Progress Report

Programming

by Alan Thiesen

We've got all sorts of exciting things already planned for Consonance, and we're just getting started! By the time the con rolls around, we will have added many more fun events. A few things listed here may be changed or cancelled.

In 2003, we will have:

• More filking. We will have all the function space in the hotel from 10 am Friday until 11 pm Sunday, plus we will have the Undead Dog filk room until 6 am Monday, so we will have more time to filk, filk, filk.
• More filking. Concerts will end earlier in the evening, so we will have more time to filk, filk, filk.
• More filking. Have I mentioned that before? We are taking steps to encourage more open filking while other programming is in progress. You will have folks to filk with if you want to skip a concert or workshop.

Open filking begins at 10 am Friday. Other programming, such as workshops and concerts, begins at 6 pm Friday evening and ends at 6 pm Sunday evening.

After programming ends on Sunday, there will be a dinner run followed by the Undead Dog.

Please remember: Programming depends on you. If you want to do a concert or give a workshop, or you have some other neat programming idea, please let us know at the following e-mail addresses: Jane Robinson (drjane@rahul.net), Seanan McGuire (seanan@xocolatl.com), and Alan Thiesen (thiesen@netwizards.net).

The next two sections, "Consonance Is Looking For Filk Hosts" and "Do You Wanna Be In a Play?" come first because they request your response. After that, we will tell you about workshops, concerts, and other special events.

We realize that no matter how wonderful our scheduled concerts and workshops may be, some people just wanna filk. But if you don't see anyone in any of the open filking rooms, you probably won't go up to your hotel room and bring down your instruments. And neither will the two dozen other filkers who just wanna filk at the same time.

The solution? Filk hosts. As a filk host, you volunteer to be in an open filking room during a particular time slot. This guarantees that everyone will have someone (you) to filk with.

Filk hosts do their stuff in the morning, when most people are sleeping; and in the afternoon and evening, opposite scheduled programming. Filk hosts are not needed at night, because everyone is filking anyway.

Advantages of being a filk host:

• You get to pick a theme for the filksing, such as "Monsters" or "Computers" or "Bawdy Songs."
• You get to pick a style, such as "Chaos" or "Bardic" or "Poker Chip Bardic."
• You get to pick your time slot so that the programming or sleep you miss is something you can live without.

You do not get to pick performers. This is open filking, not a concert.

If you want to be a filk host, please let us know in advance by sending e-mail to Jane Robinson (drjane@rahul.net), Seanan McGuire (seanan@xocolatl.com), and Alan Thiesen (thiesen@netwizards.net) and let us know your theme. If we can get the word out in time, folks will have a chance to prepare songs on your theme.

Here are some hosted filksings that are already planned.

• Songs For Amanda
  Come sing to the youngest filker at Consonance, Amanda Kaathlyn Bohnhoff, born December 12, 2002. Don't take it personally if she cries or sleeps or poops. With Amanda and her proud parents Maya and Jeff.
  


• Bawdy Songs
  With Mark Mandel


• Animal Passions, Vegetable Love, and Alien Encounters
  Songs about dating outside our own species. With Bob Kanefsky


• Kermit's Filk Circle
  "As long as I keep you, you'll live." -- Kermit the Frog, as told to Tom Smith
  
  Songs by or about filkers and fans who are no longer with us. With Simon Fairbourn and Alan Thiesen


• Songs That Mention Origami
  This will follow Jane Mailander's Toastmaster Origami workshop. When we run out of origami songs (off the top of our heads, we can think of three), this will devolve into open filking.


• Songs About Linguistics and Language
  With linguists Mark Mandel and Heather Jones


• Alien Filk Music
  With Talis Kimberley, Simon Fairbourn, and Rika Körte.
  
  Come sing songs that are either written by or written about foreigners or extraterrestrial beings. Songs in languages other than English are welcome.


• Pegasus Awards Brainstorming
  Come sing songs that you think should be nominated for a Pegasus Award.

We have the opportunity to revive the filk operetta "HMS Trek-a-Star", written by Dorothy Jones Heydt and Karen Anderson to tunes by Gilbert and Sullivan from "HMS Pinafore." As far as we know, "Trek-a-Star" has been staged only twice: at Westercon in 1967 and at Worldcon in 1968.

We will put on this play only if we hear from enough aspiring thespians who wish to be in the cast. Parts are available for Kirk, Spock, Rand, Uhura, Chekov, a character called Stackstraw, random crew members who function as a chorus, and a keyboard accompanist. If you wish to perform, you will be expected to learn your part beforehand so that only one run-through will be needed at the con prior to the actual performance.

In my opinion, "HMS Trek-a-Star" is very cleverly done. The plot, which revolves around Janice Rand's hopeless love for Captain Kirk, may seem a bit dated, considering today's independent heroines. But overall, "Trek-a-Star" is a lot of fun.

To volunteer to perform in "Trek-a-Star", email Alan Thiesen at thiesen@netwizards.net. You can find the script in MS Word format here.

Consonance Workshops

Here are a few of the workshops we are planning. Some of them are non-musical!

• Songwriting 101 at Carla U
  With Carla Ulbrich
• Songwriting 101 From Across the Pond
  With Talis Kimberley
• Toastmaster Origami
  With Jane Mailander
• Harmony Workshop
  Simon Fairbourn will teach us the parts for one or more songs in the repertoire of the n'Early Music Consort. We will perform the full vocal arrangements later in the con.

Concert performances will include:

Our guests:

• Talis Kimberley

We've been hearing folks in the Midwest, on the East Coast, and in the UK raving about Talis Kimberley for years -- stories about how she'll be playing one rhythm on her mandolin and singing in another rhythmic pattern, and how she's both an amazing performer and a really nice person. Her lyrics tell stories and weave images, and the music that goes with them lingers in your memory.

Talis burst upon the filk world at Con2bile, the 1990 British filk con. Talis performs solo, as well as with her band "Mythical Beasts." In addition, she is the head of the Far Isles School of Bards. (The Far Isles is the British equivalent of the SCA.) Her instruments include guitar, mandolin, flute, bodhran, and harp. (She built her own harp.) Her complete discography is so extensive that it won't all fit on your computer screen at once, but her currently available recordings include "Wolves and Changelings," "About Damn Time," "Mythical Beasts Undubbed," and "Archetype Café."

Talis has been a guest at VIbraphone (the 1994 British filk con), FilKONtario, OVFF, and Boskone. In the words of FilKONtario attendee Izzy Pacheco, "Guest of honor was Talis Kimberley, but we were the ones honored by her presence and her music." While in North America for OVFF, she performed in Boston, Chicago, Milwaukee, Minneapolis and Winnipeg. She has appeared on live radio broadcasts on CKJS (Winnipeg) and Radio Caroline (which broadcasts to 122 countries, including all of Europe). Talis has won two Pegasus awards so far, for best writer/composer and best performer. [Make that three awards. As of this writing, Talis' song "Velvet" has just won the Pegasus award for best filk song.]

Talis garners enthusiastic reviews wherever she goes. A few examples:

• "Talis held the audience spellbound." -- Joey Shoji
• "Talis was, as ever, stunning!" -- Erica Neely
• "Talis, you were wonderful! My shirt is covered with Talis Tears. I'll never wash it again!" -- Tom Jeffers
• "Rarely have I seen such presence and emotion from a performer. Her concert was mesmerizing. She left some people in tears and everyone in awe. It was wonderful to get a chance to talk to her as well; Talis is a warm, generous, friendly person." -- Allison Durno
• "Talis Kimberley, like Eliza Carthy, occasionally sings in the loo before a performance." -- Official statement from Marchwood Media

Talis is so incredibly gracious that she has been known to apologize for not performing her song "Velvet" exactly the way Kathy Mar does. Talis' friends admire her so much that at least one child and one horse have been named after her.

On the personal front, Talis likes chocolate, drinks a lot of tea, is five feet tall, wears henna on her hair and doesn't care who knows it, and enjoys occasional bouts of Arabic dancing, archery, and horseback riding. She even learned to ride side-saddle so she could arrive at her wedding on a white horse! By extraordinary coincidence, Talis is married to our Co-GOH, Simon Fairbourn. Talis has two children: a son, Corwin, and an adorable baby daughter, Philippa. (You can call her "Pippa.")

In the words of Zander Nyrond, "Talis is one of the nicest people I know, one of the best musicians I know, and one of the best songwriters I have ever heard. And she has a great recipe for flapjacks."

• Simon Fairbourn

  Simon Fairbourn plays around!

  • He sings with, conducts, and arranges for the n'Early Music Consort, a British filk choir. His song, "Write For Us a ... Madrigal", is the first cut on their CD, "Voices Going West". He conducts so vigorously that he once embedded a baton in Valerie Housden's ceiling.
  • He is one of Talis' "Mythical Beasts", playing lead guitar and other instruments.
  • He sings and plays numerous instruments (bassoon, bohran, clarinet, keyboards, oboe, recorder, sax, whistle) on recordings such as Talis' "Archetype Cafe," Zander Nyrond's "Wassaliens," and Erica Neeley's "Not Everybody Dies." He will appear on the forthcoming debut album of the German filk group "Lord Landless".
  • He first appeared on a filk stage at Obliter-8, the 1996 British filk con, playing French horn for Julia Ecklar on "Temper of Revenge".
  • In his previous life as a classical musician, he played contrabassoon on a couple of recordings with the Westminster Philharmonic.
  • Simon says he can play just about any instrument that isn't a flute. Did we mention bass, dhumbek, and trumpet? If you count, you will find that he plays at least fifteen instruments.
  • Simon is a member of the Far Isles, the British equivalent of the SCA, where he sings, dances, plays musical instruments, and acts. He played the part of Brak, son of Brak in Zander Nyrond's play "Tales of the Ticklish Ferret".

  Just one month before Consonance, Simon will be GOH at the 15th annual British filk con, known as the Quinze Filk Festival. Rumors are unconfirmed that the 16th British filk con will be named Simon's Seize in his honor.

  Simon plays or sings almost anything, from symphonies to rock and from plainchant to filk. At Consonance, Simon will perform some of his own songs, some of the best songs by other British filkers, and some songs that deserve to be filk but aren't, from Flanders & Swann to Arrogant Worms.

  In the real world, Simon is an information technology specialist.  He also happens to be an Islay whisky connoisseur and an unrepentant punster. By extraordinary coincidence, Simon is the husband of our GOH, Talis Kimberley. Simon and Talis are the proud parents of an adorable baby girl, Philippa. (You can call her "Pippa.") Simon is also stepfather to Pippa's big brother Corwin.

• Jane Mailander
• Mark Mandel
• Also Starring Ookla the Mok (Adam English, Rand Bellavia, Luis Garcia, Mike Mallory)
  You already know and love Adam, Rand, and Luis. You may not know Mike; he's the bass player on "Less Than Art". This will be the first time ever these four wild and crazy guys have ever done a live performance together. Mike lives in Malibu, Adam and Rand live near urban decay in the Buffalo, N.Y. vicinity, and Luis now lives in Washington State, so we're very lucky to have them all in the same place.

Other concert performers:

• Rika Körte ("the Bardling")
  Rika started out as a German filker, but she was captured by the English. She will be Interfilk Guest at Concertino 2003... if we ever let her leave California. :-)
• Carla Ulbrich
  Welcome back to Consonance, Carla!
• Throwing Toasters
  If you didn't hear them at ConChord, you don't know what you won't be missing when you hear them at Consonance. Got that?
• Andras Jones
  We discovered Andras when he did an unforgettable concert at Baycon. We are delighted that he will entertain us at Consonance.
• The Songs of Don Simpson
  Performed by Don and friends. If you're not familiar with Don's many wonderful songs, including "Ship of Stone", "Kitten", and "Laughter From the Loch", you need to hear this concert.

  Consonance Special Events

  Here are some of the special events, other than concerts and workshops, that we are planning.

  Twofers

  In honor of our British guests, this year we will have Twofers (also known as 2x10s) instead of one-shots, because that's the way they have traditionally done it at British filk cons. (Let's ignore the fact that the British are switching to one-shots in 2003.) You get up to 10 minutes to sing up to two songs.

  Drum Circle

  A Consonance tradition. All percussion instruments welcome!

  Interfilk Auction

  Enjoy the luscious Interfilk wenches and he-wenches! Help support Interfilk! Bid early and often!

  Rock Jam

  Sing and play along on rock classics such as Johnny B. Goode and Stairway to Heaven.

  Closing Ceremony: Sam's Song

  It is an informal tradition at the annual British filk con for the entire con gather to sing Zander Nyrond's beloved "Sam's Song." Talis Kimberley, Simon Fairbourn, and Rika Körte will show us how this is done.

  Live Radio 8-Ball

  This one requires some explanation. In the words of Bob Kanefsky:

  During his second Baycon concert set, Andras Jones described a recurring radio show he'd done in his DJ days at a small radio station. Listeners would call in with questions about their lives that they wanted an oracle on, and the DJs would randomly select a CD from a pile of them, put it in the player, and press Shuffle to play a random song. After the song, the DJs would give an oracular interpretation of how the song answered the question.

  Here's how we can adapt the idea at Consonance, using live performers.

  Pick several performers who are willing to do this -- as many as can comfortably fit on stage. Each submits in advance a list of songs in their repertoire they can play at the drop of a hat. They have to be able to claim a long list in order to be good candidates.

  Someone from the audience asks a question through the moderator. The moderator randomly selects a song from the combined list, maybe by pulling it out of a hat, or maybe by rolling dice. The appropriate performer sings whatever song came up.

  Then a panel of interpreters (possibly including the moderator, but not the performers, who remain aloof and mysterious channels of the radio 8-ball oracle) discuss how the song answers the question. From the performers' point of view, this at worst reduces to a concert set where their songs are chosen randomly, and at best they'll get into the spirit of it and it will be a lot of fun.

  Undead Dog

  For the undead who do not depart after the closing ceremonies, there will be an Undead Dog Filk lasting until sunrise Monday.

  Children's Programming

  The children's room will be run once again by the incomparable Lindy Laurent. We are also planning some special events for children. More details later. You can contact Lindy through her husband, Bob Laurent at bob@laurent.com.

  See you soon! We hope you're looking forward to Consonance as much as we are.

  Related Information

  by Lynn Gold

  In addition to the wonderful work being done by the programming crew, here are some things you can expect to find.

  Sound Techs

  Morgan "Mud" Andrews, who co-ran our con suite last year, is in charge of technical and sound assistance. She is looking for help in operating sound equipment. If you're willing to pull a shift running the sound board, or if you have special needs in this area, contact her through sam@deepforest.org.

  Open Filking

  What would a filk convention be without the free exchange of music and stories? We'll have at least one open filk room at all times where you can swap songs and jam with other folks, or you can just plain listen to whatever's going on at the time.

  Con Suite and other Edibles

  Our con suite is being run by the experienced Devon Black, who will be assisted by Morgan "Mud" Andrews and crew. If you have any special dietary needs or want to arrange for something special, contact them by clicking here.

  As part of Consonance's newest annual tradition, we'll also be organizing dinner runs Saturday and Sunday. Here's how it works:

  1. Someone decides they want to organize a dinner run to a particular restaurant serving a particular kind of cuisine.
  2. This person posts a sign-up sheet for that restaurant at the registration desk with "n" number of signups where "n" is the number of spare car spaces available (if applicable; many fine restaurants are within walking distance).
  3. People without cars (or who don't want to drive) just sign up in a numbered slot. People with cars add numbers to the signup sheet for themselves and each additional car space available in their vehicle, and draw a star next to their name to indicate they're a driver. (This helps when we're gathered in the lobby and trying to figure out which people on the list are the drivers.)
  4. If possible, we'll take the list and make a reservation at the restaurant listed around 5pm.
  5. When it's time to go to dinner, people gather in the hotel lobby, meeting up with the rest of the folks signed up for their restaurant. Note that even if there's no driver needed, the restaurants within walking distance are very popular, thus a reservation is recommended.
  What you get is an organized (eep!) restaurant run in which we get there, are seated quickly, and can enjoy a relaxed meal yet get back more quickly to do yet more filking!

  Internet Lounge

  Consonance in 2003 will have its first ever Internet Lounge, maintained by the members of the local Federation Starship, U.S.S. Augusta Ada. We'll have the bookmarks tuned up for a few places of filker interest on the wild, wild web. Any travlling silicon lifeforms will find a comfy haven with power and ethernet connectors. Anyone who loses their guitar on the Information Highway will be encouraged to visit http://www.lostandfound.com. Anyone who loses their con chair on the Information Highway is invited to pick up after her.

  Heather Stern, who ran the Internet Lounge for ConJose, will be running our Internet Lounge. If there's something you'd like to see in it, if you'd like to help, or if you have any questions about it, contact her at star@starshine.org.

  Roadie Runners

  Consonance in 2003 will have its first ever Volunteers department, aka the "Roadie Runners," headed by Chaos Savitzky. If you're a student in need of hours of service to a non-profit organization to graduate, we're now a non-profit (501(c)(3) and all that), so you can volunteer at the con.

  In case that isn't good enough, we have one better: A Free FilK CD! DAG Productions and Random Factors have sponsored Gift Certificates for $16 apiece to hand to "Roadie Runners" who work 16 hours during the con!