A strange tale

I've been relatively well behaved lately. I've managed to keep my mouth shut about all kinds of bullshit and I fully intend to maintain my “No comment” demeanor about a variety of subjects transpiring in Second Life. However, I do love spinning a good yarn and one happened the other night. I'll give you the story without involving the names of the Villains or victims. On the other hand Heroes get full credit.

It's Saturday night, I've got two shows to play and I log in. shortly after my arrival I get an IM from someone we'll call “Hostess girl” asking me if I can help her out. It seems she has a cancellation and she is wondering if I can cover for that show. I tell her I would be free to cover the show, but wasn't sure I would be allowed to do so, because I had a bit of history with the Sim owner and a while back he had kicked me off the Sim.

Now I feel I should point out in my defence, when I was kicked off the Sim, I was totally minding my own business, just listening to music and IM-ing a friend. I was kick simply because of something I did a long, long, long time ago...... I get a wistful far away look, the blog page starts to wobble and we fade into a scene pre-historic. Cue the pterodactyl “SCREEEEEEEEEEEE”.

I'm a younger, more optimistic Zorch, playing a show at Guthrie's. I still believe mankind is fundamentally good, and not all hot women are crazy. In step Splat Wonderoos, no that isn't his real fake name because I never use people's real fake names. The primary reason being nobody knows who these people are anyway, so why start the clock on their 15 second of fame?

Anyway... Splat starts shouting in the room, “I'm going to have a music award thingy and everybody can join my web page... for free... and I'm going to save the music scene in Second Life”. Had he done this once, it would have been awkward, but he just kept pimping his lame ass award thingy... that was going to save the music scene in second life, and asking people to join his web site for free. I received several messages suggesting I tell him to shut the fuck up over the stream. So I did that. Splat didn't even blink, he just kept spamming the room. He kept droning on “I'm going to save music in second life and my penis isn't really small it's just very cold in here”.

Judging by the number of messages I received, he was annoying people, and disrupting my show. I did the responsible thing and had him booted from the venue. Nothing personal Splat, but don't pimp your lame ass shit at my show. The people attending the show did so to hear the rock star, not the latest in a series of self appointed music scene saviors.

Simply stated, when people are disruptive and do not stop after warned to do so, they should be forcibly ejected from the venue.

The blog page starts to wobble again, we fast forward to last Saturday night, the pterodactyl morphs into a Jet plane with red, white and blue streamers behind it... “USA,USA,USA”!!!!

I'm a more mature, still sexy, more cynical Zorch, and after the better part of two hours, hostess girl has finally talked to the venue owner and it seems I have the green light to play the show that will help hostess girl fill the gap in her schedule. Yeah... the good guys win... or do they.

It's 10;30 PM and the show is suppose to start at 11 PM SLT. I make a point to be on site a half an hour before the show, but as I attempt to get to hostess girls event, it seems I can't. I get a message that I'm banned from the Sim.

It seems the Venue owner and the Sim owner are not on the same page, and the Sim owner is (cue ominous pipe organ chord) Splat Wonderoos.

Oh bother.

I'm sure any other musician would have just left hostess girl to her own devices and mumbled something about it not being his or her problem. But I'm NOT any other musician, I'm one particular musician. I AM ZORK.... fuck.... I mean I AM ZORCH. Fuck with me at your own peril.

I told hostess girl not to worry I would talk to Splat and sort this all out. I figured since I've grow more mature and sexy during the intervening years, I was sure Splat had done so as well.

Well... not the sexy part, just the more mature part. But I was wrong.

I told Splat, “you really aren't screwing me over on this, Joy hasn't shown you any disrespect, so why don't you let me on the Sim tonight, and we'll all know better in the future, She's having a rough time with cancellations. Let's not give her another one”

Splat just insisted I apologize.

I told him I couldn't give him a sincere apology, would an insincere one suffice?

Okay, being reasonable wasn't working. Does being reasonable ever work? But if we have learned anything from “The Village People” and Olympian “Bruce Jenner”, it's “YOU CAN'T STOP THE MUSIC”.

I tell hostess girl I'll play the show remotely. She could just put my stream in the the parcel media, and I would play the show from a Sim I could get on. I would be playing for her venue, but from another location.

Lexie went over to the Sim to be my eyes on the grown, and the Proxy Zorch standing on stage playing guitar. She put on a tag that said “I am Zorch Boomhauer”. Noma Falta did the same. I told you I would mention the heroes.

The show went on for 30 minute before Splat figured out what was going on. People were flocking the venue to see this curious Lexie/Noma/Zorch hybrid. I'm sure that is what peeked Splat's interest, it's safe to say the self appointed savior of the music scene doesn't even listen to the stream at the venue that happens to be on his Sim.

Splat pulled the stream, and banned hostess girl. But before he could pull the plug, we did get the SLURL for the actual location I was playing at up in public chat. People just poofed to the new location.

Since I could not be on the Sim, I could not rez my tip jar. But I did suggest people attending the concert while it was at the remote location tip the venue. It's not the venue owners fault I can't be there.
I provided a good show in spite of the petty mandates of Splat Wonderoos. I did my job. I played the show as best I could and when Splat tried to stop it, we just moved to another location.

So I ask you this. Who was disruptive? Who was petty? Who really deserves to be banned?

Now when I write a blog like this, people assume I do so in order to address or change something. That isn't the case at all. This is just a grand tale of intrigue and and futile gestures. Bad men doing nasty things and the good people rising up to moon him and run away giggling madly.

And in the end, the hero attends his blog and has a tale to tell.

And moderator powers over the comments section.

BOOOOOOOSH

And then I woke up

I feel I've just woken up from a zombie like existence, and while it's been a “Long strange trip”, it's been quite educational.

Lesson one learned is Friends are where you find them.

There is a very popular myth that “Internet friends” are patently fake, and the people you can count on you meet in “Real Life ™ ”. Currently, my “Chips” are down, and the people coming to my aid are both friends I've met online, and a dear long standing friend I've met in real life. Conversely, one of my most damaging relationships I've ever experienced was started in real life.

Lesson two learned is when idiots agree with you it's time to re-evaluate your position.

I'm sure I've mentioned this before, but in case you didn't know the comments posted on this page are moderated. That means before it goes public, I get to read it and make sure I want it posted on my Blog. Some seem to think this is an unfair policy but I don't really care what they think. I don't delete comments because people disagree, but I do pull the ones posted by retards.

Recently a retard submitted a post saying I was right, Second Life is a waste of time, and that he wished me luck in my real life adventures. He also mentioned how shocked he was none of my fans had posted a comment. Hey, I don't need to approve comments when I'm not updating the blog.

Now since a retard agreed with my former conclusion I've revised my opinion about Second Life music.

Second Life music scene overview revised.

People listen to music for any number of reasons. This is true both online and offline. People attach value to music for a variety of reasons as well. While it's true that the more socially adept people seem to do better in Second Life, In Camden SC, “The Pound” plays shows at the Arts Center, not because they are good (or anything even remotely artistic) , but because they are locally popular.

Harrie once told me, “Popular people are popular for a reason”. She is absolutely right. However that reason is hardly ever musical superiority... or even competency. Life isn't fair no matter how much you bitch about it.

However, what I do musically does have some worth even if it's not a popular commodity. And while I'm not a Sim crasher, nor likely to become one, that does not mean Second Life is a waste of time for me. If I play a fist full of shows per-week, and pick up 3 fans a week, at the end of the year I have 156 new fans. While that would not make me mainstream in any way, for me as an truly independent artist, it's a significant boon. I basically work up 156 at a time until I have over 1,000. My best tact is maintaining and servicing the fan base I build.

Recently there has been a fellow on Second Life who jumped up into “The Biggest Thing On Second Life”. He was solid draw, pulled in lots of people, made a lot of noise. Good on him, however, his momentum is already showing signs of diminishing. His number while still vastly superior to mine are starting to sag. Now I'm not picking on this guy, or naming names, pointing fingers or any other appendages, but to quote Gary Numan, “It's a lot easier to become famous then to stay famous”.

I'm not famous, I'm not popular, but I have supporters that have been with me for well over two years. Looking back, had I promoted myself with a bit more ambition I could have had more supporters.

I'm on a new path, got a new attitude and most importantly, the Mojo is back. I'm into the Second Life Music Scene because there are people in it that enjoy music. I'm going to find those people. I'm also endeavoring to find more Offline musical bookings because there are people there that are interested in music as well.

End of Revised overview

I did mention my chips are down, but when you hit at least somewhere close to rock bottom, you start to realize what matters. What matters to me is my Daughter and my Music. Yeah, I'll never be a star, but I'm secure in the knowledge my music as value. And off I go, down the Harper's Road, be it online or offline. In the end, the love a child gives me something to hold on to, and the Music sustains me.

With a grateful heart I thank all the very good friends I have in my life. I love you all so very much. Not because my heart is wise, but because it is only right I should do so.

Zorch is Dead?????

What a provocative title. I remember as a child reading DC comic books, and every month it seems either Superman or Batman would be dying in the very next issue. Of course, they never really did kill off either hero at that time. But it was upsetting to me as a small impressionable child. After a while, the shock value dissipated and I no longer cared.

Zorch, much like Superman and Batman can't really die. He never lived, he's just a cartoon character on your computer screen. An expression of an identity employed to share some music. Oddly enough, I am Zorch, and not Zorch at the same time. Welcome to my existential quagmire.

I'm sure some people are jumping to conclusions, and while I don't want to be a party pooper, I'm not quitting Second Life. I do treasure the people that appreciate my effort in Second Life, and while they are few in number, they are all quite dear to me. Even if I someday get to the point where I can support myself outside of Second Life, I'll still Play shows now and then for the faithful few.

For the record, I'm not even close to cutting back on shows in Second Life yet. It is my sole source of income at this point. But I'm looking for other opportunities, and frankly any McJob would provided me with more money per month then Second Life does.

This is my last “Get Zorched” Blog. There will be no further Zorch Boomhauer Mp3 collections. Once again, I'm not quitting just moving on. I've come to learn a career based on the music scene in Second Life is not quite the best thing for a performer like myself. I don't play the game well, and just between you and I, while Zorch might not be dying Second Life might be.

Last Friday afternoon, there were 50,000 people online and come Friday evening, there were only 58,000. Use to be about 80,000 online last year this time. Fall use to herald the seasonal rebirth of Second Life after a long drab Summer. However it doesn't seem to be rebounding this year. For someone that is an acquired taste like myself the numbers matter. I only interest a very small percentage of people involved, so I need to move on to a larger population. .000001 % of 58,000 isn't a very big share. However .000001 % of 7 billion is significant.

I'm going to invest more time and effort in my Real Life music adventures and frankly I don't know what will happen. I'm still playing Show in Second Life, but that is were my involvement stops. Much thanks to everybody that supported this blog. Maybe you can follow my next one.

I'm pissed off

Some say it's better to be pissed off then pissed on. But... if somebody was pissing on me, I could just kick the shit out of them (a reasonable thing to do considering their misdeeds) and feel better about life in general. When you are pissed off, the only reasonable thing to do is sit there and seethe.

What I'm massively pissed off about is peoples general disregard for fucking me over. Let me set the stage for you.

Monday, a holiday in the good old USA, I'm booked to play a show. When the person that booked me set the date and time, I wrote it in on my calendar. When I got to the show, somebody else was scheduled to play “My slot” and I wasn't featured on the schedule at all. Remember how I told you Monday was a Holiday? Well I was at a party to commemorate the holiday and I had to leave early because I had a show.... or so I thought.

I sent the venue operator a note card asking when it was they had me scheduled to play, and a day later I still haven't gotten an answer.

Tuesday was NOT a holiday at all. But on my calendar was a early morning show, so I set my alarm clock and made sure I was good and awake. Once again... somebody else was booked in my slot.

While I didn't have to leave a party, I did get up way before I wanted to in order to play the show.

My next show was booked at Melodies and thank you Twiz for being so freaking reliable. You rule dude.

My last show of the day was a really late show. While I did get up early for my morning “no show”. I did stay up late for what turned out to be my late night “no show”. With less then an hour before show time, the owner sends me a note card informing me the venue was closed until further notice.

Now I feel I should mention, before I logged off of Second Life after the Melodies shows, I checked the Live Music Events Listing, and the late show was listed. So somewhere between 4 PM in the afternoon, and 10:03 PM, the venue closed.

I did contact the guy that sent me the note card. I expected a little... commiseration. Perhaps even an apologetic posture. Of course that didn't happen. The guy blew me off saying, “My booking manager told me that the show was canceled three weeks ago”. Way to pass the buck venue owner. When I told him I was a bit upset about the late notification, he didn't say anything. I guess once the buck is passed he doesn't have to deal with it any longer.

You know, a few sympathetic platitudes could have basically fixed things. But the general feeling of just being dismissed left a bitter taste in my mouth.

There are some great venue owners in Second Life, but the sad fact of the matter is just about anybody can rent a parcel of land, sling a few prims around and start booking people.... for tips only of course. These venues seem to last until the ill informed owner grasps the fact that Live Music Venues require a good deal of effort.

You may not think so, but I work my ass off during a show. I do what I can to promote the show and frankly, that's not even my job. I'm suppose to show up, and play the best show I can play, and if somebody is coming on after me, I need to respect their time and get off stage in a timely manner.

I do understand that stuff happens. But I'm not so upset about people constantly letting me down. I'm upset about the fact they don't even seem to care I'm upset about it.

I feel I should suggest that venue owners are NOT doing me a favor by having me play their venues for tips. I do play for tips because I respect the money spent by venue owners to provide a place for me to basically “Roll the dice”. Some times I win, sometimes I'm a bit disappointed, but I always suggest those enjoying my show, demonstrate their appreciation by tipping the venue. If the venue owner receives 1 L$ during my performance, they have profited from my labors. The reason they profit is because I didn't incur the expense of a fee.

I've known some venue owners for a very long time. There are some very devoted music supporters in Second Life, more the willing to undertake all the work required to have a good live music venue. Salute to those that get it right. And to those that mean well, but don't do well.... at least they mean well. Just say you are sorry when you fuck things up. People really just want to know you care about their itty bitty hurt feelings.

And when you waste somebody's entire night because they think they have a show, but your venue is actually closed, pretend for just a moment, you are not a festering anal pustule with no manners or breeding. Be a....well I guess asking you to be a MAN might be expecting too much. But act like a grown up, and apologize.

And in case you are wondering, my itty bitty feelings aren't hurt at all. I'm just pissed off.

Things aren't going as well as they could

I know few if any people like to hear me whine, and frankly I've not been updating simply because things have not been going as well as I hoped they would and it's kind of hard not to whimper a little bit.

But I do see the value of this page as a venting forum and I'm sure people that don't like me will get a chuckle out of my situation.

First off, “Emotion and Reason” might be the last Zorch Boomhauer recording ever. The ASIO interface I use to make recordings is dead, and I can't afford to replace it at this point. And even if I could, just between you and I, “Emotion and Reason” is not selling as well as I hoped. I feel it's the best sounding collection I've ever made, and has a very strong set of songs included. However, sales are really, really disappointing. 23 Copies of the collection have been downloaded this month (it's release month) and while some might think that is pretty good, on the day I released “Shadow and Light” it sold 60 copies on day one.

Mp3 collection sale in general have slumped. This month I'm just about scratching my way over one gig downloaded, compared to 2-4 gigs I've sold in the past.

Second Life is notoriously slow in Summer, but this has been the most grim summer I've ever had to endure.

Compounding the problem is my increased need for money. The Person I live with had a double by pass surgery, and could not work for three months. She is back to work now, but we are both so far behind we find ourselves neck deep in soul crushing poverty.

Tips are way down, but that seems to be the case in Second Life at this time. When other artist have tips jars that display totals, I find I do better then they do in most cases, but my better total is still pretty grim. If I said I'm averaging 1,500 L$ a show, I think that might be a bit high. Putting that in to perspective, it's about 6.00 $ USA, per-show. While you might call that an hourly wage, I actually invest more then an hour in every show. I do show up for show 30 minuets early so each show is about 90 minutes of my time.

I am quite discouraged, but I'm far from quitting. Remember I'm too stupid to quit. And besides, what else can I do that would not drive me crazy? I'm a musician, I'm a songwriter. I honestly believe I'm one of the great songwriters in the world today. I'm not going to ditch it all because I'm starving. I'm not about to start flipping burgers to make a few bucks. I should, in a more perfect world make a decent wage for what I do. But until that happens I just have to tough it out.

I'm looking into other avenues of making a few bucks with music, and keeping my fingers crossed. The biggest problem I have with this grinding poverty... outside of paying bills, is I really have limited options. Just about anything I might want to explore requires some kind of investment up front. Example, there is an acoustic rivalry contest going on at the White Mule, and I would figure I've got as good a shot to win it as anybody. However, I don't have the gas money to get to down town Columbia.

I also understand part of my problem in Second Life is my unwillingness to “Play the game”. I'm not fun, I'm not sociable and I don't do anything to make people feel comfortable. However, I don't see that changing. That isn't who I am, and I'm somewhat socially retarded. So in the end, I endeavor to persevere.

More Live Video

Live Video

Looking back and looking forward

It's been a while since the last update, and the reason for that is basically my unfathomable sloth. There is also the motivation of me not wanting to seem like a constant whiner. With that in mind, I whine less by posting less. Are things that grim? Well... they could be considerably better.

Back in 2004 I started my own record company called “ColaRolla”. From year one I've managed to turn a profit releasing records or recordings. The simple fact I made a penny of profit means working as my own publisher I've made money. I've been “signed” twice in my life and never made a dime being a signed artist. When you work for a record company, the guy that sweeps the floors gets paid before the artist does. Whey you own the record company you get all the profits and you also sweep your own floors.

In 2005, ColaRolla adopted the motto, “Doing things the Cowboy way since 2004”.

If you've ever seen the band, “Riders in the sky” you know there are two ways to do things. The easy way, or the Cowboy way. And while ColaRolla put a few pennies in my pocket, it wasn't making me rich. One of the downsides of the Cowboy way is it's not likely to make you rich. But I really don't need to be rich. I just need to dig myself out of poverty. Digging out of poverty is very Cowboy.

The vast catalog of recording made by my identity Zorch Boomhauer is just a continuance of my endeavors with ColaRolla Records.

The very first ColaRolla release was pretty embarrassing at least by my estimation. But I was learning everything at once. Not just recording the music, but creating artwork, and placing it on the inter-web for sale. If you had the name of the CD and or the name I recorded it under, you could still buy it on the inter-web. But I hope nobody does.

Recording has always been important to me as an artist. Yeah, I love playing live, but the recorded song is something someone takes home and adopts as part of their lives. This is why I bother to write and record songs.

I'm constantly getting better at writing and recording. But an odd thing is happening. Seems as the quality goes up, the sales go down.

Of course, I'm probably to blame for that. Perhaps has my efforts in quality music increases, I let the marketing side slide a bit. Second Life is very socially driven, and I spend less and less time online. I show up a half an hour before a show to drop notice, play my show, and log off. I'm possibly the least sociable performer on all of Second Life.

I could probably be more successful by just hanging out more, but hanging out more seems like it should be more of a waste of time. It's probably not, but it seems like it should be.

I play the best shows I can, and put out the best records I can, and that should be enough. That should qualify me for success. But I'll be the first to concede, thinking you should be successful because you warrant it is very “Cowboy thinking”.

The upcoming release, “Emotion and Reason” is probably the best sounding, and best collection of songs I've ever put out. I'm fully expecting it not to sell as well as it should. Of course I'm told that doing the same thing over and over, and expecting a different result is the text book definition of crazy. With that in mind... I need to do different things or check in to the nervous hospital.

Friends indeed

Since I'm sure some are waiting with baited breath. The total for “Save Zorch” is.... (drum roll please)

749,51 $

While this is not the full 750 $, I think I can find enough change to make up the difference.

With heartfelt gratitude I thank those handfuls of people that made a huge difference in my life.

I protest (!?!?!?!?)

Recently there was a rather... interesting reaction to the removal of an art instillation at Second Life's 7th birthday party.

It seemed this work of art featured some doll like nudity and there is no nudity allowed at this function. Some seemed to feel this was censorship, and protested.

I found out about the protest because it was mentioned on the Second Life forum, and for the record I'm not here to defend or attack the work of art. What I really want to talk about is the reactions from the forum monkeys. The broke rather neatly into two camps. One defending the work of art, and the other mumbling something to the effect of, “It's Linden Lab's party they can do what they want”.

The “Defense” camp is wrong because art does not need defense.

But the utterly clueless camp would be the “Do what they want camp”.

The whole point of protest is simply because “the powers that be”, do what they want anyway. You don't have to be happy about it and you can protest. Some call it bitching, but that is a poor choice of words. If you just sit there and take it... then you are “The Man's” bitch.

Protesting, while mostly pointless is if nothing else somewhat satisfying... unless you actually expect it to change things.

The grand design of nature is such that you are intended to protest, or decent. Want proof? Well hold your hands out in front of you. On each hand, between the ring finger and the index finger is a handy digit that's sole reason for existence is to protest, and out of all the fingers you have at your disposal, that finger, and only that finger is referred to as “THE Finger”.

Those suggesting it's pointless to protest should hang their heads in shame. What they are actually saying is what upsets other people is really stupid and they should grow up and accept whatever indignities those in power choose to lay upon their shoulders.

Those in power are always right... until they do something that upsets those whom suggest those in power are always right. At that point the most staunch supporter becomes... protester-ish.

Those protesting the WTO got attacked by police and stripped of their civil liberties.

Those protesting an oppressive regime in china stood before tanks.

Buddhist Monks immolated themselves to protest the Vietnam war.

I don't think any of those protesting expected things to change. But they most certainly did make a point.

While all these things are more relevant than anything going on in Second Life, it does not diminish people right to be upset. Those of you not particularly upset should just quietly smirk to yourself.

WTF????

You know I'm confused as hell. Seriously, no kidding, why aren't I the biggest thing on Second Life?

I should be so big on Second Life, I'm TOO BIG for Second Life. But I'm not big on Second Life at all, I'm tiny. Why is that?

I know you might think I'm being sarcastic, but I'm not. Allow me to try and twist your head around to see things from my perspective.

On June 20th, I played a two hour set of all original music at the Jester Inn. During that two hour set I didn't even come close to scraping the bottom of the barrel. It was a solid two hours of amazing songs.

Now I know there are “ROCK STARS” that do three hour shows, but most of those draw music from a decades long career. My two hour show comprised of music written during my musical adventures in Second Life. How many songwriters could pepper a two hour set with nothing but original music collected over a two year three month period and have it be all amazing tunes?

By the by, I'm about to play my 1,600 show online in the next few days. It's not like I haven't been working my ass off. I've recorded an impressive number of MP3 collections and all this falls between March 16th 2008 and now.

I'm prolific, hard working and fooking brilliant. Why isn't that enough to be mega successful?

I'm well aware I don't play by the rules, but really, isn't being a musical visionary enough to get you a slice of the pie? Are people so use to the mediocre and mundane that talent makes them uncomfortable?

Now I'm sure there are a few out there reading this wondering what my state of mind is. Am I depressed, discouraged, suicidal, ready to chuck it all. Well stop wondering, what I am is confused.

I feel I should state that I'm not questioning my musical talent. My music is freaking amazing. What I do is totally iconic. And I know that makes people uncomfortable, but if I was prone to doubting I would be doing something else by now.

You know what? I could use some help. Not advice, actual help. But what are the odds on that happening? I could use a real life brake about now. I've been working hard, and I'm ready to make the most of any opportunity that comes my way, provided I can afford to take advantage of that opportunity.

So consider this a cry for help, and not advice. If you have something for me, feel free to drop me a line at zorchboomhauer at gmail dot com. I already check my email about 100 times a day hoping to find something promising. Perhaps you can provide it.

In the mean time I'll just keep on keeping on. I've got nothing better to do.

Money

The title should warn you, I'm about to broach a controversial subject. I'm probably as uncomfortable writing about it as you might be reading about it, but the situation is such I feel letting it slide just exacerbates the problem.

At the outset I would like to say I'm well aware there are people that attend live music events that are broke. They really don't have a lot of money to spend on anything, and I don't have a problem with those people. I personally have no discretionary money... or more to the point I'm effectively broke as well. All moneys earned in Second Life, go to paying for my stream rental (my one in world expenditure) and buying groceries and paying bills in real life.

But I'm not here to talk about the nickel and dime matters of my personal life because I think we both agree that is my problem.

What I am here to talk about is the compensation live music artist should get. Basically, I'm trying to make it clear why a performance is different from buying a pair of virtual shoes. The economic of the difference.

The content provider.

Now when somebody sets about to create a virtual product for Second Life, they invest their time, and yes they deserve compensation for that time. But the investment is very different. When you make a virtual item, you invest time in it and then sell copies.

If it take them four hours to create that flashy thing-a-ma-bob, if they sell one for 300 L$, they make 300 L$ for those hours.

That is not much for an hourly wage, but every time they sell another copy Their hourly wage goes up.
If they sell ten thing-a-ma-bobs they make ten times as much money for the hours invested. The hours invested never change, but the amount they get compensated for those hours goes up with every sale.

Part of my economy uses this paradigm.

When I make an MP3 collection, the amount of time invested in the recording of those songs never goes up, so every collection I sell increases the value of the time invested. I can afford to sell my music for half of what a third party aggregator might sell them for, because once it's done, any money made is profit.

The Live event content provider.

Here is where it gets grim. If I play a one hour show, whatever I make during that hour is all I'm ever going to compensated for that hour. The next show is not a copy of the last show but a whole new hour invested. I only have so many hours in my life, when you sit there and enjoy my labors but withhold compensation you are not only stealing an hour of my time, but stealing an hour of my life.

I hope I'm not being overly dramatic, but I'm trying to make a point. Everything is cheap in second life, you can buy a house for about 2 $ American. But it's not a real house. You can't live in it, but you can pay real money (Lindens do equate to real money) on buying a copy.

Live music in Second Life serves all the purposes live music does in real life. While the delivery is different, the effort involved in performance (provided it's real live music and not the Karaoke or Guitar-eokie version) is identical. When I do play live in real life, I play the same music I play in Second Life and get considerably more pay for it.

When you sit and listen for an hour and tip me 20 L$, you are basically tipping me 0.13 $. Thirteen cents? Really, would you watch a street performer and throw a dime and three pennies in his guitar case? If you sat there for an hour and did that, the guy would probably slap you in the face.

Now once again, I mention, if you are short on cash I understand, but this is not really addressed to the broke, but rather the cheap. I understand it take an hour of your life to listen to my hour long show and as I have said in the past, I do appreciate the attention.

If you enjoy the music, and have the cash to spend, simply support the musicians with a reasonable tip. Remember, lots of people are freeloading, either because they are short on finances or just cheap bastards. Make a difference. TIP.

Now you may ask what a reasonable tip might be. Well for the record, 269 L$ is about a one American dollar. 500 L$ is about two bucks and about half what you would spend on a cover charge if you went to a bar. What do you think it reasonable?

I do earn my crust of bread on Second Life and recently it's been quite a hardship. I'm use to a Spartan life style, but lately it's taken a swing toward the catastrophic. In the last four months, earning have dropped 300$ real life dollars.

Now in my defense, I'm not expecting Venue owners to start paying me humongous fees, as I've always been a champion of those that pay the bill for all the music scene in Second life. The Venue owner pay significant tier fees just to have a place for live music to happen, so while I do appreciate any fee offered I do not demand a fee to show up and play. Perhaps if I did, I would not be writing this blog, but in my personal estimation, it would be wrong of me to demand money from the people paying freight on the whole shebang.

I'm not making any unreasonable demands at all. All I ask for is what is fair. If you attend the shows and have some discretionary funds, don't be cheap. If you enjoy the artist, any artist, tip them and tip them well. 250L$ (around a buck) 500 L$ (around two bucks) 1,000 L$ ( around four whole dollars, remember, not everybody can tip, and some people are being cheap bastards) would be peachy, reasonable and fair.

You can't make the music scene better, or give it more visibility, but you can make it more fair. You have the power and only you know if you are being cheap. If you are being cheap... stop that.

One more thing I would like to address. A while back I played a show behind an incredibly popular performer in Second Life. I know what he charges for an hour show and the venue owner booked me for tips because, he really couldn't afford to pay a fee. Some would say this is good and fair as well because Venue owner can pay what they wish. This is true, but don't tell me you can't afford a fee then hire Joe Popular for 10,000 L$ per-hour. My hour has the same amount of seconds in it as Joe Popular's hour. If the venue owner want to pay for an audience, pay me one quarter the fee, for one quarter the audience, that is fair. But do not exploit me and shower riches on those favored by the unwashed masses.

When all is said and done, I feel the donation based economy can work. People just have to compensate those involved fairly. If you have money, and if you are having a profound enough of an listening experience to invest an hour of your time in... don't be a cheap bastard.

If you think about it, if you do have thousands of Lindens in your account, and sit there for an hour listening, and only tip 20L$, what are you saying about the value of your time?

The fear of becoming Perry-Grim

The last two entries in this blog were remarkable similar. Imagine that, I must have something on my mind. But let me talk about something shockingly personal. Something that has been on my mind for a long time.

Once upon a time, there was a musician in Second Life. Let's call him “Perry-grim”. That is not his real fake name, but close enough. I'm not picking on him, and I'm not pointing at him, but those that can make the tenuous connection will understand.

Speaking bluntly, Perry-grim was one of the most brilliant musicians I've ever heard. He was, “The Real Deal ™ ” . In a world full of posers, musical ideas sprung forth from Perry-grim's guitar like water from an open fire hydrant.

Perry-grim was a genius, but sometimes the greatest gifts come in broken packages. Suffice it to say he had serious physiological issues. He was openly paranoid and even the kindest words could be interpreted as slanderous from his point of view.

Of course, his musical career ended... unpleasantly. He freaked out and made a point to alienate every single person that ever offered him a hand in friendship. I'm not saying he misspoke, or made a gaff. He attacked those that cared most for him, pointing out every inadequacy real or imagined, and then twisted any supportive statement towards him as some kind of counter attack.

I often wonder if he could have continued his musical adventures in Second Life. Was it inevitable that he would explode into an emotional fire ball?

Given his condition, you might think he would, but there are bunches of mentally ill people functioning on Second Life. So what drove him to self destruction?

Your guess is as good as mine, but here is my guess in case you are interested.

It takes a huge emotional toll to cast your pearls before swine.

I remember watching him follow some mediocre “Popular dude”, and before his first song was over the majority of the audience had poofed. He was iconic, original, and brilliant, those three things can clear a sim faster then a re-start notice.

I can understand how someone with a bent towards paranoia might read something into that. He knows he's good. He might even be aware he's great. Something must be going on. Somebody MUST be derailing his efforts. But in the end, the only one that could prevent his success was him, and eventually he set his own playhouse on fire and watched it burn.

I can really understand how he must of felt. I've seen Sims clear before my first song was over after following some cookie cutter balladeer. No matter how well grounded you are it does sting. It feels like people aren't even giving you a chance. In most cases they don't. They already have plans for what they are going to do after Mr. Cookie Cutter ends his set, and it's pointless to take it personally.

Recently a so-called friend of mine informed me of this new guy I've never heard of being the next BIG THING in Second Life. I'm glad she's impressed. But I've heard of Justin Biber, and I haven't heard of this guy. I don't measure myself against tweener singing idols so why would I give a rats ass about the next big thing in Second Life. I'm not a big thing in second life at all. But I'm well aware I should be.

Some would suggest I'm bitter, but it's more of a case of swallowing a bitter pill. It's better to be lucky then smart and it's better to be popular then talented. I'm not lucky or popular, and unlike Perry-grim, there are people that stick pins in their Zorch voodoo dolls every day. I know I have enemies not because I imagine them, but because I've been told I have them. Of course I expect to have a few Ellsworth Tooheys.

But I'm not inclined to quit, and you want to know why? Plain old fashion stupidity. I'm too stupid to quit. Although I'm well acquainted with the facts, and I know the world hates a genius, I soldier on. A few people get me, and they get me on my terms. I've every reason to expect the worse, but I won't cave in. Quitters never stand atop the Wynand building.

In the end, the story of Perry-grim is a cautionary tale. It exposes the dread consequence of having a gift the vast majority of people don't understand, and caring what they think. Seeking validation in the eyes of others. If you have a vision stand by it. If you have a gift be a diligent steward of that gift. When you are true to yourself, those that “Get you” do so for the right reasons and you will be rewarded.

I'm aware of the rules, I just choose to break them

A while back a friend of mine need to speak to me about how I was destroying my career. About another week later, yet another friend took me aside and seemed to be reading off the same page, predicting soon, nobody would book me and if anybody did book me, nobody would come to the show.

I think both of these friend were under the impression I was not paying attention and a Second Life Music Career(?) is basically just part of the game. Games have rule, break the rules and you lose the game.

Let me break down the rules and if you choose to follow them, in about three months you'll be doing far better then I am.

Rule #1 COVER SONGS

The vast majority of people don't give a rats ass about music. Most of these people make up the community of people that come to see show. While that might seem contradictory, it's not. People in general would rather hear a horrible cover song they KNOW, than a perfectly played original song.

The real cardinal point to this rule is it must be a song EVERYBODY knows. No obscure Johnathan Colten songs.

It's a good idea to have a song list people can request songs from. Try to make the show much like a McDonals drive through window.

Performer: Welcome to my show, may I take your order please?

Listener: Yes, I'd like …. ummm... “Wish you were here”.

Performer: Would you like “Halleluiah” with that?

Listener: I don't know, I'm trying to cut down.... oh... yeah sure give me a side order of “Halleluiah”.

Fun fact about 1# : Most people are blissfully unaware they are musically retarded. Quite a few of them are performers on Second Life.

Rule #2 Piss in the ocean of mediocrity

Always praise the performer before you and hype the performer coming on after you regardless of talent. Of course doing this means your opinions are meaningless, but why should your opinions have meaning when you music doesn't?

It's also a good idea to suggest the person following you is way better then you are. This makes you seem “Humble” and humility is very appealing to the average musical retard because they have nothing of worth to offer, so why should you be arrogant?

Your mantra should be, “Everybody is super great... except me, I suck”. Don't worry, people will be shouting out how great you are... even if you actually do suck. They have emotes all cued up just to do that.

Rule # 3 Greet people the moment they enter the sim.

All the mega popular people do this. It doesn't matter if you are in the middle of a song, just slip it in there. “Baby baby don't get... Hello Keplerdangle welcome to the show...hooked on me”.

While you might think this interrupts the song, don't worry about that, everybody KNOWS the song (see rule #1) and will wait for you to return to it. What is important is that each and every person is welcomed.

The reason you greet people is the same reason you play songs they know. You want them to feel as welcome as possible and make attending the show as effort free as... well not attending the show.

They went though all the trouble to click a link to get there, cut them some slack and make them feel welcome.

Rule # 4 Hang out

Second Life is all about being social. So make sure you show up at other peoples shows with your “I am a Second Life Muso” tag on display. For those of you wondering “Muso” is accepted Second Life slang for Musician.

In most cases, even if the performer has never even heard of you, much less heard you play, they will probably give you a shout out. While that might strike you as odd, it's in compliance with rules 2 and 3. In many cases they will tell everybody how superior you are to them and how everybody should catch your show.

Of course you should already be emoting wildly. “Dude you RAWK”.

Rule # 5 Build your group

When it comes to groups, size matters. Get some kind of doohickey that auto invites people to your group and let it work it's magic. If you play somewhere with a bunch of newbies you can build your group quickly because they click yes on everything.

Big groups allow you to demand big fees, and in the end, it's all about your fees.

Rule #6 The game is more fun when more people play

Anybody that can play a few chords and or has some back up tracks is a performer on Second life. While this is a lot of people, Those that don't wish to learn to play a musical instrument and or buy back of tracks should not be excluded from the fun.

Think of it this way, if every performer in Second Life had a “Manager”, that would double the number of people playing the music scene game. Some performers have a staff, more then one person tagging along on their participation coattails.

While you can't say how great you think you are, your staff has no limitations to how great they can say you are. You can stand on stage and whine about how much you suck, and they can emote like crazy monkeys about how you are the second coming.


Rule # 7, the hang out to perform ratio should be 15:1

Seriously, you should attend 15 shows for every show you actually play. It's far more important for you to “Be seen” then “Be heard”. Music doesn't matter in your Second Life Music scene game. What matter is your involvement in the scene.

While this might leave you playing two shows a week, they will be well attended providing you follow all the rules to the letter.

The less available you are, the more value your show have. In other word, if you only play 2 PM on Thursday, people that want to see you must be at your show at 2 PM Thursday.


Bringing it all together

You've been seen everywhere, you been promoting not your talent, but your humility. You've been participating, and supportive. You've developed your group, and you have integrated whatever staff you can cobble together.

It's Thursday at 2 PM and the show is on. Before you start you have one of your staff send a notice, remember you can't say you are great, but they can. Put a staff member between you and your announcement.

As the show starts take a moment to mention by name the people already there. This won't take long because in most cases people don't make it to be start of a show. Your staff will be there, be sure to say how indispensable they are and mention them each by name. Then mention the Venue staff and compliment them on what a great job they are doing (the show hasn't even started yet, but they are doing a GREAT job).

Be sure your auto group invitation device is in place.

As you play the first song, be sure to greet everybody that pops in. Not only will this make them feel welcome, but it will probably keep them from Popping out. People feel obligated when you notice them and mention them by name.

Speaking of obligation, because you have been hanging out so much, other musicians will be attending your show. Be sure to pick them out of the crowd and mention how GREAT they are. Remember they are padding your numbers and working on their “Hang out to perform ratio”. Be sure to mention what a kick ass show they put on and recommend that people attend their next show.

Be sure to mention your song list so people can request songs. Forget all about format, and or pacing, just take orders and be sure to dedicate the songs properly.

Watch the clock, mention how great the performer coming up after you is, finish the last song, collect your fee... be sure to act somewhat sheepish about collecting it.

There you go, you want to play the game, play by the rules. Second Life is so simple people with no discernible talent can thrive. They do it every day, and because most people don't give a shit about music... it works.

This might seem a bit cynical. But I'm not here to underline how disingenuous this all is. All I'm doing is making it clear, I'm aware of what the rules are. I know how the game works.

I choose to be a failure at the game because I choose not to play it. A handful of people care about my music. But those that do, do so for the right reasons. I make ridiculous demands upon the listener, but I also do a freaking transcendent show. Those willing to listen, those willing to hear song they are not instantly familiar with are rewarded.

It's more then entertainment or a social centerpiece. It's a bit of my soul.

I am the bastard son of Howard Roark. Could you expect me to conform to the standards of those whom make a game out of the profession I consider my calling?

The Devaluation of Real

A while back I was playing a show and the act before me was one of those Karaoke acts. As Karaoke acts goes... this guy was absolutely horrible. Not only was pitch a much hoped for dream, his song selection left much be desired. Lots of people were there, he drew an impressive audience. But after a while, I noticed a trend.

This talentless hack had a huge support staff. A Management team.

During the course of the show, several “Staff members” left. As each Staff member poofed out, a sizable chunk of the audience would vanish. By the end of the show, just Karaoke dude, his girl friend (is girl friend a staff position?) and her friend were the audience. By this time, they were dancing on stage behind the misguided crooner to an audience that comprised of... well me.

I wasn't a bit entertained. But then I actually like music.

While this whole experience was unpleasant to say the least, it was informative.

I've learned if you have a support/management team of say.... six people at your show, and they invite a few friends to hang out with them, you can put a bunch of green dots on the map. I'm inclined to believe the “Invited friends” don't have the stream on long, and spend most of their time at the event IM-ing other friends on site, or even off site.

There are those that insist Second Life is not a game, and they are right. From a design stand point it's not a game at all. But a good deal of the “Second Life Music Scene ™ “ is a game, and for those of you out there wondering how it's played, let me give you the rules.

Labor is cheap

Back in my short lived MNP days, they use to send a MNP Host to every show I played. Moody would pay them, I think about L$ 300 per-show, to hang out, spam, invite their friends to hang out with them while they worked, and to keep the chat screen moving.

Now I think I should point out, L$ 300 breaks down to little more then one dollar American per-hour. Labor is cheap.

Labor is sometimes Free

Some people will show up and work towards your goal for a title. Most people are bored and if you make them part of the entertainment industry they are “Living the Dream”. Most people with a management tag don't get paid anything. In most cases it's somebody's Girlfriend.

Venue operators are sometimes just as clueless as you suspect they might be

I'm not picking on Venue operators, I appreciate the fact they pay the bill on the whole music scene. But many will book any act that plays for tips just to keep things hopping all day long. Consider for a moment a venue featuring Six acts a day, five days a week. Of those 30 acts a week, how many are worth listening to?

While many venues close due to lack of funds, most close due to simple burn out.

It's a lot of work, a lot of money, and more to the point, a lot of time.

Because there are so many venue, there are sometimes as many at 70 live music events going on at the same time. Perhaps five of those events are worth attending, so why are the other 65 even happening? Because it's all part of the game.

People are pretending to be rock stars.

People are pretending to be rock star managers.

People are pretending to be part of the rock star managers staff.

People are supporting their friends.

People are filling the schedule at their venue.

People are working for a little more then a dollar an hour.

People are working for a title.

People are plotting.

People are being.... polite.

The game thrives, and while the game thrives, talent languishes.

I've commented before, the Management types are a cancer on the music scene in Second Life. But while they are a blight for real music, they are the back bone of the Game. They work day and night to make sure, the insecure dreamers they represent color your impressions of what Live Music is in Second Life.

The management types make sure the music sucks.

All honor to venues that book talent. All honor to those that listen and decide. All honor to those that have the stream on. All honor to those who's politeness is manifested in not saying anything rude, rather then puffy meaningless compliments.


There is good music in Second Life, however it seems to operate in the margins. The stuff that is most aggressively marketed is done so to support “The Game”.

Now I wish I could say something profound like “DEATH TO THE GAME”, but remember when I commented good music operates in the margin? Well the page on which that margin exist is the page the game is written on. The basic bottom line is each listener decides their level of participation in the game aspect of the music scene.

So in conclusion..... I'll take Original music for 1600 $ Alex.

He claims to be the Pope of Rock and Roll, and the future of Music on the Grid.

BUZZZZZZ

Who is Zorch Boomhauer?

Why do I need Second Life on my I-pod?

A while back I was playing a show at some venue and after I mentioned my MP3 collections are for sale, some fellow, in an attempt to be witty remarked, “Why do I need Second Life on my I-pod”?

His attempt at wit was of course a dismal failure, but attempting wit when you actually have none is a fool's errand. Wit is something you have in real life and express in Second Life.

Wit is real, and music, at least LIVE music is real as well.

Why should you BUY an MP3 from a Second Life artist (ummmm.... me actually)?

Because unlike everything else you could spend money on in Second Life, the music is a REAL LIFE™ commodity. While you buy it in Second Life (or my web page), you don't have to be doing the Second Life thing to enjoy your purchase.

Your Second Life house, car, yacht, clothes, and yes, even you genitalia of of no use to you outside of Second Life. But recorded music goes with you anywhere recorded music can go, and at this time that is just about anywhere.

So in effect, recorded music is probably the most actually useful purchase you could make in Second Life.

But... there is more, much more.

If people were inclined to BUY recordings, it could be the answer to the age old question of “How do we make money with music in Second Life without exploiting anybody”?

I have mentioned before the vast majority of my shows are for tips. I actually have two shows a month that regularly pay a fee, but I should mention the fee involved is less then what most ask for as a minimum. Yet I make enough to pay my bills.

This is due to the generosity of the good people that do tip, my even more generous core fan base, and MP3 sales. Simply stated, the money earned from MP3 sales offsets any short fall due to my lack of fee collecting.

Can you dig it?

I should point out, my motivation for playing live is different from most people. As far as I can tell, the majority of performers develop a fan-base, and then limit their performance schedules in order to to maximize the turn out at their shows. If you like Bob and Bob only plays Thursday at 3 PM, you have to be where Bob is at that time and date to see him, or suffer the rest of the week Bob-less.

When Bob contacts a Venue owner he suggest his shows are packed, and if the venue owner checks it out they will find this to be true. Bob ask for a fee, and the venue owner see's it as reasonable because Bob can pack his or her Venue... Thursday at 3 PM.

Bob isn't selling music, he's selling a packed venue. The venue owner isn't buying music, he's buying a packed venue. While this is all good and fine for the primaries involved (Bob and the Venue operator), but it is the main reason music sucks so often in Second Life.

When I play music, I'm building a fans base as well. But not in order to pack a venue on some limited time table. I'm not trying to convince a venue operator my performance will pack their venue and because of that I'm worth paying a hefty fee for. I'm simply trying to expose my music to people that have not heard it yet. I'm sure if they are paying attention they will like it, and perhaps want more.

Yes, I love tips, and I love really generous tips even more. But the real fans are the ones that buy my recordings. They do attend the shows, thank you very much, and most of them tip as well as they can. But the real connection is their familiarity with my music. They know the old stuff, they know the new stuff and often prompt me to get on with recording the next collection.

So buying music is good for you, good for the music scene, and good for... well my pocket book.

In summation, why do you need Second Life on your I-pod?

Well... you don't need Second Life on your I-pod at all, but if you discover great music while wondering the grid, why would you not want to drag it in to your real life?

Scam, scam, scam, scam (Sung to the tune of the Monty Python Spam sketch)

In a rare moment of inter-web based wackiness, I logged in to Second Life this morning and found not one, but two Scam-o-grams.

The first being a second hand Scam-o-gram from a fellow performer asking everybody he or she knew to vote for her. I really have to wonder what the prize might be in this scam in order for somebody to throw their dignity in the trash can.

The second Scam-o-gram was one of those “Fill in the blank-Idol” things. The prize being inclusion in some compilation record that would bring you from Second Life, to REAL LIFE!!!!!

I've come to embrace the opinion the inter-web is both a blessing and a curse to musicians. To the intelligent well grounded artist the inter-web is a myriad of opportunities, however to the clueless dreamer sure that fame and fortune is just one lucky break away is an ocean of quick stand waiting to swallow them up.

For those of you new to the realities of the music biz, there is no such thing as the Lucky break that makes you rich and famous. Say you got discovered tomorrow and signed to a real record contract, you would have a 90% probability of never earning back your advance. Of course, and write this down if you have to, that 10% chance at success is NOT a matter of luck. It's a matter of hard work, good planing, picture perfect execution and then … luck.

It's safe to say any offer you get from a resident of Second Life to enhance your real life music career is nothing but smoke and mirrors. I'm relatively sure they mean well, but can't do well. Oddly, it seems those in Second Life operating scams are as much clueless dreamers as the people they pray upon.

Pointing fingers at those self imagined “Movers and Shakers” in the “So-called” Music scene in Second Life is pretty easy. But they are not the most exploitative scam artist on the inter-web.

One of the most heinous of exploiters would have to be “I-tunes”.

I-tunes claims to have over 750,000 independent artist listed among their Files for sale. While this may seem like a supportive move on I-tunes part, almost altruistic, it's actually quite a scam, and a really profitable scam. They actually are betting the artist listed won't ever make enough in sales to require I-tunes to cut them a check. Each MP3 aggregation has a minimum amount the artist must earn in royalties before they get paid. The vast majority never earn enough to get paid, but most do mention they have MP3s available on I-tunes.

Let say 50,000 independent artist do make enough to get paid, that leaves 700,000 that that do not get paid. Lets say those 700,000 artist make 5 sales each (Friends and relatives “Bob has a song on the I-Tunes), This means I-tunes make millions... and more to the point, keep the other millions they should have paid the artist.

The bet against the success of the independent artist and even when they lose that bet... I-tunes still gets paid. Why don't they cut a check for even one sale? Because they don't have to. People allow themselves to get ripped off so I-tunes gladly oblige them.

I started my own record company in 2004, “ColaRolla records” and since year one I've made a profit. Each month I make money selling recorded music, and do so without handing a slice of the pie to some third party leach. I have in the past sold actual CDs at Live shows, but for the last two years I've been selling nothing but MP3s and making enough money to make it worth my while.

I'm not rich, I'm not famous.

But everyday I do what I love doing and manage to keep the lights on. Compromise is not a prominent feature on my artistic landscape. I live primarily on tips and MP3 sales.

I see every so-called break as nothing more then a tool to further my ends. Every opportunity is just a step towards the goal of living a life of artistic fulfillment. I rise and fall on my ability and talent.

Reflections on an MP3 release party

Last Sunday was a momentous occasion in Zorch History as are all the release events. It was well attended and MP3 sales were brisk. People were actually showing up 40 minuets before show time to get first crack at buying it. For the record, Chantal beat out Gargravar by a mouse click to earn the honor of first sale. While the show was two hours plus change in length, the crowd was consistent.

Over all, a win for the team.

Thanks to Harrie Skjellerup for hosting and Fox Reinsch for simulcasting the event on Indie Spectrum Radio. Much thanks to all the people that showed up and made the event memorable.

That being said, permit me to ramble on about the relevance of recording sales in Second Life.

Of course I can only speak from my experience and won't pretend to be an expert, but I feel the fact I actually sell a few MP3 gives me an informed opinion.

I personally have a very small core audience that buys MP3s collections. I'm relatively sure they all own more then one collection. This seems to indicate to me, their first MP3 collection purchase was an enjoyable experience, and something they felt was worth the purchase price.

Most collections are sold release day. I suspect many of the following sales are simply people that could not attend the release event, and wanted the collection anyway. I do have a rare occasion where somebody “Runs the board” and buys everything I have available, and while that is very cool, it's very rare.

Now if you factored the time invented in creating an MP3 collection and the money earned it would seem a rather unprofitable venture. But MP3 collection do more then make money. They create an interest in the music.

I did mention my small core audience a while back, but what I didn't mention is they are a very devoted core audience. When I see a familiar face in a crowd, I know they have a few collections sitting on their hard drive. Most are very interested in the new songs presented and wondering when the collection featuring them will be available.

Live music is great, but recorded music is part of people's lives.

I know of two supporters that drive to work listening to my music. Gargravar mentioned he's got my music on his I-pod and often invites people to have a listen. These are just stories shared, I'm sure there are more excursions into real life I don't know about. As a matter of fact, if you have an anecdote about where you listen to your Zorch MP3 collections please feel free to share on on the comments section.

I am an original artist and as such it's of great benefit to me to release my songs to the public. Familiarity with the material give that material more resonance. I suspect a goodly number of my supporters sing along in their homes at my shows. They know the songs, and they know who plays those songs.

A while back some goober suggested I call myself “The Selfish Bastard”, but I'm not selfish I'm arrogant. And while I am arrogant, I am a servant to my supporters. Every collection is an attempt to deliver a product they will want to take home with them, and make it part of their lives. The more often I provide a product they enjoy and ascribe value to, the more my cache as an artist grows. When I get it right, I'm rewarded. Not just with a monetary gain, but a more developed supporter base.

I feel more original artist would benefit with a more refined promotion of their recorded material. Why should I care what other artist do? Well I've often suggested a high tide raises all boats, and to a large extent, the vast majority of music supporters are not inclined to purchase MP3s. It isn't part of their Second life musical experience.

Most artist release recorded material as an ancillary effort to their live show. Yeah, it's available on CD baby, but how many make the jump from the show to CD baby? How many want to deal with all the bullshit of ordering from CD baby and then wait a week for the CD to show up at their house?

There are third party MP3 vendors in Second Life, but simply put, they require instructions and reading instructions should not be part of the product purchase experience. There is a product called “MP3 by Me” that is incredibly unreliable, complicated, and the object actually pays it's creator and then sends your cut back to you. I did use one when I started out, and it magically vanished from my inventory.

There is also the Second Life CD, while not nearly as grim as “MP3 by Me”, it still uses Second Life as a delivery platform and frankly speaking, that is a very weak link. Most that use it are just to intimidated by looking for another solution to do it themselves.

So far with hundreds of sales, I've managed a 100% delivery rate. My system is simple to use, reliable and best of all free to use.

Allow me to sum up why it's so cool to buy MP3s from independent artist.

Every time you buy music from an independent artist you make a big, fat, talentless music business leach cry.

Support Independent music.

Make a Fat Boy Cry.

The Joys of independence

I find it somewhat ironic in the real world there is nothing more corporate then indie music and nothing more mainstream then alternative rock.

I'm sitting here on “Me and My Monkey” release day eve, and hammering out the details of the release. While I defiantly do have help (thanks Harrie), I do an amazing amount of work besides playing shows.

This morning was spend finding and implementing a solution to my web sites play list problem. While I thought I had a solution, it seems Playlist.com would not stream music from my web site to listeners outside the boarders of the USA. A goodly number of my supporters live outside of Mc America, so the situation needed to be addressed. Thanks to the good people at “Groove shark”, my music is once again a global phenomena.

Solutions RAWK!!!!!

I build the web sit, I write the press releases (typos included), do the recordings, prepare the downloads, do the art work, Build the vendor, write the blog, and when time allows I play a show.

I also write the songs.

While it is a lot of work, it's quite rewarding. Sometimes I make a little money, but if money were all that mattered I would do just about anything else. I would probably be a greeter at Wal-mart. Those guys are so wicked cool. But the anticipation of a release is an intoxicating thing. Sometimes I get it right and sometime not so right. I hope to learn from the less then stellar release events and do it better the next time.

Win, lose or draw, I'm the captain of my own destiny. Sometimes I probably work against my own best interest, but that is okay. I'm not taking money out of anybody's pocket but my own. At the end of the day I get it my way.

Yes it's a lot of work, but the work is just part and parcel of the Joys of independence.

"Me and My Monkey" press release

Sunday April 18th, 2010 11:00 AM SLT at Pixel Hill's Water Stage

Call the Neighbors , wake the children Zorch's latest MP3 collection is on the way.

Me and My Monkey

A voice and guitar re-interpretation of 21 Zorch Classics.

1:16 AM
Dance with me
Dream of Kellswater
Everything
Hold back the wind
If I had a song
Johnny boy
A short song about Hell and Heaven
Sweet taste of home
The conversation wasn't over
The hero, the fool, the king and the poet (aka the Poetry song)
The Passion of me
The popes of redemption
The play
the way you love
The yelling man
Twisted Love song
Walls of love
Wanting you is EZ
We all fall down
You talk a lot of shit for a one eyed fat man

The release party will start 11:00 am slt Sunday, April 18th, 2010. The Venue, Pixel hill's Waterstage.
Zorch will perform all the songs from the collection live, and time permitting maybe a few new songs. Note, the play time for the collection is 1:24:46, So expect two hours of EPIC Zorchtastic goodness.

Concurrent with the release date, ZorchBoom.com will be featuring the full play list from “Me and My Monkey”. Feel free to preview before you buy. The collection is also available for purchase at ZorchBoom.com, as well as in world.

Imaginary Frequently Asked Questions about “Me and My Monkey”.

Q. Since all these songs are already available, isn't this a scam?

A. Well you could look at it that way, and I'm sure some will. But the collections featuring the older songs is about to go... out of print (?). “Black and White” and “White and Black” will both be deleted from the Zorch Catalog.

There are several reasons for this deletion. They both have classic songs, and what has been proven over time as superfluous songs. When I say superfluous, I simply mean I don't feature them in the live show very often. The performances have changed over time, and over time my live sound has improved dramatically. “Me and My Monkey” is in essence a live recording with out an audience listening during the recording.

The value of “Me and My Monkey” is it give the listeners a chance to own better recordings of some of the songs that have managed to stay part of the live show for in some cases two years.

Many people are actually unaware of the vast number of collections available at the Zorch Center. I try to keep the number of available collections I carry with me from show to show manageable. Even still I have to wonder how many people feel overwhelmed by the the choices on my humble click pile.

To sum it up. Classic songs, the classic “Zorch sound”, inspired performances and price that factors in around L$100 per-song.

If that is a scam... I'll buy in. But I already have a copy of “Me and My Monkey”.

Q. Are there any new songs on “Me and My Monkey”?

A. Suffice it to say there are two songs that have never been available on any collection. They aren't chronologically speaking new, and have been part of the live show play list for a while.

Fuck you

Wait perhaps that title might seem a bit negative.

Goodness, what will people think? What will people say?

There is an old saying, “Keep your friends close, and you enemies closer”. Most people smile knowingly when this is said, but they are really missing the point. That point being your closer enemies provide you with a protective cushion from the relentless daggers of those whom insist they are friends, and you won't feel all that bad when one of you enemies takes a misdirected blade.

The other day a “So-called” friend informed me she had something to talk to me about. What she really meant was, “We need to talk”. Had she said “We need to talk” I would have been properly warned and avoided her until something shiny distracted her. I would have been living in that more perfect world I long for.

When we finally started communicating (one sided), she had informed me that EVERYBODY in the music community hates me. My friends think I'm an asshole, and I'm too negative.

Gee thanks friend, but you forgot, “I hope you die of aids”.

Of course it might seem like everybody in the music community hates me, because I say a the majority of performers in Second Life suck, and most are so well aware of their short comings they KNOW I'm talking about them.

I also insist most of the self proclaimed experts are full of shit. The movers and shakers in Second Life music are nothing more then fart bubbles in a very small pond.

As for my friends thinking I'm an asshole... well sometimes I am. When it comes to friendship, I'm open to the concept. But I've given up on trying to provide people what they expect from our friendship because I'm never sure what they expect, and some expectations are unreasonable. They are quite welcome to what I have to offer, but expecting more will leave them disappointed.

Am I too negative? Hell no. Sometimes I'm quite positive, but I do negative songs as well. It's called being well rounded. Being honest. Being an artist.

I feel I should state emphatically, I've never intended to become more Popular then the quality of my music could make me. Unnamed people speaking evil of me either have never heard my music, or don't care about the quality of music.

I show up on time, play the best show I can every time, and even when it's not my BEST show it's still vastly better then 98% of the crap posing as music on Second Life. I treat venue owners with courtesy and suggest people stay to watch the act following me no matter how bad they are. I encourage people to tip and vote for the venues and have a pretty solid working relationship everywhere I play.

My more controversial opinions are only expressed on this blog, and perhaps on the Zorch-cast. I'm not a forum troll and I don't start fights in group chats.

I don't even hang out in Second Life, I come to get ready for shows and then play them, then it's back to the warm comforting embrace of real life.

Why do I elicit such strong emotions from people I don't even know? And why do “So-called Friends” insist on telling me that EVERYBODY in the Second Life Music Community hates me? And most important of all..... why do I just not care?

I don't care because it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter because it doesn't effect the music. My music is great and I'm sure when I die everybody will talking about just how great it was. Of course I won't hear them saying that, but I don't need to. I already know how great it is.

As for now, people that do love my music are welcome to attend as many shows as they like. Those that find me an abomination to all they love and hold dear are welcome to avoid me in droves. Hey if you really hate me, you can join my group and avoid me with pin point accuracy.

I sit around writing songs, I sit around playing musical instruments, but I've never sat around wondering how to make people like me. Music is all I have to offer. Great music. And if that is not enough.... Fuck you.

Musing

Today there is no overall arch to the blog, just thinking out loud.

Is less more?

My last few MP3 collections have been pretty big. Nine songs on “Ashes and Dream” and 10 songs on “Shadow and Light”. But the first MP3 collection, Get Zorched had only four songs on it, and it was great. As a matter of fact, “Get Zorched” is one of my all time favorites.

Shorter collection take less time to produce, they cost less to the consumer, and most importantly, they really FOCUS the song selection. I'll admit, there are songs on “Songs in the Key of Green”, “The Sound of Red” and “Shades of Blue” some might consider “Filler”. Yes, they are song I've written, but they are not songs I've played live. I felt at the time as if I was providing people with a more rounded vision of my music. But I don't think they are what the listener was expecting.

The most positive response I've ever gotten from a collection was elicited by “Shadow and Light”. All the songs were performed live, and people had a familiarity with them. “Shadow and Light” also came out in a timely manner so people were not burned out of hearing the songs over and over.

What am I saying here? Well to sum it up, I might be releasing shorter collections but more frequently. Yesterday I overheard somebody commenting they were looking forward to the MP3 collection that had “Sweet Taste of Home” and “Mo Anam Cara” on it. “Sweet taste of home” will be on the upcoming “Me and My Monkey” collection and “Mo Anam Cara” will be on the collection following, tentatively entitled “Emotion and Reason” The Monkey should drop before the end of this month.

Me and my big mouth

I hope I'm not letting the cat out of the bag, but speaking in the broadest of terms, a certain SL Artist web based radio show is considering letting me host a call in radio show. In case you are wondering how that would work, no, my phone number will not be part of the program, you would have to call via Skype.

The owner of this web based radio station seems to think I'm funny. Frankly, I've never seen myself at particularly funny, but maybe I'm not paying attention.

Would anybody listen? Would anybody call? And more importantly, would I say something that will get a lot of people pissed off? About the only thing I'm sure of is it would be entertaining... in a train-wreck kind of way.

When a crazy person tells you to duck... you might want to duck

I've been doing a lot of thinking about the way things work, and while Moody is out of her mind, she has figured out at the most superficial level how the Second Life music scene works. Of course the part she understand has more to do with “scene” then with “music”.

Each passing day I care less and less about the trappings of Second Life music. I don't need to puff up my group numbers, and I don't need to write spiffy notices. I'm not suggesting these things are unimportant, but I am suggesting I don't care about doing them.

In my little fantasy world, I come to a venue, turn on the stream and try my best to do the kind of show that makes people hard core believers. And while I'm sure I'm converting a few, faith is a fleeting thing.

Tips matter

It's been reported to me that one long time supporter was belly aching, “Zorch isn't about fun any more, it seems all he cares about is the amount of his tips”. Of course this grumbler said this after attending a show where the artist playing insisted on how he was all about the fun and he was not worried about the tips. That artist was getting a fee... so he could concentrate on the fun.

I have 12 shows booked this week. Only one pays a fee, and that fee is less then half of what most artist charge in Second Life.

If I were a hobbyist as so many Second Life artist are, things would be different. But just different in how it effects my real life. In other words, if I had a Mc Job, and didn't need tips to pay the rent, Tips would still matter.

Why?

Am I some kind of money grubbing freak?

No, simply put, tips are the most genuine display of appreciation an artist can get. Your wicked cool emotes are nothing more then chatter.

When I get to the half way point of a show and look at my tip jar and see L$ 384 there, I'm not feeling very appreciated.

When tips are good, I don't worry about the tips. I feel the love and attempt to give more of myself. Simply put, the better the tips the better I play. I always play the best show I can, but working against the distraction of people under valuing my efforts makes this quite difficult indeed.

When I play live in real life, I make a lot more money then playing in Second Life. In most cases, I'm haired as incidental music. People enjoy it, but they are eating, or drinking, or trying to make a good impression on their date. In Second Life I'm a musician with an international following. I have an impressive discography, and I get a good deal of play on the web based radio stations.

I'm not looking for some magic solution to my situation here, and I'm not trying to guilt anyone in to giving me better tips. But I am saying, Tips matter. They are the most profound way you can show your appreciation of someones efforts.

To those whom tip me very well, thank you and bless you.

Attendance matters

While tiny tips are distracting, audience or one are even more so.

To those of you that don't have a lot of money to spend in Second Life, let me tell you, when you show up it still makes my day. Once again, when I am playing for “Just the host”, I still try to play the best show I can. But it's hard, real hard. Last week, Thursday I played for a audience of one, and Saturday I played for an audience of 78. It's very hit or miss for me. I never seem to turn the corner.

But to those of you that do show up time after time. Thank you and bless you.

It LIVES!!!!!

Okay things have been somewhat quiet at the old Blog, but when you are up to your ass in alligators it's hard to remember the original job was to drain the swamp.

For the longest time I've intended to update the ZorchBoom.com web site. The last update was concurrent with the release of “Shadow and Light”. Gotta keep things fresh right? Well freshness aside, a while back Imeem, the providers of my playlist sold out to the EVIL that is MySpace, and deleted anything that was not part and parcel of the MUSIC BIDDNESS... meaning my songs. A music page with no music is kind of a waste of time.

I've been diligently been laboring to create my own Flash driven player, but while each version worked, it took a few minuets to load. Nobody wants to wait about. Web sites are all about “Provide me what I want NOW”. So my humble attempts were of no use to me. I was banging my head against the wall and I desperately needed a third party application that would work as Imeem did.

I found such a device via the helpful folks at Google by typing in, “Works like Imeem”. They provided me with several links that were all but useless. But after an few hours of fruitless effort I came across,”Playlist.com”, which seems to have solved my problem.

I spent the better part of this morning creating playlist, uploading songs to my website, and linking them to the players. Bottom line.... the songs are back. Hey, even the Zorch-cast is back.

The website is updated with a fresh new look, and the songs are back, and for the most part I am a happy camper.

Now on to the next project.

I've been working sporadically on my next MP3 collection, a voice and guitar epic entitled, “Me and My Monkey”. This is basically going to be a re-recording of the better songs from “Black and White” and “White and Black”. There will also be two songs I've played for a while live, but never got around to recording included in the collection.

I'm also writing new material for my recording project after “Me and My Monkey”.

Things are moving forward at glacier speeds, but they are moving forward. Expect great things.