Rocking Hotel Chelsea on my birthday. Photo by Kat.
What's Been Happening?
Well, I mean, usual stuff. By that, I mean I get up every weekday, write my news bullets, work out, do my job, have work meetings, eat, relax in the evenings, and sleep. None of it sounds very exciting, but if there's one thing I've learned in recent years, it's that excitement is very overrated.
There's a beauty in routine. When I was a kid, I always wanted something to happen that was out of the ordinary. Even bad things. I'd be in a high school geometry class and would actually hope an earthquake would hit because it would break up the repetitive monotony of the day. But honestly, between the political/social turmoil of the past 10 years and the pandemic and the loss of both of my parents and all manner of small but personally significant life events, I've had enough of "living in interesting times". So when I describe my life in some manner that seems mundane, well... it's not a complaint.
I Am Old
Not really. Sort of. I did just have a birthday, so I am definitely older than I was previously. But every passing millisecond, I, and you, and the universe and everything, are older than we were before. You don't need a full orbit of the local star to actually be older.
But I will tell you a story. When I was in my late teens in the '80s, I got a job -- first as a cashier and then as a salesperson -- for a local furniture chain. The manager of the store where I worked was a great guy whom I liked a lot. His name was Mitch. I remember one day asking Mitch how old he was. He said he was 53, and I recall thinking that was pretty old. Even a person in their thirties seems old to a teenager, for that matter.
That's me playing bass and doing backing vocals on the right, about 20 years old.
Well, now I'm older than old Mitch was in 1988. So it's really all about perspective. Do I feel old? Not really, though I definitely have different physical limitations than I did when I was young. That being said, having worked out nearly every morning for the past 12 years or so, I am probably stronger and more limber now than I was in my thirties.
Old is as much an outlook as it is a reality based on the amount of time one has been alive. Some of the things that might make me seem younger than my years are purely genetic, or based on some environmental situations that differ in various places and with various behaviors. And I'm not fooling myself; my beard is solid gray, I have a big bald spot on the back of my head, I definitely have the typical wrinkles and other telltale signs of no longer being youthful, I have a collection of flab in various places on my body, and I have a plethora of little physical ailments that crop up here and there.
I'm old but I'm cool. That's preferable to young and... not.
But I also listen to new music all the time and keep up with current cultural and social trends. I don't immerse myself in nostalgia, or pine for any "good old days" from my previous years. I have friends and acquaintances who span age ranges from their early twenties to their late seventies, and their perspectives rub off on me as well.
Anyway, all this is to say that I don't spend a lot of time being concerned with being older than I was before. I really try, all the time, to not allow things that are inevitable to be causes of stress in my life. I don't take any big measures to look younger than I am. In short, I feel like I look pretty good and am in reasonably good health compared to other people who are my age. I am older, and I'm fine with it.
Lauren Payton
Yesterday wasn't all full of fun. I was shocked and saddened to hear about the passing of Lauren Payton, a woman whom I first met under her Second Life name of Maddison Thespian, and then continued to interact with via Facebook. Lauren was sweet, funny, silly, kind, and was full of love and pride for her daughter Liberty (aka Libby), who was born 16 months ago.
I don't know what happened to Lauren. I know that she seemed to be very much alive and vibrant just a couple of weeks ago. She wasn't very old at all (definitely a good deal younger than me), and she hadn't said anything about fighting any illnesses or other things that would lead to her demise. I have to assume that some kind of accident happened, or that she was afflicted with a sudden fatal health event that was previously undiagnosed, or that perhaps she was the victim of some sort of violence. Without any details offered, I have no way of knowing. Regardless of the cause, I am saddened by her death, I will miss her, and send my condolences to her family and other friends.
Kat and I at LAX, getting ready to head to Minneapolis for the SL Twin Cities Jam in September 2016, when Lauren appeared out of nowhere and did a perfect photobomb of our selfie.
Cowgirl Creamery
Getting past that sad news, I do want to talk about the show itself, but first I'm going to fast-forward to a post-show event. As I mentioned, it was my birthday, but it was also the birthday of my significant other, the lady known as Kat Claxton. Yes, we have the same birthday, just one year apart. Since we share a birthday, we tend to get presents for each other that both of us can enjoy, and Kat's idea this year was divine.
When my mom was alive and well, she would occasionally gift us a batch of cheese from the folks at Cowgirl Creamery, a business based in Northern California. Their artisan cheeses are nothing short of mind blowing, and they've won tons of awards for their amazing products. It had been a long while, perhaps two years or so, since we were last able to enjoy any of their superb comestibles. So instead of waiting for someone else to gift us with a delightful batch of cheesy deliciousness, we did it ourselves, and picked up their "Ultimate Cowgirl Experience" collection of six cheeses that, in my expert cheesy opinion, all rank among the best cheeses in the world. They ship it overnight in a cooled container, and the cheese is perfect upon arrival at your front door.
After my show, we headed downstairs and, along with my son and his mother, had a little cheese party. We had some good crackers along with some charcuterie meats and olives and dark chocolate to accompany and palate-cleanse between cheese bites, and did a sampling of every cheese in the collection. Let me tell you, no king has eaten as well as we did for that meal. Although every single cheese they make is outstanding, I have to say that my personal favorite is their Red Hawk, a washed rind triple cream made with organic, locally sourced milk. It's a bold cheese -- meaning that if you're averse to stinky cheese, you won't handle it well. But it is so incredibly good, and I've never tasted anything else like it. Wow.
Lordy. Such cheese. So full of goodness.
Hey, How About That Show?
Well, I just love the folks at Hotel Chelsea. They are unquestionably among the most supportive patrons of the arts in all of Second Life. I have to tip my hat to their resident events manager, Shyla the Super Gecko. Especially considering that Shyla is, indeed, an avatar in the shape of an adorably funny lizard, I'm never quite sure what pronoun to use for them. But Shyla does a fantastic job managing the stream of artists who perform at Chelsea, and at least in the case of my shows there, they are also a terrific fan who truly seems to appreciate the show itself.
Anyway, I arrived at the venue and right away I saw that Shyla had set up a birthday display with cake and balloons and signs. That was... I mean, Second Life venue owners don't have to do things like that. Sure, it's a small thing, but it shows a depth of caring that you can't expect in any world, virtual or otherwise. I was touched by the gesture.
I wasn't expecting the birthday decor during my show. Hotel Chelsea and its manager Shyla the Super Gecko are just the best. Photo by Kat.
Having fun and playing tunes on a Tuesday night. Photo by Kat.
And the show itself went great. I had no opening artist before me, and SL was fucking up in one of its more common ways, which meant my manager had trouble getting to her friends list or her groups, so sending out invite spam to get people to the show was an issue. No worries; I sent out some notices and so did the venue, and we had a little little crowd from the start which grew as the evening progressed.
I felt like both my voice and guitar were behaving as expected for the entire show, which is always appreciated. Due to things just being busy lately, I haven't taken the time to learn any new songs to perform for a little while, and that's something I want to rectify before my next show. But all in all, this show went well, and my repertoire is big enough that I'm always able to pull out songs that I haven't done in months or even years, so I think I have enough variety in there to keep my steady fans from having to hear the same tunes over and over.
Looking happy in avatar form. Photo by Kat.
Hotel Chelsea set list...
Fly Like An Eagle (Steve Miller Band)
Perfectly Calm (They Stole My Crayon)
Friday I'm In Love (The Cure)
Pretty Pimpin (Kurt Vile)
Pink Moon (Nick Drake)
Among the Leaves (Sun Kil Moon)
Gardenia (Iggy Pop)
How Soon Is Now? (The Smiths)
Jesus Ranch (Tanecious D)
Free Man in Paris (Joni Mitchell)
Bull Black Nova (Wilco)
Nowhere Man (The Beatles)
The Rainbow Connection (Kermit the Frog)
Huge thanks to everyone who came out to the show, with super extra special thanks to the following who helped support it!
KarlPeterKP Resident, Maurice Mistwallow, Kitzie Lane, Tyche Szondi, Kat Claxton, AutumnFoxx Sutherland, Triana Caldera, my terrific manager Maali Beck, Hotel Chelsea manager Shyla the Super Gecko, and Chelsea's great staff!
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