Telling Stories Park/Sewell-Tisane Wedding Reception (04.23.22)

A nice day for a virtual world wedding. Photo by Kat.

I was sitting here one day, and... wait. Where is here? Here's something interesting: as you're reading this little bunch of words, you are sitting on a spinning rock in space, orbiting a star that is itself orbiting a black hole at the center of a galaxy, which is itself moving at ridiculous speed through the universe. Sitting there in your seat, those numbers combine to about 530 miles per second. So no matter where you were at the start of that sentence, you are now, referenced from some fixed point in space, thousands of miles away, and you'll never be back to where you were again, never in the remaining history of the universe. And don't get me started on the concept of "when".

Anyway -- where was I? Ah yes. I was sitting here (ha!) and my manager Maali Beck pinged me and asked if I could play a wedding reception event on April 23. I didn't know the betrothed couple, but it sounded like a fun show so I told her to book it. And that is how I ended up performing at the wedding reception for Crash Sewell and Tara Tisane, held at a lovely place in Second Life called Telling Stories Park.

Figuring Out What to Play
As you likely know, when I am doing one of my own typical shows, I tend to play whatever I feel like, occasionally only limiting my set selections based on some kind of theme I've chosen beforehand, or when I occasionally tweak things to match my songs to the audience who I know frequents certain places.

But for something like this, I have to look at things differently. Being hired as entertainment for a specific event where the live music is just part of the experience makes the choice of music a little more important. I tried putting together a list on my own, but not being familiar with the folks being married, I decided to reach out to them the day before the event to ask if they had any specific requests of certain music styles.

It turned out to be a good idea. Tara pointed out that the two other people who'd be playing, my friends Grace McDunnough and FrankLee Anatra, both tended to play softer music, and perhaps I could do some more uptempo stuff. That's all I needed to hear. I should note that I often do shows that are as introspective and mellow as either Grace or FrankLee, but I didn't at all mind being the more rocking section of the day.

I'm glad I inquired about what the bride and groom wanted me to play. This wasn't my show; it was theirs, and I wanted them to be happy. Photo by Kat.

The Wedding Singer

I'm gonna tell you something. In ye olde real world, wedding gigs are a lucrative thing for working musicians. I have many friends in bands and solo performers who pay their rent and bills and keep themselves fed doing a combination of weddings, bar mitzvahs, corporate events and the like. Not every musician has their sights set on the glamorous world of touring clubs and theaters to play their original music to disinterested fans. Or, for those who may once have gone down that road previously, they find that these types of shows allow them to use their musical talents and live performance skills in an environment less likely to cause poverty and insanity.

In my old cover bands, I've done a number of weddings, and they were all really great gigs. You tend to get tipped and fed and appreciated. They're usually comfortable shows where you just go in, play your set, receive adoration, and get home at a reasonable hour. I'd do those any day.

So there's no shame in doing event-type musical entertainment. None at all. In fact, it's really an honor to think that people -- who presumably will want to remember their wedding day for the rest of their lives -- want you to have an important role within their moment. That's cool.

Two points here. First, this was my first SL show for over two years that I didn't wear a mask. I am still masked in public settings in real life. However... at this event, in a wide open outdoor space, I would not be wearing a mask, and so I wasn't here either. Second, Maali made me wear a suit, and I do have to admit that my typical slacker musician look wouldn't have been appropriate for the wedding environment, so I'm glad I dressed up a bit. Photo by Kat.

How Was The Show, Though?

Oh, it was great. The Telling Stories Park area was a pretty, open space (as the name "park" implies). I arrived about halfway through Grace's set. She is always so fucking great. I don't mean only as a musician and songwriter; she's just one of those very special people in the world. I miss that time frame for a couple of years when she'd perform before me at the now-defunct Serenity Gardens; I'd arrive a bit early every time just to hear her gig, as I did for this show.

I mentioned earlier that I'd retooled my set to be a little more upbeat, but I kept in a number of the love-themed songs that I'd already chosen. I also decided that wedding receptions are supposed to be fun, so I threw in some more of my odd covers, while sticking to songs that people would recognize. As much as I love playing new indie music that no one in my audience has heard before, there's a time and place for that, and this wasn't it.

The show itself went great, and everyone seemed to be having a good time. I was being my usual self, full of both musical and conversational idiocy, and folks were enjoying the set. It wasn't a bad way to spend a Saturday afternoon at all. 

This sim was huge and people were kinda spread all over the place. You can see the bride and groom cutting their cake and taking pics a good long distance from the stage area. Photo by Kat.

Finishing my show, as FrankLee Anatra got ready to perform, I took a quick dip in the waterfall behind me. Even after all these years in SL, I had this momentary but real-feeling irrational thought about ruining my suit before remembering the the suit wasn't there, nor the waterfall, nor the water, nor me. I still removed my guitar first. Photo by Kat.

Sewell-Tisane Wedding set list...

Doctor My Eyes (Jackson Browne)

Pecan Pie (Golden Smog) 

Everyday I Write the Book (Elvis Costello)

God Only Knows (Beach Boys)

I Believe When I Fall In Love (Stevie Wonder)

Hand In Pocket (Alanis Morissette)

Hummingbird (Seals & Crofts)

Carolina in My Mind (James Taylor)

Afternoon Delight (Starland Vocal Band)

Northern Sky (Nick Drake)

I Feel The Earth Move (Carole King)

Our House (Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young)

*Crash & Tara Improv (Zak Claxton)

*Indicates the first time I've performed this song in SL.

Special thanks to Crash Sewell and Tara Tisane-Sewell for choosing me for your wedding day entertainment, to my great manager Maali Beck for her hard work, and everyone who enjoyed the show!