A beautiful fall day at Lutz City of Templemore. Perfect vibe for my music. Photo by Kat.
That being said, some random number of months will go by and then someone from Templemore — this time being Katsumi Ayashi — will pop up, perhaps in my Facebook messages, and ask if I'm available on some random date and time. And I can't remember once where I didn't instantly accept, and then rearrange my scheduling conflicts accordingly. It's just a terrific gig. I'm always happy to play there.
What Else Is Up?
So much shit is going on in the world that I'm hesitant to bring up any of it. Here's all I'm gonna say: every day, you face a battle, but it might not be what you assume it is. There are the day-to-day aspects of earning a living, being a responsible person for yourself and your loved ones, and generally getting through this thing called life under normal and typical circumstances. That, in and of itself, can be a big challenge.
And then there are bigger picture things, like doing your part — however small it might be — to assist in saving the whole-ass world from fascism and bigotry and authoritarianism and injustice. And once you take on that battle, it's far too easy to ignore your important day-to-day life, along with the other things that make life worth living.
I'm not immune from feeling overwhelmed... but I'm never hopeless. Despite all the madness of the world, I remain a pretty optimistic and generally happy person. And part of that stems from not giving up or giving in. The very act of fighting back is what helps the most.
So part of the battle is with yourself... doing what you can to stay informed and awake, and to make the world a better place in which to live for all people, and still not allowing yourself to be in despair as a result. I don't know if it's comforting or not to know this, but every person of conscience faces the same conundrum. The key — as is the case for much of life — is balance. And if you're like me, you'll find yourself making constant adjustments so that all important aspects of your life (and that of the people who depend on you) get taken into consideration. It ain't easy!
How Was The Show?
I'll start by saying it had been a good while — like, years — since I had a morning show in SL, and I forgot that I actually enjoy getting up, getting my ass ready, and jumping onstage. You have a good sense of accomplishment when it's not even noon and you already were being a rock star for an hour. So that's hoe this Sunday morning went... out of bed, showered and dressed, caffeinated, warmed up, and next thing you know I was getting onstage.
I've never had a bad show at Templemore (except the one time my stream didn't work and I had to angrily cancel and do a live video show instead), and that one doesn't count since I didn't get to play. This show was terrific. Well attended — especially for an early morning time slot! And the set list came together very well.
Me onstage, doing my thing. Maali basically insisted that I put on a Santa hat, and I suppose that was the right thing to do for a mid-December show. Pohot by Kat.
One nice thing about Templemore: they have a terrific community, and I can almost always count on a good-sized crowd popping up at my shows there... even at 10am on a Sunday morning. Photo by Kat.
And — as I've raved about many times before — Templemore is one of the most artistic and detailed builds in the virtual world of Second Life. My respect to Luis Lockjaw and his design team is through the roof. Photo by Kat.
My only notes in that regard... I know that from mid-December on, it is very much expected to do holiday music. And I really do like doing traditional Christmas songs. It's just really easy to burn out on them as a performer. So what I do is spread them out over however many Christmastime shows I end up doing (as opposed to repeating the same ones over and over), and that way I don't feel like a jukebox at the North Pole.
The final note is that it had been so long since I'd done my own song "Lines On Your Eyes" that I had to get on YouTube and listen to it so I could relearn how to play it. I just checked my show archives, and the last time I played it live was in May 2015, over ten years ago. It went well, and I think I'll bring it back into the set list a little more often.
Not that I want to start doing a bunch of morning shows, but one thing that any online performer can tell you: there are people in various time zones around the world, and simply by doing a set at a different point in the day, you'll see people in your crowd who'd never typically be able to make it to your show. Photo by Kat.
I actually enjoyed getting up early on a Sunday, getting myself ready, and getting onstage. I used to do that from time to time for shows in SL, and I'd forgotten that there's an appeal to starting your whole day by performing live music. I felt pretty good for the remainder of my Sunday after the show was done. Photo by Kat.
Templemore set list...
Don’t Let It Pass (Junip)
River Man (Nick Drake)
Hannah Sun (Lomelda)
Long December (Counting Crows)
Among the Leaves (Sun Kil Moon)
Alison (Elvis Costello)
Lines On Your Eyes (Zak Claxton)
Sour Girl (Stone Temple Pilots)
Ironic (Alanis Morrisette)
Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas (Blane/Martin)
Closer (Nine Inch Nails)
How Soon Is Now? (The Smiths)
It’s The Most Wonderful Time of the Year (Andy Williams)
Massive thanks to everyone who hung out for my show at Templemore bright and early on Sunday, with super extra thanks to the following who helped support it!
Amaya Mavinelli, , Chloe Smythe, Katsumi Ayashi, Rhia Janick, Tera Vanilla, Maya Lockjaw, Semiiina Resident, Celtic3147 Resident, Kat Claxton, my terrific manager Maali Beck, and most of all to Luis Lockjaw and all the people who keep the stages at Templemore rumbling!
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