The inherent value of real

Technology is locking me out of a gig I’ve been looking forward to for a month. Since I’m kind of pissed off about this twist of fate, I think I’ll ramble a bit. My mind is in ramble mode at the moment, so I might as well write it down even if I’m not sure when I’ll be able to post it.

I want to talk about real. Not real like “I’m a real life musician”, but real like actual, genuine, factual, and most importantly valuable.

I’ve been noting the activity around my shows lately. Listening to comments and with this anecdotal data I’m going to make some conclusions. While this is in no way scientific, I feel the conclusions might have a good deal of validity to them.

First a few comments from listeners. I do read IM’s during the show and find them quite informative.

One listener commented, “I like your music because it seems to be about REAL stuff”.

One listener commented after a show I did while still dealing with a cold, “Even when you can’t sing your best the music is still powerful and moving. The emotions are so REAL”.

One listener commented, “I know you didn’t write that song for me… but it feels like you did”.

An observation, I see many of the same people at my shows. While this is normal and to be expected, but the fact they show up at consecutive shows in the same day begs the question why?

In an effort to understand this I examine my own behavior. Why do I go to every POL show I can get to? The simple answer is because I know I’m going to get something of value. His music provides me with inspiration and actually moves me. I feel the desperation of “Where the birds fall down”. I’m awash in the melancholy of “Welcome to winter”. I tear up when I hear “Mother of three”. These songs become alive because of the emotional content, and POL sings each song with the full scope of that content intact.

They are REAL. They resonate with me as a human being.

While there are difference between POL and myself, the one area we both seem to inhabit is a love for emotional content. Perhaps this is another reason show we play together have such impact. More on this later.

When I sing, “you’re a freak, and I don’t like the guys you fuck”, the emotional content drives the sub text of the song home. When I sing, “I would walk the wall of love for you”. The very simple line of the song comes to life because of the emotional content of its delivery. Even when I sing “The Lawyer song”, people can connect with the anger of getting fucked over. While it is a song presented in a humorous way that does nothing to diminish the message, or the dilute the listeners emotional connection.

I’m concluding in a very non-scientific way, the listener is responding to the emotional content of my music. It seems REAL to them.

Remember a few paragraphs up when I mentioned there would be more on the POL/Zorch connection? Well here it is.

Today I played my first show where I was paid a fee to play. Note I didn’t ask for a fee, it was offered. I even told them I would be fine playing for just tips, but they insisted on paying me a fee. I booked that gig by playing a few songs for them after one of POLs performances.

Perhaps it would be reasonable to suggest that the emotional authenticity they found valuable in POLs music, made my music similarly valuable.

During my first paying show, I received an IM from another venue owner. I had played as a guest before one of POLs shows before at that venue, and they seemed to be interested in booking me for my own show. Once again I offered to play for tips, once again they still offered a fee.

Perhaps it would be reasonable to suggest that the emotional authenticity they found valuable in POLs music, made my music similarly valuable. And yes I did copy and paste that.

Now don’t get confused here, I’m not in any way obsessing over fees and thinking that is the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. The fact that people are willing to pay a fee indicates they see some value in what I do. The fact people will attend two shows in one day also indicates value. The fact that people choose to stop and comment, not just “Good set” comments but well thought out attempts to communicate also implies they find value in what I do.

I want people to value what I do because it’s valuable to me. When it connects, and resonates with someone, that is a very profound thing.

Second life only seems fake. The thing that makes it interesting are the real people with real lives and real emotions. When the emotional content of music is real, the value of that music to real people increases.

People talk a lot about raising music awareness in Second Life. They plot and plan and scheme and launch MEGA events that do nothing. The problem being so much of what passes for music in Second life is patently fake. Flame shooting guitars with double back flip animations played out in front of fully produced backing tracks might seem like a wicked cool trick. But in the end, it’s a puppet show and real people are not puppets. Unless the flame spewing acrobats plays something that connects with people, it’s just technical masturbation. I’m sure some find it a pleasant distraction, but that is like watching something on TV because there is nothing else good on.

Goodness, this is a long-winded entry. Allow me to present my conclusion.

In a world getting swallowed up by valueless piffle, REAL becomes very valuable. To raise the awareness of music, raise the emotional content and value of that music.

I don’t believe in real life

Oh, what a provocative title for this entry. But if you’ve spent any time in Second Life you are familiar with the terms SL (meaning second life) and RL (meaning real life).

Now before you think I’ve gone around the bend I’m aware of the difference between online interaction and real world interaction. But few, if any give any real credence to the fact the two forms of interaction are more similar then people care to admit. When you strip away the insignificant differences of the interface the end goals are identical.

Why do we interact?

To influence others, to promote a personal agenda, to do business, to social network, to feel we belong. The reason are a myriad as there are people, but the simple fact of the matter is the interface, real world or simulated world have no real bearing on the fact flesh and blood people are interacting.

Some would point at the harsh fakery that is Second Life, and pooh pooh the whole experience. But much of what we consider “The Real World” is just as fake, and worse presented as reality. Have you ever watched reality television?

I’ve never treated an avatar any different then I would a real person because at the other end of the Internet is a real person with real problems and real dreams. They deserve nothing less then the respect a real person is entitled to.

The main reason I bring this up is to address a bias I find disturbing. That bias being playing music in “REAL LIFE ™” is more valuable then playing music in “SL”.

I remember starting out as a pink leopard skin print noobie with bad hair, having some self proclaimed expert telling me I was too good to be playing in SL (Oddly being a noobie I didn’t even know what he was talking about). The venue owner showed him the door. When she explained what he was going on about, I must admit to being confused. Where only the bungled and botched of the music world dammed to play the virtual piss holes of Second Life? I had seen some pitiful displays of questionable talent. I wondered, “I could be the gold medal winner in the special Olympics of music”.

But it didn’t take me long to figure out the whole of Second Life’s music scene was not a totally crap fest. Much like in real life, there were a few really talented performers, and if you looked really hard, some truly gifted musicians. Just as in real life, the fact they were playing in Second Life had no bearing on their actual talent.

Now I feel I should point out, I’ve played a cubic butt load of REAL LIFE™ shows. The vast majority of them were played before audiences of less then 40 people. Many of them paying nothing or almost nothing, and actually costing money once you factored in overhead. I’ll admit a lot of those shows were a freaking blast, but at the end of the day the pleasure and pain index where way out of whack.

I’ve played over 116 shows in Second Life this summer. If I gave you an estimate of 15 people per show that would mean I played my music in front of 1,740 people that would never have heard my music if I was not playing in Second Life.

Of course the raw number mean nothing to me. It’s the individual that listen to and love my music. People from all over the world I could not have reached if not for the opportunities Second Life offers.

Playing original music is hard. Getting people to listen to it… I mean really listen to it is very hard indeed.

In the REAL WORLD™ people get music shoved down their throats but evil bastards in suits checking the spreadsheet to see what’s cool this week. If you don’t fit the mold you don’t fit the roster. The sad fact of the matter is the music business exist to support the music business, the artist are nothing more then grist for the mill.

I had some fellow ask me today if I played any in REAL LIFE ™, I played with him a bit and told him, “Yeah it’s all real, just me and my guitar no gimmicks no backing tracks. Just me and my songs”. Of course he missed what I was getting at. He was more interested in telling me about his REAL LIFE ™ band and how cool he was.

But here is my point.

My music is the most important personal aspect of my life. It’s the part of me I can and do share. It reflects my life, my pain, my joy, and every song, every lyric and every note is a part of my soul. You can buy copies of the sound, but the emotional content is given freely. Find your own meaning, draw your own conclusions, and hum a refrain in the dark of night. Real music happens in the space between the performer and the listener.

Real music is where you find it, and I find it in Second Life.

The professionals

I was talking to a venue owner the other day and it seems she has been involved with Second Life about two year, and opened her own music venue last June. We talked about a lot of things, and then she mentioned how she didn’t like dealing with artist that had managers. This got me think about the whole music professional scene in Second Life.

I understand the need for artist, listener and venues to connect the music provider with the music receiver. But how did management pop its ugly head up?

Now don’t get me wrong, I don’t have a problem with professional managers in real life. If not for my erstwhile business manager I would be asking you if you wanted fries with you big Mac. But there is a whole substratum in Second Life that seems both utterly superfluous and utterly entrenched.

Now let me say at the outset any criticisms leveled here are not directed toward music venue operators. Thank God for them. They shell out their hard earned cash at the end of the month and if you enjoy live music you should be a supporter of the venues you visit.

But what of those sinister lurking shadows at Free Star Bay show case with group tags that read, “fill in the blank productions”. Like sharks circling a sinking ship they seek out the gullible. What service do they provide and can’t be handled easily by the performer/venue operator? How many groups do we need to get Spam from? What value does promotion serve?

As far as I can tell, any promotional effort is pointless. The simple fact that entertainment is easy to find means that in most cases, people do plan their day around SL events. I don’t think people read my calendar and then plan to be online at 6PM Wednesday. I think it’s more likely they either get a notice while online, or see my name listed in the events schedule.

While promotion might prove valuable in establishing a brand, most Second Life music scene professionals/management types are too naive to even understand the concept of branding. None of those claming to be movers and shakers seems to have any kind of business skill set at all. But… they don’t have to. They are not providing a service they are playing a role.

I’ve recently been getting group invites to something called “Kat’s Konnection Korner”. I didn’t ask to be invited and no one I know recommended my inclusion in the group. The group sets up an “Audition environment”, for performers and Venue owners (also the sharks that make up the management community). While this sounds like a good idea the fellow bugging me got my name off the events listings… so… it seems I’m already getting booked and don’t need to be part of his group. He didn’t make that association, but I did. After telling him I was not interested and rejecting the group invite, he just invited me again.

But I’m sure others will join. And the bogus management company will have full roster of dreamers. The “Virtual record company” will have music hopefuls sending in note cards. The Second Life Radio stations and magazines will have butt loads of submissions. The end result of all this activity is just… well pointless effort.

The paradigm remains intact.

Venue owners book acts, Artists play the shows, and people come and listen.

While there is room for growth, the paradigm is just about set in stone. The fact the max capacity for visitors to most Sims is 40 avatars; there is not much room. I’ve already played a few show that have hit the limit.


To sum it up…

Venue operaters, yes.
Artists, yes.
Listeners, yes.
Productions/Management/Radio/Magazine/Record companies… not so much.

People involved in this stuff should consider becoming Second Life Firemen. They would be just as useless as they are now.

Looking back on “Villains at Club Rub”

I mentioned about a month ago I was really looking forward to this show. If nothing else it was a learning experience. I did not get to see all of the show as “Daddy Duty” called. But I did talk to congenial Venue owner Rubber Le Salle and get her feed back on the part of the show I missed.

POL Arida opened the show, and his set was a-freaking-mazing. Any set with “Mother of three” in it rates high with this hard-core fan boy. I love that song. But more important then POL set was the understanding I received from it.

POL’s’ set left a crater, that is the nature of his music. It works on a massive scale and every scenario is played out with great drama. Even the quite and subdued songs have an operatic tension that is palpable. I don’t know many musicians that could pull off a song like “The belief of”, but POL sells it and the listener buys it.

POL’s shows make an impact. His fans are more like disciples sitting at the master’s feet. While it may seem as if I’m over stating this, I’m one of those Fans/Disciples.

POL’s show makes a crater; my show fills in the crater.

While that may seem like a bad thing it’s not. POL is precise and well thought out, and I’m sloppy and emotional. My music works on a smaller more personal scale. Even if you don’t understand my song… it seems to make sense.

While both our shows seem to stand well on their own, they work very well in tandem. They seem to fit. I sometimes feel we are heading to the same artistic destination taking different routes.

Of course you could point out all this is anecdotal speculation. However the tips at “The Villains” show were highest when POL and I played. The venue also hit max capacity during both shows.

“The Rails” Played after my set. They suffered about 30 minuets of technical problems before they got the stream up. Good news, the audience didn’t bail on the show. Once they got streaming, things were a little rough, and I got a few IM’s saying “These guys suck”. But that was not a fair judgment. I know trying to fix technical problems ratchets up the stress level and I’m sure once they got the stream going, they had to settle down a bit, but didn’t really have time to sit back and enjoy the accomplishment of getting their technical problems hammered out. They had to start playing… now.

By the third song they seemed to have found their groove and were carrying on well enough. Of course they were basically out of time and I had to leave. I’m impression of “The rails” is kind of mixed. I don’t think they suck. They just have a sound I would have to listen to for a full set before I got a real feel for it. It’s quirky for sure. Different and as a rule I’m a fan of different. I hope to catch them again sometime.
Grateful Stryker and Norris Shepard both complained that while the show was well attended they got shit for tips. Both artists normally charge a fee, and that might have affected their feelings about the show. I’ve never heard Grateful Stryker, but I have seen Norris once. I honestly don’t understand Norris’s appeal. The fact he has the nerve to charge a fee seems a bit out of line to me. He’s not bad… he’s just nothing special. Perhaps I should list him with the “Popular Kids”.

But in spite of petty quibbling about tips, the show was well attended, and when all is said and done, isn’t that what it’s all about? For some people… no. For me… yes.

Seems a quality line up will draw a sizable crowd, just as I speculated.

Passion… or lack of Passion

Learned a lot the other day, and some lessons are harder to learn then others. I saw two acts as different as night and day, didn’t enjoy either but found value in one. That value was PASSION.

The first act was TonyK Tone. Please don’t think I’m bashing on him because I’m not. I had caught two songs from his act before and honestly went to see his show to find out if they were all that… unpleasant. For the record, they are all unpleasant, but that really does not matter.

Watching Tony, I noted he seemed to have the skill set needed to play something not so horribly unpleasant. This is important because some people suck simple because they have no talent or lack the discipline to develop a skill set. Tony didn’t seem to suffer from either of those problems. He could have been pleasant, mainstream and even possibly popular. But this is not the path on which his passions lay.

As an artistic choice he’s dissonant, manic, unsettling and weird. And while that might not be my cup of tea, he seems quite committed to his vision. While I would be happy never to hear his music again, I must say, this guy ROCKS. Fuck em all, this is my thing, dig it or don’t.

PASSION validates art.

The second act attended was one of the “Popular Kids ™”. I went to hang out with a friend, and noticed right away the fellow playing had a skill set that could provide a pleasant listening experience. However, it was one of the most depressing displays I’ve ever seen in Second Life.

The word, melodies, and chord were all spot on, but it’s amazing how wrong music is with all of the passion sucked out of it. If you needed an illustration of the phrase “Phoning in the gig” this guy’s performance would be perfect. He was doing his time, collecting his fee and moving on. Kind of like a music Hooker. Remember dear readers, Hookers don’t care.

Of course the place was PACKED with all the kids that follow the “Popular Kids ™”, and they were having a grand time. They didn’t care a bit about the lack of passion or the empty slot where some kind of musical vision should be. They don’t really give a shit about music anyway. They enjoy “Mc Music”.

Of course bitching about the mass of drooling jackanapes that enjoy meaningless music is the pointless endeavor old men indulge in from time to time, that is not my point. Music should be an act of PASSION, not an act of commerce.

Once again PASSION validates art.

Conspiracy of quality

Perhaps I’m preaching to the choir or beating a dead horse, but I’ve been doing a lot of thinking and with between 40k and 60k people online at any one time, live music in Second Life should be a little more popular. So why isn’t it?

I suspect a good deal of the lack of interest is due to the fact there is such a glut of questionable talent, that the quality musicians become quite deluded. Example, say you have a bill of eight artist and only two are anywhere near competent, what is the over all effect of the show?

In all likelihood, the average viewer would have left after two back to back suckfests unwound before them thinking, “man that was a suckfest”

Now lately I’ve been in the “Zone” and playing a bunch of great shows back to back. The results have been a good deal of growth in my fan group, and a good number of possible repeat bookings. I’m actually starting to think I might be as good as I pretend to think I am.

I’ve recently played an event called “The Originals”, and it was well attended despite Second Life having a technical hissy fit about mid show. The hostess told me there were 110 people in the door and that is not bad. The Sim had a max capacity of 40 Avatars, and during portions of the show, people could not get in. Keep in mind the show featured 100% original songs, so the draw was not due to any “Popular kids” effect. The Popular kids don’t play original songs or they would be much less popular. But the acts featured ranged from very good to great. For a two hour and thirty minuet show, 110 is a good attendance number, and if the Sim had a larger capacity, and if Second Life got it’s shit in one sock, I could imagine the attendance figures doubling.

Quality shows at quality venues is the path to growth. And when I say quality I don’t mean popular or connected. A good deal of the coming and goings in Second Life music scene are personality driven. But personality has less over all effectiveness toward growth then quality music does.

There are lots of parties with lots of agendas toward growth. Most of them seem to think the problem is lack of awareness of people involved with Second Life, however I see it more of a matter of lack of interest. Few people are interested in watching somebody live out their rock and roll fantasy, but almost everybody likes good music. Once something gains a reputation for consistent quality, it’s going to grow simply by word of mouth. Nothing you write in your bio is going to have the credibility of a recommendation from a friend.

Let’s imagine where the numbers could lead. Lets take the lowball number for people online 40K, and grab 1% of that. That is 4K people interested in Live music. Break it down a bit further. Lets say there are 10 venues at any one time featuring quality music, that is 400 people showing up for those shows. How many venues could support that kind of crowd?

The fact there are so many shows so poorly attended suggest we are doing something wrong. I believe that error is putting on shows that are not worth inviting your friends to see.

Embracing change

You live and you learn. I use to say I would never charge a fee, and I would only play for tips because I could not stick my hand out to a venue owner that was paying so much out of pocket to make live music available in Second Life. But I have come to understand there are two different kinds of venue owners.

The type I won’t charge a fee, and the kind I will charge a fee.

I won’t charge a fee to any venue that is “Music oriented”. They have a business model that relies completely on donations from the audience. They spend a lot of money every month because they enjoy and support live music, and I find it an honor to try and help them defray the cost of operation. People that frequent these types of venues also enjoy and support live music. They tip very generously according to their means.

The type of venue I’ll charge a token fee to, is the Strip club/Disco/Mall sort of set up that treats Live music as just another monkey in the zoo. The musician is as meaningless as the DJ, Splooder, Theme event, Escorts ads, and store rental spaces. I don’t really have an issue with their business model so this token fee issue is not a moral stance. It’s okay to try and make money. But that is all they are interested in doing, and if I’m going to be part of the commercial apparatus I should be compensated as such. People that go to Strip club/Disco/Malls are in most cases, not terribly interested in live music and tend to tip very poorly. Of course I can view playing such establishments as a challenge and or missionary work, bringing live music to the unwashed masses. But at the end of the day, I’ll be lucky to see 400 L$, and I could have booked a music oriented venue and made a good deal more.

But it’s not only about the money, not by a long shot.

I’m here to get my music in front of as many people possible. I’m trying to establish what I do which in itself is quite a challenge. I only play a few covers per set, and those are not popular songs in the conventional meaning of the term. The vast majority of my set is songs I write. I view myself as a songwriter primarily, and finding the people that appreciate that is as they say “Job one”. Building my group membership. Seeing people that come to every show they can is what I’m shooting for. Every show is different and there will always be new things to hear, as well as some of my more established songs. This is not as easy as it sounds and I would like each show to bear as much fruit as possible.

Yes, I might and actually have made some new fans in a Strip club/Disco/Mall situation. But I’ve made far more fans and money in places that really support live music. I’ll be a monkey in your zoo for a fee, and I don’t think that is unreasonable.

I’ve recently canceled my first show ever over the matter of a fee. The woman booking the show assured me she ran a “Music oriented venue” and upon checking it out, I found dance poles, Escort ads, Contest boards, and commercial rental properties. I contacted her and reminded her I only play for “tips only” in music-oriented venues, and asked for a token fee of 1,500 L$. She had a problem with this amount which works out to around 5$ American. Oddly enough, the contests pay out for a group of more then four is 2,000 L$. I seem to draw more then four people at my shows. Maybe she is not as good a business woman as she thinks she is.

The backward binocular effect

I learned something the other day, and when I learn something I feel obligated to share that information.

Sunday night I was playing a show at Boogie Beach, one of my favorite venues. Often I follow a performer doing something that kind of fits in with what I do, guitar and voice, but last night they had a guy singing with backup tracks, and this guy was a personality dynamo. Now for the record, I don’t consider performing with back up tracks live music, however I do understand the entertainment value. The audience gets a full band experience, and the performer doesn’t have to deal with full band overhead. While it makes sense on an economic/audience experience scale it’s still not LIVE MUSIC.

Did I mention this guy was a personality dynamo? He wasn’t high energy he was HIGH ENERGY !!!! (Yes. With four exclamation marks). The beach was PACK and people were having a great time (if you read the main chat window). I was sure when I started playing the place would empty out. I didn’t see how my thoughtful acoustic singer/songwriter shtick could compete with a personality dynamo.

I played my set and the beach didn’t clear out at all. As a matter of fact it seems seven new people joined my group “Zorch Nation”. That is the most people that have ever joined during a single show.

What did I learn from this?

Boogie Beach looks like a bunch of scantily dressed people frolicking on the beach, but that is not who is listening. Every listener on that beach is sitting in front of their computer and dealing with whatever comes down the stream at a personal level. Yes, personality dynamos seem to work for the simulated party and everybody plays along. But that does not prevent even the most streamlined of acts from making a connection with that single listener at the end of the stream.

Learning to deal with twisted reality

I spend a good deal of time in Second Life trying to figure out which way is up. I’m just starting to get a clue and I thought I might share some observations with you.

I’ve been marveling at the fact that even the most horrible musicians have fans. Ardent fans. Fans losing their mind at the end of EVERY song. Kite Looming as fans, so does Bosco Constantine, and while I’m bringing it up. I have fans as well.

At the end of every show people say “Kite… great set man you RAWKED dude”, or “Bosco is AMAZZZZING”, or “Zorch is AWESOME”.

This really uses to upset me, not because I begrudge people a bit of attention. But if people heap praise on the most talent less… what value does their praise have to me? Do I suck as bad as Kite and Bosco? Do I over value my talents? Should I shut the hell up?

Then I had an epiphany.

In Second Life I own a Martin D-45 guitar. It cost me 2000 L$ and while it think it’s quite neat, I can’t really play it. I can look like my avatar is playing it, but it’s not really a guitar at all, just some primitives and a texture.

I know people that own Harley’s they can’t really ride, horses they don’t have to clean up after, and houses they can’t really live in.

While this is one of the things the general population of the world has a problem justifying, for Second Life residences, it’s how things work.

It seems to me the whole Second Life rock star phenomenon works the same way. Talent is less essential then ownership. While that might seem like I’m suggesting some form of slavery I’m not. Fans feel ownership of their favorite simulated rock stars just like the feel ownership of their simulated houses or simulated vehicles

I know of one woman that attends every Maximillion Kleen show she can. She feels she is supporting Max by doing this, but the simple fact is, if she didn’t attend his shows, the Sims he plays would still be packed out. But in her own way she feels obligated to her Second life Rockstar.

While I would like to deceive myself into thinking all my fans are fans of the music, but it seems unlikely that is the case. Some probably find me charming and personable and they desire to give me support because of their fondness. Of course I’m not that charming and personable, so I’m sure a few enjoy the music. Now I don’t mind attention gained because I’m so freaking cool to hang out with. But those people really don’t need to feel obligated to come to my shows.

However, I understand my awareness of this “Simulated Rock Star phenomena” doesn’t really change anything. But understanding it does give me a measure of peace. I’m as good or talented as I’ve ever thought I was, and in effect nothing has changed, we must all find value in ourselves as to what we do. External validation only leads to compromise.

Please keep in mind I’m not a simulated rock star. At the end of the stream is a real live human being, pouring his heart and soul into a microphone. In my humble opinion that is lots cooler then being any kind of a rock star.

Ranting: conflict

Sometimes Second Life feels like it’s all lollipop trees, soda pop streams and gumdrop streets. It’s a HAPPY PLACE. While I’m not a fan of full-scale strife there seems to be a mindset that believes if we say anything remotely critical the whole system will implode.

While this might seem like some sort of utopian wonderland, it’s not. The sad fact is, if everything regardless of it’s actual quality is “good”, all compliments become meaningless.

Now the following is a rant, and if you believe in the Strife/Implosion model of existence I suggest you NOT read what follows. Name will be named and criticism leveled.

On Saturday the 2nd, I played a venue called “Boon dock saint”. Now I had checked this venue out before I played it, and while I was there I saw a HORRIBLE singer. If I had caught his name I would print it here and give you fair warning. Suffice it to say he was a “Furry”, and while I’m told his song were in English I could not understand a word he was indecipherably groaning.

This was a bad omen. I hate venues that seem to hire anybody that says they are a musician. I don’t remember if the management contacted me at a show or were referred to me by someone. But Venues those book questionable talents hemorrhage credibility so quickly that in time, all they can book is questionable talent.

When I arrived at the show, there was a guy named Bosco Constantine playing before me. Oddly enough, he was also playing before me at the very next show I was about to play. As I clicked on the stream I heard some mediocre warbling of a song of questionable merit. For a moment I was on the fence as to whether this guys was a mediocre hack, or a hardcore believer in the tenants of suckage. His next song resolved the issue nicely.

It was basically an attempt at Second life related humor, stating that people involved in second life are addicted social retards beyond hope of redemption. Maybe if I were drunk the song would have been funny. Nahhhh, nobody could drink that much and still be upright.

The worse aspect of this song was he kept stopping… only to start singing the SAME song over and over and over and over again. While I like to think he was attempting to be “Funny ™”, the distressing fact of the matter was it seemed more like he was building the tenth level of hell were real hardcore asshole are damn for an eternity of listing to Bosco drivel on ad-infinitum.

The effect of this song was to drive me into a deep depression. In an attempt to save what little sanity I had left, I typed into the chat window, “DUDE STOP THIS SONG”. It didn’t help. While you might wonder why I didn’t just turn off the stream, well I was playing after Bosco an it’s expected you listen for the last song warning. If I had know anybody there that actually had the stream on, I would have asked them to just tell me when Bosco was done.

I was depressed, I was not feeling the show at all, and then after one more lame cover song the suffering that was Bosco was over. I got on stage started the stream and put on my professional face.

Then I got a IM from Bosco saying “Your heckling me in my own club?”. Now I didn’t know Bosco was a club owner and for the record it doesn’t really matter. But to me, the subtext of that message was “I’m the club owner you little bitch, you better start kissing my ass real fast”. Of course I replied over the stream, “Okay dude I’ll heckle you in your own club, you SUCK”. The subtext of that message was, “I don’t give a rat’s ass if I ever see this piss hole of a venue again, and if I didn’t have group members here I would just leave”.

Several people panicked. “Oh no, a breach in the niceness bubble, let’s over react”. After a few rough songs I went on to play a pretty good show. Added a few new people to my group. Made a few Lindens. And was ready to chill until my next gig.

Of course I didn’t get my well-deserved chill, Luka felt compelled to tell me what an asshole I am, and how I probably ruined my career. I’ve played over one hundred shows in Second life. My worst show was good and my best shows are transcendent. If one comment can sink a career who need such a fragile career?

Will I lose supporters over this? Well depends on what they are supporting. The comment didn’t change the music I play a bit. If they support “Zorch the nice guy”, I don’t mind losing those supporters. I’m here to play music and if you like the music, come along and listen. If you don’t like the music, but think I’m a nice guy… don’t put yourself out. Go see Maximillion Kleen, he’s a really nice guy.