The Islands of New England (02.10.16)

What's a typical day in the life of a virtual rock star like? I'm glad you asked.

First, you wake up before dawn. Why? Because you have a job, and you have a kid to get to school, and tons of other responsibilities. You work all day, hopefully being a productive member of society. You experience the typical successes and failures, elations and frustrations, that most people experience in the ongoing rollercoaster that most of us recognize as a typical life. But then, toward the day's end, instead of doing whatever it is that most people do, you strap on a guitar, set up some microphones, and you forget pretty much everything that you did previous to then, because at that moment, your sole purpose in life is to bring joy to others, and lose yourself in the process for an hour or so. And then, when it's done, you thank people, and maybe 30 seconds after that, you're doing things like making dinner, taking out the trash, helping your kid with his/her homework, and other things that people generally do.

Exciting, isn't it? So basically, your day goes "wake up, normal person, normal person, normal person, normal person, normal person, ROCK STAR, normal person, normal person, sleep".

You may laugh, but personally, I think we have an advantage over those rock stars who are, um, actual rock stars. For one thing, I can go to the grocery store without people staring at me. I can eat in a restaurant without constantly being besieged by autograph seekers. And there's not a long line of people wanting to sponge off my fame. Granted, we virtual rock stars don't make the money that real rock stars do... except many of us do, because we have jobs and stuff. You'd be shocked at how many relatively well-known performing musicians don't make nearly the income that you would suspect they do, especially in an age where music sales can provide only pennies for dozens of plays. They make their dough on touring and merchandise sales, which brings up another thing. I can wrap up a meeting for my actual vocation, and then be playing a show a few minutes later, without all the hellishness that comes from traveling from city to city to do tours. Again, the grass isn't always greener.

Photos by Kat.

I suppose at this point, I can tell you that last night's show at The Islands of New England was really pretty great, but then, why wouldn't it be? It's a cool venue where my friends and fans feel welcomed, with a great set of hosts. I've never felt pressured to play in any particular musical style there; they are totally accepting of whatever I feel like doing, from the normal to the extremely weird. There are no dress codes there. It's purely a place where people can come out and enjoy themselves with music performed live, and I ask for nothing more. One extra fun note, don'tcha know; I performed directly after my friend (and fellow Maali Beck Entertainment artist) Taunter Goodnight, which is always a pleasure.

TIONE set list...
Airport Bar (Martin Courtney)
Nothing Compares 2 U (Prince)
Pink Moon (Nick Drake)
Starman (David Bowie)
I've Been Waiting for You (Neil Young)
Wish You Were Here (Pink Floyd)
Thanks Anyway (Zak Claxton)
Bag of Nothing (They Stole My Crayon)
Sleeper in the Valley (Laura Veirs)
California (Joni Mitchell)
Gardenia (Iggy Pop)
Fade Away (Zak Claxton)
Loser (Beck)

Massive thanks to everyone who came out to TIONE and checked out my show, including the following who helped support it!
Sheila Morlim, Brooklyn Breen, Richy Nervous, Rey Tardis, Alexis Fairlady, Kat Claxton, RansomTalmidge Resident, Tpenta Vanalten, Aurelie Chenaux, TheaDee Resident, Taunter Goodnight, Sassy Nicely, Smidge Frimon, my excellent manager Maali Beck, New England host Sesh Kamachi, and its great manager Christine Haiku!