OK here it goes...

I warned you this is nothing...

So about a week ago or so I emailed Marc Gunn of the Brobdingnagian Bards just asking his opinion about posting lyrics online. Some of you might have noticed I posted lyrics to a song and shortly after, they disappeared.

I emailed him because on his podcasts he seems really down to earth, a geek like me and just friendly overall. I think I read that right cause he responds, not with advice but with a "Hey that's a great idea. I'll give you some space on the podcast website and you can start building it."

So what is it, you ask? It is a lyrics directory of Celtic/Irish/Scottish Folk and overall Renaissance Festival music. In shorter terms, the Renaissance Festival Lyrics Directory. It's done through blogger so I'm putting up one song a night but it includes the lyrics and a little background (when I can get it).

I told you. I told you it was nothing. Still, to me it's everything. Yes I just discovered this music two months ago. Yes I've only seen one group perform live and no they haven't been played on the podcast yet.

So I start emailing various entertainers as they were listed on the Renaissance Festival Podcast website. Just asked if we could use their lyrics for this directory and if they would be willing to add any background or words about the song. So far 14 bands have said yes and three have said yes but to wait because there's more then one person in the group and they want to get approval from everyone (or perhaps the leader who's out at the moment).

I haven't received a single NO yet. All of them have been extremely casual and friendly. It's just like one big family.

What I love about this is when I learn something new about a song. For instance, last night I posted "Fhir A Bhata" which is a 19th century Scottish folk song originally written in gaelic by a woman for her fisherman boyfriend. I went searching for the original scottish gaelic verses and found a hand-written manuscript from 1881 with the chorus and 10 verses. That was just awesome for me.

Anyways you can find it here: www.renaissancefestivalmusic.com/lyrics/

I've kinda hit this spot where I've gone from a fan of Marc's, to him allowing me to do this for him, to this odd sorta spot where I feel like I'm inside enough that I should stop acting like the doting fan and start being normal.

Not that I'm doing it on purpose but I find myself in these awkward positions in e-mails where I'd like to get to build a sort of friendship or whatever you might call it when you're 2000 miles apart but I just don't know the guy well enough yet to really open up.

I've never been good at this sort of thing. Always go too far and drive people away OR I don't do anything and leave the person feeling like I don't like them. When all it is, is that I'm nervous. I mean...it's Marc Gunn. I know that might not mean anything to you but for me it's sorta like getting to know a celebrity. When do they stop being the celebrity and just start being just another person in your life?

Anyways...that's basically what's going on in my life at the moment. World Cup Soccer, The RFLD, Victoria, work, church and of course food...but not in that order.