Four New Songs That You Can't Hear... Yet

Me, enjoying an IBC Black Cherry soda and thinking about new songs.

I haven't written much about the new album I'm working on... mostly because I haven't been.

Yes, we went into the studio last May, raring to roll on the next Zak Claxton album. We recorded a couple of songs I think will turn out great: "Shine" and "Time Never Waits for You". But the reality of the situation is that both of those songs had been written before my last album was even released. Ultimately, while I had a bunch of ideas and snippets going back to mid-2009, for whatever reason, my muse wasn't working with me, and I didn't feel inspired to finish the songs.

Until now.

In the past couple of weeks, I've finished four, count them, FOUR new songs. All of them will be recorded soon enough at Sound Sanctuary Recording Studios, with the same group of misfits and malcontents that we used on the last album (namely Phil O'Keefe, Bunny Knutson, and Ken Lee). I have a session coming up on March 19, and we're in the process of choosing two of the new songs to do that day, and scheduling another session on top of that one as quickly as possible to record the others.

Anyway, by refining some of the musical themes I'd had and writing lyrics, there are four new ZC songs that hardly anyone has heard yet:

• Change the Night
• Look Out for Me
• Perfect Girl
• The Other Way

I'm very excited about each of them. Many songwriters will tell you that songs are like children, and you can't pick and choose favorites. That's fucking bullshit. I know that some of my songs are stronger than others. It's a tangible thing, like looking at two of your kids and realizing one is taller than the other. However, I do like each of my songs for different reasons, and that's as true of these four new tunes as it is of any I've ever written.

That having been said, I really believe that three of these new songs -- I won't say which ones -- are among the best pop tunes I've ever written in my life. As a typical indie singer-songwriter, you don't want to get to excited about the potential for a song's success... there are just too many variables involved to say with any honesty, "This will definitely be a hit!"

But what you can do is put everything you have into each song so that the potential for success is there, and with a few of the new ones, I firmly believe that to be true. I'll probably get even more excited about them when we get into the studio and they take on something new with the addition of my friends Phil, Bunny, and Ken making their contributions.

Writing new songs makes me thirsty.

What Are These Songs Like?
I hate trying to describe music in words. I can tell you that all of them will be immediately recognizable as Zak Claxton songs, but some of my other strong influences from artists like the Police, the Foo Fighters, Nirvana, the Cars, Weezer, and others will be noticeable with some of the tunes.

As I mentioned, we'll be recording two of them on March 19, and at that point I'll be happy to share the songs with you as usual. Also, I'll be doing live performances of these songs at upcoming shows in Second Life and on StreamJam, so be sure to catch me when you can.

Report: Zak Live on StreamJam ep. XV (02.09.11)

First off, my apologies for there being no audio/video record of this show. When I signed off my video stream at the end of my show, I was semi-delirious as usual after performing, and somehow I hit a button that said, "Sure, go ahead and erase all the shit you just recorded, you freakin' idiot." In any case, it's probably a good thing... not because it was a bad show (it definitely wasn't), but because I did debut a brand new song, and one's first performance of a tune isn't exactly the one you want captured for all time.

But enough of all that. Last night's StreamJam show was fantastic. One of the things I like the most about doing live shows in an environment as pervasive and accessible as Facebook is the fact that just about everyone can come to the show. Obviously there's the aspect of having attendees from disparate locations around the globe, but since just about everyone has a Facebook account, it's possible for just about anyone -- schoolmates, former teenage hoodlums, old co-workers, and current pals -- to come check out a Zak Claxton show.

I awoke yesterday a little concerned about a soreness in my throat -- we've had a bug rampaging around the neighborhood, inflicting my son with a case of bronchitis -- but by showtime last night, I felt fine, and had no problems hitting the notes I needed. The guitar was cooperating as well. I have no complaints at all, and the thrown-together set list worked out nicely. As previously mentioned, it was also the worldwide live debut of my newest song, "Change the Night", which I'm starting to like a lot.

SJ #15 Set List...
You're Like a Cloud (Zak Claxton)
This Afternoon (Zak Claxton)
Shine (Zak Claxton)
Thanks Anyway (Zak Claxton)
*Change the Night (Zak Claxton)
Falling Down (Zak Claxton)
Always Tomorrow (Zak Claxton)
Black Phoebe (Zak Claxton)
Triana (Zak Claxton)
Come Around (Zak Claxton)
Lines on Your Eyes (Zak Claxton)

*Indicates my first ever performance of this song.

Giant thanks to all the great friends/fans who spent some of their Wednesday night with me and my music!

Coming soon: San Diego SL Jam & Meetup (Feb 25-27)

OFFICIAL EVENT LINK FOR MORE INFO

A few months ago, I started hearing the whispers of plans being made for a Second Life music jam and meetup in San Diego, CA. Well, I was interested on a number of levels.

There have been a number of meetups and jam sessions for SL musicians, but none have them have been in places that are easily accessible for me. As a full-time Dad and a small business owner, it's no mean feat for me to take time off and galavant about the country in order to rock with people. Still, one previous event in particular really grabbed my attention: the fall 2009 SL jam in Texas. It looked like a whole lot of fun, and there were a number of SL musicians there who I'd been friendly with over the years. Since they broadcast the event both in SL and on video via Ustream, it was very fun watching the real-life personas of my musician friends rocking together on a little stage.

Since then, there have been other SL jams that I'd have loved to attend, but were too far away to really consider. But this time, the event is only a two-hour drive south of here. So, I've confirmed my appearance there, and my lady Kat and pal Triana Caldera will be joining me there. Triana, in fact, is flying out from Minnesota just for this rockfest. That's dedication!

Why Don't You Come Too?
Trust me: no matter where you are in late February, San Diego is going to be better. If you think that hanging out near the Pacific ocean while some of your favorite SL musicians play live right in front of you sounds fun, here's your chance to find out for sure! While final arrangements and schedules are still being made, you can register for the event here, and get hotel and other info as well.

The current list of confirmed musicians as of this date are as follows:

• Tamra Hayden (Tamra Sands)
• Taunter Goodnight
• Zak Claxton
• Duncan Ramer
• Grif Bamaisin
• Eva Moon
• Lyndon Heart
• Max Kleene
• Mankind Tracer
• Raspbury Rearwin
• Dakota7z7 Pluto

Along with a bunch of SL music fans!

If You Can't Come In Person...
It's still going to be a lot of fun. Like the Texas jam, the San Diego event will be a big in-world three-day concert which will also be broadcast in audio/video. I'll make sure to update you with any info on this as it becomes available. Keep your weekend plans for Friday Feb 25 through Sunday Feb 27 open!

Notes Shack (01.30.11)

When is the Notes Shack not fun? Never! It's never not fun, at least when we're having a Zak Claxton show there.

Seriously, we always have a good time at the Notes Shack. It's such a laid-back Second Life venue, the pressure to perform well is gone, and ironically, I always seem to perform well there as a result. Kind of one of those reverse-psychology venues. Anyway, I tend to do a show there every other month or so, and we always manage to get a good, enthusiastic crowd there. It's all fun for everyone.

The Notes Shack is like a place you'd find me hanging out in real life. Photo by Kat.

Kat calls this my Mr. Rogers wardrobe. Photo by Kat.

View from the back of the bar. Photo by Kat.

For today's show, I had Kat go through my big list of songs and pull out enough for a full set. It worked out very well; she grabbed some tunes I never would have though to do otherwise, and some worked out very nicely.

Set List at the Notes Shack...
Polly (Nirvana)
Ashes to Ashes (David Bowie)
This Afternoon (Zak Claxton)
Little Wing (Jimi Hendrix)
Carey (Joni Mitchell)
What Are You Like (Indigo Girls)
Sex and Candy (Marcy Playground)
You've Got To HIde Your Love Away (Beatles)
Falling Down (Zak Claxton)
Starman (David Bowie)
Hey You (Pink Floyd)
Tempted (Squeeze)

Giant thanks to everyone who came out to the show today, especially those who helped support it!
Triana Caldera, Xerxes Ninetails, Caoilte Skytower, Alexis Fairlady, Diana Renoir, Horizon Darkstone, Niatross18 Nosferatu, Kat Claxton, Hunting Weezles, and Notes Shack host Krakov Letov!

Report: Zak Live on StreamJam ep. XIV (01.26.11)

VIDEO LINK

Pardon me for my absence from this blog for the past few weeks. I have a good excuse; in real life, I have a job, and sometimes that job forces me to choose doing things to make more money than I can strumming a guitar. So, having been out of town on business and such, I didn't have much time to rock the Interwebs.

Fortunately, I had scheduled my show on Facebook via StreamJam previous to my trip, and I was very glad to get back to playing in front of my silly and fun fans. It was a good show, and I think everyone had fun.

Photo courtesy of Jess Smith.

SJ #14 Set List...
This Afternoon (Zak Claxton)
Go Easy on Me (Zak Claxton)
You're Like a Cloud (Zak Claxton)
In My Time of Dying (Traditional)
Triana (Zak Claxton)
The Sands of Redondo (Zak Claxton)
Fade Away (Zak Claxton)
Falling Down (Zak Claxton)
Time Never Waits for You (Zak Claxton)
Shine (Zak Claxton)

Thanks to all who came and supported the show! You all rock!

Report: Zak Live on StreamJam ep. XIII (01.05.11)

VIDEO LINK

Does the start of the video above seem a little abrupt? Well, that's because I forgot to hit the "record" button until about halfway through my show, heh heh. Since I'm a "glass in half full" kinda guy, I'll just say I'm happy that I remembered to record at all.

Anyway, for my first StreamJam show of 2011, we had a very fun time. I really didn't make a bunch of hoopla about the show; it's my busiest time of year at work right now, and I wasn't inclined to hype the hell out of a show that I wasn't sure would be very great. It's tough to perform your best stuff when your attention is spread out in fifty directions. However, it did turn out to be a good time for me and my little crowd of friends and fans.

Rocking old and new friends. Photo by Kat.

As usual for my StreamJam shows, I only did songs that I am licensed to do... namely, my own originals, and a traditional gospel blues. I realized that in the case of several songs, I'd actually put them aside for long enough that I enjoyed playing them again, which is a good feeling.

SJ XIII Set List...
Come Around (Zak Claxton)
Thanks Anyway (Zak Claxton)
Triana (Zak Claxton)
In My Time of Dying (Traditional)
You're Like a Cloud (Zak Claxton)
Falling Down (Zak Claxton)
Waxing Gibbous (Zak Claxton)
Waiting for This (Zak Claxton)
Always Tomorrow (Zak Claxton)
The Sands of Redondo (Zak Claxton)

One special surprise, for me, at this StreamJam show was the unexpected presence of my best childhood friend, Randy Williams. As you can see on the video, I was ecstatic when he popped in, and I regaled the crowd with stories of our first band together, circa 1982-1984. Having old friends get involved in stuff you're doing nearly 30 years later... priceless.

I don't know what I'd do every few Wednesday nights if not for StreamJam. Photo courtesy of Triana.

Huge thanks to everyone who came out to the show!

Triana's Music Trivia (01.02.11)

Happy New Year! As has been my tradition for the past four years, I kicked off 2011 by doing a show in Second Life. No, not on New year's eve; we musicians rarely get to enjoy ringing in the new year with our friends and loved ones since we're often busy on a stage somewhere. I made a conscious decision early on to not seek out any New Years shows this year, preferring to spend the time with Kat and some local pals from our little neighborhood. However, when our good friend Triana asked if I wanted to do a show at her Triana's Music Trivia event on Sunday January 2, I was happy to agree.

Why? Because we love Triana, and her trivia game is one of the most fun things we do in SL. As I've written before, we started going to TMT in 2006 and have only rarely missed a week since. The people are great, the game is fun, and it's a fantastic way to wrap up a weekend before starting the grind of a new week.

So, at the first TMT of 2011, I decided the theme for my show would be "new". Therefore, every single song I performed were those I'd never played in SL before... and with most of them, I'd never played them at all in public, in any setting! That made for a very fun show, not only for me but for my group of Zaksters who have seen me play dozens of times and probably welcomed the change. In a not-so-rare moment of insanity, I made the decision to perform Steely Dan's "Deacon Blues" in the voice of Elmer Fudd. Don't ask me why; I don't understand myself any better than anyone else. In any case, you need to hear me "wearn to wowk da saxophone"; it's here if you want it.

TMT "New Show" Set List
*Blue Jean (David Bowie)
*Hunger Strike (Temple of the Dog)
*Tangerine (Led Zeppelin)
*Wrong Way (Sublime)
*Change (Tears for Fears)
*Pulling Mussels from a Shell (Squeeze)
*Take Me With U (Prince)
*Hurting Each Other (The Carpenters)
*Love Ain't for Keeping (The Who)
*Deacon Bwues (Steely Dan)
*Pink Moon (Nick Drake)

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

Obviously, apart from my very first show in SL, this was the first time where every single song was a debut, and I think it turned out terrific. I can't guarantee that I'll be continuing to do all of these songs on a regular basis (particularly Elmer Fudd's "Deacon Bwues", which is probably a one-time-only event), but some of them were very good, and I'll be glad to have another batch of tunes to pull out when the mood strikes me.

Special thanks to our special friends at TMT, including the following folks who helped support my "all new" show!
Alchemy Epstein, Nakira Tennen, Alexis Fairlady, Stoney Nider, Xerxes Ninetails, Diana Renoir, Charm March, MrNoCal Honey, nathalie Ember, my darling Kat Claxton, and our wonderful friend and hostess, Triana Caldera!