Triana's Music Trivia 13th Anniversary (06.24.18)

Fun with friends at Triana's Music Trivia 13th anniversary party. Photo by Kat.

One could say that it's been a busy time in Zak Land lately. I'm not complaining, and I'll tell you why: while some relaxing time off will be greatly appreciated whenever that comes around again, I am a small business owner whom, if not working, is not making income. Busy is good in that regard. Also, frankly, I'm not very good at doing nothing. When I have time off of any sort, you'll usually find me traveling, making music, or being active in some way. But I will tell you: my last full day off of everything was on June 3, and that's probably too long to go without downtime for any human.

In the meantime, some great stuff has happened. My son graduated high school and had a birthday this week. We got to spend some good time with family at a Lobsterfest event this weekend. Some less-than-good stuff has also happened, like our Jeep breaking down for the first time since we got it in 2011. Again, I could look at the negative side (and it's still to be determined why it conked out in the middle of driving), but the fact that we've driven it for over seven years with nary a problem is something to be glad, not mad, about.

By coincidence, I've also had a bunch of live music shows to do in SL... much more than my usual 3-4 per month. But that's okay too, because each show has been very different between last Monday at Serenity Gardens, Friday at SL15B Music Fest, and last night's show at Triana's Music Trivia, celebrating the 13th anniversary of this fun event. I've performed at the TMT anniversary event every year since 2008. It's much more like a house party than a typical live music concert I do in Second Life. The audience is filled with longterm friends whom we see in-world nearly every single Sunday night, and the hostess of TMT, the titular Triana Caldera, is a lady who has become one of the best friends in the world to Christina and I.

I like Triana so much, I actually played Eagles music for her (shudder). Photo by Kat.

When I play TMT anniversary shows, I have a tradition of doing a) tunes I'd never done before and b) tunes I'd never do anywhere else. They're not always very representative of me as a musical artist, but many of the folks there already know what I sound like at a typical show. This is intentionally different, and often ridiculous. Example: one year, I sang Steely Dan's "Deacon Blues", but did it using the voice of Elmer Fudd. I've done TV themes, show tunes, bands I normally never consider covering, and more at TMT special events. Why? No one knows, not even me. I guess it's because in an environment where one is surrounded with friends who are silly and non-judgmental, it's okay to be a little insane.

Kat and I "... bend a blues riff that hangs over everything." Photo by Triana Caldera.

The Claxtons rocking. Photo by Triana Caldera.

One thing I occasionally do at TMT events is to have Kat perform along with me. I'd genuinely like her to do that more often, but she's usually not even here during my shows, and it's only something I want her to do if it will be fun for her. We did something that was pretty cool last night, and it was something I'd never done before at any SL show. Telling the audience that we'd invited a full band to perform with us (jokingly; I'd never purposefully mislead a crowd in that way), we set up some backing tracks that I'd created for a jam cover of a Courtney Barnett/Kurt Vile collaboration, and with me on live guitar and Kat and I on live vocals, we did a performance backed by full instrumentation. These were tracks that I'd personally recorded, so it wasn't like the musical equivalent of karaoke or anything like that. Never once in my nearly 12 years of performing in SL have I done that, and frankly it was kind of cool. I might, at some point, do a full show that way. On a general basis, I prefer the free-wheeling aspect of playing 100% live as I've always done, but it was kind of nice having some musical backup. I did the same thing for the final song of the night, my tune "Triana" that I wrote about our friend and the trivia event she's graciously hosted for so many years now.

TMT 13th Anniversary set list...
While My Guitar Gently Weeps (Beatles)
You Oughta Know (Alanis Morissette)
Tribute (Tenacious D)
*Growing Pains Theme (B.J. Thomas)
*Family Ties Theme (Johnny Mathis/Deniece Williams)
*New Kid in Town (Eagles)
I Dreamed a Dream (Les Miserables)
Baker Street (Gerry Rafferty)
You’re Like a Cloud (Zak Claxton)
Our Lips Are Sealed (The Go-Go's)
†Over Everything (Kurt Vile/Courtney Barnett)
†Triana (Zak Claxton)

*Indicates the first time I've performed this song in SL.
†Indicates the songs that used the full band arrangement.

Huge thanks to our wonderful friends at Triana's Music Trivia!

Second Life Music Fest at SL15B (06.22.18)

Second Life has been of paramount importance to the fact that tens of thousands of people around the world have heard my music. And yes, that's Oblee in a purple ball gown. Don't judge. Photo by Thea Dee.

The best analogy I can give to musicians and other people who haven't experienced performing at one of the SLxB events is to imagine yourself as a can of peas on a shelf in a grocery store. Then suddenly, someone grabs you and puts you in a cart. Then you get plopped on a checkout conveyer and rung up by someone else. Then you get stuck in a bag, brought somewhere else, and loaded into a cabinet until eventually you get pulled out and cooked and eaten.

Perhaps I should start over. The folks who run these events have it down to a science, even though it still feels like barely-controlled chaos. As a performer, the organizers tell you to be in-world at a certain time before your scheduled show. They then teleport you to some hidden place somewhere on the grid, where you do a soundcheck to make sure your audio stream and other gear are working as expected. Once that is ascertained and confirmed, you get TP'ed by another person to a backstage green room, where you can rez any stuff you may have for instant appearance on the stage area when it's your time to play. Speaking of time, they have yet another person who counts down the minutes and then seconds in your IMs until the start of your show. It's a little on the overwhelming side... not in a bad way, but kind of like being Julia Roberts returning to the boutique in Pretty Woman and having like 10 salespeople waiting on her at once. Most of us are used to doing all this on our own, so it makes me giggle a bit to see all the fuss. The organizers undoubtedly deal with a wide range of artists at a multi-day event like this, and perhaps not everyone is so low-maintenance as the Zak Man... I didn't even rez a tip jar, if that tells you anything.

The Second Life Music Fest and other SL15B events continue for days to come.

In any case, I was happy to be asked back to perform at Second Life's "Music Fest" portion of SL15B. I did my first SLxB event ten years ago in 2008, did several more of those, and then in 2015 I auditioned for the first official Music Fest, and I've performed at three of the four now-annual events. The sim builds for the stage areas are always awesome in their gargantuan detail, and it's a good opportunity for me to expose my music and performance style to new folks who wouldn't ordinarily come to a Zak Show. Xiola Linden, the Second Life community relations manager, is super nice and always seems grateful to have the participation of the artists and organizers and builders coming together to make these events fun and exciting.

As I mentioned during my set, I'll be happy to come play again anytime I get the call from my SL friends. Photo by Thea Dee.

Second Life Music Fest at SL15B set list...
Airport Bar (Martin Courtney)
Among the Leaves (Sun Kil Moon)
Northern Sky (Nick Drake)
Blew the Dust Away (They Stole My Crayon)
California (Joni Mitchell)
Falling Down (Zak Claxton)
Cat’s in the Cradle (Harry Chapin)
So. Central Rain (R.E.M.)
Pretty Pimpin’ (Kurt Vile)
America (Simon & Garfunkel)
I Am a Child (Neil Young)
Save It For Later (English Beat)
Redemption Song (Bob Marley)
*SL15B Improv (Zak Claxton)

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

Big thanks to all who came out and enjoyed the show, with special thanks to the SL15B organizers and Xiola Linden for being awesome!

Serenity Gardens (06.18.18)

I can't think of a better way to spend my Monday night than rocking at Serenity Gardens. Photo by Triana Caldera.

I'm sure we've all been through those time frames where everything seems to be happening at once, and it's difficult (if not impossible) to give as much attention as we'd like to each important event. That's sort of where I'm at right at the moment, and yet somehow it's okay. My son graduates from high school tomorrow, which is incredibly exciting. There is a ton of very urgent events happening in our country and around the world, and while those things don't necessarily require my personal focus, I'd be remiss without noting them. I'm simultaneously at a point of transition business-wise, taking on new clients and handling an even heavier than usual workload. And, in the midst of it all, my live music performance schedule suddenly filled up with shows at Serenity Gardens, the Second Life Music Fest at SL15B, Triana's Music Trivia, and The Islands of New England happening in little more than a week. Whew! It's actually a kind of luxury, on this overcast and quiet early Tuesday morning, to be writing this blog post. Feels like a rest stop in the midst of a marathon.

The Border Children
Yeah, I know... you're already saturated with news about the children of detained immigrants being separated from their parents at the US/Mexico border. Well, I hate to tell ya, but this isn't something that's going to go away overnight, and my concern is that the short attention span of most people and the speed of the news cycle will have this story sinking under without being resolved in any way. I won't dwell on it much here. I made a Facebook post yesterday to say that I couldn't, in good conscience, remain acquainted with any person who supported Trump's policy in this regard, and I meant it. I had three people chime in on that post to try and defend this policy, or to deflect the blame. In as much as I'd have preferred not having to do this, and I'd warned them all specifically of my intentions, all three were immediately unfriended and blocked. I have exactly zero tolerance on this matter.

Just about every news source right now is focusing on the family separation crisis at the border, and I am thankful that the story isn't being buried or ignored.

While most people would agree that I am open to listening to folks of different views and having meaningful discussions with them, there's no room in my heart for anyone who can support cruelty and inhumanity. My life can only be better with those people not being a part of it, and frankly, I don't want to even be associated in any way with any person such as that. End of story.

SL15B and Second Life Music Fest... Same Place, Same Time, Two Different (But Related) Things
I'm seeing some mild levels of confusion again this year popping up on social media about the annual Second Life birthday celebration that started a couple of days ago and runs for the next couple of weeks. I can clear it up quickly and easily.

Since its beginnings, the community of Second Life residents has celebrated the anniversary of this online 3D world each June on the anniversary of its founding in 2003. The events have included big displays of the amazing art and technology that goes into SL, along with various types of entertainment, mostly of the music variety. For most of those years, this series of events has been produced completely by the residents of SL themselves (with some assistance from Second Life's creator, Linden Lab, in the form of places to host the events and promotion), and the folks who do it put in a huge amount of effort in coordinating everything. They are an amazing team who include some terrific friends I've known for many years now... people like Diana Renoir, Doctor Gascoigne, and many others.

I believe I did my first performance at an SLxB event (the "x" being the anniversary year) in 2008, at SL5B. Since then, I've done this event many more times. It's always exciting and sometimes a little crazy, and often produces a massive crowd of people who may not ordinarily seek out live music in Second Life. Again, the majority of these shows have been fully coordinated by the residents of SL themselves.

In 2015, Linden Lab did something new, which I thought was very cool. For the first time, they got directly involved in the event by running a "Second Life Music Fest". This didn't replace the series of events that the residents continued putting on; the SL Music Fest was held on the same stages as the rest of the shows, in its own time block. Linden Lab held auditions for their Fest, which is understandable. The time slots were limited and I believe they wanted to be sure to have a variety of musical performances that reflected the diverse and international nature of Second Life as a whole. I passed their audition and performed at the first annual Music Fest.

The Second Life Music Fest is now in its fourth year, while the SL Community Celebration is in its 15th.

They've continued to do this each year since, with SL Music Fest happening concurrently with the rest of the SL15B events and performances. It's not a matter of one being better or worse than the other, I promise. I will be performing for Music Fest on Friday June 22 at 2PM -- a rare afternoon show for me -- and I'm looking forward to the opportunity to introduce a whole lot of SL residents to the vibe and sounds of a Zak Show.

To fully clarify things, here's the schedule for Second Life Music Fest, and here's the full master schedule of the SL15B community celebration. Try and see some shows!

Fun at Serenity
Last night's show at Serenity Gardens could have gone badly. Christina once again returned from a trip to Seattle with a bunch of germs that her toddler-aged nieces and nephew shared with her, and she shared them with me. She's a sharing kind of person. Anyway, I started getting a sore throat on Sunday, and for a little while, I wasn't entirely sure I'd be able to sing to the best of my ability (though I never seriously considered canceling the show; it wasn't that bad).

The crowd at Serenity Gardens seems to be having fun. Photo by Triana Caldera.

I needn't have worried. While I had a little pain going, I just drank a whole lot of cold water before and during the show, and everything worked out fine. It probably wasn't my best singing of the year, but it wasn't bad, and everyone seemed to have a good time, myself included. I will say that my crowd of regular fans slowly continues to grow on my bi-weekly Monday night shows at Serenity, and I'm really enjoying each and every show there. It's been just over a year since my first time playing there, and I'd be fine if that was the first of many years to come.

Serenity Gardens set list...
De Do Do Do De Da Da Da (The Police)
Always Tomorrow (Zak Claxton)
*Ripple (Grateful Dead)
Alison (Elvis Costello)
Old Man (Neil Young)
I Am a Child (Neil Young)
Teach Your Children (Crosby, Stills & Nash)
Say Goodbye (Beck)
Fall In (Pixx)
Sleeper in the Valley (Laura Veirs)
Landslide (Fleetwood Mac)
Wildflowers (Tom Petty)
*At Serenity - Improv (Zak Claxton)

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

Super big thanks to all who came out to Serenity Gardens for last night's show, with special mondo thanks to the following people who helped support it!
AaronCabottJones Resident, Rainya Foresight, Diana Renoir, Sydney Verlaine, Kat Chauveau, go2smoky Resident, Tyche Szondi, Asimia Heron, Sinful Xubersnak, Alex Zelin, Triana Caldera, Helios Seetan, Aurelie Chenaux, my lovely manager Maali Beck, and the fabulous team at Serenity Gardens, Tilly Rose and Ilsa Wilde.

Serenity Gardens (06.04.18)

Another great Monday night at Serenity Gardens.

It's Tuesday June 5 as I write this little blog entry, which makes it Primary Day here in my beloved state of California. You might not know that CA has a primary system that's different from other states. It doesn't go by political party, like other states who choose a Democrat and a Republican and perhaps an Independent or other candidate to face off in the general election. Instead, whoever gets the most votes are the ones who go to the election in November. That could be two Democrats, two members of the GOP, and so on. I think it's a good system in some ways, bad in others, but it works. At least it's a democratic (small "d") method that allows the candidates who the majority of people choose to have the best chance of getting a leadership role.

I have already voted via mail, so I'm done with that civic duty. I had a kind of neat experience yesterday on Twitter; on a whim, I decided to share the candidates whom I'd chosen, in order to publicly offer my endorsement. I was pretty surprised when my pick for Lt. Governor personally thanked me, and when my state senator re-Tweeted me.

CA primaries are tomorrow. Zak endorses @GavinNewsom Gov, @JeffBleichCA LtGov, @AlexPadilla4CA SecState, @BettyYeeforCA cntrlr, @FionaMa trsr, @AGBecerra AG, @RicardoLara4CA IC, @SenFeinstein Sen, @RepTedLieu Rep, @BenAllenCA StSen, @AMuratsuchi Assy. #vote

— Zak Claxton 🌊 (@zakclaxton) June 4, 2018

I never really expect direct interaction with the various musicians and politicians I follow on Twitter; frankly, it's kind of weird to think that anyone does. So that was sort of neat. My personal involvement in the political process really only comes down to two things: voting, and helping to make others aware of issues that might affect them. Whatever tiny level of influence I have -- as a musician, as a businessperson, as a person whom some others seem to like and perhaps respect -- can hopefully make its own small impact. To use the old analogy, I may just be a few drops in a bucket, but that bucket gets filled with a bunch of droplets. I do what I can, and hopefully it makes a difference, even if it's a small one. In any case, even if you completely disagree with my political outlook or candidate choices, I encourage you to vote at every opportunity. I was once much more apathetic than I am now, but grew to understand that the privilege of living in a democracy is only maintained when people are actively involved and take advantage of their right to choose the direction of the country.

The Show
I was a wee bit concerned when I started my first tune at Serenity Gardens last night. I think I had two fans plus my manager and the venue staff when I strummed my first chord. But as usual, at least as of late, my crowd did indeed turn out, and a few songs in I found myself looking at the usual large group of happy people I expect there. I'd decided to try out a few previously-unplayed (by me) tunes, which is always a good thing for myself and hopefully my audience as well.

Another view of Serenity Gardens while I rock the people. Photo by Aurelie Chenaux.

Serenity Gardens set list...
This Afternoon (Zak Claxton)
Bring On the Night (The Police)
It's Easy Like Walking (The Sadies w/Kurt Vile)
Northern Sky (Nick Drake)
*Trouble Child (Joni Mitchell)
*Over My Head (Fleetwood Mac)
*Here’s Where the Story Ends (The Sundays)
Hunger Strike (Temple of the Dog)
Pigs on the Wing - Parts 1 & 2 (Pink Floyd)
Carry Me Ohio (Sun Kil Moon)
Fire & Rain (James Taylor)
Pink Moon (Nick Drake)

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

Big, big thanks to all who came out to the show last night, and special super thanks to the following who helped support it!
AaronCabottJones Resident, Tyche Szondi, Monkey Martian, Zaphod Theas, Richy Nervous, go2smoky Resident, not4gods Resident, Alex Zelin, RobbieDowning Resident, Aurelie Chenaux, CanadianLady123 Resident, TheaDee Resident, my excellent manager Maali Beck, and the fabulous team at Serenity Gardens, Tilly Rose and Ilsa Wilde.

Serenity Gardens (05.21.18)

Rocking Serenity Gardens. My view from the stage while I perform.

It's been almost exactly 32 years since I graduated high school, so my memories of that era are a bit fuzzy... probably compounded by the fact that I was using drugs and alcohol on a regular basis at that time period. But one event that happened during my sophomore year had been coming to mind lately, for reasons that will be obvious in a moment.

One day in April 1984, we were in class... well, I should say that most people were in class. I had ducked into the library for some reason. I had a problem as a kid that still occasionally plagues me today. I would get so overwhelmingly bored in class that I thought I'd lose my mind, and would find just about any excuse to not be seated in a chair for a full hour. There were classes and teachers that I genuinely liked, and would stay engaged and focused. In other classes, not so much. I'd spend the hour in a geometry class writing music and lyrics, doodling, and basically existing in some other world deep in my own head, and that was when I actually went to the class. Often, I'd find some reason to leave... to the bathroom, to the nurse's office, to the admin offices ("Aren't you supposed to be in class?"), and so on.

Me in my high school journalism class, 1985.

Anyway, I was in the library when the school went on lockdown. There was a guy in the parking lot with a gun. He was a former student, 19 years old, and had enrolled in the Marines, stationed about 90 miles south at Camp Pendleton. His girlfriend, who was still a student at the school, had broken up with him and was dating someone new, so his solution to this was to come to his alma mater armed with a shotgun and a 9mm pistol. He approached the new boyfriend, who was in his new Ford Bronco, and after ordering him out of the car, proceeded to fire 12 rounds into the vehicle. No one was hurt or killed, and eventually a SWAT team sniper put a round right through the shoulder of the kid's shirt, somehow while barely scratching his skin. Nice shot, man. The kid surrendered, we were let out of class after a couple of hours, and that was that. You can read all the details here, if you'd like.

The reason I have that news article handy is that yesterday, the event popped into my head, but the details were so hazy that I wasn't 100% sure it was something that had actually happened. The memory felt more like something I'd seen in a made-for-TV movie, or a story I'd heard someone else tell. I actually got on the Facebook page for my high school class and asked the other folks about their recollections of that day. One of them pointed that news story out to me, but almost all the rest had the same vibe as me... they either barely remembered it, or in some cases had no idea it had even happened. You would think that something as traumatic as a lockdown due to an armed gunman at the school would have been one of the main events that we all took with us after our school years, but no... not the case. One of my classmates, a smart kid named Brian, pointed out that before Columbine, the very idea of a person walking through the halls of a school and methodically killing people was so unthinkable that we didn't, at the time, have a frame of reference as to how bad it could have been.

I mention all this because obviously, gun violence and school attacks by students and former students have been a big part of our lives as Americans in recent times. We're starting to become more cognizant of the root causes of these horrifying events, and it would seem that difficulties with establishing or maintaining relationships is a huge factor. I will tell you, while I had a relatively decent time in high school, I wouldn't relive that part of my life for any amount of money. Frankly, that period of life when people are mostly physically mature but have yet to mentally and emotionally grow up... I wouldn't ever want to go through that again, or be surrounded by other people in the same stage of life.

In any case, certain things that seem pretty simple and understandable for many adults are incomprehensible for teenagers. Situations that are difficult for adults seem impossible to them. Things like the idea of moving on after a romantic relationship ends, or that just because you can't find a sexual partner by age 18 doesn't mean it's never going to happen. Those mistakes in the perception of reality are at least part of what drives these kids to take these abhorrent actions. I believe that many of them would get past those feelings with time, while others are genuinely mentally ill. In both cases, the combination of immature thinking and easy access to guns makes them a walking time bomb. I'm an optimistic person, but there's really no end in sight to this issue plaguing our country. There will be more school shootings, for preventable reasons that just won't be addressed.

The Show
Oh yeah, this post is about the live music show I did last night. Silly me.

I wasn't really planning on doing a tribute to R.E.M. at the show, but I'd been meaning to try out "What's the Frequency, Kenneth?" for some time. It's one of Kat's favorite R.E.M. songs and one I've always enjoyed as well. I'd also included "Bang and Blame" on the list somewhat randomly, and then decided to try "Everybody Hurts", which seemed appropriate given the overall malaise that the country seems to be experiencing. Anyway, the R.E.M. mini-set happened kind of spontaneously, which is exactly how I like things to happen. I never like anything that I do creatively to feel contrived. I also did a seriously new song... one from Courtney Barnett's new album Tell Me How You Really Feel that literally came out on Friday of last week.

We had a nice crowd at Serenity Gardens as usual. Pardon the lack of more photos for the show; it was only by happenstance that I remembered to snap one from the stage between songs. Kat just started a new work assignment with more office time required, meaning she likely won't be at my shows, and I don't get the benefit of her excellent pics!

Serenity Gardens set list...
This Afternoon (Zak Claxton)
*Need a Little Time (Courtney Barnett)
Help Me (Joni Mitchell)
Bang and Blame (R.E.M.)
Man on the Moon (R.E.M.)
Losing My Religion (R.E.M.)
*What’s the Frequency, Kenneth? (R.E.M.)
*Everybody Hurts (R.E.M.)
Among the Leaves (Sun Kil Moon)
Abrasion (They Stole My Crayon)
Blew the Dust Away (They Stole My Crayon)
Shame Chamber (Kurt Vile)

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

Giant thanks to all who attended my show, with extra special live to the following people who helped support it!
Grace McDunnough, Camden Lionheart, AaronCabottJones Resident, Triana Caldera, go2smoky Resident, ImaInnocent Jewell, Oneida Firelight, TheaDee Resident, Barbara Mixemup, Celeste Ewing, and the amazing team at Serenity Gardens, Tilly Rose and Ilsa Wilde.

Video: Live at Serenity Gardens (05.07.18)

As mentioned in my recent post, Second Life videographer Sher Salmson created a video from my live show at Serenity Gardens on May 7m featuring a medley of songs in my set list that evening. It was released today, and you can see it below.


Songs:
Call Me Al (Paul Simon)
Blew the Dust Away (They Stole My Crayon)
The Crystal Ship (The Doors)
Bull Black Nova (Wilco)
Any Major Dude (Steely Dan)
Half Moon Bay (Sun Kil Moon)
Falling Down (Zak Claxton)

Serenity Gardens (05.07.18)

Ah, lovely Serenity Gardens. Hope the video of my show comes out good! Photo by Kat.

I got some good advice once from Neil Young.

No, he didn't tell it to me directly, though that would have been really cool. It was something he mentioned in a biography. Someone who was creating music with him -- it might have been Nils Lofgren, but I can't remember for certain -- mentioned that he'd be feeling good and playing well, but as soon as they little red light went on that indicted he was recording, he would freeze up. Neil's answer was simple. He said to record all the time. Literally, record everything. After awhile, the red light would be meaningless. It was said that when Neil was working with Crazy Horse, they recorded so much that they never even knew for certain when they were making an album. They'd play and play and play, and at some point Neil would tell them they'd finished a record, and they'd be like, "Really? What's on it?"

In one small aspect, that same process is true of each of my Second Life live music shows. Some of you don't know this, but my broadcasting software has an option to archive the show, and every single show does get automatically recorded. Side note: I really never listen to those recordings, and usually end up trashing them from time to time after seeing that I have gigabyte after gigabyte of audio files piling up on my computer. But they are there, and if I did something I thought was noteworthy, I could go back and check it out and/or share it with people. In any case, I never think about or worry about being recorded; I'm always being recorded, so it doesn't matter to me at all.

So when you smile for the camera, I know they're going to love you. Photo by Kat.

Why am I talking about this, you ask? Well, a few days before my show last night at Serenity Gardens, owner Ilsa Flannigan sent me a message to ask my permission to be filmed for my next performance at her lovely venue. She said that she'd hired Sher Salmson, another SL person with whom I'm acquainted, to film some of the artists who played at Serenity Gardens, and wanted to be sure I was okay with that. It was nice of her to ask; most of them time I've been filmed or otherwise recorded in SL, I'm not aware of it until after the fact. It's never been a problem for me, but I can definitely see how in some cases, it might be for other artists for any of several valid reasons.

Anyway, I told Ilsa that it would be fine. There was a moment, while I was just arriving at the venue and getting set up, that I remembered I'd be being filmed, and wondered if I needed to do anything different to better accommodate the virtual "camera" that would be on me. I immediately quashed that thought; my reason for being there was to make good music for the audience who had come to the show. Anything beyond that was someone else's challenge, and I decided to trust that they'd be able to do what they were doing and capture my show without my having to modify anything. I hope it comes out good, and I'm looking forward to seeing Sher's video work whenever it gets done.

This Is America
Sorry to randomly shift gears on you, but on Saturday night, a new video was released by Childish Gambino, which is the musical name of the incredibly talented actor/writer/director Donald Glover. Normally, I wouldn't be super interested in a new hip hop video, or any music video for that matter. But I was astounded by the deeply profound imagery and messaging in this video, which was directed by Hiro Murai, who is almost certainly the best music video creator in the world today. He did "Never Catch Me" by Flying Lotus and "Smooth Sailing" by Queens of the Stone Age, two of my favorite music vids from this century. "This is America" might be his crowning achievement, though.

Over the past couple of days, many people have detailed their interpretations of the video and the song. I won't rehash their analysis, but I will urge you to watch it closely, and especially to keep your eye on what's happening in the background. Amazing.


Don't Eat Yourself
One other inconsequential note about the show. As I mentioned while performing, on Sunday night I was eating an ice cream bar, and I managed to do something I hadn't done in awhile, thankfully; I sank my tooth right into my own lip as I ravenously consumed the tasty treat, deep enough that I had to staunch the bleeding with a napkin. As a result, the entire time I was singing, I was scraping that same tooth over that same injured area of my mouth. Good times! Let it be said that like all good artists, I suffer for my art. That shit still hurts today. I will live.

Oh, and a final note. As I mention frequently, I try as often as possible to bring in new songs to my set ("new" as in songs I've never done before; they can be from any time period). Last night, I did a rather deep underground alternative rock song by a band that few would be aware of... "Big Deal Party" by Jackal Onasis. It's not a song that most people would try on solo acoustic guitar and vocals, and -- not wanting to change the key, which works well for the tune -- I had to sing it in the register of the original female performer. I'd originally planned on trying out the song last fall, but it happened to be right around when my father passed away and I wasn't up for it then, so I put it aside at the time. I'm glad I brought it back out and gave it a shot. I should mention that one completely awesome thing about doing the music of indie artists is the relative ease in which one can make personal contact with them. I had some difficulty determining the lyrics of "Big Deal Party", so I reached out to Jackal Onasis singer/drummer Jordyn Blakely, and she filled me in on the proper words, which was totally cool of her. You can hear the original version here on their Bandcamp page.

Another great show at Serenity. It's become one of my favorite places to perform in all of SL. Photo by Kat.

Serenity Gardens set list...
Northern Sky (Nick Drake)
Blew the Dust Away (They Stole My Crayon)
The Crystal Ship (The Doors)
Falling Down (Zak Claxton)
Desire Lines (Deerhunter)
*Big Deal Party (Jackal Onasis)
Bull Black Nova (Wilco)
Carolina In My Mind (James Taylor)
Call Me Al (Paul Simon)
Any Major Dude (Steely Dan)
#9 Dream (John Lennon)
Half Moon Bay (Sun Kil Moon)

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

I send my huge thanks to everyone who came to the show at Serenity Gardens last night, with super special thanks to the following people who helped support it!
Idesine Habilis, AaronCabottJones Resident, Helios Seetan, Sher Salmson, Aurelie Chenaux, Sesh Kamachi, sedonajane Silverpath, Asimia Heron, Kat Claxton, TheaDee Resident, my great manager Maali Beck, and the fabulous team at Serenity Gardens, Tilly Rose and Ilsa Wilde.