.
Hotel facilities
This hotel seemed to have one or two minor foibles—the skylight over the pool had a leak, which was made apparent by the rain that started on Saturday, and the toilet in our room had an internal leak that meant it was dripping and refilling pretty regularly—but everyone has their off days and I don’t feel a need to hold either of those two things against the hotel. The staff were friendly, the beds comfortable, the public restrooms very convenient to the con space, and the building itself very clean and well-kept. It was also right off the freeway and within walking distance of a gas station, which was very convenient on Saturday morning when I had to procure some Pepto Bismol for my sick husband. My overall experience at this hotel leads me to look forward to coming back there for ChamBanaCon 42.
So, my overall review.
ChamBanaCon is awesome. Go there next year. Bring friends. Join us.
And remember to always know where your towel is.
Well, the album is officially off to the printer. There are new song samples up on the Music page. I am beside myself with excitement. Through all of this, though, I thought that it might perhaps be a good idea to take a moment and acknowledge everything that all of my talented helpers have done on “Cold September Ground”. I am so fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with so many wonderful people during this project and want to celebrate all their hard work. Here, then, is the nitty gritty of what’s been done on the album.
Chord transcription—Cernowain Greenman
Cold September Ground
Katt McConnell—Lyrics, melody, main vocal, bodhran, engineering, mixing, mastering
Gabrielle Aumei—Melody, high harmony arrangements, high harmony performance
Crystal Wolf—Guitar, low harmony arrangements, low harmony performance
Kiss Me, Jak Frost
Katt McConnell—Lyrics, main vocal, sleigh bells, engineering, mixing, mastering
Deanna Roberts-Blair—Melody
Gabrielle Aumei—High harmony arrangements, high harmony performance
Crystal Wolf—Guitar, low harmony arrangements, low harmony performance
Judy Eudaly—Harp arrangements, harp performance
Ally Clarkson—Musical consultation
The Garden
Katt McConnell—Lyrics, melody, main vocal, whispers, engineering, mixing, mastering
Gabrielle Aumei—High harmony arrangements, high harmony performance
Crystal Wolf—Guitar, low harmony arrangements, low harmony performance
Ally Clarkson—Flute arrangements with help from Katt McConnell, flute performance
Fall from Grace
Katt McConnell—Lyrics, melody, main vocal, wind, background vocals, engineering, mixing, mastering
Gabrielle Aumei—High harmony arrangements, high harmony performances, wind, background vocals
Crystal Wolf—Guitar, low harmony arrangements, low harmony performance
Runaway
Katt McConnell—Lyrics, melody, main vocal, engineering, mixing, mastering
Gabrielle Aumei—High harmony arrangements, high harmony performance
Crystal Wolf—Guitar, low harmony arrangements, low harmony performance
The Stallion and the Rose: The Choice
Katt McConnell—Lyrics, melody, main vocal, djembe, engineering, mixing, mastering
Gabrielle Aumei—The Daughter
Crystal Wolf—Guitar
Barry Childs-Helton—The Father
By Blood
Katt McConnell—Lyrics, melody, main vocal, bodhran, engineering, mixing, mastering
Gabrielle Aumei—High harmony arrangements, high harmony performance
Crystal Wolf—Guitar, low harmony arrangements, low harmony performance
Wet Velvet
Katt McConnell—Lyrics, melody, main vocal, wolf howl, engineering, mixing, mastering
Gabrielle Aumei—High harmony arrangements, high harmony performance, wolf howl
Crystal Wolf—Guitar, low harmony arrangements, low harmony performance, wolf howl
Jack the Ripper
Katt McConnell—Lyrics, main vocal, engineering, mixing, mastering
Deanna Roberts-Blair—Melody
Gabrielle Aumei—High harmony arrangements, high harmony performance
Crystal Wolf—Guitar
Stepping Stones
Katt McConnell—Lyrics, melody, main vocal, djembe, shakers, engineering, mixing, mastering
Gabrielle Aumei—High harmony arrangements, high harmony performance
Crystal Wolf—Guitar, low harmony arrangements, low harmony performance
The Stallion and the Rose: The Debt
Katt McConnell—Lyrics, melody, main vocal, djembe, engineering, mixing, mastering
Gabrielle Aumei—The Daughter
Crystal Wolf—Guitar
Barry Childs-Helton—The Father
Sean McConnell—Sir Adwain
The Singing of Dragons
Katt McConnell—Lyrics, melody, main vocal, engineering, mixing, mastering
Gabrielle Aumei—High harmony arrangements, high harmony performance
Crystal Wolf—Guitar, low harmony arrangements, low harmony performance
Allyson Clarkson—Arrangements for male vocals
Jesse Dollar—Tenor harmony
Sean McConnell—Baritone harmony
Barry Childs-Helton—Bass harmony
Betsy Tinney—Cello, engineering for cello
9 Lives
Katt McConnell—Lyrics, melody, main vocal, engineering, mixing, mastering
Gabrielle Aumei—High harmony arrangements, high harmony performance
Crystal Wolf—Guitar, low harmony arrangements, low harmony performance
Much help was given on this project for all of the above by my Capstone mentor, Ricardo Laranja. I would also like to thank Beth Lykins, another of my professors, for her help with the album’s artwork. And the tech support crew at school have been phenomenal, as well.
Also, for the record, Betsy Tinney was fantastic to work with. I contacted her very, very late in the game—practically at the last minute, really—about a cello part for “The Singing of Dragons”. I told her I needed to have it by November 1st so that I would have enough time to finalize the track by my printer deadline. Despite her busy schedule, she managed to meet that deadline. Her performance was also very competent, as you can hear not only on my track, but in her wide body of other work. Her fee was also most reasonable. To hear more of Betsy’s work, check out her website, stealthcello, or visit SJ Tucker’s website.
I cannot extend enough thanks to all the people who have helped me with this project. You have my undying gratitude for investing your time and talent and helping me graduate with style. I hope I will have the privilege of working with you again.
This post is part of the Lyrics Dump Promotion. To read more about the promotion, please see Soap Box – Various and Sundry.
I wrote this song as I was about to embark on the journey that I have been on with Wax Chaotic for several months now. Deciding to take part in a band that is serious about this whole music thing was kind of a big step for me. I have long considered myself a musician, but music was never something I tried to do seriously. Thanks to my album project for school, I began to find that I really enjoyed performing and wanted to do more with it. But because I often don’t adjust well to change, I found myself in a state of confusion. So it took me a little while to get used to thinking of myself as a “real” musician.
I was and in some ways still am also frustrated by the fact that I have so many talents that it seems like it’s difficult to just focus on one. It drives me a little crazy sometimes, wondering what niche I’m supposed to fill.
This song, whose title is [untitled], is an expression of all of that.
[untitled]
Lyrics and music by Katt McConnell
My feet are now called down a road I don’t know,
And I cannot help but to stand up and go.
I abandon the thoughts of what all else I’ve wished,
Lured off by visions of dreams in the mist.
Will I find you?
Where will I find you?
This path that I tread is a strange one, for sure,
And one that I’ve dreamed of quiet often before.
I don’t know the taste of its music or rhyme,
But somehow it seems it’s been there the whole time.
Will I find you?
When will I find you?
A passion, a hobby, nothing major—and yet
It’s this thread through my life that I can’t quite forget.
It makes me consider as nothing else will:
A danger uncertain or a dream unfulfilled?
Will I find you?
How will I find you?
It’s a current beneath all the rest that I see,
Yet another obsession where I hope to find me.
And here I am sailing in blood and in bone
And sketching out charts into waters unknown.
Will I find you?
Why can’t I find you?
So, it’s been a while since I last posted. I’ve been busy! The album is very near completion, and I’ve been working on it like a madwoman these last few weeks. My self-imposed deadline for having all of the project’s various components off to the printer is November 10th. So here’s hoping.
In the meantime, I wanted to plug the next milestone for “Cold September Ground”. You might remember that the website says pre-orders for the album begin on November 1st. This is indeed the case! That’s not that far away, so mark your calendars. And remember that the first one hundred pre-orders come with a free* limited edition 11″ / 17″ poster!
And as a reminder, the release date for the album is December 1st. Backers who contributed to the Early Bird package and up will get free digital downloads of every track on the album starting November 24th. I’ll be contacting you with more information regarding that.
And lastly, I am in the process of working on another long-term project. The Muses have been speaking to me, and so I’ve been writing some new songs over the course of the last ever. Some of you have already heard one or two of them in sets with my band, Wax Chaotic. The rest of the songs are still largely in the works at the moment, and I intend to really bend my will to them once I graduate and have my brain back.
What does this mean for you? Well, I like to show off my music, and so I’ve come up with a plan. Over the course of the next few months, keep an eye out for blog entries tagged “Lyrics Dump”. I’ll be sharing the lyrics of new songs as I get them ready to be published. Then sometime during the summer of 2012, voting will open. You can think of the voting like pre-ordering. Each vote will cost $1. Each song that gets at least ten votes will be recorded and made available for download. As I said, voting is like pre-ordering, so voters will be automatically entitled to download whatever song(s) they voted for. After that, each track will be available for digital purchase for $1.
If I were the only person who would be involved in this project, I’d just say to hell with it and just go ahead and record the singles to offer for sale. But since I’m going to have to involve other musicians—transcriptionists, accompanists, vocalists, et cetera—I would like to know that I have a way to compensate them for their time before they dedicate it to the project.
I’m going to try and work more of the non-CSG songs into sets with Wax Chaotic, so keep an eye out for our shows. The next scheduled one, by the by, is at Chambanacon on Thanksgiving weekend. We hope to see you there!
It’s hard to believe that my printer deadline is right around the corner. I’m so excited to show everyone all the hard work that’s gone into this album, and I hope you’ll get as much enjoyment out of it as my friends and I have over the course of the last year. And don’t forget if you’re local to the Indianapolis area to come check out the School of Informatics Capstones, where I and lots of other awesome people will be presenting our Capstone projects. We’ll be in the IT Building at 535 W. Michigan Street on Friday, December 9th from 4 to 8pm. It’s going to be one heck of an evening.
Until next time, signing off.
*Unfortunately there is some fine print here. The poster is free, but I’ll need you to pay for shipping. Sorry, folks!
So a little while ago (ok, longer than that) I found out that some friends of mine were working with the fine folks over at Archer Productions to produce their first album. I’d had the privilege to listen to them perform things at Indy area bardic circles, as well as Indy Pagan Pride Day for a while, so I was pretty excited. Cernowain Greenman is a guy who really gets into the groove of his music, so you have as much fun as an audience member as he seems to have as a performer. And with the lovely Anaan Sapphira backing him up with vocals and various percussion, all of the songs are wonderfully aurally flavorful. I’ve also been seeing stirrings on Facebook about things involving djembes and various bowed, stringed instruments. So yeah. Kinda excited for the release of their CD.
Well, it’s finally here, and I wouldn’t be a decent friend if I didn’t plug the shit out of it. So consider this the beginning of that.
You can listen to all of the tracks on the album, as well as read the lyrics, by going to their Bandcamp page. You can also download a digital copy of the album and take it with you wherever you go. They’re still working out how to distribute the physical copy of the album via the ‘net, so I’ll be making an updated post once that gets worked out. In the meantime, go have a listen at the Bandcamp page and send a little patronage their way. Support a fellow indie artist and get some nifty music in the process. And if you act soon, you’ll still have plenty of time to save up and buy “Cold September Ground” in December ; )