Ten questions from Nyx # 10 Your music may be considered "controversial" or "lewd" by others. Will this be an influence on your musical creativity in

10.Your music may be considered "controversial" or "lewd" by others. Will this be an influence on your musical creativity in the future?

I don’t see how it could influence my musical creativity. I don’t attempt to be controversial or lewd, I just say what I mean. The Lawyer song has a lot of “F” bombs in it. But Lawyers do seem to FUCK YOU OVER as a general rule.

The simple fact is if you say ANYTHING you will offend SOMEONE. Even speaking pure gibberish will piss some people off. Say what you want to say, and if people are offended, at least you have just cause to offend them.

Christmas miracles do happen, 250 citizens in the Zorch Nation

Yesterday at Tantalus, we finally crossed the 250-member target I said I wanted to reach for Christmas. Thanks one and all for the support and I hope to prove worthy of that support.

Ten questions from Nyx #9 What do you consider your greatest achievement in music?

9. What do you consider your greatest achievement in music?

Well, I’ve won awards, been covered in critical acclaim, and sold a bunch of records. But my greatest achievement in music is simply doing it in such a way I have a modicum of security. This is something a lot of more famous people can’t claim. My life is good, I have a pretty good idea where my next meal is coming from, and I don’t have to tour just to have a cash flow.

Music is a pretty weird way of life. Seem most go broke and end up doing the 9-5 thing. A few get rich, but fewer still find some security later in life. I guess I’m lucky.

Ten questions from Nyx #8 What do you consider your greatest obstacle in music?

8. What do you consider your greatest obstacle in music?

People.

That is the short and very pointed answer to that question. Of course I should probably embroider that a bit so I don’t come off as cynical.

People are the primary recipients of music. People are the primary creators of music. Both have serious issues.

The vast majority of people in the world have music in their life. But they are very ignorant of what makes up good music. This is analog to why people eat McDonalds when, while it’s edible, it’s not really good food.

Most people are comfortable with what they know musically. When I was playing in a cover band I noticed people would rather have you do a horrible job playing a song they know, then listen to a flawless rendition of a good original song.

How do people become familiar with music? Mostly via radio. I don’t listen to the radio at all anymore. I find most of the current music absolutely homogonous. It all sounds the same. Even singers in current bands all seem to have the same voice. The reason most music sounds the same is because the men in suite figure if band “A” sells very well, band “B” should sound as much like band “A” as humanly possible.

Frankly, artist development is history. The current rage is exploitation of the young and hopeful. Simply subscribe to the current sonic, fashion, image orthodoxy and perhaps the men in suites will use you to bolster their quarterly reports.

Of course this bring us from the consumers of music (or McMusic), to the creators.

Most musicians are incredibly derivative. They pointedly sound like the musical credo they subscribe to. I saw a guy playing the other day and for some reason the woman running the show sent me a copy of his song list. He had a good number of original songs,and a big pile of song he could cover. All the cover songs sounded alike (ahhhh, McMusic strikes again), but even more disappointing, his so-called original songs sounded just like his cover songs. This guy is very popular, because people are musically ignorant.

Let me try to explain what makes a person a musical artist with an analogy.

Most people can speak. Most people have a vocabulary. But few people are poets. Poets understand the power of words and the emotional resonance they have. Yes, most people can string together words that rhyme, but rhyming words do not a poem make.

Many people can play a musical instrument and make something resembling music. This is their musical vocabulary. Perhaps they can sing in pitch. But they really don’t understand the intangibles of music. They have no distinctive voice. This mean they really have no business playing music. Music is supposed to be an art form, not a craft.

Allow me to put forth examples some artist I’ve seen in Second Life that strikes me as actual musical artist.

POL Arida. Hell I could be the president of the POL fan club. He provides powerful words, dramatic music and a drive that keep things fresh. Nobody sounds like POL but POL.

Peregrine Singh. I’ve really just started coming to grips with this guy. I frankly don’t understand how he does what he’s doing, but it doesn’t matter, he’s freaking brilliant. There are plenty of guitar player wanking off, but Peregrine seems to be able to spew forth musical ideas with manic glee.

Blindboy Gummo. There is a part of me that doesn’t want to like Blindboy. He seems too popular to be cool. But fuck it, I love his originals. He’s got a quirky Blues/pop hybrid sound that is just amazing. Nobody sounds like the Hedgehog. I actually have a long-standing show following Blindboy at Bay Vista. If Blindboy ever drops that gig, I won’t be showing my face at Bay Vista again. Dropping in early to catch his show is my prime motivation.

Oh yeah, lets not forget Zorch Boomhauer, that guy is freaking amazing.

Ten question from Nyx # 7. What do you find more rewarding, writing music or performing it?

7. What do you find more rewarding, writing music or performing it?

This is quite a challenging question. I’ve spent most of my life as a songwriter, and I’ve enjoyed that very much. However my songwriting method is different from most. Songs kind of rattle around in my head for a while, then I kind of sit down and figure out how to play them. Music and lyrics come at the same time; the words are linked to the notes.

Once I have a verse and a chorus, the basic structure of the song is all laid out. A second verse, maybe a third is added. Perhaps I’ll drop in a bridge. But I never really sit and hack around on the guitar looking for a magic progression or volley words about with a rhyming dictionary.

The end result is often quite interesting. Most of my songs are in an odd key. Many have rather oblique time signatures and on occasion I’ve dreamed up a song with a composite time signature.

Now I’m not suggesting this is some kind of magic. While there is talent involved, a good deal of the musical sophistication is due to my upbringing. As a very young child I was inundated with constant music. My grandfather, whom the family lived with when we first came to America, was a jazz musician and the greats were constantly being played on the Gramophone. When there were no records playing, my grandfather would be playing, either alone or with some of his “Hot Jazz Cat” acquaintances.

On the other side of the musical coin, my dad made sure there was a good deal of Irish music being played. Back then it was not referred to as Celtic music, it was Irish music.

I’m sure my Father had every record the Clancy brothers ever made.

I was nurtured as a sapling in a home where the modes mingled with the modal, and this makes for an interesting spawning ground for musical ideas. Mix in the fact, my English teacher Mothers penchant for leaving poetry books lying about; you have a fertile field for a young songwriter to develop in.

What am I trying to say here? Well, writing songs for me is part of my life. Driving down the road, cooking dinner, taking a shower or tucking my princess into bed, musical ideas are bouncing around in my head. The songs are on the vine, and all I have to do is harvest them when the time is right. Yes, I find it rewarding, but not as in, “A job well done”.

When the song is ready, I undergo the painful experience of trying to figure out how to play it. This is the one draw back to writing songs this way. Some of the cord changes are not as 1,2,3,4 as I might hope. And it seems as if each song has a specific key. It takes a while to “Decode” the song. But I don’t see this as song writing. But rather the larval state of a performance.

And now my answer is crystallized. Songwriting and performance are all part of the same process of making music to me. The song isn’t really written until it’s performed, and it isn’t really performed until it’s played for people, and both are amazingly rewarding.

Ten questions from Nyx #6 Have you written a song specifically for your daughter or do you intend to?

6. Have you written a song specifically for your daughter or do you intend to?

Well I have composed an instrumental for her called “Lilly’s theme”. And when she was one-year old I did a composition using samples of the sounds she made as the interments, called “Baby Boo”.

I have written a song that she inspired, but changed the name because I didn’t want her to grow up being the girl in a song.

Ten questions from Nyx # 5 What advice can you offer to those interested in becoming successful musicians?

5. What advice can you offer to those interested in becoming successful musicians?

Well, I am a successful musician, but only because I choose to define my own terms for success. Rich and famous, I don’t know much about, but I’ll offer a few observations.

It takes ten years to get good at something. Mozart started composing when he was 12, but nobody really plays those pieces. When he was 22 he started setting the world on fire. Good music takes time. Mastering an instrument takes time. Understanding music takes a lifetime. You really can never take it all in, just small slices at a time. The longer you are involved the more you come to understand.

Don’t be afraid of the business end of the music business. Most musicians tend to think, if I get a manager, I’ll be set, I can just concentrate on the music. While that might seem like a more perfect world, no matter how well meaning your manager may be, unless you are intimately involved in the plan for your career, your career might end up somewhere you don’t want to be. Managers look at things from the business end, they don’t take into account the musical/artistic requirements unless you make them clear as crystal.

Avoid the word “No”. That word ends conversations, and close doors. Of course there are times you want conversations ended and doors closed, but the more you say “No” to other people, the more likely people are to say “No” to you.

Also, use the word “Yes” with great discretion. People like to say “Yes”, and like to hear “Yes”, but “Yes” is a commitment, remember that.

Expect to succeed. Even when you fail, you find out what doesn’t work quite successfully.

Talent is great, but ambition and commitment get the job done.

Ten questions from Nyx,#4 Are you teaching Lilly how to play the guitar?

4. Are you teaching Lilly how to play the guitar?

When Lilly was 3, she got a Ukulele for Christmas. She still has it and plays it all the time. Of course, her concept of “Playing” is a bit different from yours or mine. She plunks away merrily and sings her heart out, making up songs on the fly.

I’m often invited to her room, and she stands on the bed and puts on a concert for me.

She wants a pink guitar for Christmas this year. She often reads me her wish list and always at the end is, “and a pink guitar”. She says this with a very serious look on her face and her tiny index finger extended to punctuate the point.

Ten questions from Nyx, #3 Besides guitar, what other instrument(s) can/do you play?

3. Besides guitar, what other instrument(s) can/do you play?

I started life as piano player, and I still play from time to time. The reason I don’t play it on Second Life is because I don’t really own a piano, just a MIDI keyboard and a sampler that has a good piano sample. I can’t get the sampler program to run while running Second life and winamp for a stream, so I don’t use it in performances.

My first music job was pianist in a recording studio.

When I was 12, I saw Johnny Cash on TV. He was signing a song, all dressed in black, and I remember him slinging his guitar behind his back, walking up to the mic to say something. I don’t remember what he said into the mic, I don’t remember the song he was singing before he slung his guitar back, but something about that moment made me think, “I’ve gotta get a gee-tar, that is bad ass cool”.

My Father had a friend, Fred Sommers who was much like the grandfather I never had. I actually had two grandfathers, but Fred was like...actually interested in me as a person. He made me a guitar (or Gee-tar) with his own two hands. He really didn’t know how to make a guitar, but wanted me to have one, and figured it could not be that hard. I recall it had masking tape position markers on the neck, and thumb tacks to hold the strap on. But it did have a strap, and for weeks I was walking around with the gee-tar slung behind me Johnny Cash style.

When I tried to actually play it, it spilt down the front. Seem it could not handle being tuned to pitch. But I still remember that guitar and thanks Fred for being a cool old man.

Getting back to the actual question, I play the Keys, Guitar, Bass, Drums, Banjo, Mandolin, Dobro, and Harmonica.

If you want to know how well I play these instruments that is hard to say. I seem to be able to get something musical out of all of them. Any performances recorded are me playing. And I’ve won awards for playing the Guitar, Banjo, and Dobro.

Ten questions from Nyx, #2. Who would you consider "your inspiration" to pursue music as a career?

2. Who would you consider "your inspiration" to pursue music as a career?

I have this theory about people that have musical careers. You don’t really decide to devote your life to music. It’s just some kind of genetic fluke.

I’ve seen plenty of people say, “Hey, I’m going to be a professional musician”, but after a few years of banging your head against the wall, you end up in a more reasonable line of work. A good number of these reasonable people are still friends of mine and quite amazed I’m still pursuing music as a vocation.

I can honestly say I’ve given the 9 to 5 lifestyle a test drive a few times and it never really suited me.

I’ve been involved in music as a profession since 1977. That was the year I released my first record. I’ve seen good times, and suffered some bone grinding poverty, and I’ve worked in just about any capacity you can think of in music. But when all is said and done, there never was a question of doing something else. Music is my love, my life and my calling. It is the boundary that defines me.

I’m not doing this to get rich or famous. If I were I would have moved on decades ago. While I manage to earn my crust of bread, it’s never been about money at all. There is intoxication in music that nothing else can match. I can think back on a million instances when I knew this was where I belonged. On stage at some bucket of blood shit hole bar, or listening to the playback of a recording, magic transcendent moments of answering the call of my life.

Ten questions from Nyx. #1 What brands of guitars do you use during your SL live events?

A while back I asked the members of the Zorch Nation to submit questions for an interview. So far, only Nyx has answered the call. I'm going to answer her ten questions one at a time in serial form here on the blog. The full interview is almost 3,000 words, so lets take it one question at a time.

1. What brands of guitars do you use during your SL live events?

When I started out in Second life, I was playing an Alverez RD205CE. This is the guitar that fell off the guitar stand and broke it’s neck. It was the guitar I was planning on growing old with, but such is life.

Thanks to the swift and generous aid of the Zorch Nation, I was soon playing an Ovation Celebrity, and that is the guitar I play the standard tuning portion of my show with until this very day.

A few months after buying the Ovation, I started messing around with songs using DADGAD tuning. For a while I would retune in the middle of the show and this would wreak havoc on my strings. Once the show started going 50% standard tuning, and 50% DADGAD tuning I decided to buy a second guitar. Of course, I didn’t have much money to spend on this instrument. I picked a Rouge model RAGCEQ from Musicians friend.

I suspect most musicians know about Musicians friend and the Rouge line of musical instruments. They aren’t the best, but they are affordable. The guitar is a 000 body acoustic/electric. Small, easy to handle and actually sounds good. It’s not particularly finger friendly, but works well for my style of playing in DADGAD. I basically bash the hell out of it. So far it has not exploded into a pile of toothpicks.

A footnote, the majority of “Songs in the key of Green” are in DADGAD tuning, and all the DADGAD songs are played on the Rouge. It doesn’t sound like a cheap guitar on the recording at all.

The Jester inn’s one-year anniversary and my 300th performance in Second life

Sunday really started out spotty. I had played four show on Saturday and Sunday morning I was not really feeling fresh and focused. Just between you and I, I really need to get a performance schedule that is a little more reasonable.

During a 9 AM show at WAM-TV, I was contacted about playing the Jester inn’s one-year anniversary party. Way to wait until the last moment guys. I was asked if I could play a 30-minuet set at 2 PM, but I was scheduled to play a benefit for “Toys for Tots”, at 2 PM so I asked if I could go on around 3:30 PM instead. The organizer, Dres Forder said, “Yes sure”.

Okay 1:30 PM rolls around and I show up early for the Benefit. Seems nobody is actually in charge on site. I inform a woman wearing “Event Hostess” tag I’m the guy scheduled for a 2 PM performance and she informs me I’m not. According to their calendar I’m suppose to play there next week. Well you know what? Fuck you people. I’m tried about getting dragged all over for Charities. Yeah it’s a good cause and for the children and all, but they should not have fucktards running an event for good causes.

Anyway, suddenly I can play the Jester Inn event. Not only do I have time to play, I can actually attend the event and see the other people playing there.

I’m not kidding when I say the Jester Inn one-year anniversary party was the best time I’ve ever had in Second life, and to put a cheery on top, because the Toys for Tots gig was a wash, it turned out to be my 300th scheduled performance in Second life. Talk about wicked cool.

The performers playing made up a show I’ve actually been thinking about for a while. POL Arida, Blind Boy Gummo, and Zorch. Then after the featured performers were done, Dres Forder played a few songs, as did Phemie Alcot. It was good music front to back, didn’t have to turn off the stream once.

As good as the music was, what was more compelling was you could just tell how much it touched the heart of everybody’s favorite “Rock Chick” Harrie. She kept saying, “You guys have restored my faith in Second Life”.

Hey everybody seem to get at their wits end with the bullshit Second life can heap on you. It’s nice to have a chance to tell someone how much you appreciate what they do, and how much they mean to you. Yes it was a big crowd, but it was a crowd there for Harrie. The performers where there to play for the woman that had always been there for them.

About mid way through the even, everybody piled on to a table for a group picture. I was in that pile too, well, standing in back of the pile, but part of it nonetheless. Somehow, I could not help but feel like it was a picture of victory. The Jester Inn, and Harrie thrive. They thrive because she only books the music she likes. It’s the one venue I can think of where I never see a horrible act. Harrie proves it can work, and all the people in the pile agree.

This is my best day in Second Life and I’m so proud I could be part of the pile.

Looking back at November

As always, I’m fascinated by number, so let’s see what the numbers say about November. Did I have something to be thankful for?

The web page had 77 unique visitors in November; this is up from September’s 52 visitors. Not bad, go ZorchBoom dot com.

MP3 downloads show a total of 272 files downloaded for the month of November. The breakdown is as follows.

White and black 9 MP3=108
200th Show song collection 7 MP3= 28
Songs in the key of Green 8 Mp3= 112
Black and white 2 MP3= 22
Single of the moment 1 MP3= 2

I guess I’m not a singles artist no matter how you serve it up. I’m kind of surprised that “White and black” made such a strong showing. I’m suspecting people that own “Black and white” are picking up its sister collection.

Once again if you wonder why I make a point to share the numbers, it’s because sometimes you can get lost in feelings. I often feel as if I’m stuck in a rut. But I can remember a time when I played “The artic circle dock” and had five people in the audience. Two of which were staff and the other three were a few people from a venue checking me out. At this point, my shows are generally better attended.

At least during the days.

My voice… not my voice but my VOICE

Would you like to know the difference between a journeyman songwriter and a real live songwriter? A real songwriter has a voice. Not the voice they sing with, but a stylistic signature that clearly identifies the song as the work of the author. This transcends musical style, and even the performers voice. While Dylan’s singing voice is quite distinct, when the Grateful dead cover his songs they still sound like Dylan songs.

A great example of a Second Life artist with a distinct voice as a songwriter would be (wait for it) POL Arida. For a while he was “The Hammer guitar guy”. But now he’s playing more “Strummy” song. The amazing thing is how the songs are still quite powerful, dramatic, and stank to high heaven of POL’s personal style.

Another great Second life example is… well me. My songs run the gambit in style, technique, time signature, and even tuning. Yet they all have the stamp of my style indelibly etched into them.

Having your own voice is the primary goal of the songwriter as an artist. There are people that write songs for profit, and their job is to make songs that have no visible signature on them. These people are not artist, they are craftsmen. Some prize the craft of songwriting above all else. These people usually view music as “Product”, and I hate those people.

Let me tell you a story.

A While back I got a recording deal offer from a woman for a band project I was in. The band was an art rock/pop project. The deal had a profanity clause in it, so that queered the deal.

About a month later, the same woman contacted me concerning a record deal for the band I was in previously. She was unaware I was the same person in the art rock/pop project she had contacted a month prior. The band she was interested in at the moment was a Jam/Jam grass band. A very different style, but the voice apparently connected with her.

Songwriting becomes art when it bears the signature of an artist.

Music Management reconsidered

A while back I made what seems to be a comment based on a uniformed opinion. I basically implied that the “Music Management types” were nothing more then girlfriend promoting their snuggle bunny’s so-called music career.

I’ve come to learn; while the people hawking the group memberships may well be females they are not always personally involved with the performer. I’ve learned this because I seem to have some kind of management deal with Moody, and she send women I don’t even know to basically pimp my group, my website, and emote frantically.

While this seems a bit… undignified to me, it seems to be exactly how things work in Second life. The biggest performers even do it, or more to the point have somebody do it for them.

Of course at this point, I’m not sure it’s working. Yes, things are growing, but they were growing before, and it may well take a while for this to bear fruit. It’s really kind of hard to divide the sound business practice from the magical ritual at this point.

I feel I should mention I’ve always thought “Music not Politics” is a pretty lame name for a management company, I must say Moody has recently shown me she does practice what she preaches. I had a bit of a personal issue with a close friend of Moody’s and she made it quite clear that she would not allow the rift between her friend and I to affect my (snicker) career.

This is commendably mature, and quite professional. I’m rather impressed. Second Life music seems to run on a social engine, and for her to put my music before her social network makes me think maybe I’m with the right person.

All I am in Second Life is a singer/songwriter. People that expect more will be disappointed. The music is what matters to me, and if you are hanging around because of some other reason I won’t shed a tear when you stop coming around.

Random thoughts

Some times it hard to update the blog because I try to figure out a topic that needs a good write up. Today I’m just going to let my mind wonder and perhaps I’ll stumble across something interesting.

Yesterday I played my first official MEGA set in a while. It was not as well attended as I hoped, but new events take a while to break. The show was scheduled for 2 hours and I managed to play one hour and forty-nine minuets. Next show will be an hour and a half in length.

I really feel the MEGA set format give me a chance to showcase more of my songs, and because of this I sold a few more MP3 collections yesterday then I have at one hour shows.

I’m quite an oddity in Second life, not only do I play all originals, but I have enough good material for a two hour set. I do get a bit tired, but I don’t run out of songs.

I’m thinking back to my Jam-band days when we would do three-hour sets. Man I’m getting old and weak.

I got my bulk set of guitar strings in the mail today. 25 sets of strings for 99.99 $. Quite a bargain when you consider a set of strings for an acoustic guitar go for about 9 $ a pop. I do try and change strings once a week on two guitars. It can get prohibitively expensive at 9$ a shot. Fresh steel makes for good sound, and not going broke keeping fresh steel on my gee-tars is a bonus.

I also received a notecard from a supporter of the music the other day that really touched my heart. She explained she was not a stalker (snicker, I didn’t think she was), and how much my music meant to her and her autistic son. She mentioned she plays my song around her house all day, and has burned the MP3 collections she has purchased to CD to play in her vehicles. This is fantastic, and this is what I’m shooting for. I want my music to be part of people’s lives. A single notecard can really make your week.

Once again, I see the numbers improving. This months unique visitors to the web site have gone up once again, and MP3 downloads keep pushing to a higher number. While I didn’t play as many shows this month as last month, the earning from show played has increased.

I’m really wonder how far I will go until I hit one of those dreaded flat spots you hear so much about? Only time will tell.

Curious numbers

There was a theory going about back in the nascent days of I-tunes that the proliferation of MP3 sales would turn the industry from an album market back into a singles market.

A break out single was going to become the currency of music again.

Of course about two days after the nascent days, they figured out a hit single was only a hot item to be bootlegged.

About four days after the nascent days, the “INDUSTRY” hired someone to track the general traffic of bootleg mp3 and they learned artist that had a strong single got ripped off in a ratio of 96/4. However artist with a strong catalog got ripped off at a much lower ratio of 20/80. While people where still probably ripping off the single they were paying for the collection of good songs.

That being said lets look at the download numbers for the last five days. You might wonder why choose the last five days? Well that is the period of time that has elapsed since the release of “Songs in the key of Green”.

215 MP3 downloaded. And not one of those downloads is from the sale of my “Single of the moment” program. Every MP3 is part of a collection. For those of you interested in the specifics, here they are.

White and Black: 9 copies downloaded
Songs in the key of Green: 6 copies downloaded
200th show song collection: 3 copies downloaded
Black and White: 1 copy downloaded.

For those of you that might think the numbers are kind of small, let me assure you, they would be impressive for a months worth of tracking or even possibly a quarter’s activity.

Once again, the numbers are less important then the tale they tell. People don’t seem to be responding to the “Single of the moment”. It’s a good price and I feel the songs are pretty strong. But it seems I have a strong catalog and people are making a pretty significant investment in owning a part of it. The sale leader for the 5 day period, “White and Black” goes for 1000L$ a pop. Hardly an impulse buy.

The amount earned by the sales of “White and Black” and “Songs in the key of Green” for the period are 13,200 L$. This is the equivalent of 4.4 fee paying show.

I feel at this point I should remind you I don’t do music for the money. But the money are a quantifiable measure of success. I’m here to get my music out to the people that enjoy it, and there is nothing wrong making a few dollars along the way. It seems the number are telling me I’m doing a pretty good job and making some in roads in to selling music via Second Life.

Warning: Opinions below

Yeah, I’m going to cause myself no end of grief by saying what I really think. This really should not be an issue. But it always seems to end up being one. However, I’m tired of biting my tongue.

I was supposed to play a show at “Trax” today, but I’ve decided to pass. Anybody that knows me would realize I don’t cancel shows at the drop of a hat. I have real issues with this place. Now keep in mind, I’m not accusing them of being evil, or having bad intentions. I do not know the secret contents of people hearts. But the services they provide are… well, worthless.

For “X” amount of lindens, you get a booth that will play three songs, feature a graphic and give interested parties a note card with you bio/fee info. I would imagine it works, but it seems to be an “In-world” version of a MySpace page. Even if the booth only cost 1L$ per year… it would still be less cost effective then a MySpace page. You can also host more songs on MySpace, post more graphics and add friends and stuff.

Personally, I have both a MySpace page and my own website. I find my website offers me far more options then anything Trax might offer. Of course, some might point out they have to go out of world to get my information, but what is important? Maintaining the in world experience or getting the information? If the venue owner prizes the sparse Trax booth information over the more complete representation of my website, they probably aren’t the kind of venue operator I want to be working for.

A music management type assures me that Trax is the wave of the future. But I think she is wrong, at least in my case. She claims, “Everybody is going to be doing it (meaning Trax)”, and about that she may be right. But I have never seen myself as part of “Everybody”. What I is do is singular and unique. I’m the only person doing what I do. I don’t need to be in a booth next to some lounge singer. Lounge singers need to compete, but I have no competition. You either want Zorch or you want anybody else.

Trax also offers a SLCD (Second life compact disk) service. Once again, what is the point? They seem quite impressed if you own a plot of land you can play the music from some sort of device. But I don’t own land, and I don’t see being able to stream music to you own property as a big deal. If you don’t own property, and a lot of people don’t. it downloads the files to your computer, where you can listen to them or burn them to a CD and all kinds of nifty crap. But you can do that with regular MP3 files anyway. I host MP3 downloads from my website, and I have a vendor in world that sells them. What do I need a SLCD for?

I see Trax fascination with doing things “In world” as nothing more then a gimmick. A well-groomed MySpace page is far more effective as far as promotion goes, and selling you own MP3 via any other avenue seems more cost effective.

I should in all fairness mention there is a veritable forest of booths will all kinds of musical acts featured already in place. Yes, it seems everybody is doing it. Everybody but me. I still think it’s stupid, worthless and the fact that so many are already involved just show that people don’t really think things through.

Why did I cancel the show? Standing in a place rife with iniquity makes me ill. Somebody is profiting off the stupidity or laziness of some so-called musicians. I don’t want to seem involved in anyway.

If anybody is pissed off about these comments, I warned you at the outset there were opinions.

Embracing the chaos

Second Life is a handful of unanswered questions. Seems the more I observe and learn, the more questions pop up.

Just today I got notification a venue I was booked to play a show at was closing down. In the middle of the month. This is odd because most closing happen when tier fees for the next month come looming large, and the venue operator grabs the eject handles and pulls.

Yes, it seems running a venue is a money pit. Everybody is losing large amounts of Lindens and I can understand why people would want out. But while this is not in my best interest, I have trouble understanding why people stay.

Perhaps they love music, but it seems like there are plenty of other places you can go to hear music, why would you take your personal money, invest hours of your free time, and then flush more of your money?

Of course lots of people have hobbies that cost a fortune. Perhaps the most obvious answer is the correct one. They do it for love of doing it. They get to be an active part of the music scene without learning to play an instrument.

I’m very glad they do it of course, and I do what I can to educate the public as to how tipping the venue supports live music in Second Life.

Another things I’ve learned, is the talent pool is a bit deeper then I had originally thought. There is an unofficial hierarchy I was unaware of at the start. When you are playing “Tips only open mic” events you are going to be listening to a lot of questionable talent. Once you start playing venues that pay fees, the talent gets a lot more professional. Of course that being said, I’m still freaking amazing and better then the majority of big money talent. And I’m humble too.

However, I do see some remarkable talent playing to tiny audiences while wank-masters pack venues.

The only reason I can find for people to run venues and blow a lot of their money and time is they are willing to embrace the chaos. They believe in the vision.

They are akin to the bands I’ve been in during my sorted past that got behind me to play my music. Investing hours in practice, thousands in equipment, and playing show that often didn’t pay a dime. Why did we do it? Did we really think we would break big and it would all pay off? Of course we did. But after a while of spinning our wheels, all bands end in breaking up. Even successful ones.

People live out all kinds of dreams in Second Life. We all blow a lot of time plotting, planning and executing our five-year plans for world domination. As long as we enjoy it, who cares how much money is spent, how my time invested.

It’s been said, “money can’t buy happiness”. But what else is money for? Should money just be for making ends meet, or turning a profit? Why not take a few of those hard eared green backs and invest in dreaming. While the more cynical might say it’s wasteful, I would be inclined to disagree. Second life is a place where people can have a big house, live on there own Personal Island, and be a mover and shaker in the music biz for a few pennies on the dollar. While some might contend it’s all “make believe”, isn’t that the most perfect expression of a dream?

Going green, the view from here

Feeling pretty good today. Tried as hell, but pretty damn good. Today was the release of “Songs in the key of Green”, and all went better then I expected. The release party at the Jester Inn was amazing. Seems like everybody I know from Second Life, with the exception of POL was there. POL actually did send me an IM to explain that “Real life” had prevented him from attending but he wished me luck. What a great guy he is.

I’m always tickled that Harrie lets my have my events at the Jester, but she really went all out today. Check out the Image, she imposed my green image on the back wall and festooned the place with green balloons.

Nya also made up some wicked cool emotes that spewed out shamrocks all over the place. It seemed quite popular with the revelers assembled. Thematically the show was a smashing success.

Musically, I consider the show a success as well. As tradition dictates, I did run a little over the expected 1-hour show… by about 30 minuets. But there were so many friends and supporters there, I felt it only right to play some fan favorites.

I had two more shows to play today, and while each went well enough, I must admit it’s hard to beat such a personal, and supportive start. Speaking of supportive, The Guys from “Dark Castle Park”, Rubber LeShell from “Club Rub” and former owner of “The Stringer” Poseidon Footman showed up at the later shows. Nice to see venue owners showing up at other peoples venues to see your show.

As expected, I did mange to sell a few copies of “Songs in the key of Green”, but oddly enough, I only sold one “Single of the moment”. The one up for sale today was “Running in circles/Real love”. I’m still convinced this method of moving music will work; it’s just possible those are not the songs people are most interested in.

Attendance was pretty solid all day, averaging about 30 avatars per show. This is rather impressive due to the number of shows played.

Monetarily things went quite well. While not providing any hard numbers, this weekend proved to be 30% more profitable then my previous best weekend.

Did I turn a corner? Perhaps, but more likely I generated a bit of momentum but causing an event to happen. My supporters were in my corner and hoping I would do well, and I did. I thank them all very much. But keeping things in motion is the real trick.

Of coure, I’m in no mood to barrow trouble right now. Things look great from here. Time to press on and see what comes next. Getting ever so close to that 200-member mark in my group. Could happen soon.

Today it’s good to be me.

Waiting for the other shoe to drop

Things have been going peachy in the wacky world of Second Life. Been playing shows to pretty good crowds, picking up a few group members and I’m just about done with “Songs in the key of Green”.

So of course I’m bracing for disaster.

Seems every time I turn a corner, I seem to turn another corner and end up in Loserville. I guess perhaps I expect too much. In my so-called real life there have been moments when all the hard work paid off in a moment. In my so-called Second Life, I have had a bunch of these moments, but they don’t seem to stick.

I still remember playing to a packed venue that emptied out before my first song was done. I have played a few more shows at the venue where that happened, and have done a bit better, but I don’t think I’ll be surprised in the least when that happens again and I’m sure it will.

The problem is there are too many variables to calculate. Number of shows you are playing against, and who is performing at those shows. Wonky Second life technical problems affect things. Who’s online? Will notices go out? Will the venue list the show in Live music events? So many variables.

You can’t get all your shit in one sock when you don’t really control the sock. Seems to me there will never be a defining moment. No big break. The odds are against you and there is nothing you can do to change that. This is going to be a long campaign of attrition.

But that is cool. I’m down with working hard to get where I need to go. Just keep playing, ignore the ego bruising moments and carry on. Things are good at the moment, but when disaster comes I should have the mind set to roll with it.

It’s taken me six months to attain “Newcomer” status, so full fledge Second Life Rock Star status might take a bit longer.

Success? (Notice the question mark)

I’m not a successful person in the eyes of the world. This was always one of the sticking point between my father and I. However, whatever I’ve set my mind to do, in time I’ve done. I’ve been told a few dozen times what I intended to do would never work, then achieved it.

Financially I’m threading water, and the meager monies I earn in Second Life have a profound effect on my lifestyle. They really do supplement my grocery budget, and without the extra cash flow I’m not sure how I would make ends meet. While the money does make a difference it’s not why I do this wacky Second Life music thing.

I want to talk about success and what I would consider success in my eyes. I’ve been spending a good deal of time chatting with a Second Life music veteran and she is quite emphatic about just how I should go about achieving success. She suggests I install myself in the music scene, and make myself known. Glad hand everybody, support somewhat suspect talent, and basically follow the formula for success Second Life style. In her scenario, my only hope for success is to play the game by the rules. But what success would it reap me?

I imagine, it would get me better spots on better gigs and probably more monies in fees. It would mean packed venues. It would mean large group membership. But this is not what I hope to attain. This is not what I’m working towards.

Actually, gauging my success by my ability to integrate myself into a community of musical posers would probably be the biggest personal failure I could aspire to. Humility be damned, I’m an artist. When I do my set, it falls between great and transcendent. My voice is unique, and my craft well honed. I’m sure 95% of the duffers I’ve seen promoted as “A BIG DEAL” in the Second Life scene, are not even aware of the fact music is a transcendent art form.

Or to put a sharper point on it, we are not on the same page because we are reading very different books.

While I view my music as unique, I also view people that really get it as unique. I see a small community that follows the vision, and this gives me hope. If I play two shows a day there are a hand full of people that show up at both shows. While the show has homogenized lately, they realize every performance is a chance to witness something amazing. They feel the desolation and rage of “The Passion of me”. The bitter melancholy of “Underground”. The sense of betrayal in “Twisted love song”. It’s not just cool songs, it’s life reflected and celebrated, or perhaps mourned.

In my case, it really is about the music. The fact Harrie dives to work listening to my songs means more to me then a packed venue. When somebody tells me how the song “The conversation wasn’t over” touched them, it means more to me then a big fee. When Susu puts in her profile picks she tries to see at least one of my shows a day, that means more to me then some tenuous membership is some imaginary community. The support of my friends means so very much to me.

My job, and in essence my success is basically getting my music in front of people. Letting them listen and decide how they will react to it. I cannot affect how they will react so positive or negative reactions mean nothing to me. My music is what it is, and you’ll either love it or don’t love it.

Unto the people that choose to love my music, my job is to slice off a bit of my soul and create new music for them to enjoy.

I’m currently working on a new release, “Songs in the key of Green”, and I’m quite pleased with the way it’s progressing. I’ve posted a preview page on the web site and so far 20 people have checked it out. While the word might not be impressed with the numbers, the fact that anybody bothered to check it out pleases me. The fact that 20 people chose to react to the information the page and the music it contains exist is a win in my opinion.

In the end I will prevail, and do so because I insist on defining my own success. Big crowds are nice. Big fees are nifty. But in the end integrity matters. If it’s not about the music it just a bunch of shit

Making tracks

Its times like this I realize what an unusual relationship of have with my listeners. Recently I’ve posted some previews of songs form the upcoming release, “Songs in the key of Green”, and while it’s not odd to try and drum up some interest in any release, it’s the nature of the previews that is quite different.

Permit me to explain.

Most previews are fished tacks designated as singles. But the preview tracks are far from finished. The recording process is broken in to three stages, Tracking, Mixing, and Mastering. The preview songs are tracked, and just mixed enough to make sense of what you are hearing. Basically you are getting a very good idea of the kind of performances that are recorded and while I’m pleased with them, presenting is somewhat like seeing a supermodel with out their makeup on.

On might consider this a bold marketing move. But after considering it for a while, I see it more of an outgrowth of my relationship with my listeners. In the past, when recording, I would often have a small circle of confidants that I would share the roughs with. In effect, the good people of The Zorch Nation have become my no so small circle of confidants. Yet I still hope you buy the finished product.

I’m really enjoying working on this project and I’m quite please with how it’s progressing. It seems to have a sound all its own and that is what I’m shooting for. It doesn’t sound like a diverse collection of songs and aesthetically it has a unique voice, and I feel this is apparent even at this most rudimentary stage of recording.

I intend to post samples on the Imeem player as soon as I have something new for you to listen to. I’m shooting to have this project done by the 15th of November.

OOOOOOOBAMA!!!!!!

I’m feeling quite good today. So much so I’m noticing what an odd sensation it is. I no longer feel it’s a nifty trick to maintain a sense of hope.

Barack Obama is president elect of the United States of America.

While that is a commendable thing for Mr. President elect, to me it’s a bigger victory for the People of the United States. Perhaps we have seen beyond the petty bullshit that has dragged this Nation to the brink of hopelessness.

This is a bold statement. A commitment to real change. Not just the lesser of two evils, but a new optimistic step forward.

In a moment the world is changed.

Yes we can?

Yes we can.

YES WE CAN !!!!

Yes we can, yes we did and yes… we will continue. Who knows what development may happen in the strange days the lay before us?

Zorchland… a memory

It’s the end of an era. My lovely Island in the middle of nowhere is no more. Gone. I can almost relate to the plight of so many Americans losing their homes. Notice I say “Almost”. I do feel quite disenfranchised.

A dear friend has given me a place to log into for the moment. But there is a part of me that want a place of my own again. I’ll admit, I don’t do much more then answer IMs at the house, but for me it’s still an issue. I’m currently doing the Second Life version of Sleeping on a friend couch.

Why did I lose my island? Because Linden Labs decided they needed to up the tier fee 50%, and the landlord could not cover the cost. It’s rather obvious that Linden Labs seems only interested if figuring out what the market will bear when it comes to pricing. There has been no 50% increase in overhead. In a world where this mattered it would be considered price gouging.

It’s become quite clear the residents of Second Life have no real voice in this matter. Oddly for a world created by the residents it seems Linden Labs is quite uninterested in their opinions on this issue. There is no dialog, just a bill. “Here, pay this now”

Please don’t think I’m just bitching and whining about this. I’m not suggesting some bullshit theatrical gesture, or expecting any kind of change. Some things suck, and I’ve lived long enough to figure that out, but it doesn’t mean I have to be happy or even stoic about it.

Good-bye Zorchland. You were my home and I’m going to miss you.

Happy Halloween

Well it’s the end of the month, and a holiday to boot. My favorite holiday actually. Happy Halloween people, and remember it’s only a matter of moment until the strip malls put up the Christmas decorations.

Also a presidential election is right around the corner. This fills me with both hope and dread. What would a world be like with a president Palin? Fuck, it’s a nightmare. I’m not a sexist but that woman is a fucking nut job, and I don’t mean that in a good way. If the elderly John McCain had a running mate that was not… well retarded, I would not be so apprehensive. But I don’t see the old goat making it through a four-year stint in office. So a vote for McCain is basically a vote for a woman of very questionable intelligence becoming leader of the free world.

We’ve already endured on retarded president and look at the trouble it’s caused.

I would like to encourage you to go out and vote if you intend to vote for Obama. If you intend to vote other wise I have to wonder if you have be paying attention. If you intend to vote for McCain just stay the fuck home you stupid git.

There you go, fair and balanced.

As for the “Music thing” I do in second life, I’m still quite perplexed. The two shows I played yesterday were defiantly revenge for my humiliation at the “Unnamed venue”. I was “ON” and “BIGGER THEN LIFE” as I usually am. But the shows were sparsely populated. At the first show, Dark Castle Park, I could not add any group members because everybody there was already in the group. They second show had a few more people at it, but they seemed far more interested in the act after me. This did not prevent me from doing a good show, but it is an observation.

I’m kind of at a loss for ideas at this point. I am not sure how to proceed and grow. I seem to either play to my group, or play to people that probably don’t have the stream on. Night times are rough, and comprised of all AMERICAN audiences for the most part. It seems AMERICAN audiences have no taste in music. I don’t mean they have bad taste; they seem to have no taste. They only love what they have been programmed to love by their media mogul overlords. This is why performers doing covers seem to thrive. They play the orthodox liturgy of music. Stuff that has been approved by “THE MAN”. There are exceptions to the rule of course, but most of those exceptions that have heard me are already in my group.

When I play, the Jester Inn, Artic circle dock, or The lost continent I pack them in and keep them in. All these venues are either UK or Euro based.

If I were a more reasonable person, I would probably not accept any bookings after 3 PM SLT. The nighttime belongs to the Yankees and that is a very tough nut to crack. Just gotta keep chipping away and trying to get a foothold.

Seems my methodology has not changed. Just keep playing shows and hope you reach someone by the end of the day. In all likelihood, evening/nighttime shows will result in much “Poofing out”, but I’ve gotta remember I’m playing for the benefit of the one or two that stay. The ones that leave are not interested in music anyway, so fuck em.

While I might sound bitter, I have good cause to be bitter. But as bitter as a may or may not be, I’m more resolute then most people suspect. I’m going to continue, and in the end I will prevail.

Deceleration trauma

Last night I came this close to just packing it in and doing something else. I had played another amazing show at “The Lost Continent”, and was feeling quite good about myself. How good? Bordering on megalomania. I felt unstoppable and nothing is quite as disheartening as feeling unstoppable and being… well, stopped.

I was booked to play a show behind some fellow that had drawn quite a crowd. He was “Okay”, and as is often the case his popularly was not reflective of his talent. I was figuring on exposing the mob to my music and they would surely be impressed and follow me to the ends of the earth.

That didn’t happen. I kicked into my first song, and I was “ON FIRE”. When I looked up at the end of my first song, just about everybody was gone. Two staff member and two people who were probably IM-ing each other were all that remained.

Deceleration trauma means, it’s not the fall that kills you, it’s the sudden stop at the end. I went from the top of the world to the bottom in an instant, and looking out at that empty Sim made me feel horrible. Instantaneous depression. I wanted very much to just log off and say fuck it, but I did stick around until the next act showed up. Just stopped in the middle of a song, said good night and vanished. While that might not seem “Professional”, it was the best I could do at the time.

What happened between the packed set at “The Lost Continent” and any time before the end of the first song at “The Unnamed venue” (I don’t hold the venue in any way responsible for this debacle, so I’ll not name it and seem as if I am)? Well, the quality of the music had not changed. But the quality of the crowd had. The Unnamed venue tends to host very popular acts, and that is why people come there. They don’t come to hang out at the venue, they come to see their favorite act and that is it. That seems to me the most likely reason for their instant departure. They had somebody else they wanted to see, rather then give me a chance.

I’m just not designed to be a popular act, so playing further shows at “The Unnamed Venue” is a waste of both of our time. I work my ass off in an attempt to get my music in front of that one person that will understand it and embrace it. I don’t play covers and most popular acts are simple lounge singers. I attempt to do something significant and most people hate that. I’m not entertainment, but I drift rather close to the profound at times.

So what do I do now? The same thing I always do, work hard, and do the best I can. Try to find the people that will love my music almost as much as I do. Wisdom is not the absence of mistakes, but rather learning from them.

One footnote. Something really did get me pissed off last night. After I left the venue the “Popular Rock Star type” that played after me informed the venue owner he wanted to talk to me. Fuck you Mr. Popular Rock Star type. Mind your own fucking business. To assume you can give me advice, counsel or even correction, you have to understand what the hell I’m trying to accomplish, and I’m quite sure you don’t understand jack shit.

Maybe being in tour mode is paying off, the numbers

I think I’ve mentioned before my passion for numbers. A lot of things are subjective, but numbers just are. You could argue what those numbers mean, but in most cases the meaning is clear.

At least that is my point of view.

So what do the numbers say this month (so far). Well we seem to be drawing more traffic. The number this month is 45 going into the last week of the month. Let me break that down a bit for you.

Unique visits
Oct (so far) 45
Sep 37
Aug 22
Jul 14

While not the kind of numbers that make a bean counter splooge, it does represent growth, and growth is much to be desired. Starting out at square one establishing a brand, we have grown significantly from July.

Not only is the page getting more traffic, it’s getting more attention time wise. Let’s break down the numbers here.

Visit duration
0-30 sec 171
30sec-2mn 10
2mn-5mn 8
5mn-15mn 10
15mn-30mn 8
30mn-1hr 7
1hr+ 2

The music preview pages are also getting more traffic. A great sign because it’s supposed to be all about the music right? The total for all music preview pages is 64 pages. This could account for the amount of time visitors are spending at the page.

Some more positive numbers are, what is the most visited page? Well, it’s the calendar page. Woot, people are using the site to find out when and where I’m playing. This is one of the primary reasons I put this web page up. Out of the 45 unique visitors this month, 44 added the page to favorites (or bookmarked the page).

Of course the main reason I put this site together was to have a server to host downloads of my music. How are the numbers looking there? Great, 89 downloads so far this month. When I was marketing DAP on the interweb I sold 8 MP3 in 9 month. So in one month, I’ve moved 10 times the amount of MP3s I did in 9 month using the more conventional method.

The Zorch Nation now has 155 member, still pressing toward 200 by months end, but even if that goal is not achieved, we must remember we didn’t even have 100 members when the month started.

Sometimes it’s easy to get discouraged when busting ass on the virtual road of Second Life. It’s good to look at the number and see growth.

Second Stock 2008

Where were you when Second Stock happened? Probably doing something else, at least when I was playing.

I use to have a phobia about BIG EVENTS, but I must say the whole Second Stock thing didn’t suck at all. It seemed to go off with out a hitch. Even my trepidations about the helicopter ride seemed unfounded. Good going Second Stock peoples.

I did observe and learn a few things. First off, since this was an offshoot of the whole “Humming bird/Streamteam” amalgam, they had some fellow introduce me. He babbled out for what seemed forever about the vendors, the security, how wonderful Second Stock was, and then read my old bio. As he was reading it I had to wonder, “Why don’t you just let me play now and people will know all they need to know”?

Keep in mind this was my old bio, the one before I made up the “So-called” funny one. God I hate Bios.

I also notice as I was wrapping up my set, I didn’t see the helicopter with the next act fly over head at all. I have to wonder if it was worth all the effort they put into it. Of course you could say, “Well the act got to see the whole panorama of Second Stock as they flew in”. But remember, this is second life. As I flew in I got to watch things try and rez as I flew by. I could not even see the audience. As I waited back stage I had to wonder if anybody was out there.

As to the issue of attendance, it seemed about the same as any well-attended show I’ve played. I probably should have gotten my group join board up. It’s possible I got to play for a few people that had never even heard of Zorch before.

An hour after Second Stock I did a short set at “The Lost Continent”. There seem to be as many, if not more people in attendance at that show. While Second Stock didn’t seem to hang up on the organizational level, I have to wonder if the event was not more work then it justified. I’m sure the POPULAR KIDS pulled in as many people as they usually do, but I don’t think at anytime the massive resources of the event were utilized. Yeah the stream handles 1,000 listeners, but there are only 30 out there.

I’ve seen an event where Digby Smalls and Maximillion Kleen played together. They had a crowd of 82. They are two of the biggest draws in second life.

It seems to me, something is horribly wrong. There is an invisible barrier that seems so far unreachable. People like music; Second Stock had a pretty high profile, why was attendance so freaking average?

I guess if I ever figure that out, I’ll only be a few steps short of turning lead into gold.

The view from here

It’s funny how the longer you do things the more your point of view changes on key topics. I thought I might share my observations from this point in the journey.

When I first stated selling MP3s, I really thought people would impulse buy the singles. Well, they aren’t. I’m selling collections of songs, but for the most part the singles are untouched. As a matter of fact most single download happen when I know someone is particularly fond of a song and I just give them the note card for the download for free.

The biggest sellers are Black and White, and White and Black. These have the songs people are most familiar with, so that is not surprising. But they also represent the most expensive Items I have for sale.

I read this fact as implying I’m not selling music at an impulse level. People see my music as something they want and want a good deal of. There aren’t hit singles; the whole catalog seems pretty sound (judging by sales).

While standard business practice would be to continue to make singles available, simply because there is a potential sale there, the fact of the matter is the singles vendor is probably more of a distraction then an advantage. There are LOTS of songs in the singles vendor and finding the one you might want is not easy. You have to wait for each graphic to load and rez. With over 30 songs available that is a lot of loading and rezing.

Setting up a web page for each song and making a graphic for each song, and setting up a vendor slot for each song makes marketing singles very labor intensive. Considering the negligible sales, it’s probably not worth the effort.

I’m probably going to phase out single sales and I don’t think anybody will even notice. For most artists it would make sense. Most have ONE CD worth of material and a few songs are vastly better then the others.

All this thinking is of course pointing forward to the impending release of “Songs in the key of Green”. I’m already promoting the songs in concert, so when the collection is finished people will be familiar with the material. However, as always there is a bi-directional agenda with this project. I want people to want the music, but will be attempting to create a recording that would appeal to anybody that happened across it.

Many view music in a real life verse second life context. But music really does transcend this narrow-minded point of view. Harrie has mentioned she drives to work listening to my music. Luka listens to my music and shares it with her co-workers. Music in second life is as real and valuable, or worthless as it would be if is happened in real life.

If you are wondering if I’m implying I’m using my position in Second Life to launch into real life you are missing the point. I’m trying to connect my very real music with very real people.

Music needs to find a place in someone’s ear, home, and heart. This is the reason I record music.

Perhaps I made a mistake

I played a benefit last night, and I really have to get in the habit of saying no to benefits. There is a part of me that wishes to help out, but sometimes people seem to have their hand out at the wrong time.

The deal was, some fellow needed money to move to Pennsylvania to be with his children. I want people to be with their children. But upon closer inspection of the story, it seems what he wants to do is move to Pennsylvania, and the women running the benefit seems to be the fiancé of the man.

Once again, I have trouble saying no to people in need. But this seems like something that a person should deal with on their own. You want to change your life? Good, take action and change it. Save the fuck up. It might take a while, but I feel it’s kind of questionable to tax the charitable nature of people.

When I broke my guitar I was in a bind, and asked the Zorch Nation to help out. Because they responded so generously I managed to keep playing. With out a guitar I have no way to pay for a new guitar (talk about a catch 22). Thanks to the charitable nature of my good friends and supporters, I’m still doing shows. When I wanted another guitar to have tuned to DADGAD, I saved up and bought it with the money I earned with the guitar provided for me by the largess of my supporters.

Another thing that kind of made me leery of the cause last night was the fact the promoter of the event kept asking for tips for the venue. I understand the need for venue tips, but when I’m not collecting tips, why should she be holding her hand out?

It nice to help people out, but it’s not so nice when you gotta sit there and wonder if you had been taken advantage of. My involvement may have caused my group members to chip into a questionable cause.

Bottom line, I need to learn to say no. Not only to charities, but gigs I get a really bad feeling about. I remember the disaster at Qwertybob venue. I did say no at first, but the dude was like “Aw come on man”. He turned out to be a huge dick and I hope he’s moved on to his next failed project at this time.

While I’ve spent most of my life in the music field, but this is probably the closest I’ve been to being a Rockstar. While it is a rather virtual rockstardom, it seems to have many of the Pratt falls real rockstardom offers. One of those stumbling blocks is people using you to promote their personal agendas. However as morally questionable as that may seem, the bottom line is it is my responsibility to say “NO”.

Next recording project, “Songs in the key of Green”

Both “Black and White” and “White and Black” were bold concepts. Basically a live recording, with only voice and guitar. None of the standard recording tricks were used. As a matter of fact, I didn’t even agonize over the quality of the performance. Each track has… how shall we say? Character.

I feel these recording were what the supporters of my music wanted to hear, and for the most part I try to accommodate them. However, as an artist, I can’t just churn out what people expect to hear. After a while you turn in to AC/DC and I don’t have the legs to pull off the schoolboy look.

The next project is going to be a bit of a departure. If I were an anal retentive Englishman I would call it a “Proper recording”. I think I still remember how to make one. While it will be a bit more textured then the two preceding collections, I plan to keep it close to the guitar oriented minimalist sound that has become my personal voice.

The title of the next collection is going to be “Songs in the key of Green” and I’m posting the graphic for the collection with this blog. Yes, I do start from concept on up when making a recording. I have a few of the songs already written, and as for matters of content I may reinterpret a few of my previously released songs. However I’m still on the fence about that.

The goal, as always, is to make a “Classic Album”. Solid songs, with solid performances, rendered as well as I can with the technology at hand.

Another thing I’m considering is releasing an actual CD of this recording. I’m well aware that CDs are pretty much dead, and MP3s are the wave of the future. But there is a part of me that feels creating a CD makes it seem more real. I fully understand the business folly of this, but a short run of CDs might just break even or possibly turn a small profit. The last two CD projects I released from my very own record company “ColaRolla”, turned a small profit and allowed me to buy some PA monitors and a really cool printer.

Of course two factors will kind of impede my progress on this project. I’m currently in “Tour” mode in Second life, and I have to migrate out of the man cave shortly. It’s getting cold and it’s time to move the operation inside the house. So it might take a week, a month or a year. But I’m quite excited about the possibilities.

Un-filtered

I was talking to a music promotion today and found the conversation quite interesting. It was not so much what she was saying that I found interesting but rather the conclusion I came to during the discussion.

The biggest impediment to growth on a community level is the lack of filters. When I say filters, I’m refereeing to the apparatus that makes sure the music you are exposed to in real life doesn’t sap your will to live.

You go to a bar featuring live music. You know the experience is not going to be horrible because no bar owner hires someone that is going to drive off customers or affect sales. This is a filter.

In second life the filters are non-existent. As a matter of fact it seems you are far more likely to see a horrible act then a good act because it seems to serve venue operators best to hire as many “For tips only” players as possible and hope they have enough friends to keep things hopping.

While things do hop as tradition dictates, there is no growth there. I actually wonder if the majority of people emoting like crazy monkeys even have the stream on.

If you don’t have a vested interest in horrible music (and yes some people do), you really don’t want to waste your time listening to some jack off play Rockstar for an hour. This is why live music represents such a narrow niche of the Second Life population. Most people have a horrible first experience.

Whenever you see a pile of promo images, you can rest assured most of them suck ass. Because of this I’ve come to the conclusion is probably in my best interest to avoid piles.

In a more music friendly Second Life, there would be an established filter system could count on. Venues where you could rest assured you could avoid the Kite Loomings, Lou Mannok, and Bosco Constantine’s of music. You could also expect to be free of the jack offs that play with back up tracks. In my humble and 100% right opinion, unless the music is preformed live, it’s not live music.

No I’m not suggesting these kinds of performers vanish from the face of the earth. No matter how much I wish that could happen it won’t. But if you sing with back up tracks you should be in a separate Karaoke listing/venue. The “D” list live talent could also play in there own venues.

There are some venues very particular about whom they book. Those are the venues I need to be playing at. Bay Vista, a relatively new venue to me has been impressing the hell out of me lately. Before they booked me both operators came out to see me play, and when I suggested they hire POL and myself to do a back to back show, they didn’t jump at the idea. Instead they went to a POL show, checked him out and then said yes.

While there are venues that care, unless you know about those venues you are shit out of luck. Most people wondering about will more likely see a crap show then a good one, and that in a nutshell is the major impediment to growth.

Hello, Good-bye

I was online a few nights back playing a show, and I received an IM from Plankton, personable owner of one of my favorite Venues “Cheers”. He informed me he had to cancel our long running Hump day MEGA set show because he was closing the Sim.

Bummer.

Last night I went to dutifully play my show at Roscoe Village. When I transported to where the landmark pointed… the venue was gone. In it’s place were a bunch of vendor prims and not much else. Another venue closed, this time without even the courtesies of telling me my Thursday evenings were open for bookings.

What a rude bummer.

Yesterday I played another show at “Dark Castle Park”. The show, only the third show I’ve played there was very well attended and while talking to the operator, she mentioned even the venue tips were impressive.

Why do some venues thrive and have good attendance, and other limp along and close?

Both Roscoe Village and Cheers counted of my ability to draw a crowd. When things started off poorly they figured it would pick up in time due to word of mouth. At both shows, only the Zorch Nation members online showed up. They seemed to be the only people to know about the shows. Both venues didn’t bother to post the show to the in-world events listing.

Dark Castle Park has been well attended since day one. They also posted the show to the events listing. Yesterday was not only a packed show, but I added four new members to the Zorch Nation.

Venues that put forth the minimal effort to post shows to the events listing seem to do better. It’s such a simple thing to do I don’t know why it’s such a rare occurrence. These show are better attended and it gives both the performer and venue a higher profile in the Second life music scene.

200 chances to get it right

Well, Sunday the 12th was the big 200th show in Second Life show. I must say, and ask any in attendance it was one of my best shows yet. I always do a great show at the Jester Inn but this one was better then the normal great show I do.

Did I mention I’m humble?

200 shows in about 6 months brake down to a bit more then one show a day. Of course when I started out it was more like three shows a week. Now it’s more like three shows a day.

During the celebrations people kept saying “here is looking forward to the next 200 shows” at the rate I’m going that might take three months. Let’s face it, I’m ambitious, motivated, and I’ve got nothing better to do. I’m the perfect foot soldier to tour the various urine soaked venues of Second Life.

For the humor impaired out there, I meant urine soaked metaphorically.

But as always, let look at the bigger picture.

I’m often hearing about music magazine popping up to cover the scene in Second Life. When people talk about this, the Naysayers dutifully say nay, and then point out the problem of distributions and format.

The more salient point would be the lack of CONTENT. Nothing really happens on the music scene in Second Life. People book shows. People play shows. People attend shows. Everything else is just… stuff.

Bob has a new CD coming out. Cool Bob, everybody has a CD now. Bill is going to play a show in REAL LIFE ™. Cool Bill, but I don’t live near you so this has no direct impact on my life. Bob, Bill, and Tammy are going to JAM online together. Who cares? I don’t maybe I’m jaded (only took 6 months).

As long as we are talking about things that are no big deal, Zorch plays his 200th show. Who cares? Most people don’t. But for the friends at the Jester inn it was a very big deal indeed. And while I don’t care about Bob, Bill, and Tammy, it did matter to me.

So what is the moral Aesop? Community is where you find it, scene is where you make it, and everything else is nothing more then a gnat farting in a hurricane.