Lavender Field/Feed-a-Smile (04.29.23)

Rocking Lavender Field for Feed-a-Smile. Photo by Kat.

Well, hello there. How ya' been? I've missed you too.

I was supposed to have performed at Lavender Field for the Feed-a-Smile charity back in February... which turned to to be literally the week I finally got COVID and was in no shape to sing for a good long while. My friend Brique Zeiner (aka Brique Topaz in SL), who runs the charity in Second Life, actually hit me up to play last weekend, but I was still getting my voice back from the NAMM Show and again was in no condition to do a vocal performance. But I told her to give me a week, which she did, and I was super happy on Saturday to finally get back on that stage once again.

What Is Feed-a-Smile?

It's probably my favorite charitable organization, though obviously any charitable use of your music is appreciated by those impacted. The thing I like most about Feed-a-Smile is that a) I know the funds are going in a straight line to the recipients in need, and b) I selfishly get to see the direct results of my efforts. Today's show, which featured myself as well as Rock Doghouse/Taiko Silversmith and Twostep Spiritweaver/Beth Odets performing earlier, raised 424 meals for the kids in Nukura, Kenya. The charity is the Second Life arm of Live & Learn in Kenya, a a registered non-profit charity NGO based in Germany. I try and do 1-2 shows each year for this cause, and it's always fun.

LLK battles the desolation, hunger and thirst, poverty, illiteracy, AIDS, child prostitution, and other tragic realities that affect children living within the Ronda/Barut slums. Anything I can do to make just a few of their lives better in any way, even for a short while, is a deposit in my own personal karma bank. I've never once regretted doing a show for them.

A pic sent to me after one of my earlier Feed-a-Smile shows all the way back in 2011. Amazing.

My Homegirl Brique

While LLK is based in Selb, Germany, one of its principals is Brique Zeiner, a woman who coincidentally grew up in the area that I've made my home for most of my life: Redondo Beach, CA. As I mentioned during my show, Brique's SL name of Topaz comes from a street name in my city. Note for no reason at all: the streets in the southern part of Redondo Beach are all named after gemstones or the names of Latina women. So you have Agate, Beryl, Diamond, Emerald, Ruby and so on, and then Irena, Juanita, Guadalupe, Lucia, Paulina, and so on as cross streets. In North Redondo, for some reason, streets are named after wealthy industrialists...  Huntington, Carnegie, Rockefeller, Pullman, Vanderbilt and the like. Ew.

Brique Zeiner, an angel in human form.

What Else is Up?

Oh, you know. Just the usual things. I got through the NAMM Show, my annual huge work event, a couple of weeks ago. It was fine. I've been very consistently writing my daily "Zak's Random News" aggregation of current events in bullet point form, and people claim to like it and benefit from it.

Little story in that regard. I write those bullets in one continuous word processing document, making it easy to keep a word count. I started it almost a year ago, on May 17, 2022. It's just passed 343,000 words, which is crazy. Granted, a lot of it is simply info that I grab elsewhere and then edit and arrange it to my own style. It's not like writing a novel of actual original creative work. But at 343,000 words, it's longer than any Harry Potter book. Longer than A Game of Thrones. Way longer than Moby Dick, Crime and Punishment, or East of Eden. Shit, it's coming up on Don Quixote and David Copperfield.

I write way too much. You have no idea.

Hey, How About That Show?

Oh, right. Yes. So, I've been performing really sporadically as of late, something I'm starting to rectify with a couple of show this month (and another coming next Tuesday). What that means is that I really need to make sure my voice and hands are well warmed up and I'm fully prepared to do a show. Singing and playing an instrument are physical activities, and if you don't stay practiced, your skills do diminish. Trust me on this.

That just meant I made sure to take some time this past week with a guitar in my hands, running through some tunes and rebuilding my vocal strength and hardening my finger calluses on my fretting hand. By the time I hit the stage on Saturday, I felt fine and ready to rock. The set was a mosh-mosh of tunes that would hold some familiarity and appeal across a range of folks; at a fundraiser, the goal is never to chase people off with weird tunes that don't inspire generosity toward the cause.

Me, rocking some tunes and feeding some smiles. Photo by Kat.

Not a huge crowd but a generous one, and everyone seemed to have fun. Photo by Kat.

And apparently a big fan of They Stole My Crayon was present as well. Photo by Kat.

I did, as usual, pick a number of songs that were thematically appropriate to the purpose of the day. It seemed to work; between my generous crowd and those of the other artists performing before me, we definitely raised an acceptably great number of donations. I am really glad I did that show, and know there will be many more Feed-a-Smile shows in my future.

Lavender Field/Feed-A-Smile set list...

I Am A Child (Neil Young)

Doctor My Eyes (Jackson Browne)

California (Joni Mitchell) 

Crosses (José González)

Northern Sky (Nick Drake)

Among the Leaves (Sun Kil Moon)

Airport Bar (Martin Courtney)

Hunger Strike (Temple of the Dog)

Thank U (Alanis Morissette)

Loading Zones (Kurt Vile)

Bag of Nothing (They Stole My Crayon)

What I Got (Sublime)

Any Major Dude (Steely Dan)

*Feed-a-Smile Theme (Zak Claxton)

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

Thanks to everyone who was present for my show at Lavender Field for Feed-a-Smile! I have no way of knowing who donated and how much, but you're all heroes to me (especially Brique Topaz!). Here are some of you that were there...

Maali Beck, Beth Thane, hynesyte Harbour, Trouble Streeter, Larry The Panda, AutumnFoxx Melchior, Magnus Melchior, Beth Odets, A. Clavdivs Caesar Avgvstvs, Kat Claxton, Rock Doghouse, Katie Canucci, and anyone I missed. You're awesome!