Getting Busy: Upcoming Shows

I tend to contradict myself occasionally, but never in a malicious way. It's usually just a matter of not having thought things through before I open my big mouth (or, as the case usually is these days, having started to type before starting to think).

Anyway, I recently mentioned to some friends that I had no shows scheduled in SL for a full month, and wasn't planning on making any efforts to book any. Why? It's certainly not because I dislike performing in Second Life. I always have enjoyed it since I started over three years ago. It's more that other elements of my life -- work, family, love, and so on -- have been busy, and with the small amount of time I had to dedicate to music, I was interested in using it to develop some of the new songs I'm working on at the moment.

Well, that plan didn't pan out. While I did not go searching for gigs, they came searching for me, and I decided not to start turning them down. Besides, with a recording session coming up, I need to get some experience playing the new songs for live audiences. That helped to refine my last batch of songs from my first album a lot. So the upshot of all this is that my dance card is suddenly full.

SAT 4/3/10, 12PM: Zak Claxton Happy Fun Show #5
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/zakclaxton
This is my live video show that anyone can watch on their computer. I've been doing the show every two weeks, and it's pretty fun for both me and whoever wanders in to check it out.

SUN 4/4/10, 2PM: The Notes Shack
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Norwegian%20Forest/163/48/29
My first show back in SL since March 14. The Notes Shack is always a very mellow place with a cool crowd, so it's the perfect low-pressure place to mark my return to SL after a few weeks off.

WED 4/7/10, 4PM: The Pond (Simulcast on FCMC Radio)
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Sakura%20Cove/219/191/22
Stream address: http://thestreamteam1.serverroom.us:4176/
This one is cool. I was contacted by the venue's management since they're starting an all-original evening that's simulcast on FCMC Radio, one of SL's Internet radio stations. If you can't make it to the show in SL, feel free to tune in on your computer regardless. It's a complete hour of my original music, and you can bet I'll be doing at least one of the new ones here. By the way, it's also my first time playing at this venue, and you know I like hitting new places and new people.

SAT 4/10/10, 6PM: Buy Me A Rose
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Hyriasm/114/83/52
I enjoyed my first show at this venue, and decided a Saturday night gig would be possibly fun. After the last show, I'll probably go crazy with the covers. As usual, we'll all see what happens when it happens (I go with whatever mood I'm in at the moment for a show like this, so I"m often as surprised as you are by what I end up playing).

WED 4/14/10, 12PM: Fibber Magees
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Dublin%203/109/228/31/
Every couple of months or so, Cher Harrington contacts me to see if I can play a mid-day show at Fibber Magees, and I invariably say yes, and with good reason. First, I've had some tremendously fun shows there. Second, the Dublin sim often attracts a European crowd who (due to the time difference) are there in the evening after work. It's a good time and place to gain some new fans, and a fun way to spend my lunch hour here in LA.

SAT 4/17/10, 12PM: Zak Claxton Happy Fun Show #6
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/zakclaxton
Yup, we've looped through a couple of weeks, and it'll be time for Episode 6 of the ZCHFS.

So, there we have it... six opportunities to check out my live shows in the first half of April. Try and see one (or more) if you can. I'll try and make it fun for you. Sounds like a good deal for everyone. Win-win. See you there.