Tag: fool

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Bardic Around the Fire, Part Deux

It’s that time again, kids! Or well, adults! Might be best to leave the kids at home for this one!

Back by popular demand, Bardic Around the Fire Part Deux was held at Kythe and Sine’s, on another nice, balmy late June/early July evening (things tend to run together when too much fun is had around a fire with good friends, good food, and some good booze). Much like the previous year, there were both new and familiar faces. IT seemed like people knew what to expect, so there was very little for me to manage. There did seem to be a lot more plebeians this time, who were ready to request their favorite song or story, but not quite ready to step onto the stage themselves.

 

Food was a drop more sparse in variety this time, but the alcohol made up for it, and flowed quite nicely. The only children we seemed to have this time were not really young in age, just in heart. This time we even had Battlecat Zeus in attendance, all hail his purrfectness! I swear, if people weren’t performing, they were petting this damn cat. The night roared on, much like the fire, but I had to leave at a reasonable hour, because some of us had work the next morning *grumble grumble* But I would definitely call this another success.

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The Great Northeastern War

O cantare, O solo mio!

A few months prior to the war, I was approached by the A and S minister, Lord Frederick Vandeveer, about giving a concert at the event. Excitement and anxiety rushed over me, you might say it came in like a wrecking ball!

I eagerly accepted, and had thus sealed my fate. After allowing this information to sink into my brain, I realized that, while working a standard 40 hour per week job, my skadian career, modeling, cosplaying, fencing, and an overwhelming need to satiate a need for social connection, an hour-long concert would be a little bit of an undertaking to attempt on my own.

So I decided to call in a life line and make this a tag-team Super Friends concert.

Thus, the birth of Lady Solveig and Friends!

I reached out in a frantic… I mean “composed” (yea, we’ll go with that) fashion to all my talented friend base of performers. The super list included Mistress Analitta Falconbridge, His Excellency Jean Du Montagne, Lady Eva Southerland, and Lady Nuala McKensie.

I had asked all except for Eva to have 2-3 pieces of diverse style to perform. Eva was local to me and would not only be performing her own pieces, but accompanying me on guitar as well. I had also asked everyone to include the titles and duration of their contributions. I should note this was my first time ever organizing a concert.

Eva and I got together many times to rehearse up until the day of the concert. The concert was scheduled for Saturday after court, which seemed to run on forever. To be fair, most GNE courts do. Originally the concert had been scheduled in Bardic Grove, however, due to the copious amounts of rain that had fallen, a more apt title at the time may have been “Bardic Lake”. Therefor, the concert had been moved to the barn.

8:30 or so, I hauled ass to the barn, trying to stay as dry as possible. I was blessed to have heralds announcing the concert, or I fear no one would have come. Circum 9:00, we had about 45 attendees, but 2 of my performers were still missing. But, alas, the show must go on!

I sat on the stage in front of the audience and had a casual conversation with them to warm up the crowd, and perhaps to calm my own quickened heartbeat. And after about 5 minutes of this, only 1 of my 2 missing performers had shown up. Jean De la Montagne, with his 21 Charisma (+5 modifier!) strolled in with his infamous hat (with admirably long plumage!). He offered up this hat to me, and it seemed to have magic powers. The hat bestowed upon its wearer (now me) a new sense of bravado and confidence. At this point, the concert began.

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Songs wove between the first 4 performers until the 5th had finally shown. There was no competition between the performers. Our only battle was against the rain, with its tapping against the roof a constant backdrop to any music we sought to perform.

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At one point, I was so bold as to entice the audience to join in the song. I taught them the round, “Rose, rose”, and had them sing in 4 parts. On top of that, I added another layer of “Poor Bird”, and, finally, Mistress Aneleda added an addition layer of “Hey Ho”.

Image may contain: 2 people, people playing musical instruments, people sitting, guitar and hat

About an hour later, the concert was over, and the rain had let up. This whole concert seemed to be in perfect harmony, and I had earned some new followers. All in all, a rather positive experience.

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Malagentia Winter Feast

When I was your age, I used to walk to school uphill, both ways, barefoot, in the snow!

Because, winter!

Winter Feast was my first event in Malagentia, WAAAY back in 2011. I can remember it back in the Grange hall, and the warm feeling of families feasting together. Since then, Winter Feast has always been a special event in my heart.

With my passion for the feast, I made sure I would attend this year. The Malagentian Bardic Group had been on the newer side of things, and was looking for an opportunity to perform. With their numbers small, and my need to be a ham, I quickly raised my hand to be part of this production. It was discussed at the monthly bardic brunch that they would be performing a piece about the local champions; with my connection to Stonemarche — being my second home after all — I quickly volunteered to play their champion, because Viking, right?

Feasting and festivities filled the night, as well as food, fun, friends, family, and [fr]alcohol — hey, I tried! I was lucky I didn’t go comatose after the copious amounts of food I consumed, after all, a sleepy champion wouldn’t make much of an impression upon the stage. We even roped in unsuspecting volunteers — poor Sir Ivan, what a good sport.

We had made cue cards for our volunteers, as well as actors who might forget their lines; we had makeshift costumes, and fun props as well. You might say we gave ourselves “mad props” for our props, yo. Hey, I’m a bard, this is what I do.

The bad word plays were plentiful, as were the laughs. I even got my Paul Reubenesque death, which was all I really wanted. This was the first real experience for the Malagentian Players to perform, and it would be the birth of their stage performances.

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Endewearde Hunt

Oh, I wish I was an Endeweardian…

I wanted to shoot things. I heard the Hunt was a good place to learn. There were several Grand Master Bowman who usually attended this event, since Endewearde was known for producing very talented archers. Must be because they’re up north in Maine, and have all those trees and squirrels to shoot at 😛

I need to make note of my traveling companions, only because I bounced ideas off of them. I traveled up with Sir Marcus, and Jan {pronounced Yan}. We spent the day passing between us bows and crossbows. I watched the Woods Walk and Target Archery, not feeling competent enough yet to try my hand at either. It grew dark soon after, and we stuck around for the delicious potluck feast. I was in awe of all the feats I had seen that day, and it struck me how much of a passion I had for wood and fletching and all their pointy glory.

On the two hour ride home, I was conversing with Sir Marcus and Jan, and was upset at the lack of songs written about archers, at least that I was aware of. I was determined to compose one. When that conversation passed, the conversation of a Harper’s Past and a 12-part Bohemian Rhapsody had arisen. Then, like a brick to the head, it hit me. I knew what I had to do. Frantically phrases rushed into my brain; I hit record on my phone, and began capturing all the snippets I could manage. Here’s the final product:

 

Bow-Hemian Rhapsody- Filk by Lady Sólveig Bjarnardóttir

Is this the field life
Is this just practicing
Caught up with scoring
No escape from targetry

Open your eyes
Look up at the prize and see
I’m just a bow boy, I need no armoring
because its aim it high, aim it low
Shoot the arrow, at a foe
Any way the wind blows, sorta really matters to me, to me

Yeoman, just straddled the line
Knocked a bolt onto my bow
loose the string now its a go
Yeoman, rounds have just begun
and now you’ve gone and fired them all away
Yeoman, oooo
Didn’t mean to make you cry
But some times Grandmaster bow men win them all
Loose on, loose on, as if scoring doesn’t matter

Too late, my fletching’s gone
Sent pointies down the line
Skimmed the petticote sometimes
Goodbye everybody, i’ve got to go
It’s time to pack my tackle and head to court

Marshall, oooo
I just wanna rank
More than just bowman once again

I see the little silouette of a deer
Let it fwoosh, let it fwoosh
Do you see the arrow flying
Thunder camp is frighting, with sword and boards a fighting
Little bow man, Little bow man
Little bow man, Little bow man
Little bowman – Bullseye

I’m just a bow boy, no swords point at me
He’s just a bow boy, from a bow family
Spare me your gripes and your pomposity

Pull it back, let it go, till the martial calls a hold

We’ve lost the tip! We always lose the tip. (Not the tip!)
We’ve lost the tip! We always lose the tip. (Not the tip!)
We’ve lost the tip! We always lose the tip. (Not the tip!)
We always lose the tip. (Not the tip)
Yes we always lost the tip
Always lose the tip,
Bow. bow, bow, bow, bow bow bow

Oh, mama mia, mama mia (Mama mia, loose the bow.)
Your majesty has a medal put aside for me
For me
For me!!!!


Crossbows think they can sit there and steal the bullseyes
Mundanes think they can stroll past the field line alive!

Oh Baby!
Get off the field baby!
You gotta get out
You gotta get right out of here

Archers really matter
Anyone can see
Archers really matter to me

Anyway the wind blows

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Harper’s Retreat

So 2013 was my first year competing for Baronial Bard of Stonemarche; I admit I was both nervous and full of myself.

I was full of myself because I felt I was a shoo-in. I’ve been a professional singer since 2004; I had been doing a wide range of music my entire life, from singing to playing instruments such as clarinet, I have done both solo and choir pieces; I qualified for All-State Chorus all four years in high school, making it through regional competitions to gain that honor; I went to college for voice and music education. I scoffed at the idea that any of these non-professional singers holding a candle to me. Looking back, I now know I had a shitty attitude, and I truly underestimated the talent of the Knowne World.

I had one period piece to my repertoire — only to find out later that it was only SCA appropriate, and not period appropriate — and a few Irish traditional songs. Looking back, I know that these things don’t make a good bard. I was ill-prepared with nothing memorized or even off-book. And even with all of my experience, I was shaking like a leaf due to nerves.

I had been encouraged to compete by my warm and welcoming household, whom had just found out I could sing. I had been sitting at their house every Thursday night for months, and never once had I brought up the fact that I went to school for music. I had lost my backbone for performance, and had sworn off singing once I had graduated from college, partially due to family issues and partially due to self-confidence.

Anybody who is anybody has sampled a brew from Bard’s Rest — and the night in question I had sampled several — and knows these brews can cause inhibitions to be lost, and in myself, musical turrets to abound, so I had opened my mouth to sing. It was at that point, Kythe and Sine had asked if I had ever competed for Baronial Bard. They had advised in years past that numbers had been few, many of which would be recycled. I had been apprehensive, but with liquid courage and their silver-tongued persuasion, I decided, what the hell, I’d be a shoo-in.

So, back to the day of the competition, without the liquid courage running through my veins, I was no more than a shambling shack in the wind. I remember sitting in the audience talking to whom would soon be the new Baronial Bard; we laughed, we joked, we commented on the music and stories shared; we exchanged opinions, and encouraged one another to be the best that we could be. Even when my new friend had gone to perform, I still scoffed and thought I had it in the bag. I didn’t sing well, not nearly up to my own standards, nor apparently to the audience’s or the judges’, but again this false arrogance had sat with me throughout the day. I finished the night out as most bardic circles do: singing merriment, laughing, and enjoying the more relaxed environment now that the competition was over.

Next day in court, it was time for the moment of truth. It was like a bad movie scene where the goofy guy expects to get the job, only to find it goes to the more qualified person. In the same fashion, as they were calling the Baronial Bard, I stood halfway up before I realized it wasn’t my name they had called. I tried to make it look like I was stretching, as awkwardly as a boy on a first date putting his arm around a girl, as I inched back into my seat. After the moment wore off, more than half of me was happy for my friend, though I will admit there was a part of me that was crestfallen.

I was disappointed, sure, as any would be at the loss of a competition. However, I gained so many more things from that day: I met mingled with many performers of many unique backgrounds; made friends with the Baron and Baroness; and realized what it truly meant to be a Baronial Champion, it was not just about aesthetics, but about the spirit, knowledge, and diversity that go into being a musically inspirational leader. With this in mind, I was no longer discouraged and now had a goal for next year. Give or take a year.