Tag Archives: filk

The Pegasus Award Brainstorming Poll is Open!

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What science fiction or fantasy-related music would you like to see on the Pegasus Award ballot next year?

Pegasus Award Logo

Opening the “brainstorming” phase signals the start of the 2015 awards cycle for the Pegasus Awards for “filk” — the music of science fiction and fantasy fandom. The Pegasus Awards are awarded at (and administered by) the Ohio Valley Filk Fest each October; in fact, the 2014 awards were just handed out last weekend.

The brainstorming phase is conducted via this online poll that allows anyone to nominate up to five songs and performers, in four permanent and two rotating categories. The 2015 categories are:

  • Best Filk Song — Any song is eligible that has not previously won a Pegasus Award or been on the final ballot in this category in the last 2 years
  • Best Classic Filk Song — Any well-known filk song that is at least 10 years old, has not previously won a Pegasus Award, and has not been on the final ballot in this category in the last 2 years
  • Best Writer/Composer — Any writer/composer of filk songs who has not won this Pegasus Award in the past 5 years
  • Best Performer — Any performer in the filk community who has not won this Pegasus Award in the past 5 years
  • 2015 Rotating Category: Best Adapted Song — Parodies, pre-existing lyrics set to new music (e.g., a Kipling poem), or other material adapted to filk
  • 2015 Rotating Category: Best Time-Related Song — Because it’s OVFF’s 31st anniversary and the 31st wedding anniversary is the “timepiece” anniversary, any songs related to time

Anyone who has an interest in science fiction and/or fantasy-related music may be considered part of the “filk community” and can participate in brainstorming possible nominees, nominating, and voting. The award by-laws define “exhibiting interest” using examples such as filking at SF&F conventions, attending filk conventions or “house sings,” taking part in related on-line forums, and just “discussing filk and filk related issues with other filkers.”

If you made it this far in this post or have read any of my previous filk-related posts, you can probably claim to have exhibited interest and would therefore be qualified to participate in the Pegasus Award process. So if you have a favorite you’d like to suggest, fill out the Brainstorming Poll Form. And unlike elections for public office, you’re allowed to fill out as many brainstorming forms as you like!

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If You’re a Teacher or a Parent, You Should Get to Know Tim Griffin’s Music

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Last month I introduced my newsletter readers* to Tim Griffin, whose music I encountered at the World Science Fiction Convention this past August.


(Tim Griffin.)

My expectations for the World Science Fiction Convention in London were very high, and while the overall trip was awesome the convention had some ups and downs. As with any big convention, I didn’t get to see everyone or do everything I wanted, but one bright spot was the music portion, the best part of which was getting to meet Tim Griffin, who was one of the finalists for this year’s Pegasus Awards.

If you or someone you know is a parent or teacher, and might appreciate amusing songs that sneak in a bit of educational content, Tim Griffin is a name you should know and http://www.griffined.org/ is a website you should visit early and often. The first song Tim played had me hooked:

Aristotle said the world is a ball
Unrolled a scroll and made a map of it all
He put the planets in the sky, moving round the Earth every day
Copernicus drew a very different one
Pictured all the planets going ‘round the Sun
Then Galileo built a telescope and said, “Hey, it sure looks that way.”

You know that each generation learns a little bit more
Pulling back the curtain, opening up the door
But it’s only when we’re standing on the shoulders of giants
We can see the things we didn’t before

While he was singing I made a note on my phone — “shoulders of giants” — because I knew I wanted to learn more about his music.

Tim’s songs are enjoyable just from the standpoint of being catchy tunes, but what makes them unique is that most of them have educational components because he was a science teacher. I talked with him several times and found out that he runs a nonprofit educational foundation that produces music and makes it available — free! — to educators and anyone else who’s interested. Not only does he provide the songs for free download on his website, but he also provides the lyrics and in many cases includes references to educational standards that the songs address (e.g., California state standards, Common Core), and sometimes includes suggestions for educational activities to accompany the songs.

Tim pointed out to me that teachers don’t have to use the songs in an overt manner: the songs can be effective even if they’re only played as background music during what would normally be a non-educational part of the day, such as when the children have just come in from lunch or recess and are getting ready to start the next lesson. His foundation has conducted some research into music and learning retention, and the results have been quite positive, but even without that the music itself is worth a listen.

Check out his website, listen to a few of the songs, and if you like what you hear, buy one of his CDs or make a tax-deductible donation to the foundation — but even more importantly, share the music (or this blog post) with a teacher or principal or librarian.

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*Yeah, I have a newsletter I send out sometimes. You can sign up for it here.

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P.S. Seriously, if you know any teachers who may be looking for an innovative way to introduce science and math and technology topics to their students, please forward this to them!

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Reminder: Vote for the Pegasus Awards!

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This is your public service announcement: It’s time to vote for the annual Pegasus Awards for Excellence in Filking — i.e., for excellence in science fiction and fantasy-related music. (Note that yours truly is not on the ballot.)

Pegasus Award Logo
(Pegasus Award Logo.)

So you can make an informed vote, the 2014 Pegasus Final Ballot includes audio snippets of each finalist in every category:

  • Best Filk Song
  • Best Classic (at least 10 years old) Filk Song
  • Best Performer
  • Best Writer/Composer
  • Best Adapted Song (2014 Rotating Category)
  • Best Song of Passage (2014 Rotating Category)

Just by virtue of reading this post, you should be eligible to vote, since anyone who has an interest in science fiction and/or fantasy music is considered part of the “filk community.” The award by-laws define “exhibiting interest” using such activities as filking at SF&F conventions, attending filk conventions or “house sings,” taking part in related on-line forums, and just “discussing filk and filk related issues with other filkers.” I’m willing to count this as a discussion if you are!

The last full day to vote is October 19th, so you have two weeks to get your votes in! The Pegasus Awards will be presented at the Ohio Valley Filk Fest, October 24-6, in Worthington, OH.

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The Musical Extravaganza That Was Dragon_Con

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Dragon_Con 2014 was terrific! I’m sorry that it took me so long to put together this post about it. I’m also sorry that I’m not a better photographer with my phone … so I apologize that the pictures below are in general blurry and badly exposed.

This year’s Dragon_Con had a number of highlights — including the fact that a few people I didn’t know came to my solo concert! Overall, the convention turned out to be a musical tour de force. Mainstage groups like The Cruxshadows and Bella Morte get most of the attention, but thanks to the Dragon_Con Filk Track lesser-known groups like The Gekkos, The Ken Spivey Band, and Foot-Pound Force also got the chance to perform throughout the weekend.

Mikey Mason, the “comedy rock star” and “white trash geek,” had a number of shows:


(Mikey Mason, performing on the Hyatt Concourse.)

The Blibbering Humdingers also had several shows, in addition to putting on a standing-room-only medieval music workshop:


(The Blibbering Humdingers, and friends.)

One fantastic musical discovery of the convention was Pandora Celtica, who had been absent from Dragon_Con for a couple of years. I remembered catching snippets of their music before, but this time I was able to hear their marvelous harmonies several times.


(Pandora Celtica.)

In addition to their “Dragon_Con reunion,” the Brobdingnagian Bards — Andrew McKee and Marc Gunn — put on several solo concerts and workshops. Marc’s “Firefly Drinking Songs” concert overflowed the room, with dozens of people standing in the hallway to listen!


(The Brobdingnagian Bards. L-R, Andrew McKee and Marc Gunn.)

And Mikey Mason was paired with Tom Smith, “the world’s fastest filker,” for a comedy music duel:


(Mikey Mason and Tom Smith.)

Last but not least, Tally Deushane played some of her delightful songs in the filk room (and also came to my concert!) — I didn’t get the chance to ask her if she’s been working on a new album.

So, while Dragon_Con is a crazy, loud, confusing, hectic event, from a musical standpoint it was terrific! My thanks go out to Robby Hilliard, Amber Hansford, and Pat Var for their enthusiasm and diligence in running the Filk Track, and especially for inviting me to participate at a higher level. I hope to make it back next year!

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P.S. If you want more information on any of my musical friends, check out their websites:
– Andrew McKee
– Brobdingnagian Bards
– Foot-Pound Force
– Marc Gunn
– Mikey Mason
– Pandora Celtica
– Tally Deushane
– The Blibbering Humdingers
– The Gekkos
– The Ken Spivey Band
– Tom Smith

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Going to Dragon_Con

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With a shout-out to my classmates who will be gathering for a multi-year reunion this weekend,* here’s my schedule for Dragon_Con 2014 — the largest science fiction and fantasy convention in the Southeast! — being held this weekend in Atlanta, Georgia.

While I will be attending as many of my writing and musical friends’ sessions as I can fit into the schedule, I’m taking an active part in these events:

  • Thursday, 7 p.m. (Dragon_Con Eve) — “Spaceships & Zombies,” a Baen Books launch party for ISLANDS OF RAGE & HOPE by John Ringo and A CALL TO DUTY by David Weber & Timothy Zahn — Peachtree Ballroom, Atlanta Westin
  • Friday, 8:30 p.m. — “Princess Alethea’s Traveling Sideshow,” hosted by Alethea Kontis (whose book of essays, Beauty and Dynamite, was recently re-released) — Room A707, Marriott Marquis
  • Saturday, 1:00 p.m. — SOLO CONCERT! — including songs from Truths and Lies and Make-Believe and the hopefully-soon-to-be-recorded new album … including the DEBUT of a new song based on Howard Tayler’s “Schlock Mercenary” webcomic — Baker Room, Atlanta Hyatt
  • Saturday, 2:30 p.m. — “Baen Books Slide Show and Prize Patrol!” with Baen Publisher Toni Weisskopf and the rest of the Baen crew — Regency V Ballroom, Atlanta Hyatt

Meanwhile, here’s an interview with yours truly on Andrew McKee’s “Everything is Filk” Podcast. Hope you like it!

If you’re coming to the convention, I look forward to seeing you! But whatever you do this Labor Day weekend, I hope you have a terrific time!

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*I started a rumor that they picked Labor Day weekend because I was already booked.

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On Reaching the Fifteen Percent Mark

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As a bit of insight into the economics of independent music publishing, this weekend I broke the 15% mark in terms of CD sales.


(Image by Paul Cory Photography.)

To be precise, I reached the 17.15% point, which means that so far I’ve made back a little over 17% of the cost of recording, engineering, manufacturing, distributing, etc., the CD.

In other words, I’m still over 80% in the hole, almost a year after releasing the album.*

Maybe you didn’t even realize I had a CD out. In that case, at this link you can listen to all 10 songs of Truths and Lies and Make-Believe, which I call “a compendium of musical selections, inspired or influenced by science fiction, fantasy, life, and faith … a multitude of things.” If you decide to buy it, it’s $7 for a download or $10 — only $1 a song! — for a physical CD. (Though you can pay more, if you want to.)

So as I told folks at my concert this past weekend at ConGregate, if you’ve ever bought a copy of my CD, THANK YOU!

And if you like any of my songs, even a little bit, I’d be much obliged if you told a friend or wrote a review or otherwise helped spread the word.

And maybe next month I’ll crack the 20% mark!

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*And yet I’m crazy enough to be thinking of starting to record a second one!

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Next Weekend I’ll Be at ConGregate, a New Convention in Winston-Salem!

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A week from today I’ll be at the inaugural — yes, the first-ever! — ConGregate science fiction and fantasy convention.


(Greg-8, the ConGregate mascot.)

ConGregate has been put together by a wonderful team of experienced and talented convention organizers, so I anticipate it will start out as one of the best conventions going. I’ll actually be there all weekend and will be busy with a number of events, including a solo concert on Sunday morning where I will debut at least one new song:

Friday:

  • 8:00 p.m. — “Beyond the First Draft” workshop
  • 9:00 p.m. — Filk Collective

Saturday:

  • 2:00 p.m. — “Ask the Military” panel
  • 3:00 p.m. — Baen Books Traveling Road Show
  • 8:00 p.m. — “Beyond the Evil Goddess/God” panel

Sunday:

  • 9:00 a.m. — Non-Denominational Prayer Service
  • 10:00 a.m. — CONCERT
  • 1:00 p.m. — “Managing Your Finances as a Writer” panel

As usual, I will have copies of Truths and Lies and Make-Believe as well as “Another Romulan Ale” bumper stickers. Should be a lot of fun — if you’re there, be sure to find me and say hello!

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My Song ‘Tauntauns to Glory’ Made the Pegasus Award ‘Brainstorming Poll’

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I have no idea who suggested it, but I appreciate whomever-it-was putting what is arguably my most popular song up for consideration during the “brainstorming” phase of the Pegasus Award cycle.

Pegasus Award Logo

This does not mean that the song has been officially nominated, because the Pegasus Awards operate in three parts: first, the brainstorming; second, the nominating; and finally, the voting.

The nominating phase is open now, and folks may nominate up to five artists/songs per category:

  • Best Writer/Composer
  • Best Performer
  • Best Filk Song
  • Best Classic Filk Song — songs must be at least 10 years old to be considered “classic”
  • Best Adapted Song
  • Best Song of Passage — for which “Tauntauns to Glory” was suggested

As the main site says, “Anyone with an interest in Filking or Filk music can place a nomination and/or vote.” To nominate, use the handy nomination form. If you need ideas on what you might nominate, check out all the results of the Brainstorming Poll.

Nominations must be submitted by 12:01 a.m. PDT, 31 July 2014 — meaning, the first minute after July 30th ends (on the West coast).

Again, thank you to whoever suggested me and my song for the award!

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My ConCarolinas Schedule

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This weekend I’ll be one of the guests at the ConCarolinas science fiction and fantasy convention.


(2013 Badge Artwork by Rich Molinelli.)

The Author Guest of Honor is the inimitable George R.R. Martin, so it’s no surprise the convention is sold out! I anticipate that it will be a madhouse.

I will be busy with a number of events …

Friday:

  • 2:30 p.m. — Welcome to Filk
  • 3:30 p.m. — Opening Ceremonies
  • 10:00 p.m. — Filking the Night Away

Saturday:

  • 10:00 a.m. — Baen Books Traveling Road Show
  • 11:30 a.m. — Filk and Cookies
  • 2:30 p.m. — Recording and Selling Your Filk
  • 6:30 p.m. — Warfare and the Military
  • 10:00 p.m. — Filking the Night Away

Sunday:

  • TBD a.m. — Fans for Christ morning worship service
  • 12:00 p.m. — Getting Your Groove Back
  • 2:30 p.m. — Editors and Agents

I may be doing other things as well — perhaps a reading, I’m not sure — and of course there will be the usual hanging out with my various nerdy and geeky friends. And, if you’re there, I will have copies of a certain science-fiction-and-fantasy-related album as well as “Another Romulan Ale” bumper stickers!

If you’re there, I hope to see you!

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For STAR WARS Day, Here’s a Song

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And a live rendition, no less, performed as part of a podcast!

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(Tauntaun Rider Silhouette by Aaron Hynninen, a.k.a. azza1070, at azza1070.spreadshirt.com. Used by permission.)

This past Monday I was one of Samuel Montgomery-Blinn’s guests on a special “North Carolina Speculative Fiction” edition of Carolina Book Beat. Lex Wilson and I held down the first hour of the show, in which I performed a live version of “Tauntauns to Glory.”

You can read more about the podcast on this page, or listen at this link: Carolina Book Beat: Gray Rinehart, Lex Wilson, and Jen McConnel. “Tauntauns to Glory” gets introduced around the 17:30 mark.

And, of course, “May the Fourth be with you.”

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P.S. To close out, here’s a shameless plug for the album that includes “Tauntauns to Glory.” Get it at Truths and Lies and Make-Believe. Tell your friends!

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