Zak Claxton Happy Fun Show (04.14.13)

VIDEO LINK

We musicians are always looking for different ways to be heard. Sometimes, it's easier to be seen than heard, which is one reason why back in 2009, I started doing regular video-based live shows via Ustream. I called my little program "The Zak Claxton Happy Fun Show", and it worked out well for awhile, and I was doing Ustream shows every couple of weeks. But then my SL performance schedule ramped upwards, and I was spending more time working on new music, so it had been about a full year since my last ZCHFS.

Finding myself with a hole in my schedule last weekend, I decided to resurrect the show at noon on a pleasant Sunday. There's really no downside to doing shows on Ustream, other than forcing your audience to sit through an ad or two (which always seem to come up in the middle of whatever their favorite song is). The show itself is pretty simple: just a version of my typical SL show, except people are watching me bounce around in my little office/studio in my home in Redondo Beach, as opposed to a pixelated representation of myself in a virtual environment. We had fun, and so did our little crowd. Song-wise, I did more of my own stuff than I usually do in a typical SL show, but also had a nice batch of covers mixed in as well.

If you want to skip to a highlight (or, really, a lowlight) in the video above, go up to 01:03:31, close to the end, and watch as I do a fast Townshend-esque strum coming out of the solo section of "Shine". Yeah, here's a new one: I caught the index fingernail of my strumming hand under the high E string, something that I don't think has ever happened before in my 36+ years of playing the guitar. It sheared off a corner, which then jabbed into the underside of the fingernail. So basically, that sucked, but I was able to repair it pretty easily after the show.

I'd caption the pics below, but basically they're "me playing music and being silly in a room". Beyond that, feel free to write your own imaginary captions.









ZCHFS Set List...
This Afternoon (Zak Claxton)
Northern Sky (Nick Drake)
Falling Down (Zak Claxton)
Broken Day (Zak Claxton)
Frigid Spring (Chairlift)
Always Tomorrow (Zak Claxton)
California (Joni Mitchell)
Edith and the Kingpin (Joni Mitchell)
Lines On your Eyes (Zak Claxton)
Valentine's Day (David Bowie)
Shine (Zak Claxton)
Tribute (Tenacious D)

Big thanks to the friends and fans who hung out and had fun with me!