Connections

When I come to learn something I like to pass it along.

The other day I was attending the third of “the originals” show, and I saw this guy that right out of the gate blew me away. For a moment I doubted if I was the second best singer/songwriter in Second Life. About half way though the performance I realized my position was secure.

The guy was a very skilled guitar player, his voice was pleasant, and his songs were well crafted and slick. He was remarkably professional and polished to a high luster. But after a few songs, they all seemed to sound the same, and I could not recall a single theme of any of the songs. They were pleasant to listen to but made no impression whatsoever as they vanished into history.

I’m thinking back to the second time I saw POL play. He kicked into “Birds fall down” and I was like, “Shit birds falling down???? That is not right, what does this mean”. While I didn’t understand the statement it connected to me at an emotional level. I sat thought the reminder of the show awe struck. “Welcome to winter”, “Mother of three”, “The Last song ever” all these song immediately connected with me. I was Impressed as hell. Yes POL is a pretty good guitar player and a serviceable singer, but that was not what blew my mind. The songs connected at an emotional level.

It’s hard for me to talk subjectively about my own songs, and my music in general. But I feel part of the reason I have any fans at all is because my songs connect. They come from somewhere real, and even if you don’t understand them, you can feel the emotional resonance. The pain, the joy, the confusion all there and rendered in song.

When music connects at an emotional level it is an art form. When music sounds nice and polished, it’s a craft. I’m not saying one is better then the other because different people listen to music desiring different experiences. Some wish to be entertained, some wish to be moved.

The music bidnezz comes to Second Life

Well perhaps I overstate. What actually happened was a “Music business student” came to Second life last night and was axing me questions. It started out with do I play in real life? But it ended with me asking… opps axing him what he really wanted to know. The bottom line, is Second life a good place to scout for talent.

That is an easy question to answer. No.

The current states of operation practices make the likelihood of finding good music in Second Life very slim. As a matter of fact, it’s almost titled against finding good music.

In the real world, there are built in filters that don’t exist in Second Life. Nobody is going to book an act that would drive customers out the door. In Second Life anybody that can do something on stage is worth giving an hour slot to. The questionable talent’s friends will come to see them and even if those supportive friends don’t tip the venue they do drive the traffic numbers up.

Last night I played a benefit, it was last minute and what basically happened is my paying gig was turned in to a benefit for the victim of hurricane Ike. Playing before me was Silas Scarborough. Silas and I have had a few tense personal exchanges on the SLMC forum basically revolving around the fact I’m an arrogant egotistical bastard. Silas is very humble, and very differential to everyone… except me. After watching his show the other night, I understand why he’s so humble. During the peaks of his show he managed to find a spot just south of mediocrity. The rest of the show was embarrassingly horrible. Maybe he was having a bad night… nah, he just isn’t very good. He might be a really nice guy and all, but musically he’s a waste of my time.

Of course after the show everybody was beaming about what a great set Silas played. I’m wondering if theses people are really nice or just def as a post.

After I finished my set, Grateful Stryker was up next. While not as horrible as Silas, definitely cheesy. Once again, maybe he was having a bad day.

The biggest problem with live music in Second Life is the fact so much crap is presented as great, it becomes much like the boy that cried wolf.

When I play the Jester Inn, the place it packed. Not just with the Zorch Nation faithful, but actual music lovers. Harrie only books good acts and the times she has a show it’s worth seeing. I wish more venue owner were interested in the quality of the music. They would be astounded that every time they open the door the place would be packed.

The “So-called” talent pool is basically anybody that can put together something to stream. Duffers with Guitars and a mic, to karaoke fucktards with their backing tracks. I’m thinking of Phineas Antera now. A fellow that claims to be the worst singer in Second Life. He gets booked, he’s got fans, and he openly admits to being horrible. He’s not kidding about being horrible, but he’s not the worse, Kite Looming is the worst.

To sum it up, finding good music in Second life is a lot like finding a needle in a haystack. Except it’s a HUGE freaking haystack. It’s not a viable feeding ground for the “Music biz sharks”. Of course there will always be make believe managers for make believe rock stars in Second Life. Isn’t that bad enough?

I’m just going to chant “Music Not Politics” now until I giggle so hard I piss my pants.

Talking about ZorchBoom.com

I was working on my web site today, and I started marveling at it. I do have the ability to make a very flashy high bandwidth page full of Flash gizmos. But even if I spent hundreds of hours I don’t think it could be any more prefect.

I’m sure some are groaning at my arrogance at this point. But I view perfection differently then most. It’s not about being flawless. It’s about doing what the perfect thing is supposed to do spot on. The word “Calendar” is misspelled on every link, so it is indeed flawed. However the “Calender (sic)” page is the most visited page on the site. People are using the site for find out when and where I’m performing. That is a part of its purpose.

Some things are simple in design. Simplicity is just a stones throw away from elegance. Practical elegance is what any web site should be. The more effectively you make information available the more likely the viewer is to use that information in a positive way.

The first stop on the menu is “Music”, because the point of the web site is to promote music. Embedding Imeem players is a elegant solution to providing people access to my music. I can even make separate play list for each collection of songs, and have done just that. While it has always been easy to get some Zorch-tastic music in your ears, I’ve recently made more music available formatted in their respective collections. This is actually more complex to explain then use, and that is a very good thing.

The Calendar is an embedded version of my Google calendar. This means as soon as I book a show it’s reflected at the site calendar as well. If a show gets cancelled it’s also reflected on site as soon as I delete it from my booking calendar. I no longer bother to update the show calendar at MySpace.

While some might question the value of having a merchandise section, I’ll simply say people actually do buy the merchandise. I’ve had merch available for just about every band or project I’ve been involved with, but this is the very first time I’ve actually sold anything. I’m just about shocked. The merchandise vendor is once again and embedded flash gizmo. This means as soon as I design any new merchandise it’s reflected on site.

I’ve always been quite proud of the fact; the site features absolutely no biographical information. While this is often a major feature on most sites, I think it’s pretty pointless. The details of my life are not what I’m interested in sharing. I’ve always been suspicious of people with impressive resumes. When it comes to music, just listen to the songs. You either dig them or you don’t. My musical history has no bearing on that at all and if it does, you are not the kind of listener I’m looking for.

While I don’t choose to share my personal history, I don’t feel I’m a faceless web based life form. My blog is all you need to read to get to know me better, and it seems you are doing that right now. Instead of a static recitation of alleged facts: you get to enjoy my spontaneous organic egotistical spew. Is there a better way to get to know someone then watching them masturbate intellectually? I think not.

All and all, ZorchBoom .com hits the mark. It’s elegant, informative and with the blog attached full of surprises. The modular design makes it as Dynamic as my actual activity level. After many fitful sleepless nights of contemplation I’ve come to the conclusion that ZorchBoom.com is what Al Gore had in mind when he invented the Information Super Highway.

And the crowd goes… WTF????

When will I learn to trust my intuition? You know, I don’t have a clue when a show is going to be transcendent, but I can smell a train wreck a mile away, and while I have this gift, I seem always too willing to get on the train.

That was a “run on” sentence, and it’s part of my well-established style.

I received an IM a while back for a dude named Qwertybob Haystack (Ohhh naming names) who informed me he got my name from a Billboard at the Jam Shack. That should have been enough red flags for me to just walk away then. The Jam Shack has become a zoo. People seem interested in doing everything but listen to music there. It is a venue I never want to see again and won’t after my current run is over. But I digress.

Let’s talk about Qwertybob.

First off, he booked me for the 23rd, and had my appearance listed as the 25th on his placard. It seemed somehow he was sure I was playing the 25th and was not even online when I got there.

My notices were already out and people where already showing up. Luckily I could change the parcel media with the group tag. More half-ass venue owners need to give this power to performers. If you aren’t going to show up, at least the show can go on.

I put out my tip jar, and a pretty decent crowd is popping in. Go to change the media URL and can’t do it. I did check and could do it beforehand. Seems you can’t change media from the stage, you have to get off the stage, fly over the barrier, and change the media settings from the audience. And why the hell is there a barrier? Is he afraid people are going to rush the stage?

Anyway, the show gets underway, a pretty good crowd for a new venue is having a good time and about four songs in, Qwertybob shows up. He informs he needs to address the audience from “The Mic”. I’m not sure what he means by that. Does he need the stream back? Is he going to use voice chat? It seems he just wants to get onstage and type. But there is a make believe mic on stage.

The odd thing is, the only person to crash on stage was Qwertybob himself. The barrier didn’t even slow him down. SECURITY!!!!!

He made some “Glad to have you out” type comments and vanished from the stage. I don’t know why the hell he felt the need to stop the show to make these comments from “The Mic”. From the haze of my confusion, it’s time for me to get things back on track. I look out in the audience say hello to a few of my regular supporters, and see POL Arida in the back. I mention him by name, and comment he’s the best singer/songwriter in Second life and if you have not seen him yet you are missing a treat.

I kick in to Johnny Boy, and POL goes poof. About mid way through the song I get an IM from POL, and figure I’ll read it after the song. Shortly after I get the IM I see Qwertybob whining about how the venue has only gotten 100L$ in tips so far. I’m thinking, “Yeah that is a good way to encourage people to tip the venue. Bitch about how cheap they are”. New venues just don’t get big crowds or big tips. Most of the established venues don’t make much in tips. The fact venue owners’ pay so much out of pocket is one of the reasons I don’t charge them a fee.

Anyway, the song ends and I read POL message. And it seems he’s been ejected from the venue. I’m thinking what the fuck? And as I think that I say, “POL has been ejected” into the mic.

A good number of the audience members are POL fans. Natasha checks the “About land” section and find that POL has not just been ejected, but actually banned from the parcel.

Things get ugly really fast. People are saying what the fuck and frankly I don’t know why he was ejected and banned. I’m quite pissed off my own self because POL is one of the few Musicians I count among my friends in Second Life. I even made a point to identify him as the premier singer/songwriter in Second Life and Qwertybob still banned him.

I was ready to bail. But that would not really be fair. While I was quite upset, people had come to hear my music and it would be wrong of me to show disrespect to them while attempting to display my displeasure with Qwertybob.

I did play the remainder of the hour, mentioning I would not be playing Qwertybob’s venue ever again and asking people to refrain from tipping the venue.

After the show was over, I got a message from POL explaining what had happened.

POL Arida: hey sorry what happened there...well not sure actually. I was given a dance to do for your Johnny Boy last night and triggered it...I did not think it had music and tried to stop, but they guy said stop....and within 5 secs I was Piff OUT. I did then say he was a fucking egocentric prat and that I was trying to stop it, but he just said fuck off basically. Not a nice person. Anyway, you meet these people and I hope it did not fuck up your gig.

So the entire unpleasant incident could have been avoided if Qwertybob just took a moment to find out what the situation was instead of pulling the trigger. POL was responding to the show and “River dancing” to Johnny boy. That is what I invite people to do and he didn’t know the animation had a sound track. POL realized his mistake immediately, but had to wait for the animation to run its course. Qwertybob’s mistake was acting in haste and basically engendering a good deal of Hostilities towards himself and his venue.

The emotional mirror

I get the feeling I’m walking in sand, uphill, against with wind with an angry midget on my back.

Of course that is just a “FEELING”. Feelings should not be ignored completely, but I try to remember they are not based on facts. Just because you feel bad does not mean you are doing badly. Conversely just because you are feeling great doesn’t mean you are on top of the world.

All things considered I would rather feel good, but it seems you don’t get a choice. Sometimes bad things happen to good people, or more to the point me. When tragic events seem to dog your every step you start to read different futures in the tealeaves.

Attendance at the shows seems to be very low. It’s easy to count five people and you really notice when one leaves (that is 20% of the audience). I’m really starting to wonder if I talked bad about someone’s grandma things seem so… grim.

But this grim image is only seen when looking in the emotional mirror. My feelings do not define my situation or my person. Even good feelings don’t. You have to find fundamental truths to hold on to. An anchor when the northeastern of doubt howl about your fragile ego (hey it only looks big from the outside).

These are my truths.

My songs are very good… wait, great. My songs are fucking great. My weakest song is better then most the crap you hear on the radio. As to songwriters in Second life, I feel secure in saying I’m at least the second best songwriter on the grid. Yeah, others can write songs (I’ve heard a good number), but most suck rancid moose balls, and a scant few are competent, but have no emotional content.

POL Arida, is the best, so says I. However, I don’t think myself overstepping my place by saying at times I feel I’m about a half step behind him.

My show is getting better all the time. Yeah I have bad days, but I remember a time I was hard pressed to fill and hour. Now as the hour closes I still have a hand full of aces to play. The technical side of performance is evolving quite nicely as well.

I should be a lot more popular then I am. The reason I’m not as popular as I should be is just a matter of time. I’ll figure it out. While some suggest that concert attendance in Second Life is a crapshoot, I feel you can load the dice. Do you think Maximillion Kleen has played to an audience of five lately?

Those are my truths. Those are the reasons I don’t pack it up and give up on the really bad days. I might feel like I’ve been stepped on, crapped on, and pulled through a knothole, but my feelings don’t drive the Zorch wagon.

Some say I’m egotistical, and arrogant. But it’s nothing so sinister. I just have great faith in my truths. I’ll figure this out.

All about groups

As a musician working in Second Life you tend to pick up a lot of group affiliations. Most of them are venues I play. They require group membership in order to rez my tip jar and whatever else I might have time to rez.

Of course belonging to theses groups has a downside. I get lots of notices I don’t need to get. I play Tantalus every Monday and because of this I get to hear about every time they need some dancers to cover and event. This seems to be a constant need. Multiply this by 18 and you have a good idea how many notices I have to clear every time I log on.

Some seem to feel musicians with a group are operating a “Vanity group”. In some cases this is true. There are some artists so aggressive in recruiting people to their group; it’s hard to see membership as anything more then a numbers game.

A good, or bad example of this is Newscore Pearl. He had a HUGE group membership number listed in his bio (I seem to recall it being like 2,000) and because of this number he was touting himself as the biggest thing in Second Life. Using group membership numbers to imply prestige is a very “MySpace” way of viewing things.

The following is just an observation. I have played a show that had a real “Open mic” after the featured player, and Newscore was hustling his act at this Open mic. The open mic portion is basically an audition. Why is the biggest act in Second Life auditioning? Also observed, for a guy with 2,000 group members only three seems to show up for his turn at the open mic.

I currently have 91 in my group; yes the number is going down. I don’t seem to be finding any new members. As you may recall I was hoping to have about 200 members by the end of the month. That does not seem likely at this point.

However while the group is not growing as I hoped it would, I still see it as my most valuable asset. I don’t see this as a vanity group because the only reason it exist is to notify people interested in my music where I’m playing and provide them with a landmark. In my opinion this prevents the group from being a Spam machine. If you are interested in information it’s not Spam.

There are some that feel musicians should just close down their personal groups and only post notices in groups like “Live music enthusiast”. But to post in the group I would have to belong to that group, and I really don’t need to be informed about every “So-called” live music event. I don’t need the Spam and I don’t think my fans should have to endure hundreds of superfluous notices to find out where I’m playing.

To put things into perspective, if I didn’t need to belong to venue groups to rez my tip jar my group list would be as follows. Zorch Nation, and POL. Everything other notice is just something I need to close without reading when I log in.

Un-spooling

When everything is basically okay and you are sad, you are depressed. It’s okay to be sad when you have a reason to be sad, that is not depression. That is natural. Events have transpired that have cause be to become sad and frankly I don’t handle sad very well. Little things seem to set me off and I’m far more honest then I should be.

Warning, the following text will be full of honesty and while honesty gets a lot of good press, it’s not as popular as you might think. If you have a allergic reaction to honesty or real opinions read no further. Look something distracting.

I’ve got a butt load of shows booked at the “Jam Shack” and I’m honestly thinking about canceling them all. I’m starting to think there are some places I don’t need to be playing at, but in all honesty that is not my primary reason for considering dumping the shows.

In order to play the Shack, I have to belong to the Musicians United group. Seems Lou Mannok’s chick manager is a member of this group and feels compelled to release multiple notices for every show Lou plays. I hate Spam groups, and I hate it more when I get noticed bombed by Karaoke fucktards via their lame ass chick managers.

For the record Lou seems very popular but that doesn’t change the fact he’s a Karaoke fucktards. And why is it every Karaoke fucktards seems to have some chick that is convinced she has what it takes to be a manager? They seem really good at getting notices out, but generating Spam is not really a skill.

For the record, in a field in which the bar is set very low (that field being Karaoke fucktards), Lou is about as generic as they come. Of course maybe that is the point of being a Karaoke fucktards. The more mundane you are, the greater a fucktards you are.

Now on to other matters.

I don’t normally copy and past chat text. But I feel it will tell the story better then I can.

To understand the context of this conversation, keep in mind a few month back I bought a MP3 vendor from Reslez and it magically disappeared from my inventory one day. I mentioned this is a public forum along with some observations about the vendor.

I’ll try to clean up all the extraneous chatter but I’ll leave the text untouched. Expect typos and bad grammar, but do try and follow along.

Pat Insoo: (Saved Sat Sep 13 18:15:00 2008) Hey there Zorch. Bring me your vendors, we'll make you satisfied.

Zorch Boomhauer: Interesting message, I have to ask who is "We'll" and wonder what you feel I'm unsatisfied with
Pat Insoo: your post in thread at slmc indicates you are not satisfied with hthe MP3 By Me vendors. We were unaware of this. Wish to fix that

Zorch Boomhauer: I made my own vendor
Zorch Boomhauer: and who is "We'll"?

Pat Insoo: The FCMC group

Zorch Boomhauer: not interested in Group affiliation at this time. Thanks for the offer

Pat Insoo: no no no

Pat Insoo: your vendor . you said you were not satisfied with.

Zorch Boomhauer: yes, that is why I made my own that I am happy with

Pat Insoo: right, so, you are not happy with the system, I don't know we can change that as you have your own. Probably EXACTLY what you want. Still, rather than having you be down our level of support & service, we'd like to take action to change your opinion
Pat Insoo: you bought 1 or 2 units? were they custom builds? what was the cost?

Zorch Boomhauer: I've resolved the issue on my own.

(Editorial note, this conversation should be over at this point)

Pat Insoo: if yer publishing that our support is inadequte, the issue is not resolved.
Pat Insoo: obviouly
Pat Insoo: We were not even aware you were dissatisfied.
Pat Insoo: shocked into action by the posting

(Editorial note, So the reason this guy is bugging me is because I said something honest about his product in a public forum. I did contact the guy the sold me the system via note card and received notification of his receipt of the note card.)

Zorch Boomhauer: yeah, but I'm satisfied that I might have prevented someone else from doing business with you

Pat Insoo: we slighted you somehow?
Pat Insoo: Why would you have a hate on for us?

Zorch Boomhauer: I did send a note card about the problem. it was not addressed. I only posted because it seemed very relevant. I didn't want anybody to consider your system a viable solution

Pat Insoo: a notecard?

Zorch Boomhauer: I've got a show now, nice meeting you

Pat Insoo: well, ty for the free slander

Zorch Boomhauer: Slander implies a wish to do harm. I wished to prevent it. I'm not interested in your agenda. But I would rather prevent you from selling your product to other musicians

Pat Insoo: if you stand still the product will remain the same long enough to justify your snapshot opinion. If you wantd to do anything lkess than harm, you would let us clean up the matter. That snapshot is yours now too. We move on.

(Editorial note, I have no idea what that last… umm… paragraph meant. You wanna take a stab at decoding it?)

All this bullshit is going on while I’m trying to set up for a show. Seems somebody’s always got some bullshit issue they need to talk about when I’m trying to get in the zone.

My tolerance for some of the people in Second Life is starting to diminish. I’m ready to cut some ties and move on. In the end it should be about the music and the people that want to listen to it. But it seems I get side tracked constantly.

I am rather emotionally peaked right now. My willingness to let things slide is paper-thin. I tend to behave recklessly when agitated. And I wonder if that will be my undoing. Of course if it is my undoing then my efforts here are in vain. It should be about the music, not my personality and willingness to eat shit.

The show must go on?

I had a moment today. About mid way though a show I realized I could not get my head in the game. For a few songs, I was on the fence about bailing mid concert. Maybe I could pull it off. Put on a happy face and just tough it out. he show must go on… right?

Bullshit. I’ve spent so much of my life living by that credo and it’s only now I’ve come to realize how unimportant the show really is. A show is just entertainment, and in context of the show, there are far more important elements.

The music matters.

The emotional content matters.

The connection with the listener matters.

These things happen during a show… if you get it right. But when the critical parts of the performance are absent, all you have left is a show.

On a actual tour, meaning “Get on the bus” tour. Real life is remarkably non-existent. Every effort and action it pointed at one target, the show. You drive all night, sleep when you can, take
wake-em-up pill, eat horrible food all in order to reach the magic moment of the day when you actually get to present your music to people. Family is a memory; your electricity bill is somebody else’s problem and if your lucky the road manager will remember to write the name of the city your playing on a piece of poster board so you can mention it in passing during the show.

Virtual touring in Second Life is very different. You spend 98% of your time immersed in REAL LIFE issues. Then you log on, fire up a stream and it’s time to be a Rockstar. The task is far more daunting then most would imagine.

Life does not revolve around Showtime. Kids gotta eat, you need to reschedule you dentist appointment. Parents die. Spouses get ill. The lawyers on the phone. Do I smell smoke… oh fuck.

The fact I can do a convincing show is almost and act of pathological disassociation.

I have shows booked tomorrow and in all likelihood I’ll play them. I really enjoy shows when I can maintain my focus. But I’ve come to the conclusion that doing an uninspired show is as bad as just canceling. I am pretty sure venue owners would not see it that way, but I do.

When you say, “the show MUST go on” you are making a rule. Rock and Roll is not about following the rules. It’s about breaking as many rules as you can and embracing your passions. It’s not anarchy, it’s art baby.

What a long freaking day

Okay it’s 2 am and I finished my last show about an hour ago. I’m always a bit wound up after a show but this is ridiculous. I’m frankly beat to death. And I might imagine my lack of élan may be due to the fact I seem to be working so hard and achieving so little.

I started my long journey to the end of the day with an impromptu show with POL. It was very informal and held at the WAM tv building. I’m frankly amazed the draw POL Yes he is the best singer/songwriter in Second Life, but he only plays at Noon, and I’ve not seen him do two shows in one day. He also seems to have a few days off.

I on the other hand believe “Hard work pays off”. But it doesn’t seem to. I play around the clock as often as I can in a seemingly vain effort to establish myself. But in retrospect, it seems my success has nothing to do with my effort. I played with POL, lots of people show up, and only a few of them poofed when I started to play. Then I had a show at “Roscoe village” and I’ve gotta tell you I’m thinking about canceling the rest of my bookings there. Five people showed up, consisting of four group members and the guy hosting the show. Some people popped in and out but they came and went so fast I don’t think they had time to form an opinion.

The day ended at “The Falls”. I like this venue. Most of the show there was double-digit attendance. During the end of the show… when the next act was due to play the place packed out. The next act was late, so I got to play in front of his much larger crowd.

Now don’t think I’m discouraged, because I’m not. Some days are very progressive and good things happen. I’m tired now so I might seem discouraged but I’m not here to whine.

I’m just thinking maybe I need to realize it’s time invested that seems to pay off in Second Life and you can’t rush things by grinding away at a maddening pace. While I’m booked up for the moth, and double booked on some days, next month I might want to back it down a little.

I feel my repertory is improving. My performances are pretty solid. Things at my end seem ready for the world. I have to accept the fact my act is not going to be popular with every Avatar that sees me play. It’s going to take a while for me to find my “Peeps”, and while in theory playing my ass off with get me in front of more people that might be receptive to my songs, in practice that does not seem to be the case.

I’m feeling pretty close to burn out. Of course this could be due to the small swarm of real life issues I face on a daily basis. Right now I’m thinking I need to back it down a bit. But who knows what I’ll feel tomorrow.

Community is where you find it

I use to post at the “SLMC”(that stands for Second Life Music Community) forum. As a matter of fact after a long time of lurking I decided to post again last night. That was, as I expected
a mistake.

But I try and learn from my mistakes. First off, I need to get rid of the bookmark to that forum so I don’t even lurk there. Lurking only leads to posting which only leads to pain.

Second off, I’ve come to understand what a ponderous bit of delusional thinking it is to represent something as the “Second Life Music Community”. There isn’t one. Well, I should say not “just” one. People play music for a lot of different reasons, and people listen to it with a myriad of taste.

I look around and see a community gathering around my musical efforts and it has nothing to do with a forum membership. I go see my favorite artist (wonder who that could be), and I see a group of people I know. I play a show and I see a group of people I know. In my IM window I see even more people I know. At some level, a community has organically popped up.

At the SLMC forum there are people that are “In” with the group. While its name implies it embraces all people involved with music, there are some notable outsiders.

The “Music not Politics” group is openly derided. I’m not saying they don’t deserve it but they are as much a part of an all inclusive music community as any of the insiders. Reslez also seems to be a target of scorn. Personally I think Reslez is a scumbag, but he deserves a spot in an all inclusive music community.

Recently I’ve been tagged as arrogant, egotistical and a megalomaniac, because some of my opinions didn’t lay supine next to the established rhetoric of the “In” group.

I’m not actually upset about this, but my eyes are open. I don’t belong, I’m an outsider. But… conversely I do belong somewhere else. So I intend to nurture the relationships within my actually community, and allow the tenuous grasp I have on non-community relationships to quietly slip into the sea of “Who gives a shit”.

I really no longer desire to get along with everybody on the planet. I don’t want to fight of course, but I don’t need to interact with people whose agendas don’t suit my own.

Community is where you find it. It happens organically with no manifesto or charter. If you are reading this there is a good chance you are part of my community, and I am part of yours. And in the end, I’m sure that’s the way the great glowing chipmunk in the sky planned it.

The Originals 2… this time it’s personal

Hey, you gotta have a swanky tagline for every sequel right?

The line up, best as I can recall.

POL Arida
Blindboy Gummo
Zorch Boonhauer
Moondoggiegirl something… I don’t remember. Last names are pointless in Second life
And the Born again Pagans


Of course the big news about the event was it was very well attended once again. People questioning the draw of original music would be flummoxed by the crowd. I must mention in passing the show was hosted by “Pixel Hill’s” personable manager Harrie “the Rock chick” Skjellerup, and while the act may or may not be good, Harrie’s involvement probably gave the show a great deal of credibly.

When you consistently put on good shows, people expect good shows and come in droves.

While I’m trying to second-guess success, I feel I should mention the involvement of POL probably has a lot to do with the attendance. While I’ve often stated the opinion he’s the best singer/songwriter on Second Life, I feel I should also point out he’s also one of the best draws as an original artist.

As for the show (by the way I’m playing “Zorch Idol” here. Like American Idol except I’m the only one that gets to vote as to who should go to the next round)

POL started the shindig with a new song, and a batch of favorites and then ended with the same new song he played at the beginning of the show. A bold move that really did pay off in an odd way. I like the new song it’s very perversely poppy. I’m thinking classic Syd Barrette here. A strong opener.

POL Arida, pack your bags you are going to the next level.

Blindboy Gummo was second on the bill. His first song seemed remarkably strong. But then he spiraled down in to a simmering vat of blue clichés. What was he singing? I don’t know, the guitar kept getting louder and louder, drowning out everything but a few wailing vowel sounds.

He ended his show with some tasty slide guitar licks, but the show is suppose to be about original music. When you get the delta fried licks drowning out any semblance of song… it doesn’t sound original at all.

The verdict. Pull a Clay Akin and try again. Turn down the guitar, turn up the vocals. The blues could use a fresh lyrical vision and if Blindboy has one that would be cool. Of course he could just be covering up sloppy lyrics with shopworn blues hysteria.

Zorch was next up and played a picture perfect set.

Me, pack my bags and go to the next level (it pays to sleep with the judge).

Moondoggiegirl. Well I think that is her name. She calls her music “Twang with Fangs”. This is just a vain attempt to keep from calling it Country Music. For the record, it is Country music, and while I hear plenty of “Twang” I could not find a single “Fang”.

That being said, she sounded great. Strong voice, solid guitar playing and a good mix. The songs were quite strong and well though out. If I were more into that country sound I would be a huge fan.

The verdict, Pack your bags you are going to the next level. Good is good even when it twangs and sings about red patent leather cowboy boots.

Last on the bill was “The born again pagans”.

Some music it really helps to be stoned out of your mind while you listen to it. I wasn’t stone for the end of the show and because of that I didn’t feel the magic of the Pagans. Very hippy dippy, Rastafarian, chock full of bullshit and psudo spiritualism.. Unfocused and ponderous. Worse of all…boring.

Of course if I were stoned I would have been digging it.

Verdict. Pass… go back home.

The show was overall a success, but the next show will lack the draw of POL Arida, and I have to wonder how well that one will do. Can an all-original show work without the big dog of original music? Time will tell, and I’m keeping my fingers crossed. I believe in “The Originals” and hope it becomes a major brand in Second Life.

This in my no so humble opinion would be a big step towards a break out.

Coincident??? Perhaps

I’m not presenting this as anything but food for thought. Remember when POL use to wear a long sleeved black t-shirt and a kilt? Well it looks as if somebody is embracing the high glam frockery of another Second life Singer/Songwriter. Or maybe he’s not.

I just provide the image you read into it what you will.

Foot soldiers in the Zorch Nation, or my five-year plan for world domination

Well… not so much world domination, but rather growth. Growth is good and change is to be embraced. These are both part and parcel of life and a “So-called” music career in SL should be a living thing. Allow me to outline my “Master Plan” (Mah ha ha ha).

Foot soldiers

One of the most neglected aspects of promotion in Second Life is the simple fact that to a large extent, music here seems to be a social activity. I’ve seen HUGE groups for totally lame ass Karaoke types simply because they work the social network better. They have accidentally discovered the “Golden goose” of Second life promotion. They tout concert attendance as “Support”, and by doing so they are basically admitting attendance is a social matter. You support your friends.

It might sound as if I’m talking in circles now, so if you are dizzy, sit down for a moment and let me try to get from point “A” to point “B” in a more liner fashion.

The good people that attend my show for the most part do so because of the music. Those people in all likelihood have friends that also are passionate about music. If you are a group member or even a fan, the simple act of inviting a friend to check out some good music could and should cause significant growth.

Please note, I’m not asking for people to show up as a matter of support. If you don’t like the music, I don’t want to encroach on your time, have fun in Second Life doing something else.

MP3s

I think recorded music is so very important. It allows the listener to adopt the music and make it part of their lives. This to me is of major significance. This is why I make my MP3 downloads ridiculously affordable. If you are wondering why I don’t give them away, it’s because people seem to feel free music is of no value.

If you want proof of that, a while back I had two free downloads at my MySpace page for friend appreciation day. Nobody downloaded the free file. The same files have been for sale in Second Life and sell well respectively.

While free music seems to be valueless, pirated music seem to keep its value intact. While no artist endorses pirating their own music, I’m not very worried about people copying and sharing my files. After all, Barney says, “Sharing is caring”. The more people aware of my music the more people will come to the shows. And growth is my agenda right now.

What can Zorch do?

Be dynamic. Keep things fresh. Record more MP3s make them available. Play great shows. Keep updating the blog. One of the most important factors in any growth plan is constant motion. I’ll be busting my hump serving the music and the people that enjoy it the best I can.

If you enjoy the music half as much as I do, please do your part to help it grow and reach more appreciative ears. Much thanks for all of your support in the past and I’m looking forward to growing together.

Cold hard unfeeling number

Let me say right up front I’m not a mathematically inclined person. But numbers do tell a story. They provide the kind of data that can be parsed out to figure which way is up. The main problem I have with the mathematically inclined is they get hung up on the numbers ignoring what the numbers say.

Example, if you web page has 4 unique visitors one month, and 6 unique visitors the next if you look at the numeric value it doesn’t seem like your web page is a smashing success. But the fact is you’ve had a 20% increase in traffic. If you can sustain a 20% growth rate you’ll be a success in no time.

In other word, don’t get hung up on what the numbers are, be focused on what the numbers mean.

I’ve play 135 shows (scheduled date) since I’ve started putting dates on my calendar (April 26,2008)

As a malleable figure, let’s say 10 new people were exposed to my music at ever show (a reasonable number, some shows are packed out and some have five people at them. 10 seems a reasonable number). This gives me a number of 1,350 opportunities to convert.

If you are wondering what a conversion opportunity is, in a nutshell it’s a marketing term. When you expose a product or idea to people that have one of two options. Ignore or react. When someone reacts they have been converted.

In the music industry they shoot for a 1% conversion rate. So if I played 135 show and got 1.35 conversions I would be market viable in the mainstream music world. Of course mainstream marketing shoot for a lager numeric sample then 135 at any given time. When you are dealing with a 1% conversion rate you need a HUGE quantity of conversion opportunities.

In Second Life it is very hard to determine the actual reaction quota. Group size could be figured as a valid figure. But you have to remember the limit to number of groups a resident can have (25 max) puts a secondary qualifier on that measurement. That consideration aside, my group has had at one point 100 members, giving me a conversion rate that far exceeds the 1% mark.

There are other indicators of growth. In the month of September I have bookings on every day. Out of a 30-day month, 12 days have double bookings. And keep in mind I’m writing this blog on the 6th of September so more booking may be added.

MP3 downloads are up as well. As of the 5th of the month I’ve experience a 200% growth over the whole of last month. This is due primarily to the greater availability of my MP3, but regardless of the reason, growth it growth.

What is the point of all this number wangling? Well simply to indicate there is quantifiable growth. There are ways to measure success and we don’t have to be contented with that warm fuzzy feeling after a show (let the record show I do enjoy that feeling, I just don’t need to be content with that alone).

With the measurement criteria in place, allow me to set the following goals.

200-group member by the end of the month.

A 500% increase in MP3 downloads

Double booked 20 days out of the month

I know just wanting these things won’t make them happen. But I do have a plan, and in my next blog entry I’ll give you the details.

My New Bio

Zorch Boomhauer comes from a small backwater planet in the Milkyway Galaxy called Earth. A primitive world in which some of its denizens eat the flesh of other living creatures, drive vehicles powered by fossil fuel and it’s rumored some of the more barbaric planted dwellers even “Vote Republican”.

After a failed attempt at a career in camping, Zorch decided learning to play the gee-tar couldn’t be all that hard. He purchased a “First act ¾ size Gee-tar” from Wal-mart, and after mastering two chords, Zorch booked his first Gig at Roxies. Shortly before show time he realized that not many songs featured just two chords, so he strung together a few words that rhymed and became a “SONGWRITER”.

Some performers play for the Fee and tips. Some perform to slake their passion for music as an art form. As you watch Zorch perform one thing becomes immediately clear. This is all just a desperate attempt to impress the chicks.