Posts Tagged ‘bedlam bards’

Can't Stop the Serenity 2009 is now in full swing, and local groups are already getting ready for this year's movie theater blitz.

If you're organizing a local event, and you've always wanted a Bard around the place, why not bid on Cedric? He's half of the Bedlam Bards, filkers extraordinaire and creators of such Browncoat hits as "The Ballad of Joss," "Big Damn Trilogy," and the "on the Drift" CD of verse-inspired music. Or, as he puts it:

A multi-instrumentalist, James "Cedric" Hazlerig, of the legendary renfaire/filk group the Bedlam Bards, comes to performances armed with two fiddles, a mandola, and a strong, manly voice. His philosophy of music stresses passion before perfection, death before dishonor, and whiskey before breakfast. For over ten years, Cedric has been performing at renaissance festivals and science-fiction conventions from coast-to-coast, including the Oklahoma Renaissance Festival, Dragon*Con, and the Browncoat Backup Bash. His music has elicited compliments from Nathan Fillion, Ben Edlund, Greg Edmonson, and Sonny Rhodes, in addition to causing Joss Whedon to grin from ear-to-ear. After releasing their third album, entitled On the Drift: Music Inspired by Firefly and Serenity, the Bedlam Bards have become the premier bards of the Browncoat movement. Several of Cedric's songs were featured in the documentary Done the Impossible. Besides appearing at the Browncoat Ball and the Browncoat Cruise, Cedric led fans in song as they picketed in support of the Writers Guild of America strike in front of Fox Studios in Los Angeles.

Win the auction and Cedric will come perform at your Can't Stop the Serenity event. Also, you'll win a heap of amazing stuff, such as Browncoat flags, patches,  a "Tragic Space Dementia" T-shirt, a Companion fan, some prop replicas, a QMx money pack, a
Kaylee Maquette, the "Done the Impossible" DVD,  an autographed photo of Felicia Day (not versy but cool), a Jayne Hat (of course),  "something shiny autographed by Joss Whedon", and more.

Well worth the bidding, and proceeds go toward the CSTS screening of your choice. Bid him high, people!

Looking for entertainment at your next Can't Stop the Serenity shindig? Why not buy a Bard?

The Bedlam Bards, in point of fact, or at least Cedric. To help raise money for the cause he's auctioning himself off – along with a passel of tasty Serenity items -  an eBay auction going on right now. Here's what he had to say about it:

In order to raise both funds and awareness for Equality Now, I am auctioning myself on eBay. Well, technically, I'm auctioning a performance at the Can't Stop the Serenity screening of your choice. Even better, the profits from the auction go to the CSTS screening of your choice, so it's a double whammy, but in a good way!

  

But wait, that's not all! You also get steak knives. Steak knives? To heck with the gorram steak knives, you get something a lot shinier than that.

  

A number of Browncoat artisans and celebrities have come forward to donate these prizes which the auction winner GETS TO KEEP:

  

-Autographed Poster {from Quantum Mechanix} It's signed by Fillion, Tudyk, Minear, Fairman, Edmonson, Woodward, Sonny Rhodes, Nectar Rose, Adam Levermore-Rich (who did the art for the poster), and the Bedlam Bards.  A similar poster fetched over $150 at auction.  

 

-Autographed Bedlam Bards CDs 

-Autographed Done The Impossible DVD and Soundtrack CD {from Brian Wiser} 

-Autographed Browncoat Cruise Souvenir Book {from Brian Wiser} 

-Independent Flag {from Firefly Cargo Bay} 

-Jayne Hat {from Ma Cobb's Hat Shoppe www.geocities.com/fadingendlessly} 

-Mal's Holster and Ammo Belt {from www.browncoatfashions.com} The "standard" gun belt size will fit people with hips in the range of 40 to 50 inches.  The winner should specify their actual hip measurement if they need a gun belt larger or smaller in size.  The holster and gun belt come with an ammo pouch suitable for carrying an extra set of clips, a cell phone, or an iPod.  It's like the one Mal wore in Serenity.  This item typically sells for $160 + S&H. 

 

-Plus  a built-up Mal Pistol, Jayne Pistol, grenade, PAL Communicator and a Zoe 'Mare's Leg' Winchester {from Wilco models} The Wilco Models replica of Mal's Pistol fits in the Browncoat Fashions holster.

That, my friends, is a hell of a list. Come to think of it, you shouldn't bid on this. Nope, not at all. In fact, go away. I need to go get my bid in…

The Bards are coming to a shindig near you! As long as you're in the eastern US, anyway. The tour starts on April 19th and includes Baton Rouge, Tallasee (Alabama), Charlotte, Raleigh, and Penacook (New Hampshire). And maybe Philly.

They'll be holding raffles at each stop, with proceeds going to various charities including Equality Now. Anyone interested in contributing awards, please contact Cedric at fithelere @ aol.com and more details on the tour are available here.

The Bards have been having a good year. Their Firefly-inspired CD "On the Drift" received Best Renfaire Album of 2006 (from the Renaissance Festival Music Podcast), Best Folk Recording of 2006 (according to Celtic MP3 Magazine), #1 Album on the CDBaby Celtic Chart, and a spot on CDBaby's Top Seller's Sampler. If you've somehow managed to avoid hearing any of it, you can get some samples here and buy it here.

If you're at a Renaissance festival and hear "The Hero of Canton," or working your way through a science fiction convention and hear lilting Celtic music that makes you want to laugh or cry or stomp your feet (or all three) right there in the dealer's room, you're hearing the Bedlam Bards.

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"On the Drift," the eagerly-awaited CD of Firefly and Serenity-inspired songs by The Bedlam Bards, has come and gone, selling out within the first hour. But DBaby is getting them back in stock and you can order now.

Read more about it here. In the meantime, the Bards would like you to enjoy an absolutely free MP3-postcard of "Sail the Sky," a Browncoat anthem they used to conclude the album.