[The] DropZone (02.15.26)

Now that's a flashy-ass SL stage. Rocking [The] DropZone on a Sunday afternoon. Photo by Kat.

Continuing with our series of brief show reports... this was my second time performing at [The] DropZone in Second Life. As I mentioned last time, I think it's a cool place. Definitely a slick and contemporary-looking design. I feel like the venue is still developing its own community, and that's something that takes time and needs to be cultivated to be successful.

But the build itself is cool, and they are certainly bringing in a wide variety of artists to try and familiarize people with the venue. I do wish them success and would definitely play there again if they wanted to have me.

Me, onstage, lit in blue neon. Photo by Kat.

[The] DropZone is pretty cool. Hope they have me back there again sometime. Photo by Kat.

I'm playing, people are dancing. Seems like a good way to spend the day. Photo by Kat.

[The] DropZone set list...

1979 (Smashing Pumpkins)

Polly (Nirvana)

Hand In My Pocket (Alanis Morissette)

Better Man (Pearl Jam)

Save Me (Aimee Mann)

Linger (The Cranberries)

Hunger Strike (Temple of the Dog)

Wonderwall (Oasis)

Wild Wild Life (Talking Heads)

Saved by Zero (The Fixx) 

So. Central Rain (R.E.M.)

What I Got (Sublime)

Thanks to all who hung out for this show, with special extra thanks to those who helped support it!

MattLoveJoy Resident, PrijaLeopynx Resident, Richy Nervous, Kat Claxton, Devin Collazo, my terrific manager Maali Beck, and [The]DropZone CEO Chloe Smythe and their great staff!

Hotel Chelsea/Shyla's Rezday (02.10.26)

This was not a typical show, but Shyla the Super Gecko is not a typical person. Photo by Kat.

I was just wrapping up my show in January at Hotel Chelsea when Shyla the Super Gecko — Chelsea's manager of all things artistic — asked if I was available to play at my following month's regular show (I was), and also asked if I was free a week later on February 10 to help celebrate her rezday.

The answer was an immediate and resounding yes. Shyla is great... one of the coolest people in SL, and she's hosted me for years at my monthly show at her venue. Playing her party was the least I could do. What I didn't realize at that moment was that Shyla had already determined a theme for her party: alien abduction.

Well, that was something I could work with quite happily. I put together an alien-themed set list and bought my little retro spaceman helmet, and away I went. We had a great crowd and her lineup of artists was outstanding. Every single person seemed to be having a great time throughout. Also, even after the show was long done, I'm still even sure exactly where the party was held; I can only assume that we were upstairs in one of the many rooms of that majestic building. It sure was decked out for the occasion. How cool!

Honestly, I think I spent like L$20 on this helmet and it could not have been more perfect. Photo by Kat.

A big room full of freaks. I felt at home among my people. Photo by Kat.

Shyla's rezday party ended up being one of the more fun shows I've played in a long time. Photo by Kat.

Rocking the aliens. Photo by Kat.

Hotel Chelsea/Shyla's Rezday set list...

People are Strange (The Doors)

Six Underground (Sneaker Pimps) 

Things Behind the Sun (Nick Drake)

It's Choade My Dear (Connan Mockasin)

Everything Is Scary (German Error Message)

Jesus Ranch (Tenacious D)

It's Easy Like Walking (The Sadies w/Kurt Vile) 

Welcome to the Machine (Pink Floyd) 

Starman (David Bowie)

Swing Lo Magellan (Dirty Projectors)

Rocket Man (Elton John)

Things Under Trees (They Stole My Crayon)

I Am The Walrus (Beatles)

Big thanks to all the crazy people who were at this monster mama jam, with extraterrestrial thanks to the following who helped support it!

Basil Brooks, Echooo Oh, Judytoo Resident, Richy Nervous, dk77333 Resident, Indigo Starling, Clashofblepandmlem Resident, Diana Winchester, Saffron Spice, Echooo Oh, Sangreal Arnica, bundy Xue, Kat Claxton, Sienna Cupola, Lisa Brune, my terrific manager Maali Beck, and the rezday reptile herself, Hotel Chelsea manager Shyla the Super Gecko!

Hotel Chelsea (02.03.26)

Some shows are big, others small. But we play just as well for each and all. Photo by Kat.

Continuing our series of brief live music show reports... I'd spent the Sunday before this Hotel Chelsea show protesting at the “ICE Out of Everywhere” action event, and I was a bit concerned that the small act of screaming for multiple hours would have possibly had a deleterious effect on my normally mellifluous voice. But no. By the time the show came around, I was fine. If anything, I sounded a little better than usual. Go figure.

The one notable thing about this show was that Bruce Springsteen, that previous weekend, had written and released a folk anthem that addressed the murders of Renee Good and Alex Pretti. It was a strong but pretty straightforward song, and I learned it immediately and played it for the first time at this very show.

As I've said many times, I play the same for three people as I do for 3,000. It's true. Photo by Kat.

Me, rocking as usual. Photo by Kat.

That's Rosemary Teal getting ready to get onstage after me. Photo by Kat.

Hotel Chelsea set list...

Crime (Real Estate)

Carey (Joni Mitchell)

Among the Leaves (Sun Kil Moon)

Perfectly Calm (They Stole My Crayon)

Games Without Frontiers (Peter Gabriel)

Wild World (Cat Stevens)

Broken Day (Zak Claxton)

Afterlife (Alex G)

All You Fascists (Woody Guthrie)

*Streets of Minneapolis (Bruce Springsteen)

California (Joni Mitchell)

Always Tomorrow (Zak Claxton)

What's So Funny 'Bout Peace Love & Understanding (Elvis Costello)

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

Massive thanks to all who came out to this show, and even bigger thanks to the following who helped support it!

Harpo String, ImNotAplayeR Resident, Trouble Streeter, TessClover Resident, Kat Claxton, Richy Nervous, my terrific manager Maali Beck, Hotel Chelsea manager Shyla the Super Gecko!

Lutz City of Templemore (02.01.26)

Templemore — any venue, any vibe, any crowd — is always one of the best experiences for both musicians and music lovers in the entirety of Second Life. Photo by Kat.

We're going to knock out a big batch of blogs in which we fell seriously behind, so pardon the brevity here.

As always, Lutz City of Templemore is an outstanding spot in the virtual world for live music. One thing that's made it great over the 12+ years I've been doing shows there: they are constantly tweaking and building new venues and environments. While I occasionally play the same spot twice — like this amazing dilapidated library — it never fails to amaze me how detailed and well thought-out the build is. Hats off to Luis Lockjaw and everyone on that team.

Me onstage, rumbling and bumbling. Photo by Kat.

I seriously love Templemore. Amaze. Photo by Kat.

There's nowhere else like it in the universe. Photo by Kat.

Lutz City of Templemore set list...

Save It For Later (English Beat) 

Gardenia (Iggy Pop)

Pink Moon (Nick Drake)

The Rainbow Connection (Kermit the Frog) 

Shock the Monkey (Peter Gabriel)

America (Simon & Garfunkel) 

Afterlife (Alex G)

Half Moon Bay (Sun Kil Moon)

Sleeper In The Valley (Laura Veirs)

Furry Sings the Blues (Joni Mitchell)

Low Key (Tweedy)

*Templemore Improv (Zak Claxton)

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

Huge thanks to all who came out to this show, and extra sweet thanks to the following who helped support it!

Richy Nervous, Dirk McKeenan, Maya Lockjaw, Capricia Bloodrose, Bevan Whitfield, Bonita Denimore, Laze Babenco, Carlita Primdashian, Lisa Brune, Joel Eilde, IseabalBoyle Resident, errman80 Resident, Mazzy Moonchild, Roslin Petion, ThisIsMyAlterEgo Resident, Kat Claxton, Trouble Streeter, my terrific manager Maali Beck, and most of all to Luis Lockjaw, AmyraVuitton Resident, and all the people who keep the stages at Templemore rumbling!

[The] DropZone (01.11.26)

Making my debut at [The] DropZone, a relatively new venue in the virtual world of Second Life, Photo by Kat.

Hi there, readers. It is I, Zak Claxton, the virtual world rock star, here to talk about my debut show at a relatively new SL venue called [The] DropZone. But first, we'll note some other things going on in life, because that's what we do here. It is a blog, you know.

Rest In Peace, Bob Weir

Most of you know I have a very diverse and wide-ranging musical taste, and that over the past 15+ years, my main musical focus has been in the realm of indie rock and pop, with its many subgenres from shoegaze to art rock to dream pop and the rest. What you might not know is that for a good period of time in the '80s and '90s, I was a pretty dedicated Deadhead. that may seem musically incongruous with the sounds I like now, but I assure you, it's not.

I went to dozens of shows at many different venues all over the West Coast. The Dead were both adventurous and traditional; they could be a super tight band in one moment and dissolve into utter slop the next. They were unpredictable, unique, and — as many people understand — the culture and community that went along with being a Deadhead was on par with being a fan of the music itself.

Bob Weir, via bobweir.net

In any case, I was here at home on Saturday afternoon when a social post popped up that I was in no way prepared to see. It was from the official account of Grateful Dead co-founder Bobby Weir, announcing his sudden passing. Weir was 78... not an age that's completely shocking for a man to pass away, but the fact is that I always felt like Bob was the young guy in the band. And indeed he was; when he, Jerry Garcia, Phil Lesh, Bill Kreutzmann, and Ron "Pigpen" McKernan started the Dead in 1965, Bob was only 16 years old.

Bob was a terrific musician and composer, and a criminally underrated rhythm guitarist whose unique, angular chord inversions and sense of timing blended perfectly with Garcia's spidery lead lines. I would say that both as a singer-songwriter and guitarist, Bob did have a big influence on me as a musician and songwriter, and his music made a huge mark on the world. Rest in peace, Bob. As the lyric from "Franklin's Tower" goes, "May the four winds blow you safely home."

Is The World Ending?

Probably not, but a lot of signs show that it's much closer than almost any previous period in my lifetime. The USA seems hellbent on a path toward complete fascism and authoritarianism. I am — bizarrely — hopefully that some of the more recent and egregious aspects will result in an inflection point where we can nip Trump's power grab in the bud and begin to turn things back in a positive direction.

It's easy to get scared and discouraged with events like the murder of Renee Good by an ICE agent, among many other atrocities yet to be fully revealed. But if any one of these things — from the Epstein files to the horrible economy to unaffordable health care to the failure of many crucial government programs —  turns the dial a little further away from the influence of Trump and the MAGA world, they won't have happened in vain.

Renee Good, moments before her murder by ICE agent Jonathan Ross.

On Saturday, Kat and I swung by one of the hundreds of "ICE Out for Good" protest events and vigils like the one above, ours being in Torrance, CA.

How About the Show?

Yes, let's talk about that. While I was performing a recent show at another venue, my manager Maali got contacted by DropZone CEO Chloe Smythe, who booked me at her place that I had previously not heard of. I later found out that [The] DropZone only opened up a few months ago, so it's no surprise I was unaware. I'm not the most dialed-in guy in SL these days,

The venue itself is cool. Very modern and contemporary, with a big city theme that's well designed. It's a very clean and sharp-looking build that feels very current. The stage lighting is dynamic and colorful, and the audience area has both a dance floor and seating zones. I was impressed.

Pretty cool. [The] DropZone has the feel of a public terrace park area in the midst of a big downtown city area. Photo by Kat.

Waiting my turn to go on while Anarae performs.

However, I have a story that has nothing at all to do with the venue. First, both in real life and the virtual world, it's every musician's worst nightmare to have a random gear failure within minutes of showtime. And let me tell you, I have never once met any experienced performer who hasn't had this happen in one form or another. Over the years, it's happened to me dozens upon dozens of times.

That being said, it still sucks. Less than ten minutes before my time to take the stage at DropZone, I was doing a quick check of my sound for my two audio sources — a microphone and a guitar. The mic sounded great. The guitar sounded... silent. Fuck. After a flurry of battery changes and mixer tweaks, with a minute to spare I decided to swap out the guitar cable.

And everything was fine, but left me as a sweaty stress-filled wreck just as I hit the button to broadcast my live show. The goods news? I quickly recovered and felt the entire rest of the show went really well. We had a reasonably good-sized crowd, most of them seemed to like what I was doing, and the songs themselves came out great. I had a couple of tunes in the set that were done with purpose... Buffalo Springfield's "For What It's Worth," done as a nod to the protests across the USA, and "Cassidy," a Bob Weir-composed tune that I've only done extremely rarely and performed in homage to his passing.

Starting my set while catching my breath from my near show-ending disaster. Photo by Kat.

Onstage doing my thing. Photo by Kat.

[The] DropZone has the feel of an upscale outdoor club/music venue. I like it. Photo by Kat.

My view from the stage. Photo by Kat.

Getting off stage and doing the final tune of my set in the crowd to make room for the next performer to get set up. It's just a nice thing to do, and sorta fun too. Photo by Kat.

[The] DropZone set list...

Airport Bar (Martin Courtney)

Sex and Candy (Marcy Playground)

Things Behind the Sun (Nick Drake)

Cat's In The Cradle (Harry Chapin)

Landslide (Fleetwood Mac)

Cassidy (Grateful Dead)

For What Its Worth (Buffalo Springfield) 

Pecan Pie (Golden Smog)

Swirl (Charlie Martin)

Afterlife (Alex G)

It's Easy Like Walking (The Sadies w/Kurt Vile)

Don’t Ask Me Why (Billy Joel) 

*Rockin’ at the DropZone Improv (Zak Claxton)

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

Big thanks to the folks who came out to my debut at DropZone, with special thanks to the following who helped support it!

Savannah Tomorrow, RockWell Nirvana, Kat Claxton, Mike Hamlin, my terrific manager Maali Beck, and [The]DropZone CEO Chloe Smythe!

Hotel Chelsea (01.06.26)

Oh hi. I'm catching up on some blogs that I sort of blew off. And I think I accidentally deleted the pics from this show. Whoops.

But it was my first show of 2026, and it went well. Despite nothing being truly well in this era of shit, some things are still okay. My only note about this show: I debuted "Afterlife" by Alex G, and it turned out to be a great song to play live. To do so, I pulled up a video of Alex himself, performing the song pretty much solo at the Newport Folk Festival, and then — clamping my capo all the way at the eighth fret like he does — did it that way.

Hotel Chelsea set list...

Northern Sky (Nick Drake)

Help Me (Joni Mitchell) 

Ashes to Ashes (David Bowie)

Jack Straw (Grateful Dead)

Say Goodbye (Beck)

*Afterlife (Alex G)

Friday I'm In Love (The Cure)

Rock and Roll Woman (Buffalo Springfield)

Dead Flowers (Rolling Stones) 

1979 (Smashing Pumpkins) 

If You Could Only See (Tonic) 

Radio Free Europe (R.E.M.)

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

Thanks to everyone who helped support this show!

Lutz City of Templemore (12.14.25)

A beautiful fall day at Lutz City of Templemore. Perfect vibe for my music. Photo by Kat.

I always find out about my upcoming shows at Lutz City of Templemore in the most unexpected moments imaginable. As I've said many times before, it's long been one of my favorite collection of live music venues in Second Life... visually stunning, great community, everything you'd want as a performing musicians in a virtual world.

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!