Relay for Life Benefit at Second Life Cheerleading Squad (09.30.18)

SL Cheerleader Squad HQ is all decked out in a '50s-style theme for their RFL event. Photo by Kat.

When my manager Maali Beck asks if I'm interested in performing at a show supporting a trusted charity, my answer is nearly always a resounding "yes". It had been awhile since I'd done anything related to Relay for Life, the fundraising arm of the American Cancer Society, so I was glad to jump in and help.

In Second Life -- and almost certainly in any life, for that matter -- there are many different approaches to fundraising. Some of them are very focused, such as Frets Nirvana's monthly benefit shows for Homes For Our Troops, where you have a dedicated host who continually pushes the reason for being there and sets up programs like angel donors who match the funds, and so on. Others, like the Second Life Cheerleading Squad, do it in a much more casual way where they host a series of live performances and just happen to be donating whatever funds come in that day to the cause. To be clear: neither way is right or wrong, good or bad, and so on. Any charitable effort is to be commended.

Rocking the SLCS crowd for a good cause. Photo by Kat.

This was definitely one of the larger-sized venues I've played in Second Life. Photo by Kat.

It was my first visit to the headquarters of SLCS, a large football stadium-like structure with a big mezzanine. The stage itself was setup on the field. We had a good-sized crowd for the event, and while I have no way of knowing how well the event did or how much was raised, it's my general assumption that based on the generosity of my Zakster fans at previous fundraising events, we helped make an impact for on obviously great cause.

SLCS/RFL set list...
Big Yellow Taxi (Joni Mitchell)
Pink Moon (Nick Drake)
Strawberry Fields Forever (The Beatles)
Airport Bar (Martin Courtney)
Ripple (Grateful Dead)
*As Tears Go By (Rolling Stones)
One of These Things First (Nick Drake)
Blew the Dust Away (They Stole My Crayon)
Waiting for the Sun (The Doors)
This Afternoon (Zak Claxton)
Teach Your Children (Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young)
America (Simon & Garfunkel)
Brain Damage/Eclipse (Pink Floyd)

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

Huge thanks to all who attended and gave to the cause to help fight cancer!

Zak's Autumn Playlist 2018 - Episode 2

We're one week into Fall 2018, and it's quite lovely here in Redondo Beach, CA. We have some rain expected next week, which will be welcomed. In the midst of all the craziness going on with the Kavanaugh hearings and all the other madness of the world, I'm continuing a series of blog posts that highlight some of the music throughout the ages that offers the feel of my favorite time of year. Here's Episode 2.

1. Led Zeppelin: “Black Mountain Side” (1969)

2. Jaco Pastorius: “Portrait of Tracy” (1976)

3. Codeine: “Sea” (1994)

4. Unwound: “Demons Sing Love Songs” (2001)

5. Yawning Man: “Catamaran” (2018)

Serenity Gardens (09.24.18)

In the midst of absolute political and social insanity heading into the 2018 Midterm elections, taking a solid hour to do live music with friends and fans at Serenity Gardens was a very welcome break! Photo by Triana Caldera.

I'm excited to talk about my show last night at Serenity Gardens in Second Life -- it really was a good one in all aspects -- but first, a few words about Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. Not many words, I promise.

The Supreme Court is the highest court in the United States, of course. It has jurisdiction over all federal and state court cases regarding constitutional law. Almost no position in the country is more important than being a SCOTUS justice, since they determine the interpretation of the US Constitution in regard to how it applies to individual cases. Looking back through US history, many of the most momentous turning points of our country have been based on SCOTUS decisions, for good, bad, or otherwise. In 1857, they said that black people could not be US citizens, leading the country into civil war. In 1896, they said that the segregation of black and white people was legal (then changed their mind in 1954). In 1963, they ensured that criminal defendants have the right to an attorney, even if they were poor. In 1967, they shot down laws that prevented people of different races from marrying, and in 1973 they legalized abortion. In 1974, they unanimously determined that a US president can't use executive privilege illegally. Just a few years ago, in 2015, they determined that same-sex marriage was legal throughout the USA.

These are landmark moments for our country, and their decisions affect millions of people every single day. To be one of the nine justices on that court, it should be assumed that you are more than one of the country's leading authorities on Constitutional law (that's obviously a given). People should also expect their SCOTUS justices to be people of the very highest moral and ethical fiber. Think about it; to have a person on the Supreme Court who could be bribed, blackmailed, or swayed by party politics would have a devastating effect on the country. The standards to which we hold a person who might have this role for life are much, much higher than any other position in the country, including the President.

The thing I want you to ask yourself about Brett Kavanaugh, as these allegations of potential sexual assault and other negative behavior come to light, is simply this: of the dozens and dozens of people who have the background and qualification to be considered for a SCOTUS position, is this the very best candidate we have? I want Kavanaugh to be fairly considered, and for any and all of his accusers to be able to present evidence that will allow for the Senate to make an informed decision. If he indeed is the best of the best, and no other candidate will be able to do a more fair and impartial job once placed on the Court for life, then I'm happy to welcome him. If not, an alternate candidate must be named and the process will start over again until we do find the absolute best person for the job.

The Show
So, that's all I have to say about that. We're smack dab in the midst of Kavanaugh's confirmation hearings as I write this post, and it's doubtless that over a very short time frame, more info will come to light that will allow the Senate to make the right decision. Since that info isn't publicly available yet, I'll withhold further comment until there's a valid reason to provide an opinion. For now, let's talk about my show and some music.

If you ever saw the animated series Avatar: The Last Airbender, you'd be aware that the powers of certain benders would drastically increase at certain times. For the Water Tribe, this was during the full moon. For the Fire Nation, it was when a comet grew near. Well, for Zak the Music Bender, my abilities magically get better in the fall. I know it sounds ridiculous and is almost certainly a superstitious psychological effect at best, but I swear that at least in my mind, it's tangibly true. I sing better, I play guitar better, and I more easily write new songs between late September and Christmastime than at any other time of year. I actually said this unabashedly during my show last night, and went on to prove my own point.

Serenity owner Ilsa Flannigan had mentioned she was putting out her Fall/Halloween decor in advance of my show, but I'd forgotten how cool the place looked all decked out for the season. Here's my and my skeleton band onstage. Photo by Triana Caldera.

I also mentioned that with Joni Mitchell's 75th birthday coming on November 7, I would be playing one of her songs at each of my shows between now and then (not that it's very unusual for me to play her music regardless). For last night, I did my first-ever rendition of "The Last Time I Saw Richard". Doing Joni's piano-based songs on guitar is always a challenge, but I think it went well. Side note: I just did a search of my list of songs I've performed as a solo artist, and I currently have 33 Joni Mitchell songs I do. That's a lot; only Neil Young and David Bowie come close in my repertoire.

We had a nice crowd and people seemed to like what they were hearing. That's cool, but also cool is that I knew I was playing well and singing well, and I'm the most harsh critic of my own performance, so when I can play live music for an hour and at no point felt like I could have done much better than I did, I don't ask for more than that.

Serenity Gardens set list...
Saved by Zero (The Fixx)
Falling Down (Zak Claxton)
Things Behind the Sun (Nick Drake)
Love Hurts (Everly Brothers)
Them Bones (Alice in Chains)
My God Is the Sun (Queens of the Stone Age)
*Texarkana (R.E.M.)
*The Last Time I Saw Richard (Joni Mitchell)
Rikki Don’t Lose That Number (Steely Dan)
I’ve been Waiting for You (Neil Young)
Swing Low Magellan (Dirty Projectors)
Always Tomorrow (Zak Claxton)
*Serenity Improv in F#m (Zak Claxton)

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

Big thanks to all who attended the show, with special kudos to the following who helped support it!
RoxxyyRoller Resident, TheaDee Resident, Asimia Heron, Kat Chauveau, Sesh Kamachi, go2smoky Resident, Triana Caldera, Alex Zelin, loo Lytton, my very good manager Maali Beck, and the fabulous team at Serenity Gardens, Tilly Rose and Ilsa Wilde.

Zak's Autumn Playlist 2018 - Episode 1

At precisely 6:54 PM PDT tonight, the autumnal equinox arrives, and my favorite time of year begins. I thought that since so many of my favorite songs of all time have a Fall feel, I'd do a little blog series that helped to highlight some of this music for your ease in discovery and enjoyment. The goal is five songs each week throughout the season -- no promises, though. Here's Episode 1.

1. Nick Drake: "Riverman" (1969)

2. Joni Mitchell: "The Last Time I Saw Richard" (1971)

3. Steely Dan: "Home At Last" (1977)

4. Sun Kil Moon: "Ålesund" (2010)

5. Lou Barlow: "The Breeze" (2016)

Serenity Gardens (09.10.18)

Getting into some autumn sounds at Serenity Gardens. Photo by Aurelie Chenaux.

As I do every other Monday throughout the year, I performed last night in Second Life at Serenity Gardens, which means that as usual, I'm writing this post on the following day, which happens to be Tuesday September 11. I've documented my own recollections of 9/11/01 a number of times before, most thoroughly in 2013 which you can read here. One of my most personal memories was not of the day itself, but of being in New York a couple of months after the tragic event on business. It was entirely bizarre. Everyone was extraordinarily polite, and the city itself, typically famous for its noise and hustle, was still very subdued. I didn't visit Ground Zero; it felt very wrong to be treating it like a tourist spot while bodies were still laying in halls of Javits Center as a makeshift morgue. But I was with a coworker in a cab on the way back to JFK, and as we crossed the Brooklyn Bridge he tapped me on the shoulder and pointed backwards. The sight of the Manhattan skyline with the gap where the World Trade Center buildings had stood made it all too real. I will never forget that moment.

In the years since then, I've made respectful remembrances of the event, as most Americans do and should. Unlike most of the world, we've been so fortunate in that after the early years of the country's formation (and our own civil war), we've had so few major attacks on our soil that 9/11 is impossible to overlook or forget, which is as it should be. It's sadly ironic that those of us who are immersed in political activism are sometimes called "un-American" by the opposing sides, while to me, it's obvious that we care more for the country than anyone who leads an apathetic life. That's why I can offer a perspective that American lives remain in severe peril even today, and yet the "Never Forget" crowd seems to be the first in line to deny this truth. Climate change is causing more dangerous and extreme weather patterns. The lack of attention to infrastructure leads to situations like unsafe drinking water in Flint, MI. The income gap between the extremely wealthy and a larger and larger segment of the population increases daily. And, of course, the policies of the current administration and treatment of America's allies and enemies alike may very well eventually lead lead to horrific acts of war and terrorism with death tolls that far eclipse 9/11.

None of this takes away from the sadness and rightful respectful remembrance of September 11. However, it does make you think what the future history books will say about the era in which we live today. "Why didn't they stop him? Why didn't they do anything about it?" will almost certainly be questions that our grandchildren and their children will be asking, and I don't have any answers. I can say that the small efforts I can make, like spreading the word about what's going on in the USA, and voting in the upcoming Midterm elections (and encouraging others to do so as well) will have its own small effect. Hopefully there are enough people who feel the same as I do that we can, collectively, push things back in a direction that's for the benefit of all Americans, and perhaps all people in the world. Meanwhile, a salute to the 9/11 victims, survivors, first responders, and everyone else affected is always appropriate on this day, and I offer it sincerely.

The Show
So, it's finally starting to cool down considerably here in Southern California. I awoke today to temps in the mid-60s and the high is only around 73 today. After yet another brutal season of high summer temps, the somewhat crisp weather is a hugely welcome change. I find it likely that we still have another heat wave ahead per our typical weather patterns, but for now it's amazing and refreshing. I was definitely inspired by this to build a set list for last night's show that was very autumnal.

A couple of notes. First, yes, I did improvise a song called "Being Creepy to Tyche", and it was as bad as it sounds. Second, I was reminded that Joni Mitchell's 75th birthday is coming pretty soon, and I will definitely be covering plenty of that amazing woman's music in tribute for the next couple of months. I did "Furry" for the first time in four years, and I was glad I did (despite having to make my audience be patient while I retuned, which is just par for the course for playing Joni's best stuff).

I guess they forgot to tell me it was Ladies' Night at Serenity Gardens. Where are all the dudes? No one knows. Photo by Aurelie Chenaux.

It turned out to be a pretty good show and a good time for me and, hopefully, the crowd. Photo by Aurelie Chenaux.

Serenity Gardens set list...
One of These Things First (Nick Drake)
Fire & Rain (James Taylor)
This Afternoon (Zak Claxton)
*Being Creepy to Tyche Improv (Zak Claxton)
Half Moon Bay (Sun Kil Moon)
So. Central Rain (R.E.M.)
†Furry Sings the Blues (Joni Mitchell)
Abrasion (They Stole My Crayon)
Jane (Barenaked Ladies)
After the Gold Rush (Neil Young)
1979 (Smashing Pumpkins)
Pretty Pimpin’ (Kurt Vile)

*Indicates the first time I've performed this song in SL.
†As far as I can tell, I haven't performed "Furry" since September 2014 during a show at Hesperia of Templemore.

Big thanks to everyone who attended my show, with special thanks to those who helped support it!
Sinful Xubersnak, Kat Chauveau, Englishrose71 Resident, TheaDee Resident, Anastasia Yanwu, Aurelie Chenaux (who also provided the photos for this post!), Tyche Szondi, my manager Maali Beck, and the fabulous team at Serenity Gardens, Tilly Rose and Ilsa Wilde.

Serenity Gardens (08.27.18)

Good crowd, good tunes, happy Zak at Serenity Gardens. Photo by Thea Dee.

Kat is in Europe right now. At this very moment, she's in Copenhagen, Denmark, having just wrapped up a few days in Reykjavik, Iceland. Why is Kat in Europe? Because she wants to be! This is her first time exploring the continent purely for the joy of travel (as opposed to for business or a stopover at an airport), and it's something she's always wanted to do. The ultimate truth is that life is shorter than we'd prefer and your window for doing things like traveling the globe -- while you're young enough to have the energy to enjoy it and old enough to appreciate and afford it -- is pretty small. So, she planned a trip that takes her through the cities above along with Rome, Venice, Paris, London, and Dublin, with shorter stops in places like Athens, Pisa, Milan, Basel, and Wales. She'll have spent over three weeks there, said and done, before heading back to the USA.

Guess who's not in Europe? Me! While we both would have loved to do this trip together, that isn't even close to the realm of possibilities for me. I own a little company that does various kinds of marketing communications (aka advertising and PR), and I rarely have the ability to take three hours off work, much less three days, and three weeks is a ridiculous premise. Here's a little factoid: there have been many occasions that, after wrapping up a great rock and roll show in SL and saying goodbye to my faithful fans, I have to open up a spreadsheet, continue formatting a PowerPoint deck, or post some content for my clients. I'm not complaining about this in any way, I promise... I'm happy with my life. But the idea of heading off to Europe for a few weeks isn't remotely real for me, so while I miss Kat in her absence, I'm glad she's doing something she wanted to do regardless of my ability to be involved.

Ultimately, any good relationship involves a combination of togetherness and independence. It's an unfortunately common behavior for folks who never attain a certain level of maturity to insist that every aspect of life be at the control and approval of the spouse or significant other. Kat and I have both been married and divorced previously, so perhaps we grew out of that way of thinking, or learned via trial and error. In any case, she's free to do as she chooses, and I'm happy to support her in the things she wants to do.

Rocking in the Pixel World
Obviously, while out of the country, Kat's not able to attend my SL shows. Trying to get into SL on hotel/public WiFi is just silly, and besides that, the time difference means that I'm performing in the middle of the night for her. But life goes on, and I had my regularly-scheduled bi-weekly show at Serenity Gardens last night. I actually had a pretty close (for me) cluster of shows lately, having played on Wednesday and Sunday before Monday's show, and I wanted to be sure that the people who were attending multiple shows in a short time frame each got a somewhat unique experience, so I dug deeper into my repertoire and pulled out some tunes that I play more rarely.

I often tell my crowd at Serenity Gardens that it's the best time of the week, since they made it through Monday and have six full days until the next one. Photo by Thea Dee.

Me, onstage, doing what I do. Photo by Thea Dee.

That was fun, and the show went great, but I should note that there are some tunes that I absolutely love, but still aren't best rendered by one person with an acoustic guitar. The fact is that a song is made up of many parts. There's the basic aspect of a chord progression and a melody, and that's obviously the most important part. But there's also the aspect of the arrangement... the choice of instruments and vocals and various sound sources that comprise the song. And then there's the production itself, which, in certain kinds of music, can be every bit as important as the song. Anyway, there are some songs that I can certainly play, but should think twice about doing so based only on the idea that they need those other elements to be truly enjoyable to hear. That's probably why several of those songs stay deep in my song list and don't get pulled out very often. I remember after I play them, and then put them away again for years.

Serenity Gardens set list...
Possession (Sarah McLachlan)
Heart of Gold (Neil Young)
Shame Chamber (Kurt Vile)
Always Tomorrow (Zak Claxton)
Ashes to Ashes (David Bowie)
Breaking Us In Two (Joe Jackson)
Vendetta (They Stole My Crayon)
Psycho Killer (Talking Heads)
Mad World (Tears for Fears)
Carey (Joni Mitchell)
Things Behind the Sun (Nick Drake)
Polly (Nirvana)

Big, big thanks to the folks who came to the show, with special hats-off to the following who helped support it!
Trouble Streeter, dls Falconer, Marieleeblanc Resident, Kat Chauveau, Jukebox Diesel, ElusiveButterfly Ember, Aurelie Chenaux, TheaDee Resident, Celeste Ewing, Barbara Mixemup, my lovely manager Maali Beck, and the fabulous team at Serenity Gardens, Tilly Rose and Ilsa Wilde.

Veterans Isle/Homes For Our Troops (08.26.18)

Starting my show at Veterans Isle for Homes For Our Troops. We pulled in over L$100,000 during my one-hour set, thanks to my amazingly generous crowd and the folks who run the events and match donations. Photo by Triana Caldera.

Here's how I find out that I have a show to perform in Second Life: I get on the Internet (duh), and the home page of my web browser has a preview of my Google calendar. I glance at it as I open a new window, and see that my manager Maali Beck has added a date to the schedule. It's all very efficient and businesslike, which works for me. That, by the way, is exactly how I learned that I had a benefit show for Homes For Our Troops scheduled for the last Sunday in August. I got online one morning and there it was, magically appearing on my calendar.

The news brought a smile to my face. I've performed shows for Frets Nirvana's efforts at helping military veterans for years and years now. At least once a year (and always on the last Sunday of the month; Frets is smart keeping that a regularly scheduled event), I find myself at Veterans Isle in Second Life, performing music to help bring people in to make donations to this cause.

I've written about this many times before, so I'll be brief about it: I am as anti-war as anyone you'll meet. I think war is an archaic way of solving problems. It's barbaric and has no place in modern society. And, worst of all, the actual agenda for many wars throughout history is usually driven by greed... sometimes to get resources like food and oil, and other times for a lust for power and control. But those aspects of war are not driven by the people who are actually tasked with fighting. The human beings who put their lives on the line have the least to gain and the most to lose. Many of them come back after armed conflicts with their bodies and minds torn apart -- assuming they come back at all, as many do not. My father was a Vietnam-era vet; my ancestors and relatives fought in the revolutionary war, WWII and more; even my lovely ladyfriend Christina is an Army veteran, as are many of my friends.

So, I have personal connections to these people who fight wars and protect the USA. Moreover, it sickens me that the US government doesn't take better care of its military after their service is complete, and that we need to rely on private organizations to allow these brave people to lead a dignified life back home.

A good-sized crowd at Veterans Isle. More people means more donations, which is why the whole thing is happening in the first place. This was a great show. Photo by Triana Caldera.

Why Homes For Our Troops?
There are plenty of musicians who are leery about doing charity shows of any kind for the obvious reason that it's quite possible to take advantage of people's kindness and goodwill. One of the most important factors in getting people to want to be involved is a) proving the legitimacy of the charitable organization, and b) having transparency in showing that the huge majority of the funds donated do go to the proper recipients (and not get spent on administrative costs or executive salaries).

When I first did shows on Veterans Isle, the charity being supported was the Wounded Warrior Project. I'm not going to say anything bad about that worthy cause, but based on some of the factors mentioned above, Frets changed the recipient of our fundraising to Homes For Our Troops, and with a little investigation, I strongly support that decision. HFOT is very highly rated by charity watchdog groups, with an A rating from Charity Watch, an 89% grade from Charity Navigator, and a Platinum level rating from GuideStar. They give almost 90 cents of every dollar collected to their program services. All of this info can be independently verified. It should go without saying that HFOT is a genuine 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, meaning that they meet the criteria to be tax-exempt (and have to make their cash for very transparent to retain that status).

If you're still questioning what makes Homes For Our Troops a good choice of charities, check out the story of Marine Sergeant Toran Gaal below.


What I Do, and What Really Matters
Before you start saying, "Oh, that Zak is a wonderful person for using his music to help those in need," please be aware of something important: what I do is very easy for me. I log into SL, I get on a virtual stage, and I sing and strum guitar for an hour. I throw a little money into the charity too, but the huge amounts come from my friends and fans who attend the shows, and the generous people who match the funds. During the hour I performed yesterday at Veterans Isle, we raised about L$100,000, which is around $400 USD. That's pretty damn great. That's a significant amount of money for this cause. Again, my show is just a reason to bring people together, and hopefully I am entertaining while getting the importance of the charity's message across. The heroes are those who donate their own hard-earned money to support the cause, and I am extraordinarily grateful that the people who come to my benefit shows are able and willing to do so.

HFOT set list...
Pink Moon (Nick Drake)
Comes a Time (Neil Young)
This Afternoon (Zak Claxton)
Sleeper in the Valley (Laura Veirs
Pancho & Lefty (Townes Van Zandt)
America (Simon & Garfunkel)
Blew the Dust Away (They Stole My Crayon)
*Can’t Find My Way Home (Blind Faith)
Hand In My Pocket (Alanis Morisette)
Pigs on the Wing (Pink Floyd)
Washed Away (Zak Claxton)
If It Makes You Happy (Sheryl Crow)
Pickles (Zak Claxton)

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

This is the spot in my blog where I usually thank the folks who attended and helped support my show. Since I don't accept any payment or tips at charity shows, here's a list of people who happened to be at the show as indicated by my chat log. Thanks to each of you for being so wonderful and generous!
Dahlea Milena, Waya Snowpaw, Roxeerolla, Grizzly Nightfire, GJackie Winkler, Bri Mcmahon, William Hawksby, Aurelie Chenaux, Thea Dee, Kacey Rad, Sunshine Palmyra, Triana Caldera, Lukis Core, Anastasia Yanwu, RoxHardcore Cyberstar, Denisse Bee, CookieMarco, Kipp McKeenan, my terrific manager Maali Beck, and the man who tirelessly makes these events happen month after month, year after year (and a damn good guitarist to boot), Frets Nirvana!