The East Kingdom had our first virtual Coronation on Saturday, August 15, when Margarita De’ Siena completed her unprecedented and eventful reign, and Magnus Tindal and Alberic von Ron Rostock became the new Consules of the Eastern Empire. Grim as Sovereign’s Bard, and I as Consort’s Bard, asked their then-Highnesses what, if any, service we might provide to add to the ceremonies they were planning. As luck would have it, Tindal had a number of thoughts that played well to my strengths, and one that provided Grim and me a joint opportunity.
Author: Drake Oranwood
Drake Oranwood (Eric Schrager) is a singer, songwriter, producer, lutenist, and medieval enthusiast who brings modern sensibilities to original songs set long ago and far away.
So…the EK Midrealm Bardic Showcase went off with nary a hitch worth noting. That was spectacular. (Available on YouTube if you missed it, or want to see it agaion.) I want to take a moment to recognize all the effort that went into making this Pennsic highlight a reality in this unique moment.
First, to my fellow kingdom bards:
- THL Honor von Atzinger, Dragon Bard, whose enthusiasm, delight, and communication to all the royals of the Known World made this possible, coupled her with her irresistible Master of Ceremonies skills.
- Master Grim the Skald, Sovereign’s Bard who introduced me to the EK Bardic community once upon a time, thank you for bringing an experienced, steady, supportive hand, and a critical dose of zen. Your comfort sitting backstage and sharing the live stream audience feedback was wonderful for our composure and morale.
I’ve shared this elsewhere, but not here. (It’s under the wire, right?)
The Interkingdom Bardic Showcase is a long standing tradition held at Pennsic. It provides an opportunity for our kingdoms to come together and celebrate the performing arts. (Note: per tradition, the lineup of performers is pre-selected in consultation with the wishes of the SCA’s kingdom royals.)
This will be a YouTube livestream event (link here).
Join us for this year’s online Post-Pennsic showcase, featuring notable and rising performers representing various Kingdoms of the Known World:
Today was my last day as Queen’s Bard for Margarita De’ Siena. She is now sitting vigil as a new Lady of the Rose, and her magnificent heirs, Magnus Tindal and Alberic von Rostock, have been crowned Consuls of the East.
As the Known World rings with praise for Margarita’s incredible and unprecedented reign, I have put together my tribute. It’s my first new piece since I became Royal Bard, and I’m grateful to my muse, my wife Jessa, my teacher Peregrine, and my right-hand guitarist Dave Lambert, for all helping bring this to life in less than a week (the full draft finally took form last Sunday).
There is a song page with lyrics and the like. Some time soon I will add back story on the creative process that went into this (it’s been brewing since the start of the reign). For now, though, I have words and feelings, and I share them with you.
Drake, Consort’s Bard of the East
Hi everyone. This continues to be a challenging time, and finding the energy and will to blog regularly is much heavier. And I’m pushing through that today, because there are some recent developments I think are worth taking the time to share.
Recently, I have made a significant change around my moderation duties on Facebook. After eight glorious years, I have handed over the reins of the SCA Bardic Arts group to my long-time co-moderator Aneleda Falconbridge, and recruited a new team of moderators to help keep the group thriving into the future (more on that below). I’ve done this to provide me time and space to focus on a new FB I’ve just launched, SCA Neurodiversity. The group has been operating for nearly 3 weeks, and I’m very pleased with the growth and the responses from new members.
It’s good to be back with a new video for the first time in a while. With Hamilton streaming on people’s TVs this past week, I got inspired to ask My Gosling for permission to adapt another one of her brilliant Shakespeare/Hamilton filks. (There should be more where that came from in the near future. In the mean time, I’ve set up a page to collect all of these.)
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Juneteenth
Today is June 19, or Juneteenth, as it’s celebrated the Black community in America. I had started a lengthy post…and I’m deleting it. You don’t need to hear me talk about this stuff today. (Not familiar with Juneteenth? You can find anything you want to know with a quick Google search.)
If you want insights around race and the SCA, I invite you to spend some time with these accomplished gentlemen:
Also, I’ll mention that I’m donating any proceeds from my solo music (including the new remaster, which is dropping a day early) to the NAACP Defense Fund through the end of 2020. But that feels like the least I can do.
I’m re-releasing a favorite track this weekend. Saturday marks the 5 year anniversary of Hidden Gold, my first (and so far only) solo album, and I wanted to mark the occasion. I have completely remixed and remastered “Tam Lin of the Elves”, featuring the magnificent Heather Dale. I love that song, and the recording is unquestionably the most popular track from the album. But honestly, the album in general, and that track in particular, suffered from my complete lack of experience with mixing and sound engineering. The mix is solid, I know…but Heather’s ethereal descant vocals really don’t come through the way I wanted them to.
I will be posting a deep dive for recording geeks breaking down how I reworked the track to get the sound I felt was missing from the original. But this weekend, anyone who cares about this song will get to hear it like they’ve never heard it before.
I found a video I never shared out from the HELIOsphere concert. This one was written for the woman who is now my wife, back before I even conceived of being a bard. Jessica, I love you even more today.
Hi friends!
Thanks to everyone who came to yesterday’s online class, “The New Bard’s Road Map”. The recording is now up on YouTube.
Cheers, Drake
