Lavender Field/Feed-a-Smile (05.04.24)

Feeding some smiles on a Saturday afternoon. Photo by Kat.

It was early last week when my old friend Brique Topaz reached out to me in SL to see if I was available to perform for a charity benefit show in Second Life, one that I've done many times before... Feed-a-Smile at Lavender Field. I want to tell you about that show that I did on a leisurely Saturday afternoon, but first let's just chat for a bit.

Okay, Um... What's Been Going On?

In the world? Tons of stuff, much of it concerning. For me? Not really a lot. Actually kinda... nothing. I mean, lots of regular things. Lots of work. So much work. But beyond that, nothing super exciting.

So...

Yeah, I know. I mean, there's the stuff I've discussed every day in my Zak's Random News bullets. Major civil unrest on college campuses due to the Israel-Hamas War. The constant horror of daily gun violence in the USA. The dread of six months of craziness preceding the 2024 election. The awareness of potential crazy shit happening afterward, as we saw after the last one.

If you want to look at things more optimistically, I seem to be starting on some new music, and I'd really like to release some this year, both for my solo work and with They Stole My Crayon. Maybe even for something entirely new. So that's good, if I get off my ass and devote some time and energy to it.

Beyond that, it's just normal life, and I can appreciate that. As I got older, I got past the need for things to be constantly happening to keep boredom and ennui from crushing my soul. More to the point, I found that I could find happiness and pleasure via smaller, more focused areas of interest. I don't require huge, earth-shattering events to keep my interest level up. I guess what I'm saying is that normalcy and steadiness and predictability are actually preferable to the alternatives.

Me, on my back patio and enjoying my normal life.

How About That Show?

Yes, the show. Let's do a little background first.

I first became acquainted with Brique Topaz (aka Brique Zeiner in reality) when she asked me to do my first charitable show for her Feed-a-Smile cause in 2011. Brique lives in Germany, but is originally from the same LA-area suburb where I've made my home for decades... Redondo Beach, CA. She went to the same high school my son would attend many years later.

That would be just one of many shows I've done over the subsequent years at her Second Life parcel called Lavender Field, where every show is a fundraising event for Brique's Live and Learn in Kenya, a non-profit organization that directly helps impoverished children in the Ronda/Barut slums of Nakuru, Kenya. While I also have contributed my time to do charitable shows for larger organizations like the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life, the National Kidney Foundation, and many others, the thing I really love about the Feed-a-Smile shows is that I often get to see the direct result of the effort.

A photo from the kids after one of my earliest Feed-a-Smile shows. Nothing could be better than this.

How'd It Go?

Really good. I always seem to do well at benefit-type shows, but I also never seem to get the size of audiences there that I typically get, which is bizarre to me. I think there's an understandable aspect that if a person isn't in a position to contribute to a cause, they don't feel right about attending the fundraiser events. I get that.

At the same time, one way you can show your support is simply being there, which encourages other people to stop by. In any case, everyone is welcome at any benefit show I do, whether or not they can donate funds.

Having fun with my little crowd and raising some cash for a great cause. Photo by Kat.

My view from the stage. Photo by Kat.

And even with my relatively tiny crowd, we still pulled in over L$10,000 total, meaning we'd raised enough funds for about 100 hot meals for the kids. Look, I would have otherwise spent Saturday sitting on my ass and contributing very little to the world, if anything at all. I figure my karma bank can always use a boost in the right direction.

Funny side note... I do try and put on some fresh clothing for my little digital guy before each show, even if it usually just means changing my shirt. Before my show at Feed-a-Smile on Saturday, I removed my shirt to change, and for a moment was like, "What the fuck is going on?" because I somehow had a cactus where my chest had previously been. Then I realized that I still had the alpha texture on, and was seeing a plant sitting behind me that happened to be aligned with my position. Sometimes Second Life is silly.

Cactus man is ready to rock.

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

Airport Bar (Martin Courtney)

Landslide (Fleetwood Mac)

Perfectly Calm (They Stole My Crayon)

Among the Leaves (Sun Kil Moon) 

Pink Moon (Nick Drake)

Hunger Strike (Temple of the Dog)

Something Else (Zak Claxton)

Teach Your Children (CSNY)

Cat's In the Cradle (Harry Chapin) 

I Am A Child (Neil Young)

Radio Free Europe (R.E.M.) 

Hummingbird (Seals & Crofts)

Peace Love & Understanding (Elvis Costello)

Huge thanks to everyone who came to the show and especially those who contributed to this amazing cause, with special thanks to Brique Topaz for keeping it going year in, and year out!