Fanrealm.com

Congratulations to Spacerbunny. We have already contacted her so we know we can actually get the cd to her. The cd will be put in the mail asap.

When artists send us cds to review they often send an extra for us to share with the public. Sometimes it will be one we already have in our personal collections so we will pass the review copy along once we have done the review. We want to get this music into the hands of fans. We will be having periodic drawings for cds and other things from our memberlist so click the JOIN FANREALM link and sign up to be eligible and be sure and list fanrealm as an approved address so we don’t get caught in your spam filter. We will not be sharing your information with anyone.

This cd this time is one by Marc Gunn, my personal nominee as King of the Indies. Only Marc’s lovably twisted mind and superior musicianship could do an album like this and do it so well. I’m sure Spacerbunny and her family will love it. If you would like your own copy it can be purchased through cd baby by clicking below. Be sure to check out all of the other cds Marc has there also.

A month ago we had a drawing for a free CD. Unfortunately, we could never track down the winner via email. I suspect we are getting caught by a spam filter. To avoid this from happening to you, whitelist fanrealm.com in your email client. The way to do this varies from one to the next but what you want to do is get us into your approved address book so you get emails from us. This is especially important if you are a band contacting us so we can get back to you. We probably won’t be emailing anyone else unless they won something. Don’t miss out on a possible prize. We will be drawing a new winner tonight and notifying them both with an email and an announcement here at the site. On the bright side, this means that all the people who have joined since the first of the year are now eligible to win this CD.

We have updated our contact us link. It now leads to a contact form so you won’t need to have default pop mail client to use it. Feel free to ask questions or make suggestions of bands to cover or events to list. Or just contact us to say hello. Just click the link in the upper right hand corner that says contact us in orange letters.

The contact us button at the right is set up to send us an email. If you have problems with it you can just email us directly at fans @ fanrealm . com (remove the spaces).

At the first of the year we announced the winner of the first free cd. We have emailed the winner twice but have not heard back. We suspect we are getting snagged by a spam filter. If anyone knows Babydoll2115 please have her get in touch with us a fans @ fanrealm .com so we can get her prize to her. If we can’t find her by the end of the month we will have Hooley pull another name.

Since we have a lot of new visitors who may be asking themselves this question, I thought I would offer an explanation. Fanrealm is basically a blog-zine devoted to Celtic, Irish and Indie music. It is written and produced by fans of this music. This means we will be covering bands and solo artists who play either traditional or not so traditional Celtic music or who are either Irish or Indie or any combination of the above. Some of us like the traditional Celtic music that most people only listen to on March 17th. In my case, that is the music I heard as a child at my grandparent’s house. They were first generation Americans but most of their friends were Irish Immigrants. This is literally the music I cut my teeth on. I later heard Irish folk music when folk music more popular so I learned to associate the two genres.

Some of us are also into more contemporary Irish music created by current Irish songwriters, some like more high energy, progressive Celtic rock. Some of us like more formal music and some like good old Irish drinking songs. Although we all admit we are suckers for a good pub band. So we hope to have good variety of things up here. Most of the acts that we cover will be Indie acts. This means they are not signed to a major label and are putting out music the way they want it to sound, not the way some record company executive wants it to sound. We are strong believers in the Indie movement. Once a band has attracted enough fans and sold enough records (cds) they can make a much better deal with a major label and retain much more control over their sound. To do this bands have to work like demons and tour almost constantly. It isn’t an easy thing to do and these artists should be supported. Without their efforts music would be done by a committee in some board room somewhere. Statisticians would be deciding what will sell and they would have the final say. It would not be the creative genius that drives people to make music. No one would care about niche audiences, only the mass market. As fans, we want to decide what we like and not let someone do that for us.

We hope to showcase a lot of different bands, acts and music types here. Some you will like and some you won’t but we want you to have a nice wide variety to sample. We will also showcase pubs and festivals where you can go and hear these and other bands live. We will put up links to on line music stores where you can purchase cds or mp3s and to myspace pages where you can hear a sample. There is a lot out there but we will try and find it and sort it out so you can find something you like. We well be doing band bios and some interviews, as well as reports on live events we are able to attend. The one thing that all of us, and probably all of you, have in common is our love of Celtic music. And we need to support it and the people who make it. Music can be a dog eat dog business and those who are willing to dedicate their lives to creating music need our help. If you find someone you like, buy their music. Ripping mp3s from youtube videos won’t support the band. The musicians get a small enough cut of record sales as it is, even the big name people. If the band is coming to your area go out and support them. People in this genre generally love what they do but they need to pay their bills just like the rest of us. If they are playing at a pub or a festival or even in a theater go and see them. There is nothing like a live show. Most of these musicians make themselves available to fans after the show for autographs and photos which will make the evening even more memorable.

We are also always open to suggestion on bands to cover. There are a lot of acts out there and we could have missed someone who should be added. If you are a band suggest yourselves to us. Our goal is to provide a place where fans can discover new bands to follow and where bands can get some exposure to these fans. We will be happy to link to site that sells your cd. And if you are unsigned and have no cd we still want to hear from you. The more exposure you have the more cds you will sell when you do get one. We do reserve the right to not cover some bands/acts also. Some musical styles are too far out of the range of this genre, some bands just aren’t yet ready and there are a very few performers who don’t treat their fans well. Since we are fans also, we will not support performers who fall into that last category. Luckily, we have encountered almost no performers in this genre who are like that.

Why join Fanrealm?

To join us in this endeavor just click Join Fanrealm in the right column. Everyone can read the posts but only members can take part in the zine and comment on them. While we won’t sell your personal info, knowing where people are located can help us decide which regional festivals and bands to cover. We will also be having upcoming contests and polls that will be for members only. The larger our membership grows the more support we can deliver to the bands.

I trust you all had a happy and safe New Year’s Eve and no one is in the Headache Zone today. The staff party went well and we even discovered that if you run out of ice you can use snow in a pinch. Snow must be harvested very carefully but it lets you skip the ice crushing process and doesn’t seem to melt as fast. Who knew?

Anyway before the no ice crisis we did manage to get Hooley to draw the lucky name from the Guinness glass and the winner is…………(nice quiet drum roll please)… Babydoll2115 I will be emailing the winner for a mailing address but a big congratulations goes out to her.

It could be you next time. To be eligible for one of the drawings click the Join Fanrealm link at the right and join up. It’s free and safe and let’s you in on the fun.

Happy New Year! The fanrealm staff will be welcoming the new year with these two lovely drinks.

A Nutty Irishman is one part Irish Creme Liqueur, one part hazelnut liqueur and one part cream. It is like dessert in a glass.

Pour ingredients into a stainless steel shaker over ice and shake until completely cold. Strain into a chilled, stemmed or rocks glass filled with ice.

There are other variations on this drink but this is the one we like.

If you can’t get that try Chocolate Stout. I know it sounds gawdawful but it is really great. Not unlike Guinness. Two great tastes that taste great together.

Before we imbibe too much we will have Hooley, our resident mischief-making leprechaun, draw the name of the lucky member who wins the cd out of a Guinness glass and will announce it here on New Year’s Day.

Have a great New Year’s Eve but if you are a designated drinker, let someone else drive. We want you all back to help us make 2010 your most music filled year yet.

Fanrealm wishes all our readers a very Merry Christmas. We are spending time vegging with our families but we will be back with new posts very soon.

Fanrealm's temporarily headless marketing maven with Marc Gunn's CD

On a recent trip to Portland, OR the intrepid Fanrealm staff was invited to take a tour of CDBaby, the center of the Universe in the Indy Music world.  From the minute we walked in the door we were impressed with the atmosphere.  That same fun feeling that goes into their famous emails was in the air.  It was clear that the people who work at CDBaby love their jobs.  They are all enthusiastic about music.  This may be because so many of the employees are also musicians and have their own CD’s for sale at CDBaby.

During the course of the tour, the whole process of what happens to a CD when it arrives till it is placed on sale at the CDBaby website was explained.  When a CD arrives the first stop is the digitizing dept. Here the digital copies of the songs are created.  These are used as samples so the customer can hear a bit of the CD before purchasing it. Also, if the artist wishes to sell mp3 versions of his songs the files are created here.  One copy of the CD is kept in this department to serve as a master copy.  Next the info is sent to the web wizards so they can put all the info about the artist and the samples onto the CD’s page at the CDBaby website so we can purchase it.

The CD is then added to the collection where it can be “gently taken

This is where the CD's are gently removed from shelves to fill an order

from our CDBaby shelves with sterilized contamination-free gloves and placed onto a satin pillow” and delivered to you when you order it.  As anyone who has ordered from CDBaby knows, the shipment notice emails are hysterically funny and one of the best things about ordering from CDBaby.  Another great thing is the fact that CDBaby really supports the artist and wants each one of their artists to succeed.  To that end they have entered into a corporate partnership with iTunes and give their artists the option of selling through that venue as well.  CDBaby helps the independent artist level the playing field in terms of getting the artist’s CD’s into the hands of customers.  They can offer the artist more exposure than most artists can afford on their own.  It is a win-win situation both for artists and for music lovers looking for something other than the often over produced and carefully handled music the major labels are turning out.   I know I, personally, prefer music the way the creator of it intended over the decisions made by some focus group.

More CD's ready for new homes

CDBaby had CD’s from 300,000 to 500,000 artists in stock and that number is steadily growing.  Because they stock so many artists they can only ask for a small number of CD’s from each artist until they know how well the CD is going to sell.  In order to know that they need to understand the demand for each of the CD’s from each of the artists.  If your favorite artist is out of stock be sure to contact CDBaby via their website and let them know that you want to order the CD but it is out of stock.  Just click the contact us link in the footer at their website.  This will take you to a page where there are several contact options including homing pigeon but that one might take a while.  As demand picks up, CDBaby will ask for more CD’s at a time from the artist and be out of stock less often which will make everyone happy.

If you want to support independent artists and get some great music in the process, be sure and go to the CDBaby website http://www.cdbaby.com and jump right in.  It’s likely you will find several must have CD’s, and if you order several at once, CDBaby will erect a statue in your likeness as you will find out when you get the email from them.

If you are an artist and would like to get your CD onto CDBaby you can get more info about the process at http://www.cdbaby.net

We toured the main facility.  There are also two satellite warehouses in which more CDs are stored. We found the people at CDBaby to be both dedicated to the artists and a lot of fun to be with.  I know I will continue to support Indy artists and CDBaby.  If you have never been to their website it’s a great time to go.  Music makes a great Christmas gift.  I’m sure you will be able to find something for everyone on your list in their inventory.  They are also a great source of Christmas music to get you into the mood.  When I went to the site today I was happy to see Paul Byrom’s I’ll Be Home for Christmas CD on the front page. This is one I highly recommend.

Can’t believe where the time has gone. We want to thank you all for making our first month (five weeks actually) such a success. We have had over 5300 hits here, thanks in part to artists like Paul Byrom, Pete Purvis, Enter the Haggis and Marc Gunn for helping get the link out. We thought there was an interest in Celtic music out there and apparently we were right.

We want this to be a place where Celtic music fans can discover new music to love and where musicians can get their music out there in front of new fans. To us, Celtic music covers a wide spectrum from traditional Celtic music, Irish tenors to rowdy drinking songs and also contemporary music made by musicians in today’s Ireland. We won’t all like the same thing but from the classically beautiful to Celtic Rock and everything in between, Celtic Music fans can find something new and exciting out there. Our goal is to cover as much as we can and post it here so it’s easier for fans to find.

Generally speaking we tend to like Indy bands who don’t have the backing of a major record label to help them. Not that major record labels are really all that helpful to a lot of acts that have been signed these days either but Indy bands are really on their own. It is hard for new bands to get established. It can be hard to get gigs and when you do, you seem to spend most of your time on the road so you don’t have time to record or promote a cd. Sometimes real talent can slip through the cracks. Since our niche is Celtic music we want to try and promote great Celtic musicians to fans who might not otherwise find them. As fans, we are always hungry for more great music so hopefully this is a win-win situation.

So we ask you to take a few minutes and click on that Join Fanrealm link and become a member. Members can participate by commenting on posts, suggest bands and events for us to cover, take part in polls and be eligible for periodic drawings to win cds and other prizes. We will not sell or give away your private information. We have no clue how to do it to begin with and as spam haters ourselves we would never inflict that on anyone. Bands should also feel free to join. It’s the best way to keep us updated on your gigs, appearances and upcoming cds.

We have a lot of plans for the upcoming year. We will be putting together a page for Celtic Festivals and we will try to organize a battle of the band videos open to all Celtic and Irish musicians so stay tuned for more info on that. We have a few more events planned also so keep checking back and join up to participate. The more fans we have registered the more tempting it is for bands to participate in our events and the more music we all get to share.

If you are on the staff of a festival or just know of a good one please send info on it to fans @ fanrealm . com (remove the spaces) and we would be happy to include it on our page. If you own or know of a great Irish pub, especially one with live entertainment let us know that too. If you are in or know of a Celtic band or solo act let us know about them especially if they have a cd and it is for sale at cdbaby so we can link to it and sell a few copies for them.

Will be AFK for a short while so if I did this right I am leaving you with a bit of music to listen to while I am gone. Enjoy!

Fanrealm would like to thank all its visitors and contributors for making our first seven days such a hit. Over 1000 visitors have stopped by. We owe an extra big thanks to Paul Byrom and Pete Purvis for posting our link. Thanks guys!

We’d like to suggest that you not just visit but that you become a member so you can post comments and join in the fun. Just click the Join Fanrealm link in the Howdy message at the top right hand corner of the front page. For a limited time only, we are offering invisible shamrock plants to all new members but they are going fast so join now

We have lots plans for upcoming posts and articles so keep coming back and if you know of a Celtic band or Irish entertainer you’d like us to cover or if you are one and would like the exposure, you can contact us at fans @ fanrealm.com (remove the spaces)

Ever wonder why you can’t get enough of Celtic Music? It might just be in your blood. If you are interested in tracing your roots, we have just added a page that can help you. There is a link at the top of the page in the header called Finding your Celtic Roots Just click there to go to the page or just click here

If any of you have managed to trace your roots back to Ireland and gone there to investigate further and want to share your adventures we’d love to hear them and see photos (hint hint).

Happy hunting!

This is a blog zine dedicated to the fan experience. We will specialize in fans of small, indie and little known singers and groups. We are particularly partial to Celtic, Irish and Indy acts. They could be American bands who play Celtic music or Irish performers looking to get a foothold in the US Market as well as the Irish and European markets. This is the niche we want to fill so don’t send us reviews of rappers, country or American Idol candidates. Nothing against those performers, they just have many other outlets and chances for exposure.

The way this will work is fans who have been to a show, festival or act performing at a pub will send us reports of their experiences and impressions. We aren’t looking for reviews from critics we want to know how the fans liked the shows, what they liked, what they didn’t like. If you went with friends how did this affect your experience? Did you get an autograph at the stage door. What was the venue like — large arena or smaller more intimate theater and how did that affect your enjoyment of the show. Did you have good seats? Was the sound system up to the job? What was the general mood of the audience? How did the act interact with the audience? Did the show seem too long or too short? Just tell us in your own voice what the show was like. We aren’t looking for journalism but try and organize your thoughts then email them to us as if you were emailing a friend. We are all friends here. We will correct minor spelling and grammatical errors. This is your place to be heard. The fan is the most important part of the success equation. Without us no one gets famous.

This blogzine is the place to get your voices heard. For the most part reviews will be positive and in support of the band but if there were problems you can share those too. Your review and your pictures will get a whole post so there is no need to try and stick to 140 characters. The pictures must be your own that you took yourself, they cannot be lifted from someone else’s myspace page or copyrighted photos from an official site. Also if your friends are in the photo be sure they are cool with you publishing it.

Since your review will probably be read by someone who is not familiar with the group please tell us the names of the members and feel free to put in the URL for their website or myspace page. You don’t need to include a history of the band or complete songlist. That sort of thing should be on their official website.

Since we are new we are still trying to decide the best way to do this.  For now we will go with emailed reports that we will post but we may evolve and come up with a better way to submit material.  For now email reports to fans  @  fanrealm.com (remove the spaces.) You can send it as an attachment (best if it is fairly long) or in the body of the email. Photos should not be too large either and can be in the email or as separate attachments. So click on the register link in the right column and join the fun!