And would you be interesting in hooking up and talking shop?
Not that I’ll be going (since I’m in New Zealand 
) but what is Dragon*Con?
"Dragon*Con is America’s largest, multi-media, popular arts convention—focusing on science fiction and fantasy, gaming, comics, literature, art, music, and film. "
It’s huge..they end up taking over two large hotels, and by “taking over” I mean “taking over”. Pretty much every convention room, space, and room is devoted to the Con. I’ve met a number of celebs there, from Walter Koenig (Babylon 5, Star Trek), Chaste Masterson (Leta the Dabo Girl on DS9), and even participated in drum circle jams with Jason Carter and the late Richard Biggs (Babylon 5).
Stonecircle, the band I’ve been playing with for just over a year now was invited out to this year’s event - though I think we turned it down. A wise choice too if it was to be anything like the OPUS fantasy fest in Denver we played back a few months ago. Sheesh! Not much to do with music - even less to do with anything celtic, or celtic related, and a whole LOT of orcs, goblins, elves and pimply faced gamers sitting in corners at card tables fighting with each other about who’s pokemon card could kick the others butt. Oh yeah…and a bunch of guys with swords who smelled terribly of b.o.
Maybe that was just a Denver thing then huh? Alas…I think not. 
Lol, I think Dragon*Con is less geeky than most cons, tho it’s got it’s fair share of geek element. But nothing really much to do with music or celtic stuff, it’s true.
But perhaps you should reconsider for next year. The Brobidnagian Bards told me at TRF last year that they sell more cd’s at Dragon Con than at all the rennaisance faires they go to in a year, combined. 
Marc and Andy (The Bards) had a table right next to ours at the thing in Denver. Super nice guys. But even they were struggling a bit with sales it seemed.
Anyway, I don’t think we’ll be really accepted into that scene until we learn Piccard’s Air on the Reissikan Fluto-phone thingy. Maybe in another life…
Ah well, I can’t speak to a con in Denver I’ve never been to (attendance 800 according to this website)
I can really only speak to Dragon Con, which is pretty much the biggest con in the country (20,000+ people). I can say that I’ve run into more ‘normal’ folks than ‘geeks’ at it, and haven’t ever been asked to play any Ressikan or other Star Trek tune.
But if you want to judge all cons by the little one you went to, no big deal to me. I’ll hazard a guess that it is nothing like the OPUS fest though. I was just suggesting that it might be lucrative to look into it. I do know that every time I’ve gone, I’ve been offered paying gigs all over the country. I also know that Andrew did say they sell more CD’s there than all the ren-faires they go to and I take the man at his word. I’ve also usually have had to turn down a lot of requests for my own cd, since prior to this year, I haven’t had one. Just passing along what I know.
It was just an attempt at friendly advice. You take it how you want. Makes me no nevermind either way.
Interestingly enough, I’ve never heard of flocks of ‘normal people’ as you mention heading off to these things. I think even the more common and slightly more accepted celtic festivals are even a bit of a stretch for many.
Anyway, there were many more than 800 at the one in Denver, and I’m not certain where the site you mentioned got their numbers. We did manage to have one decent evening of Irish session music in the hotel’s bar, but they kicked us out at midnight so even that was less than enjoyable.
Lucrative it may be - but I’d hazzard more for those involved with obnline gaming, robot wars, card games and dressing up in period costumes and as fantasy characters. For us, we’ll be sticking to the arts festivals (Utah’s saw crowds this year approaching 90,000 if you want to compare sheer numbers of people) and Irish fests.
Enjoy your time that the “con” though. It sounds like there are plenty other folks of like mind to keep things ‘lively’ for the weekend. For those who go knowing what to expect, I’m sure it won’t dissappoint.
Wow, I’m so out of date on that stuff. Didn’t recognise any of the actor names on the attendence list. But Anne McCaffrey will be there - very cool!
OK, I gotta ask - every convention I have been to (though admittedly about a decade ago) mentions Soupy Sales. Who is that??
Edit - a quick search sheds no light - “the world’s leading authority on pie-throwing”?? 
(Shrug) I suppose if all you go to are the little ones, it may seem that way
Sorry Bri, you’re absolutely right and I was wrong. I don’t want to disparage unfairly the size of the event you went to and make it seem like D*C is a much different animal. So, to set the record straight, according to their own website, they had 1,000 (one thousand people), not 800 (eight hundred). Mea culpa! 
Without a doubt. But there’s definitely room for musical talent there as well. That’s all I really suggested. I absolutely get that you (and it seems your band) have this thing against that kind of convention. No sweat! I’m not trying to convince you otherwise. I am happy to take this opportunity to dispel the stereotype you seem to want to paint Dragon*Con with, though…you know, just in case someone else might be considering going, but was unfairly swayed by your unjustified prejudice.
Oh…wow. that’s quite a number. Beats the pants off of Dragon*Con’s 20,000. But that’s Irish fests for ya. This last year, with the economy and poor weather, I only got to perform for about 250,000 at last year’s Texas Renaissance Festival
That said, I think comparing arts festivals, ren-faires, and cons is like comparing apples, oranges, and plums. Sure, they’re all a little fruity, but not really the same ya know? And even though TRF has easily 10 times the attendance of DragonCon, it also has 10 times the competition (if not more). Again, I absolutely get that your band’s a little snooty about the idea so you can disregard this next bit, but for anyone else who gets the chance, there’s definitely opportunity at DC.
In any case, all of this con-snobbery really doesn’t have anything to do with my actual question, which was “Who’s going?” and not “Who thinks cons are for nerds?” or even “Who’s got the biggest audience attendance figure in thier jockstrap?” But the conversation is having the nice side-benefit of keeping the thread up-top, so if there does happen to be someone (other than me! Hah!) socially stunted enough to decide to go, maybe I can hook up with them and talk Irish music with them and maybe play some tunes.
Soupy Sales was before my time, Ava…he was a black-and-white tv star, of the slap-stick comedy variety. Had a show on ABC in the 50’s and 60’s…
You can get a summation here
http://www.classicthemes.com/50sTVThemes/themePages/soupySales.htm
and a picture here
http://www.detnews.com/2001/entertainment/0110/30/b01-330284.htm
Um, Dude, check your sources…since you brought up the numbers thing to begin with. The 1,000 you mention was from LAST year…ie: 2003, not this year. The organizers did mention a number that was well over double of last years attendance at this one and as such they felt it a success. Still, they couldn’t find enough money to pay any of the musical acts. 
As for snobbery, well, feel free to read into it what you will. It’s not a music scene and it’s not an IT music scene at these things - regardless of how they try to bill it. That’s what I play and what I enjoy hearing and that’s what we were told it would be to begin with. When we were booked for this one to begin with, we weren’t sure it was going to be what they hoped. When we arrived, the doubts were sadly confirmed.
If you want to get together and “talk shop” (whatever this implies to music) that’s great, but for those who might decide to go on the basis of some wonderful musical experience or seeing a great world-famous act, they should at least be aware of what they will and will not be able to see/hear. None of the musical acts who we met and talked with extensively for three days in Denver had much to say regarding the Dragon “con” and it’s musical showcase. The “Filk” stuff was a pretty common topic, but again, not too sure what the allure is there. What we saw was sometimes humerous, but sadly, mostly poorly thought out and executed.
I’m certain you’ll have fun, and I’m sure many others will too. To each there own - just don’t go expecting to see anything like the Bothy Band or Planxty. You -might find a session somewhere, just hope the bar doesn’t kick you out at midnight so they can watch the big screen.
I’m gonna go find my pointy ears and watch Forbidden Planet re-runs on cable now. 
Maybe you can find your jockstrap and wear it on your head too? It helps when you take yourself way too seriously about this sort of gathering.
Have fun at the “con”. I mean it! 
I can’t seem to find any 2004 numbers for OPUS. How..conveeenient However, even if accurate, a 2000-person con and a 20,000 person con are completely different animals. A 2000-person con is still a small local event. D*C is a huge national event.
In any case, who gives a crap? Are you really jumping all over my thread because some totally unrelated event didn’t pay you…based upon the premise that they’re both sci-fi cons, and therefore, the same? 
Ah. I begin to see your hidden angst. Sorry you were misled about the nature of the Denver OPUS con. I don’t think I misled anyone about the nature of Dragon Con. But I will understand if you need to flay me and D*C further because of your anger transferrence. 
Huh? Ok..I’ve looked through this thread and I can’t find the message where I implied that the Chieftains, Altan, and/or the Bothy Band were all going to be putting on whirlwhind irish tour of Dragon*Con. Are you having one of those PTSD flashbacks I read about?
However, as for musical acts, DragonCon does have big name acts. Granted, they’re not generally IR-Trad–GWAR, Godhead, Emerald Rose (The celtic folk rock band that headlined the LOTR and Two Towers Oscars parties–they even have a pennywhistle player!). But then again, I’m still pretty sure that I didn’t say "Hey, come to DragonCon. It’s a great place to watch top irish musicians perform". Especially now that we know Stonecircle won’t be there :roll: I’m pretty sure I just said “Hey, will anyone be there?”…because it’s a big national con, and I figured the odds didn’t suck. Thus I thought I’d leverage something I was already attending to possibly meet someone new from C&F.
But if I make mistake of trying to say that D*C is like Willie Clancy Week or something like that, you be ready to jump right in there and correct me, alright? I won’t mind
Oh…more transferrence. I get it..nevermind
I don’t think I said anything about irish sessions at D*C at all…and in fact, I’d be surprised if there was one. Atlanta does have several local sessions, though…and I’ve already looked them up. Looking over the thread, I still just see me asking if anyone would be at this con, and then you jumping in with a bunch of b-s.
Seriously? Nah. Serious, yeah. You’ve pretty much been a butthead since you entered this thread, and have implied lots of untrue things. For what reason, I can scarecly imagine, since this thread was really only seeing if anyone was going before you decided to come in with your unfounded criticisms of an event you’ve never even been to. I can only guess it’s because you are still stinging from your recent poor showing at a rinky-dink local con. (Shrug) I’m sorry if you have issues..but it’s only right that I counter the untruths if you’re going to hijack my thread solely to talk out of your ass
Quote, quote and quote again. You still seem to miss the point. Um, this is a board that is generally devoted to those who play the Irish whistle, flute, uilleann pipes and so forth. Uh…there are plenty of boards devoted to other stuff like your con thing. I’ve got nothing against your choice of activities - just the fact that they can be easily misleading.
The people we’ve met over the years in playing music have been to all sorts of events. EVERY act we talked with at OPUS had been to this Dragon thing before…most had been several times. None spoke exceedingly highly of it - except for your point…lots of people. I’ve seen more than just the OPUS fest too if you must know. Sure it’s not my cup of tea - and I wasn’t bashing you at all. Take your ritalin and relax. Go enjoy yourself. Perhaps you WILL meet someone else from C&F there. By the way…why would you care unless you both had some interest in whistles and/or ITM in the first place to find this board and take the time to post to it??
Honestly baffled. :roll:
I’ll await your heart felt reply. Yeah…or something like that.
Nah. I’m pretty sure I get the point. It seems to me the point is “This band I have played in for about a year got screwed at a tiny local convention. Therefore, I’m going to jump on your thread about a totally different event, because, well, they were both sci-fi/fantasy conventions.”
(Shrug) Whatever. I’m sorry a small local event screwed you a couple months ago. Really I am. The pain will get easier with time. Get used to it. If you’ve only been playing with that band for a year, you’ve got several screwings coming to you still.
Wow…I’m glad you asked. No, seriously. It’s a lot healthier than your current PTSD-style ranting about an event you’ve never even gone to.
I posted because D*C is a big national event. It was a reasonable gamble that someone from C&F might be plannning on going. After all, I met someone from C&F there in 2000. But hey, since you’ve made it clear that they’re out to screw irish musicians I’m sure no one will show up now. I wondered why I woke up that morning and all my money was gone, and I had a big dragon con tattoo on my belly with the word “Dork!” underneath it.
Then again, even if someone from C&F did show, I’m sure that they’d be bad-smelling, no-bathing, mouth-breathing nerd types, and I wouldn’t want to meet them anyway. I honestly appreciate your help in keeping me away from such unsavory characters.
Hey Bri…would you mind terribly if I sent you a private email the next time I’m going out of town? I’d hate to post here, hoping I could meet up with another C&F person to talk about whistles and play tunes, only to find out that the town I’m going to has a name with the same number of letters as the name of some other town that screwed your band. It would save me a lot of embarrassment, and you the trouble of having to set me straight with your vast voice of experience.
Yeah - if you ever met me, you’d probably wet your pants…I’m that scary. But I have noticed a marked lack of any elves, startrek captains or chain mail at the local pub when we play music there. Not even on college night.
But if you WERE interested in meeting someone to play music with at the gathering you so avidly promote here, why not be up front about what it is and what it isn’t? There are those who may be easily mislead or at the least misunderstand the type of event this is. Have fun with the throngs either way. Enjoy yourself. I’m very certain you will - and you should.
Uhm..if you say so. I have had a different experience. You have had no experience at all Personally, I don’t believe you, since Andrew and I talked about it during the 8 weeks we were working TRF, and he was quite positive about it. But if it makes you feel better to sour-grape a con you’ve never been to because of your bad experience at a different one, I guess that’s a good enough rationale to bend the truth a little. And if you’re willing to bend it a little about one guy I know about, who’s to say about all these unknown “other people” you mention?
Did I say there was? Did I ever imply there was? Nope. I just asked if there was anyone else going. If there was, I was hoping to hook up and talk about WHISTLES and IRISH MUSIC. I’m sorry your pain about getting screwed at a local denver event is keeping that from seeping through to you.
Next time I’m going out of town, I guess I won’t bother checking to see if anyone else is going to that event unless it’s an officially sponsored CCE event. That way I’ll be spared your input. :roll:
Please note, I wasn’t promoting this event. I just asked if anyone was going. That’s it. When asked about it, I gave a little information, and pointed to the website. I didn’t encourage anyone to go, nor did I try to organize an outing. I was content to leave the thread there, until you came in spouting crap.
I don’t expect any such thing. I didn’t even ask for such a thing. I merely asked if anyone else was going. It was after you started lying about the kind of event it was, having never even been, that I started countering those lies. Let me note again: until you posted your bull-hockey, I was content with leaving the thread alone after asking “is anyone else going?” and getting no affirmitive response. But I suppose I’ve been around on this board long enough to realize that some people will heap derision and scorn on others for the slightest of reasons. That’s ok, Bri…I don’t take it personally. I just am disappointed that it was you. I didn’t think you were the type. I’m sorry to have been mistaken.
I don’t need to “look into it”, Bri. I think I’ve been playing in bands longer than you have. I’ve played plenty of free and low paying gigs just to get out there and play. And I’ve been screwed plenty of times on both paying and free gigs. Suck it up, boyo. It’s not my fault you got screwed. I’d appreciate it if you wouldn’t jump my crap for something I’m not even responsible for. It’s a “learning experience”. Life’s full of 'em, and you’ve still got plenty more coming to you…as do I.
But what does this really have to do with Dragon*Con? Nothing..except to further convince me that your one bad experience at some rinky-dink local event is the source of your angst in this thread. Thanks for the hijack.
(Shrug) I doubt I’d wet my pants. But at this point, I doubt I’d be overjoyed, either.
I have been completely upfront about the type of event it is. I’ve never said it was a celtic event. It’s not. I’ve never said it’s an irish event. It’s not. I listed precicely what kind of event it was, when asked, and linked to their webpage. Their webpage is not only is quite accurate, but it also links to pictures from past events. Those pictures are mostly of costumed folks, but pretty much cover the spectrum of what kind of stuff can be found there.
You’re still transferring from your bad experience in Denver. But hey, that’s ok. I’m used to unreasonable pepole claiming things that never happened. Here again, since you seem to have gotten lost in some kind of flashback haze from your Denver experience, is what I said:
"Dragon*Con is America’s largest, multi-media, popular arts convention—focusing on science fiction and fantasy, gaming, comics, literature, art, music, and film. "
Please, do tell me where the inaccuracy is, and where I claim that it’s some kind of irish fest? Dragon Con is precicely what they state above. They are a popular arts convention, focusing on the above topics.
Their biggest focus is sci-fi, fantasy gaming, and anime. There are plenty of costumed folks running around in any number of genres, though elves and chain mail are a definite minority. Most costumed folks (which make up probably only 5% of the attendees) are more goth, anime, or popular movie related (such as matrix, though I expect LOTR popularity to bring more elves out of the woodwork). And yes, there are plenty of star trek uniforms, spock ears, and klingons.
In addition to that, they have national musical acts as well. Godhead was there one year. GWAR was there one year. I’ve seen a few bands there under Marilyn Manson’s label. This year, they have a couple celtic-esque bands, probably because of LOTR. But they don’t have any IRTrad playing on stages that I can tell. I never claimed they did. If you go to their website, which I posted, they don’t claim they do. And they don’t claim to be a celtic event either. They don’t have any sessions. I never said they did. Their website is quite clear about what they’re all about, which obviously you didn’t visit before deciding they were just another OPUS out to screw the good and righteous irish musician, and deciding to jump in here with fists swinging.
I did claim that you could probably sell plenty of CD’s there as an Irish band. And I certainly believe that to be true based upon my own experience, and what Andrew has told me about their CD sales (Even though the bard’s aren’t really an Irish band either). If your band were to never go to the event, that’s fine with me. Less competition I just mentioned it at the stage where I was still trying to make polite conversation in here with you. That was before realizing that you were posting in here with an axe to grind, and weren’t really interested in any kind of polite convesation.
Wow. Go watch Galaxy Quest. The stereotype exist for a reason Bub. I still find it hillarious that you think I have it out for these things or that I have some specific axe to grind with the Denver Bunch. There were plenty of great people we met - but also plenty of sideshow level strangeness as well. Your constant ranting has certainly put me off ever wanting to even look into this Dragon thing - even if I had a shred of curiosity about it someday. But perhaps that was your intent all along. Keepin’ it pure.
Nope - we didn’t meet any other C&F folks out there. Didn’t expect to. When I go to Denver or any other city in the world to play music I can fairly easily hook up with others to '“talk shop” without finding them at conventions. So take “your” thread on this very public board and run with it. Promote the hell out of it! Enjoy it. Just remember to iron your panties before you head out the door. Sounds like they need it. :roll:
The rest of us will just continue to enjoy our music and our music related discussions; which are still thank God able to be found on this board.
Wow, this thread has been entertaining. You guys should each have a pint and then reread this thing, and then don’t respond. It’s an interesting study in the escalation from a friendly query and response, through banter, to hostility. Neat.
-Jeff
My intent all along was to ask anyone if they were going since I was. I thought it might be nice to meet someone new from here. Since it’s a big con, and I’ve met someone from here at it before, I thought I’d just ask. Sorry if that offends your sense of irish music propriety.
I suspect that you’re purposefully ignoring this central aim, in order to continue to rail against the con and the ‘stereotype’ due to the very poor showing your band had at one.
(shrug) You were the one who made it into a federal case. It was very nearly off the main screen with 3 whole posts before you got involved.
(sigh) The point wasn’t that I had to go to a sci-fi con to talk whistles. Atlanta has sessions, and I plan on going to them. The point was “it might be night to meet someone I know from online, in the off chance they’re going too”. But as I said, I suspect you already know that, and instead are hijacking this thread for your own purposes.
Wow…Now you’re going to turn your nose up over the big non-music related stink that you caused yourself?
Thanks 
I’ve seen this kind of thread on usenet a lot. It’s always annoying when someone decides to troll you, since it totally sidetracks your original intent.
At first, I thought Brian was just posting to chat a bit. But since I now see what his game is, and there doesn’t seem to be any more information forthcoming, I’ll probably quit responding. He did make a pretty good troll, though.