CONTENTS:

ALBUMS, MUSIC and ARTWORK

PHOENYX "KEEPERS OF THE FLAME"

OTHER OLD ALBUMS

LYRICS/MUSIC

CONVENTIONS AND FILK

ALBUMS, MUSIC and ARTWORK [BACK]

1. Q. When is your next album coming out, and what will be on it?
   
   A. In September of 2004, we released Uffington Horse's debut album "Enchantment". The next album should come out this year, and will be a solo album.
   
   This time I will be working with author Irene Radford on music to accompany her series of novels "Merlin's Descendants", currently at four books with a fifth coming out in November.
   
   
2. Q. Why are you walking off a cliff on the "Wanderlust" cover?
   
   A. The album cover is an interpretation of the Tarot card "the Fool." The Fool symbolizes idealistic youth and creativity that focuses on the goal, not on the difficulties along the way. As an initial solo album, we felt that this was representative of myself and this project.
   
   
3. Q. Why the gratuitous "cheesecake" shot on the back of "Life’s Flame?"
   
   A. The front cover and back cover of all my albums to date are supposed to tell a story. Here’s the synopsis:
   
   Wanderlust: Front, I’m walking off the cliff like the Fool of the Tarot deck. Back, the deck is scattered across the edge of the cliff…all that’s left of the fool…or is it?
   
   Life’s Flame: Front, I’ve burst into flame, like the phoenix in the song. Back, end of photo shoot, I have been extinguished (note the bucket inscribed "IN CASE OF FIRE").
   
   Midsummer: A wrap-around cover, front and back depict a typical day in the Heatherlands.
   
   A Gypsy's Home: That's me, with my horse Shar Ramel, playing fiddle by a campfire. The back is a sunset sillouette of me leading Shar to wherever the road will take us.
   
   Insh'Allah: Okay, so this one departs from tradition. But its not just my album. We decided to tie it to the book more closely by using the same cover art, and Phil recreated the title font.
   
   Festival Wind: Another view of the Heatherlands. That's our house, with the creek and bridge across it, as seen using Heathervision^TM and a festival up the hill to the left. Have some fun identifying all the references to songs that are hidden in the picture.
   
   Heather Alexander and the Album of Secrets: For our blooper album, we decided to have some fun. No, there aren't any Harry Potter songs on it, but it was released at the same time as the DVD version of "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets". The covers are reproductions of two books by Gilderoy Lockhart, a character who I can relate to at times :-)
   
   
4. Q. On the cover of "Midsummer," there is a weird looking creature dancing with you. What is it?
   
   A. That is Mimic, a Marshmallow-Monkey-Cat. He is the creation of artist Stephen G. Prescott, and is featured in several of the Heatherlands ’toons.

PHOENYX "KEEPERS OF THE FLAME" [BACK]

1. Q. What’s the deal with the Phoenyx album?
   
   A. Can you be more specific?
   
   
2. Q. Where can I get it? Do you have any?
   
   A. The only place you can find it now is in the used record stores. We do not have any to sell or give away, nor do we know of anyone who does.
   
   
3. Q. Is it all right if I copy a friend’s cd?
   
   A. Technically, that is considered an infringement of copyright, but chances are, if no money passes between you, and it is a one-time only deal, no one is likely to prosecute. However, there are currently several lawsuits pending against illegal trading of mpeg files (most prominently via Napster), and this may change the face of music copyright enforcement.
   
   As a publisher, I cannot condone illegal reproduction of anybody's work. Therefore, the above is a general statement to be applied to any out-of-print album, and not to be intrepreted as an endorsement of any kind. Keep in mind that I am not a copyright attorney, and do not know all the ins and outs of the law. If you want to know more about copyright law, go here.
   
   
4. Q. Out-of-print? Does this mean you won’t be re-releasing it? Why not?
   
   A. It is very unlikely that "Keepers of the Flame" will ever be re-released. The legal entanglements alone are enough to deter most people. Another (purely financial) reason is that although we could probably sell about 500 to 1000 CDs initially, without a band to promote it, there would be very little future demand for it. It is simply not cost/effort effective.
   
   When the band broke up in 1991, I spent a lot of time and effort trying to keep the album in print (including getting neutral third parties involved), but was met with so much resistance that I do not have any interest in trying this again.
   
   
5. Q. What about the songbook?
   
   A. Sorry, you’re too late for that one, too. We had published a "Keeper’s of the Flame" lyric book, back in 1990, and were still trying to sell off the remaining stock up until last year. That, too, will not be going back into print simply because the sales/cost ratio doesn’t warrant it.
   
   
6. Q. So where can I get my favorite songs from "Keepers of the Flame?"
   
   A. Depends. We have been releasing new versions of many of those songs on the new albums. "Life’s Flame" contains Cat and the Fiddle, Creature of the Wood, Stormbringer, and Voices of the Sea, while "Midsummer" contains March of Cambreadth. The new Uffington Horse album, "Enchantment", has Black Unicorn, Yo Ho, and Up in the Loft.
   
   Lyrics for most of my published songs are now available on the web, in the Lyric Library.

OTHER OLD ALBUMS [BACK]

1. Q. Why don’t you perform songs from your older albums (Shadowstalker, Songsmith, Magic, Moondust and Melancholy, etc.)??
   
   A. These albums were made as work-for-hire. On several of them, I was learning the music on the flight from California to Oregon where they were recorded! I do not perform them for a number of reasons, though.
   
   Primarily, although I wrote many of them, and think they are wonderful songs; because of artistic differences I have separated from the company that publishes these albums. I do not receive any further remuneration for the work I did on them, and I do not feel comfortable performing them.
   
   
2. Q. Where can I find your older works??
   
   A. If we don’t carry the album, your best bet is to try other dealers. You can find a list of possible dealers at http://www.interfilk.org/dealers.htm. Most of these folks carry both SF/F related music and traditional folk music.
   
   For the albums I worked on with Glenn Morgan (hammered dulcimer) try his page at http://renaissance-faire.com/shop/fishbite.htm. For the 4 Shillings Short album Now, try their webpage at http://www.art.net/~4ss/.
   
   
3. Q. How many albums have you been on??
   
   A. Lots. See the discography for as complete a listing as we've been able to compile. If you find something we've omitted, email us all the information, and we'll add it.

LYRICS/MUSIC [BACK]

1. Q. What are the lyrics to <my-favorite-song>??
   
   A. If the song has been recorded, then the lyrics are now (or soon will be) available on the website. If it has not been recorded yet, be patient, or listen carefully at the shows.
   
   
2. Q. What are the chords/can I get sheet music to <my-favorite-song>?
   
   A. Certain songs will have sheet music available. Watch the website for details.
   
   
3. Q. Are you going to publish a lyric/music book?
   
   A. That is one project that we have in the works. At this time, however, we have decided that producing more albums and keeping the existing ones in stock is more important, so this will have to wait.
   
   
4. Q. Why aren’t the lyrics included in the cd booklet?
   
   A. For the first three albums, we had decided against this for a couple of reasons. First, we wanted to promote sales of a proposed lyric book to accompany the albums (see above for status). We also wanted to keep manufacturing costs down.
   
   We intend to include the lyrics in future albums, though. You will have to provide your own magnifying glass. ;-)

CONVENTIONS AND FILK [BACK]

1. Q. Why aren’t you going to NorWesCon this year?
   
   A. Ah, NorWesCon. If i am invited, I will attend, but this year (2005) I was not invited, and when I contacted them myself, it was too late. It all depends on the ConCom, and who is doing the Music Programming, I guess.
   
   
2. Q. Why aren’t you going to <my-favorite-convention>?
   
   A. Could be one of several reasons. Either they haven’t invited me; I didn’t know about it; or it conflicts with something else on my schedule. Feel free to invite me if you are on the concom, or suggest it to them, if you are not. At this point in time, I generally will only go to a convention as a guest, since I cannot afford to otherwise.
   
   
3.  Q. Do you consider yourself a "Filker"?
   
   A. I consider myself a musician. For a time I recorded what is considered Filk music, but I do not categorize myself in that genre. My career is as a Celtic musician, and I perform original and traditional Celtic music. Although many of my songs are appreciated and sung by filkers, that does not make me or my music filk, any more than it makes Stan Rogers or Golden Bough filkers.
   
   When I appear at a convention, I always stress that I am coming as a music guest and am part of music programming. This is not because I despise filk (in fact there are a number of filkers who write great songs, and are very talented), but because I do not perform filk, and I want to be clear on why I am coming. Performing music is my career, and like any career, it can be fun, but to do it right, it is also work. Therefore, I always try to give the audience what you want at my concerts, but I rarely stay late at filk circles, if I have the energy to show up there at all.