Celtic Music: Brobdingnagian Bards

"So what kind of music do the Brobdingnagian Bards play?" Jonathan asked, Swiftly (thereby proving he didn't read the title of this part). By and large (very large, of course) the Bards started with Renaissance faire-type music. If you've ever been to a Ren faire, you probably know most of the time the music focuses in equal parts on the period and humor.

Marc's autoharp may not be a "period" instrument, but it sounds like it should've been. It was just invented too late. Andrew's mandolin and recorder qualify as period instruments. They've definitely got the right sound for a Ren faire duo.

Ren faire audiences want more than just the sound of the period from their musicians. They want to be thoroughly entertained, and their sense of humor runs toward the bawdy. So throw in some Irish and Scottish drinking songs such as "Seven Drunken Nights" from the Dubliners, and the Bards' own "Do Virgins Taste Better?" On this latter song, you have to realize the question is being asked of a dragon. (If I were writing a music review of the song, I might say their playing including some tasty licks, but that might be misconstrued, so I won't.) They don't leave the question unanswered, but it's in a different song, "The Dragon's Retort." Both songs use the tune of the "Irish Washerwoman."

The Bards have been known to take modern songs and subject them to retro treatment, as when they do their version of a Bare Naked Ladies song, which for Ren faire audiences becomes "If I Had a Million Ducats."

So the Bards have got the humor part down pretty darn good. They've also got solid musicianship going for them. Most of all, though, they have their love of the music, without which nothing else really matters in the long run.

Over the past ten years, the Brobdingnagian Bards have delighted audiences at Ren faires, science fiction conventions, events like DragonCon, house concerts and more standard concert venues. They've gained a large following. They've branched out into online podcasts and MP3 releases. You can even download some of their music for free.

In September 2008, the Bards announced they were breaking up. It's an amicable parting. As Andrew has written, "this wasn't one of those 'we had a fight at DragonCon moments.'" Both Marc and Andrew plan to focus on their solo careers. Their music will live on at CD Baby and in podcasts and downloads available on the Internet.

Real Men Wear Kilts
1. Green Grow the Rashes O
2. Flower of Scotland
3. Donald, Where's Your Drunken Scotsman?
4. Beer, Beer, Beer
5. Oor Hamlet
6. Loch Lomond
7. Ye Jacobites By Name
8. Black Velvet Band
9. Seven Drunken Nights
10. My Love Is Like a Red, Red Rose / 500 Miles
11. Follow Prince Charlie
12. Health to the Company
13. Mari Mac
14. Rosin the Bow
15. Jedi Drinking Song Prequel (Star Wars Parody)
16. Auld Lang Syne (New Years Song)

from CD Baby

Live: Nex Monoceroti, Per Risibus
1. Hole in the Wall
2. Some Say the Devil's Dead
3. Parade of the Victorious Knights
4. Shepherd's Serenade
5. O'er the Way
6. Maids in the Meadow
7. Carolan's Concerto
8. Valeria
9. Brobdingnagian Love Song
10. Featherlight
11. Harvest Home
12. Lady Faery
13. Greensleeves
14. Morning Song
15. Tolkien (The Hobbit & Lord of the Rings)
16. Eleanor Plunkett

or the MP3 from CD Baby

The Holy Grail of Irish Drinking Songs
1. Beer, Beer, Beer
2. Black Velvet Band
3. Seven Drunken Nights
4. The Holy Ground
5. Lily the Pink
6. Old Dun Cow (MacIntyre!)
7. The Orange and The Green
8. Come Out Ye Black and Tans
9. Rattlin' Bog
10. Johnny at the Door
11. Finnegan's Wake
12. Johnny Jump Up
13. Whiskey in the Jar
14. Wild Rover
15. A Begging I Will Go
16. Health to the Company

or the MP3 from CD Baby

Christmas in Brobdingnag, Vol 1
What's "Carol of the Bells" without bells, or "The Little Drummer Boy" without a drum? It's not your stereotypical Christmas music, for one thing.

1. Little Drummer Boy
2. Carol of the Bells
3. Bog Down in Christmas
4. What Child Is This?
5. Christmas Time in Texas

from CD Baby

Brobdingnagian Fairy Tales
1. None But A Harper (The Last Unicorn)
2. Happily Ever After
3. Jedi Drinking Song (Star Wars parody)
4. Lily the Pink
5. Exclamations (Schoolhouse Rock parody)
6. Buttercup's Lament
7. Monster Mash
8. Angel's Lament (Buffy, the Vampire Slayer parody)
9. The Leprechaun
10. Soul of a Harper
11. Bog Down in the Valley (Live!)
12. Mendeluvium Madness
13. The Orange and The Green
14. Santa Lucia
15. If I Had A Million Ducats (Live! Barenaked Ladies parody)
16. Old Dun Cow
17. A Prudent Thief
18. Frog Kissin'

or the MP3 from CD Baby

Memories of Middle Earth
1. TOLKIEN (The Hobbit & Lord of the Rings)
2. Moria
3. The Heart of Fangorn
4. Hobbit's Dance
5. Lothlorien
6. Like a Hobbit in a Mushroom Field
7. Weathertop
8. Fellowship of the Ring
9. The Ring of Hope
10. Galadriel's Mirror
11. Shadowfax
12. Breaking of the Fellowship
13. Legolas
14. The Grey & The White
15. Now It's Time To Go (Bilbo's Farewell Song)
16. Psychopathic, Chronic, Schizophrenic Gollum Blues

or the MP3 from CD Baby

A Celtic Renaissance Wedding
1. Shepherd's Serenade
2. Bridal Chorus
3. Lady Faery
4. Maids in the Meadow
5. Wild Mountain Thyme
6. Eleanor Plunkett
7. Frog Kissin'
8. The Kiss
9. Health to the Company
10. When She Held Me In Her Arms
11. My Irish Valentine
12. Scarborough Faire
13. Valeria
14. The Bridge
15. Tolkien (The Hobbit & Lord of the Rings)

or the MP3 from CD Baby

Songs of Ireland
1 Rocky Road to Dublin
2 Rosin the Beau
3 Lish Young Buy-A-Broom
4 Johnny at the Door
5 An Irish Lullaby
6 Spancil Hill
7 Finnegan's Wake
8 Come Out Ye Black and Tans
9 Lanigan's Ball
10 Jug of Punch
11 Patriot Game
12 By the Rising of the Moon
13 The Unicorn Song
14 Satisfied
15 Join the British Army
16 Big Strong Man
17 Danny Boy
18 Paddy McCollough
19 Bog Down in the Valley

or the MP3 from CD Baby

A Faire To Remember
1. The Mermaid Song
2. Do Virgins Taste Better Medley
3. Scarborough Faire
4. Whiskey in the Jar
5. Wild Mountain Thyme
6. Health to the Company
7. Wild Rover
8. Johnny Jump Up
9. The Scotsman
10. Greensleeves Medley
11. A Faire-ly Informative Interlude
12. If I Had A Million Ducats
13. Lusty Young Smith
14. Donald, Where's Your Trousers/What Do You Do With A Drunken Sail
15. Irish Ballad
16. A Fairy Story
17. Always Look on the Bright Side of Life

or the MP3 from CD Baby

Songs of the Muse
1. Hole in the Wall
2. Some Say the Devil's Dead
3. Parade of the Victorious Knights
4. Shepherd's Serenade
5. O'er the Way
6. Maids in the Meadow
7. Carolan's Concerto
8. Valeria
9. Brobdingnagian Love Song
10. Featherlight
11. Harvest Home
12. Lady Faery
13. Greensleeves
14. Morning Song
15. Tolkien (The Hobbit & Lord of the Rings)
16. Eleanor Plunkett

or the MP3 from CD Baby

Gullible's Travels
1. Maiden's Dance
2. The King's Song (I Can't Help Falling in Love With You)
3. Wild Mountain Thyme
4. Wild Rover
5. The Bridge
6. Shepherd's Serenade
7. The Scotsman
8. The Kiss
9. Johnny At the Door
10. Lay
11. Frog Kissing
12. Faerie Story
13. Johnny Jump Up
14. Tolkien
15. Irish Lullaby
16. Mendeluvium Madness

or the MP3 from CD Baby

Marked by Great Size
1. None But A Harper
2. Satisfied
3. Lady Faery
4. Gypsy Rover
5. Swift Dining
6. A Begging I Will Go
7. Do Virgins Taste Better
8. Irish Ballad
9. Bella's Highland Jig
10. O'er the Way
11. Liquid Sunshine
12. The Dragon's Retort
13. Happily Ever After
14. A Prudent Thief
15. If I Had A Million Ducats
16. Pachelbel Canon in F - Variations

or the MP3 from CD Baby

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