Categories
bardic SCA

Becoming an Apprentice

Now that Mistress Zsof has announced it publicly, I can safely say it here: On Saturday, at our kingdom’s bardic championship, I will formally become Zsof’s apprentice, having served as her student for a little over a year. (In SCA language, she will go from being “my teacher” to “my Laurel”.) To the rest of the SCA, and especially the bardic and Arts & Sciences communities, this is an indication that Zsof and I have agreed that our period of study is working out to our mutual satisfaction, and that we both wish to make the relationship formal and long-term. There will be a brief ceremony at the event, at which time I will be allowed to wear the green belt of an apprentice. (For those unfamiliar, certain other belt colors also indicate particular status: yellow belts indicate a protegee, someone learning service under a Pelican, red belts indicate a squire, who is learning chivalry from a Knight, and Knights themselves wear a white belt.)

In addition, I am looking forward to my good friend Magnus Hvalmagi being elevated to the Order of the Laurel, and my student-sister Suba Al-Hadid being elevated to the Pelican. (Fun with detail and nuance: Suba is studying performance peer-like qualities from Mistress Zsof, not service, so she will continue to be Zsof’s student after she becomes a Pelican, if they so choose. Magnus, however, will cease to be Master Toki’s apprentice on becoming his Peer, since the Laurel is the track Toki was training him for.)

All this is, of course, in addition to the actual bardic championship itself, in which I will be competing. I’ll be checking in next week to share how it all plays out.

[UPDATE: Zsof has let me know the green belt will not be ready on Saturday, so she’ll be providing me with a different symbol until it’s done.]

[UPDATE: Corrected Suba’s field of study with Zsof.]

Categories
bardic filk SCA

Filk (Is The Word)

Our King’s and Queen’s Bardic Champion Tourney is four weeks out, and I’m deep in preparations. Yesterday, my friend Gwendolyn the Graceful presented the last in a series of articles about the Bardic Arts for The Æthelmearc Gazette, about the hot-button topic of “bardic authenticity”. It’s worth a read. Apparently it set my muse off, and she’s been in a mischievous mood of late. So…got this out of my system. Enjoy. (Or wince. Or both.)

Filk (Is The Word) by Eric Schrager (aka Drake Oranwood)
(To the Tune of “Grease (Is The Word)”)

I found the Bardic Arts and saw the light,
We know we love our craft, and yes we do it right,
There’s all the research, we can’t go too far,
We are believers now – but that’s not all that we are.
Filk is the word…

Continue reading “Filk (Is The Word)”
Categories
bardic SCA

Bardic Circles!

This past weekend’s bardic circle at our home in Rusted Woodlands was a great success. We had 10 participants, including a couple of audience members, but everyone contributed at least one song or story (though that’s never required at one of these). We had performers with varying levels of experience, and there was a lot of thoughtful question-and-answer along with the performances. It was a little like a cross between a regular circle and a collegium panel discussion. Thanks to everyone who was part of it.

Next month, we will be holding our next circle on Sunday, February 21 from 11 am to 7 pm in Northpass (Mohegan Lake, NY), hosted by Lilie Dubh and Friderich Grimme. It will be a longer session, to give performers the opportunity to polish pieces they plan to perform at Bardic Champions Tourney in March.

Bards, cooks, and audience members are all welcome. There will be food served. If you aren’t on Facebook and are interested, please contact Friderich Grimme (chaicken@gmail.com) for information about attending.

Categories
Uncategorized

Norse Oddity (David Bowie Tribute)

I wanted a tribute to David Bowie I could sing at bardic circles, like the one this coming Sunday. I don’t often filk, but sometimes, whatcha gonna do? So I reached out to the hive mind…enjoy, and feel free to make use if you feel called.

Norse Oddity (to the tune of “Space Oddity”)

By Juliean Galak and Eric Schrager (with help from the Filker and SCA Bardic Arts Facebook groups)

Oarsman Troels to Captain Bjørn
Oarsman Troels to Captain Bjørn
Eat your salted cod and put your helmet on
Oarsman Troels to Captain Bjørn
We’ve got our oars down, let’s row on
Check the sails now, and may Thor’s luck be with you…

Continue reading “Norse Oddity (David Bowie Tribute)”
Categories
bardic SCA

Upcoming Bardic Circle in Paramus (1/17)

This Sunday (January 17) there will be a EK Southern Region bardic circle at our home in Paramus, NJ, from 2-7 pm. Those of you who are on Facebook, the event link is here (and the EK Southern Region Bardic group is here, if you’re interested). We welcome performers, audience, and SCA curious and newcomers. Street clothing, feel free to bring a snack or a beverage. For the address, either indicate you’re interested on the Facebook event, or email me (EricNJB at gmail dot com).

Our last bardic circle, down in Southern NJ, was a lot of fun. And for bards who are planning to compete in the upcoming Bardic Champions Tourney in York, PA in March, this is a great time to practice your material for an appreciative audience.

Hope to see you there!

Categories
bardic general

Looking Back

2015 will always be a special year to me. I finished Hidden Gold, and shared it with the world, and people discovered my music. We have raised over $1,100 for The Therapeutic Nursery. And a few other key events came to pass that I wasn’t necessarily expecting.

One of these I never got around to sharing, because it happened in the middle of a month that was full of other good news and it felt a little unseemly to share at the time. But I don’t want to leave the year behind without mentioning it, because in its own way it was just as exciting as anything else that happened. In late October, my wife and I received an invitation to Ellen Kushner’s birthday party, which she and her wife, Delia Sherman, were hosting in their home. I have name-checked Ellen several times on this site, since her phenomenal novelization of Thomas the Rhymer was a touchstone for me as a bard, inspiring several of my songs, most notably “Tam Lin of the Elves”. She is one of my all-time favorite authors, and one of the great blessings of having Jess in my life is that she and I ended up becoming personal friends with Ellen.

Ellen greeted us warmly, and asked me at the door if I would be singing for her at the party. Needless to say, I was happy to oblige. Later in the party, Ellen introduced me to her friends as (I kid you not) her “personal bard”. I managed to keep it together long enough to give over “Tam Lin” to an enthusiastic crowd of authors, editors, and other creative folks, which led off a lovely little bardic circle. This is one of those memories that I will cherish all my days.

I hope that all of you had the opportunity to touch some of your dreams this past year, and if not, that you will in the year to come. I have a few more big plans in store for 2016, and will share them as fortune allows. I hope you’re safe with cherished loved ones tonight to ring in the new year, and that the challenges ahead will lead you to joy.

Happy New Year.

Categories
general technology

NO SPOILERS!! Star Wars: TFA and the Clash of Civilizations

[NOTE: This is a departure from my normal posts about bardic. I’ll say right now that if you don’t care about Star Wars or find the whole issue of spoiling movies online ludicrous and unworthy of discussion…You don’t need to see this post. This isn’t the topic you’re looking for. You should go about your business. Move along, move along… But also note that NO details about the plot of the new movie are revealed here, so it’s safe to read.

ADDITIONAL NOTE There’s no way the last line is meant to be taken seriously, it was satirical. Apparently that wasn’t obvious to some  readers.]

It’ll be two more days before I get the chance to see Star Wars: The Force Awakens in the theaters, by which time the movie will have been in the theaters eleven whole days. We’re down in Florida visiting family, and my wife sets the schedule for these sorts of things. So we’re going for my son’s birthday with everyone who’s down here with us. (I should note that she is not the Star Wars fan that I am, but in principle I was content to wait this long to see the movie. In principle…)

Continue reading “NO SPOILERS!! Star Wars: TFA and the Clash of Civilizations”
Categories
charity recording technology

VocaliD: Giving the Gift of Voice

Last year, I learned about a project called VocaliD (pronounced “Vocality”), which is using technology to allow donors to give the gift of individual, unique voices to people who are unable to speak. The project is now up and running, accepting donations, and has begun creating custom voices for people.

I just got a certificate of appreciation for completing my first hour of donations (500 sentences). It’s incredibly simple to do, as long as you have a computer with a microphone and a decent room without excessive noise. Plus, you get to say goofy sentences and recite the occasional line from Kipling or The Velveteen Rabbit.

This holiday season, if you have the time to start this project, I invite you to give the gift of your voices to those who need them. (And if you don’t have the time this month, or only have a little, sign up as a donor, and start whenever you can. You can record any time, and 10 sentences is considered a valid recording session. And while the website says you have to use Google Chrome, I did it from Firefox without any trouble, so you can try it with your current browser and see if it works.)

Categories
album fundraising

A Gift of Hidden Gold?…

The holidays are now upon us. I was surprised recently by friends asking me how to get hold of additional copies of the Hidden Gold CD to give as gifts. I’m deeply flattered to know that people not only have enjoyed the album, but consider it something they would want to give to their friends.

We have now raised over $1,100 for early intervention programs, and the holidays present us with an opportunity to help these programs even further, and get this music out to new listeners who might appreciate it. So, in the spirit of enabling savvy online shoppers, I’ll remind you that Hidden Gold is as easy as ever to order online. Kunaki will deliver beautiful, professional-quality CDs to you in about a week, anywhere in the world, and while CDs cost a little more than online downloads, they also raise more for our efforts than any other form of purchase. So if you enjoy the album (or are listening on our music page for the first time and think it’s pretty cool), I invite you to consider it as a simple option for your holiday shopping.

Categories
album charity fundraising

Telling Our Story

Telling Our Story

Inspired by the Hidden Gold project and our donations to The Therapeutic Nursery, the Kaplen JCC on the Palisades included a story on our family’s experience with the Nursery in the December/January issue of their internal publication, In the Center. Spencer, as always, did not hesitate to allow his story to be published if it could benefit the program and the cause of early intervention in general. He basically said something along the lines of “Dad, did I stutter?”

It’s a beautiful article, and you can read it here.