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.)
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.
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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
Greetings all,
I’ll be teaching “The New Bard’s Road Map” online this coming Sunday afternoon (3-4:30 pm Eastern). Please check it out, and let me know if you’re thinking of attending (via the Facebook event page).
Cheers, Drake
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Sneak peek offer!
My beloved music family,
In a little over two weeks, my first album, Hidden Gold, will have its five year anniversary. It was a milestone for me.
I have been working on a full remix and remaster of the most popular track from the album, “Tam Lin of the Elves”, brought to life with the help of the incomparable Heather Dale. I always loved the song, but my inexperience as a mixing engineer shows on the original release, and much of the beauty and delicacy of her vocals got a little buried in the mix.
There are issues that have been on my mind a lot for the last few years, and these issues have been thrust to the fore this past week. Some of what I have been grappling with:
- What does it mean to be a real ally?
- How can I see past my own privilege to better understand the lived experience of people who have been marginalized?
- What does it mean to truly include others whose experience is different from mine?
As of this weekend, I have been Queen’s Bard of the East for a full three months–a quarter of the year that champions are supposed to serve. I continue to be honored and deeply humbled at this opportunity, and recognize the good fortune and privilege that allowed me to compete and to serve. With that said, I need to level with you about something:
This position does not look like it did on the brochure.
I’ve been quiet, right? Too quiet. Sharing my first guitar piece, been working on for a little over a month. I’m starting to work on some of my stuff too. #SCAatHome
