Greetings,
It has been a while since I’ve posted on here. I created this blog as a school assignment and made blogs on two of my interests: Guitars and Snakes. Feel free to check those out if either interests you. This blog is about a third interest of mine, Celtic Woman.
My reason for revisiting and posting on this site is inspired by my reading of a blog from a gentleman whom I’ve come to consider a good friend over the past year, Scott Manke. This past year has been quite the roller coaster year for so many on many different levels. I’m not an economist, so I won’t comment on that. But I will comment on said roller coaster year for Celtic Woman fans. With that said, I do want to make it perfectly clear I make these comments freely and unapologetically as an individual and is in no way a reflection of the forums or sites I am a member of. I am not in a leadership role in any of these, nor do I have any desire to be for reasons of my own. I’m just a fan.
There were positives this past year: the Atlanta taping of Celtic Woman’s new DVD, the symphony tour, and, for me personally, the attendance of my very first show in February. Thanks Scott. There were also some negatives that unfortunately got a little out of hand. I won’t go into these in detail, but merely give some of my thoughts and feelings I have as a fan.
First, I’ll give a little background of how I was exposed to Celtic Woman. As a rock guitarist since the age of fifteen (I’m currently 43), I naturally looked up to famed guitarists who were known for “shredding”. My admiration eventually spilled over to other string players, most notably, rock violinists such as David Ragsdale, Mark Wood, and Robbie Steinhardt to name a few. One evening in ’07, I was hangin’ with my best friend, songwriting partner, and at the time, bass player. He says to me: “Dude, you’ve got to check out this little elven chick who shreds on the violin”. He then showed me excerpts from A New Journey. I was very impressed with Máiréad’s chops, phrasing, and stage presence, not to mention the fact she’s cuter than other musicians I’ve looked up to. I bought the DVD, watched it a time or two, then really didn’t give it much thought afterwards, until about a year and a half ago. I was doing a paper on Artist Management and decided as the subject to compare the fan/artist relations of Máiréad and Orianthi, a female guitarist/singer/songwriter whom I’ve also come to admire (and one who rivals Máiréad in the “adorable” department). It was while doing research for this paper that I came across Máiréad’s fan forum and decided to join. In doing so, I’ve made friendships that I highly value.
Now, in his blog, Scott recently mentioned that Celtic Woman is not a group to be worshipped, but rather, a group whose music is to be enjoyed. I agree heartily. In fact, I will make a confession here to my fellow fans that I have not nor ever will on the fan forums as they’re not the appropriate place for it. Celtic Woman’s music has NOT changed my life. I enjoy their music and listen to it when the mood strikes me. I am not one who follows them across the country. I’m not saying that I look down upon those who do. In fact, the girls do seem to appreciate that support on some level. They’ve made mention of it in interviews and they apparently look for familiar faces while performing. If you have the time and resources to do so, and you get enjoyment out of it, then more power to you. But I would implore anyone not to make CW the center of your life. If you have hopes of befriending these artists, I can tell you, it’s not going to happen. I discovered Orianthi years ago on Myspace when she was just a small time guitarist in Adelaide playing local gigs. We exchanged a message or two from time to time. But since she’s become famous, she hasn’t found time to communicate with me. It’s just the way that it is. Keep in mind that when you meet these girls in M&Gs, they’re still performing. I would even go as far to suggest that perhaps an overwhelming amount of attention might make them uncomfortable.
This brings me to my opinion on how these fan forums should be run. Again, I’m not in a leadership role. Any way the admins choose to run the site is their prerogative. I’m only giving my opinion. It’s often been said that these forums should be first and foremost about the artist. In fact, there are those who argue the forums should be solely about the artist. I couldn’t disagree more. In fact, I contend the forums should be first and formost about the fans. I know…..Heresy!!!! But allow me to give my own perspective on this. Beginning in 2002, I played in an all original band by the name of “Sugarglider”. We developed quite a local following, had a handful of fans in the Tampa area, and quite a few in England as our singer was a recent British import who had a following of her own before coming to America. Subsequently, one of our computer savvy fans created a fan forum in our honor. Now granted, it was nice to hear people say how good they thought you were, how much they enjoyed a show, or how they were looking forward to an upcoming show, etc. But honestly, it gets a little old after a while and starts sounding a little contrived and can be a little embarrassing if it’s spread on too thick. I always much preferred learning more about the fans who were supporting me. Granted, I wasn’t a big celebrity with a massive fan base. Do the CW girls care about our personal lives? Most likely not. But I’ve gotten word that Máiréad has said that she only reads “Messages to Máiréad”, “Fiddle Tech Talk”, and “Show Reviews” on her own fan forum. What does that tell you? She wants to read what people think of the shows, she’s interested in the opinions of other violinists concerning the instrument, and what her fans have to say to her personally. But even with the latter, she doesn’t respond. The bottom line is that a forum is a gathering of people with a common interest, nothing more, nothing less. They should not be shrines dedicated to the worship of an artist. Rather, they should be a living community of people sharing some common interests, yet with their own individual lives and individual opinions. The forums should be about the bond these people share, not a vehicle in the attempt of getting the artist’s attention.
Having said that, I now come to the aspect of CW that HAS changed my life. That has been the bonds and friendships I’ve made within the fan community. Before joining this community, I felt my marriage was slowly coming apart. It wasn’t that we had a bad relationship. It was just that we had grown apart and spent all our time in separate ends of the house. After hearing the stories of my peers on the forum (us old guys), I came to realize how lucky I was to have this lovely woman by my side for 20-plus years (some say she bears a vague, passing resemblance to Máiréad….go figure). We still have our separate interests. But over the past year, we’ve made conscious efforts to set a side much more time for us alone and resurrect the passion we once had for each other. I’m very grateful for that. But the friends I’ve made also mean so much to me.
“Moscapoet”, your dedication to CW has not been in vain. You’ve gained a lot of good friends. Count me as one of them. You mentioned moving to China to teach English. If you do that, make sure you keep in touch. And you have to stop by Florida so we can have a barbeque and pound a few Guinness’. But even if you decide not to go to China, I’d encourage you to pursue the education field. As an educator myself, I recognize that you’d make an awesome teacher. It doesn’t pay a lot, but it’s steady and recession resistant.
“Mr. Peabody”, I’ve known for sometime your dedication to CW has been unparalleled. But since I met you in Atlanta, I consider you a friend. I’ve come to know you as a highly intelligent and respectable gentleman. I enjoyed working with you on the fan documentary in spite of your “nit-picking”. LOL. Actually, your knowledge and experience in photography and videography allowed this old audio cat the opportunity to learn a lot. It also allowed us to create a DVD that was the best it could be given the resources available to us. I look forward to sharing the Nashville experience with you.
Wendy and Jen, my “Florida girls”. I’ve felt I’ve made a real connection with you ladies. I look forward to our “date” in Gainesville.
“Heathbrae” and “Rotten Rebel”, while we haven’t met in person, I feel we’ve made some sort of connection in that we seem to think alike. I’m praying that 2012 will be a much better year for both of you.
“Apollomoon”, we also have not met in person. But you were the first one I felt a connection with when I joined the forum, as well as whose story first made me realize I need to savor my marriage. Over time, we’ve come to fierce disagreement over forum content. But that’s OK. I do respect your opinion, and I’m willing to agree to disagree if you are. I have to admit, your method has allowed you direct contact with Alex and LL. Congratulations on that, and I’m looking forward to having that beer with you in the future. Perhaps even jam on some Hendrix.
“Starman”, it was a real pleasure to get to know you in Atlanta, even more so to have the opportunity to jam with you. We definitely need to do it again.
There are so many more of you that I’ve made somewhat of a connection with online and/or briefly met in Atlanta, but haven’t had the opportunity to get to know you on a more personal level. That’s something we’ll have to rectify in the future.
As far as CW and the shows go, I intend to attend a couple of M&Gs this coming year. It would be such an honor to meet Máiréad. But if I don’t, it won’t have a negative impact on my life. Honestly, while I’ll strive for front row seats for concerts I do attend in the future, I’m thinking these two will be the last M&Gs I attend. Frankly, I’ve had the opportunity to meet many of my musical heroes in my capacity as faculty at Fullsail University. I would much rather meet artists under these circumstances than to spend an obscene amount of money to spend a few seconds with them under controlled circumstances. Case in point, I once had the opportunity to share a bottle of Kentucky Mist with Dave Mustaine, the frontman for the band Megadeth. Now Dave was always potrayed in the media as a very abrasive person, to put it nicely. But getting to meet the real Dave, he was actually a really nice guy. Apparently, his media persona was his image as a gritty heavy metal star. I would rather get to know the real person as opposed to the “star”.
There’s been a lot of fan speculation regarding CW management that has caused a lot of negative feelings. Let’s keep in mind that, all of the speculation aside, one really doesn’t know what’s going on without being inside the organization. I tweeted Scott Porter myself on the Pittsburgh proposal. My reason for doing this was I thought perhaps what we fans were proposing wasn’t making it through the “filters” to Scott. Scott, if you happen to read this, I sincerely apologize if it rubbed you the wrong way or caused you issues. As the one who bears the title of Producer, it is ultimately your responsibility to see that these shows are amazing experiences for the fans. There is no question you fulfill this role impeccably.
There has also been speculation management has been running these girls into the ground with the heavy schedule over the past year or so. Perhaps. They’ve said themselves that it is quite consuming. But let’s remember that no one is holding a gun to these girls' heads and they can leave at will as many have. The remaining members have said in countless interviews that this is their passion, and I have no reason to believe otherwise. When they decide it’s time to move on and pursue something else, no doubt they will.
Let’s just be supportive as fans as they allow us to be. As in giving well wishes to Scott and Lisa on the new addition to their family, and Máiréad and Jim on their recent nuptials. I’m glad she chose someone who can accompany her on tour. I wish them all extreme happiness, and I appreciate the music they perform for us.
Ron
Update: ....and let's give a warm welcome to Susan.
