SecondLife Musicians and Venues

Issue 4

UPDATE:WOUNDED WARRIORSA VISIT TO

PREMIER DJ ACADEMY

Bat MastersSteveolio

Mill TycoonGavin ZaneJoel Eilde

Rock DoghouseKevinMThomasDavid Csiszer

Seamore WildeheartChance Jampuler

VMS 2

VMS 4

VMS Reopening PartyBat MastersSteveolioMill TycoonWounded WarriorsBenefitGavin ZaneHow to use GesturesLazarus DoghouseJoel EildePremiere DJ AcademyKevinMThomasThe WharfRock DoghouseDavid CsiszerSeamore WildeheartChance Jampuler

vmsmagazinemay 2011

publisher

Design editor

managing Editor

Reporters

PhotographersPHOTOGRAPHERS

What a month it has been. After a short hiatus, our VMS venue has re-

opened its doors to the music world, feted by superb artists and a lively

crowd on May 22nd. We have a new and improved website which wil l

soon be complete. So, we have lots of changes happening at VMS, but

that’s a good thing. Change is good!

This fourth edition is packed with interesting, fun and informative articles

showcasing the talent of Second Life’s music scene.

We talk to the talented Lazarus Doghouse (our cover boy) about his first

and Second Life musical journey with some great anecdotes along the

way.

We follow up last month’s article on Patriot Island with one covering the

Apri l 201 2 Wounded Warrior Benefit.

Want a hint on creating the perfect avatar? Have a read of the June ‘How

To’ Segment. “How To Use Gestures Properly” is fi l led with great advice

from professional musicians and agents on getting your avatar sparkl ing

sexy.

Journey with us as we explore the l ives, inspirations and aspirations of

artists: Chance Jampuler, Dale Katscher, David Csiszer, Bat Masters,

Gavin Zane, Joel Eilde, KevinMThomas Carpool, Mike00 Carnell , Mil l

Tycoon, Rock Doghouse, Seamore Wildeheart and Steveeolio.

Visit the DJ Academy and Wild Girls Wharf Café, catch a seat, l isten to a

spin.

Producing an inworld magazine to a professional and readable standard is

hard work, however, the end produce is so worth the effort and this

month’s magazine reflects the dedication and professionalism of our staff.

Thanks to the expertise of VMS Owner, Jay Hurikan, my fel low editor,

Thirza Ember, our fabulous writers, photographers and event staff, we

have produced another original, unique edition.

We present to you the June Issue of VMS Magazine!

~Happy Reading~

Klarissa Huntress

VMSre­opens its doors!

VMS saw its doors re-open on the 22nd May to anenthusiastic and supportive audience.Performing from 1 0am to 2pm, stel lar performers,AMFORTE Clarity, Dee Timeless, Tukso Okey andTerrylynn Melody kept the party rol l ing.

AMFORTE opened up the night with her trademark original song,‘Fal l ing’ and the audience fel l to her charm, l iteral ly. Sidestepping theprone bodies, others engaged in local chat banter encouraged byAMFORTE’s wit, warm presence and popular comparative questions.“What would you rather be, a Lionel Ritchie impersonator or a hobbitpimp?”

At VMS we always love to hear AMFORTE's originals. This evening,she shared with us ‘My Way’, a song she wrote for her mother,‘Nothing Concrete’, and she finished her set with ‘Crazy for You’.Original, Live music in Second Life is always a joy, and a perfect wayto begin our evening.

Dee Timeless next entertained the crowd with his own take on therock classic genre. His smooth voice combined with exquisite fingerplaying on a 6 string guitar brought more fol lowers to the floor.

Dee opened with Jim Croce’s, ’Got A Name’ and continued in thesame vein with Oasis’s , ‘Wonderwall ’ , Vertical Horizon’s, “EverythingYou Want’, and Amercia’s, ‘Horse With No Name. ’

His rendition of the Bread classic‘Diary’ brought tears to the eyes ofsome audience members and when it ended, his voice was ful l ofemotion, “Oh man, it’s been too long since I did that one, anyway I just

did it. ”

He continued his rich, strong playing with the Pretender’s, ‘Back in theChain Gang, ’ and ended his set with a change of pace and livelyrendition of ZZ Top’s ‘Cheap Sunglasses’.

Up next was the talented Tukso Okey. As usual his growling, thumpingtempo drew in the crowds as hie invited al l his fans to 'Make SomeNoise! ' The VMS venue was electric as he went from song to song,whipping up the intensity of his set.

'The Cat's Got the Measles' and Papa Charl ie Jackson's lyrics reallyexpressed the feeling in the room: 'Now I think I heard a rumbling :deep down in the ground, Well it must have been the devil : chainingmy good gal down. '

There were plenty of good gals and guys dancing to the music. Amongthem, Rebecca Ashbourne who runs the Tuckso group on Flickr,where you can add your pictures of his events around the grid.Rebecca is a huge fan. "I love Tukso's sound, cos it rocks! He is myfavourite performer in al l of SL. He's an amazing musician who laysdown his backing track live on a digital loop playing keyboards, drums,bass guitar, rhythm guitar, and then plays awesome wail ing electric

blues guitar over it and also sings. Outstanding."

After Tukso, we had the great pleasure to hear TerryLynn Melodyround off the evening. The tempo changed, and the mood becamethoughtful and mellow.

TerryLynn gave ussome awesomecovers, from JanisJoplin's classic'Another Piece of MyHeart', to more recentnumbers, l ikeSugarland's wittynumber 'Stuck LikeGlue' and GracePotter's 'Paris'.As always, TerryLynnbrought plenty of 'oola la' to her set.

In the audience wasthe delightful Sparkie Cyberstar, and (in rabbit form)Mother Faulkwing, who's been married to TerryLynn for 23years.

" Terry has a way of singing about the human condition.She seems to write songs people can relate to. Her albumis coming along nicely, hopeful ly we'l l be releasing it in the

fal l . I t is a ful l productionof her original music,and has been funded bySL. I couldn't beprouder!"

All in al l , i t was a greatnight. As CatchaBallyhoo commented,"VMS is so important. I tgives SL artists a placeto experience one of thebest parts of Second Life- l ive music."Ciske Crumb agrees."I t's always fun to be

with Jay, when he's around! He is never too serious. This guy isworking hard for Live Music in SL, both at the VMS club and also themagazine. We love you Jay!"The grand re-opening was great fun and we thank all the people whoattended, and our great musicians, and look forward to seeing you allat VMS on a regular basis for a long time to come. ◄VMS►

Bat Masters

They call him Bat on account of his real l ifename, Burton A. Tienken. Now, with thesupport of his band of old friends , the"Mount Pilot Party Girls" this 30-yearveteran of the guitar is bringing highenthusiasm for music and fel lowship toyour door. .

Bat chose the last name Masters becausehis band was original ly going to be calledMasters Of Leisure. However, the nameMount Pilot Party Girls was the idea of hisdrummer and originated from the AndyGriffith shows. They agreed it fit perfectlyand thus the band was set.

Recently returned from the Nashvil le Music City Jam 201 2,he is sti l l “buzzing and bouncing in his chair. I t was one ofthe most amazing and fun experiences I 've had."

Bat Masters’ raw sounds compliment his voice. His highspirits, boastful self-confidence, and selfdeprecating humor puts the audience at ease.His songs play in humor and fun, with atinge of sensuality leaving the crowdasking for more.

Blessed with a family that supportedhis musical abil ities, his father

played the organ and his older brother playedguitar, he was inspired to try his hand at music inthe seventh grade with a guitar class andinvolvement in theatre. He also found to hisdel ight that the girls l iked him bringing the guitaron the bus--a definite plus.

Eventual ly he ventured into his first band wherehe played bass.

“The first song I ever played was House Of theRising Sun”, which has since grown into anextensive set l ist in Second life. “I never plannedon going professional, I wouldn’t mind just playingnow and then but my fan base is quickly buildingand the demand for my music is growing, so Imay be playing just a bit more rather than nowand then.”

“Second Life is great. I can show up in myjammies and play with my band in the basementand rock it out. The only down side is the delay inchat after I finish a song, which can be 1 0 to 1 5seconds. Gauging the delayed reaction of theaudience to decide what to play next is one of themore difficult parts to overcome becauseaudience response is very important to decide

what to do next. ”

"To the folks who come to hear me I saya heartfelt thank you. You all real lymake the show go. And to new SLmusicians, well , stay cool and l istento how others do it. Find yourgroove and have a blast!" ◄VMS►

SMOOTH BLEND:STEVEEOLIO

Continuity and novelty are the words that came to mind as SL singer and guitaristSteveeolio played to a small but responsive crowd at Ye Olde Wolf n Hawk pub.Continuity because he has developed his jazz/folk fusion skil ls over many yearsfrom when he was a teenager in RL; Novelty because he brings an original touchto otherwise faithful covers of classic songs, andbecause it is only in the last year that he has begun, inhis fifties, to explore the digital environment of SL.

During his set, Steve showed how he blends longexperience with an open-minded search for newapproaches and audiences. He covers and giveshis own twist to everything from songs by Judy

Garland, Jimmy McHugh and Chick Corea to the Beatles, Glen Campbell , andmore contemporary musicians.

The resulting sound, both acoustic and electric, is based on a powerful voice,sol id guitar work and his long apprenticeship. Steve applies skil ls drawn fromjazz and folk in a deft and nuanced manner.“In 1 972, I then became an active musician in an inner circle of friends thatshared the same passion. Played for two decades with only the ear and talentof my gift. Then, thanks to a good friend, Jim Cooper, who stopped and sharedthe importance of reading music, I then learned every jazz and blues musicalong with many popular covers. I learned one new song a day for the nextthree years.”

The long practice and wil l ingness to learn paid off, equipping him with a strongbut versati le vocal style and lively guitar technique. His guitar work is earthyand plangent, but he squeezes a surprisingly broad tonal range from a limitedregister of notes, a jazzy improvisation l ingering beneath the chunky, welljudged chords. But it is his rich voice, ranging from a powerful baritone to asinewy tenor, that real ly distinguishes him.

I t is a singing style that weaves hypnotic patterns in and around his chosenlyrics. He played a variety of covers and the ful l potency and cleverness of hisapproach best emerged in his version of the Beatles', Strawberry Fields. Herehe gave us a subtle and intriguing rendition, his voice, ably supported by welljudged guitar sequences, working to extract every resonance from the poetryof the original track, whilst constantly suggesting new intonations and nuances.

This is a difficult trick to pull off, and clearly his years of devotion to his crafthave given him an understated control over his performances. He alsoengages easily with the audience, inserting l ittle asides into the middle ofsongs in response to comments and requests.

He cleverly varies the playl ist, switching smoothly from Procul Harum's,'A Whiter Shade of Pale', to a track by the Band. Underneath thesmoothness is deep knowledge. By his own account he enjoys “workingmusic from many greats such as Gershwin, Cole Porter, TheloniusMonk and John Coltrane. Great guitar influences by Pat Martino, PatMetheny, Wes Montgomery, along with many other greats.”

Beneath the seamless and soulful professionalism there is muchdedication. Steveoolio has plainly learned a lot from his past and is sti l lwi l l ing to learn more as he explores the new world of Second Life. Theresult is a pleasing, heartfelt and at times distinctly subtle sound that wil ladd much to the pleasure of music lovers in SL.◄VMS►

in conversation withGavin Zane

"Last month, I was out across British Columbia with Blackie & The RodeoKings. I t was awesome , hanging around with those guys is way too muchfun!"

"RL is for sure more nervewracking , and I think there are several reasons.Of course depends on the artist but for me RL is definitely harder. SL isconsistent. I have my gear set up, and there is no diffrence betweenvenues. so it's easier to stay focused. However SL has for sure made myRL gigs far better. The hours I put in in SL shows at any performance Ido , and the more comfortable I get in SL, the morecomfortable each gig in RL becomes."

"My top three favorite covers are : 'Wil l iesDiamond Joe' by Wil l ie P Bennett , he is aCanadian songwriting icon, 'Sex & Candy' byMarcy Playground , it's just a fun song , and 'Jack &Diane' by John Couger Mellencamp. As for originals, I love playing 'The Radio Song', but I haven't writtenmy 'best song' yet - I 'm quite hard on myself as fororiginals. I 'm a bit of a perfectionist and my own worstcritic."

"SL helps big time. I get a lot of inspiration from SL, notnecessari ly from the game itself, but from the people whocome to my shows. People chat, and maybe don't think I real lyabsorb it al l during a show , but people's l ife stories come through. I alsofind it easier to write in third person. SL lets me view the world throughGavin's eyes, so to speak."

" My avatar is l ike a bridge between the 'real ' me and my public. A lot ofmusicians don't use their real names, for legal reasons and so on, but ithelps to 'sl ip into character' if that character is removed from yourself. Iwould say at my RL gigs, people are getting Gavin more than my RL self,although those two are the same person."

"I 've been playing since I was 1 5 or so , but never tookit seriously unti l I was into my 30's. Over the last 5 yearsI 've been immersed. I have no income other than whatmusic brings to me. I get most of my work doing SoundTech jobs for other artists RL. So both l ives are prettymuch fi l led with music."

"I also run a venue in RL and have a promo companythat special izes in Reggae world music, and Gavin is awelcome addition to al l that. I t's the kind of thing whereyou need a little luck and be wil l ing to go out and makethe phone ring to get paid, but it's my passion."

"When I 'm not in SL , youl l probably find me at TheDuncan Garage Showroom, a RL venue in VancouverIsland BC Canada where I have it al l set up forstreaming shows. A lot of what I 've done with thewebsite in RL is from what I 've learned aboutstreaming and video from SL."

Second Life is notorious for its l ittle quirks - fromproblems with streaming to lag, to over-enthusiasticfans.

"I 'm little lucky in the sense that investing in my RLwork allowed me to have Mac's and nice computers

around , so I usually don't have tomany technical issues."

That said, Gavin's no stranger tothe 'odder' side of SL.

"Well I think the " kind letters of adoration" from female fans can be . . .uhm .. . funny and wierd, but being an artist means you've opened yourselfup to your fans. So, while I don't encourage personal relationships, I amvery happily taken in RL, I think that artist who dont respond to fans isdoomed to lose them. I t's a tightrope. There are definitley less inhabitionson SL. That goes for either gender, I suppose. Not that it's bad , it's justpoints of view."

"Gavin is here to stay , he has become too much apart of my music , andSL is my medium for gaining expierence , confidence and pushing myselfmusicaly. My RL musical gains would suffer, if SL wasn't here." ◄VMS►

*+.¸. •*(¸. •*´♥` *•. ¸)` *•. ¸ .+*+♥+*` *♥Use Gestures ♥*` *+♥

*+.¸. •*(¸. •*´♥` *•. ¸)` *•. ¸ .+*

Kalli Birman is Brandy Maltas, a manager, blogger, and venue consultant.With Mankind Tracer, she runs the Village and Club Graffiti.

Anek Fuchs is Dave Smith, an award-winning guitarist.Offstage, he is a technical consultant to both musicians and venue owners

Lingual Markus runs Marcus Management. He mentors musicians and venue owners.His club is on the ROOF ofStudio Markus NYC Gallery.

enola Vaher manages the historic Chelsea Hotel, a music, art, and poetry sim, based on NewYork's Bohemian landmark.

Sparkie Cyberstar manages TerryLynn Melody, and is booking agent for some of the best SLmusic talent.

Sparkie Cyberstar: At music events, the best gestures are tip gestures! I use them, but try todo it sparingly. Most musicians appreciate gestures. I don't 'Howl', but I don't mind any ofthem, real ly I think they boost the crowd and the singer. But I have to say, I keep Sounds off.Gestures should be sound free. I make some gestures myself - ones giving information aboutmy musiicans and so on, but general ly I either buy them, or ask for a copy, or 'steal ' gesturetext - they're too tedious to make.

Anek Fuchs: Big gestures? I mute them, as I don't l ike being hooooo'd over. I t's everyoneschoice, to make noise or be quiet out of respect, but, its also all our choices whether or not wewish to hear, so its no matter to me. While I 'm playing, of course, I mute everything but audioand video, so I see them in general. I appreciate it, and vocalize that in the mic so they knowI 'm aware, again, it can be spammish. I 've made gestures, and use them too sometimes. Ihave a fun one that Ann Wunderland gave me that a couple years ago. I didnt make it, but iuse it a lot. I t's short and funny . Having fought my way up to the "arrogant one" status, I tookthings too seriously for too long, these fun gestures help us break that up.

Kalli Birman: Good gestures at a concert are not noisy and not 1 0 or 20 lines long. A few linesimple applause gets the message across. I 'm not sure who started making gestures that havesounds, but clearly, they never considered that:#1 . musicians turn off sounds, so they are not even hearing the sounds and#2. because of al l the gesture noise, you might miss something the musician is sayingbetween their songs.So good gestures are simple and not noisy, and bad ones are huge and spammy with lots ofsounds.

Lingual Markus: Shorter is better. Ten line gestures are annoying. A lot of people get mutedfor doing that. For example my business partner 's girlfriend mutes anything over 5 l ines. Idon't mind giggles, but the howls l ike a wolf, or the train, or al l that other bul lcrap, is annoying.I t's a problem for promoters too. I remember working with one musician, every time I put infoout about her websites and so on, someone would howl, then the train, then another 1 0 l iner,and all the l inks would go off the screen. Gestures aren't important to me - they seem moreimportant to the fans, but I guess it depends on the gesture? Applause are always welcome,but the train, or the howl -no!

enola Vaher: I t's about balance. I don't l ike it when a manager or host wil l spam aboutwebsites and such every 5 minutes. I train my hostesses not to do it. Once in a while is fine,but a lot of gestures are way too spammy, aspecial ly the long ones. Gestures can be great,they help make the atmosphere friendly. I 'm a howler myself - just not al l the time!

I think I saw the devil on stage Friday night, andhis music has a fire of its own.

Singer-songwriter Joel Eilde growled, andstrummed, and strutted his way through his hourlong set at rustic roadhouse The Stump. He leftme helpless, and breathless, and prostrate athis feet.

Ei lde plays a wide range of songs. He gave ussome covers (Ben Harper, Smashing Pumpkins,Gene Ween) and some original numbers in awide variety of styles, sometimes switchingstyles mid-song, veering from spare, sweet,unadorned folk to growling riffs from heavymetal to massive whirl ing electronica storms,ambient and techno and lighting flashes of purescreeching guitar.

Standing on stage in his short black hair, tightblack jeans, dark glasses and five o’clockshadow, Eilde, who is also front man for thegroup Dragonfly, was the image of the roguetroubadour. Bruce Springsteen, Roy Orbison,Jake White, J immie Page, Bob Dylan,smoldering, and making us smolder with him,burning cigar in his mouth, tip glowing red-hot,clouds of smoke that swirl ing around his head.

Then he began to sing a heartfelt cover of BenHarper’s “Excuse Me, Mister” and his soft voice,and the way his fingers delicately explored andstrummed his Mahogany Godin, proved thatfal len angels are indeed sti l l angels. And thateven though the Devil gets the best music, his

Joel Eilde ­ Wicked good

Satanic Majesty doesn’t get to keep it. And sometimesa devil ish tune, sung right, does more good than asanctified chorus.The song is a protest song, a rant against the slothand greed and gluttony that leads men in power todespoil . And Eilde made the song his own.

His music is a tight acoustical tapestry of manymusical traditions, western and non-western. Hiswestern roots are eclectic but unsurprising: blues,rock, and a heavy dose of heavy metal, which he toldme in an after concert he l istened to very heavily in histeens and 20s. He then added that he felt heavy metalalone was ‘col lapsing under its own weight. ”

Ei lde spent years studying study of Persian, Turkish,and Indian traditions so he could weave them into hiswork. You can hear tabla and sitar side by side withguitar and drum machine.What is remarkable, though, is how well Ei lde mixesthis al l together into a trippy brew touches heart andhead, and stirs up the soul (and other part of thel istener’s body), without being aggressive or overt.

Even Eilde’s cover of Gene Ween’s Spirit Walkerwalks this mysterious l ine between the sexual and thespiritual. I t is positively tantric how well the two arefused in Dragonfly’s work.

Eilde’s voice is not a trained one and his range is nothuge, but that doesn’t real ly matter. He growls out hislyrics in the tradition of his fel low Canadian LeonardCohen. Anything lacking in his voice is more thanmade up for with the variety and mastery of hisinstruments – and of styles.

Joel Eilde ­ Wicked good

◄VMS►

◄VMS►

Premiere DJ Academy

Premiere DJ Academy

Spend any time in Second Life and you wil l soon realise how important skil led DJsare to the in-world music scene. A good DJ creates a special vibe that brings peopleback to a sim again and again. Therefore, a club's very survival can depend onhiring people to play the right tunes in the right way.

But being a DJ in Second Life is not easy. The attributes required are more complexthan they first seem. Relationships between DJs, club owners and other staff cansometimes go wrong. There is a clear need for proper training and professionalstandards.

The Premier DJ Academy, operating in-world since 2008, provides just that. The

Academy has trained 2000 individuals andnow operates from its own sim with a staff often.

The two large rooms of the Academy'sheadquarters exude an atmosphere offocused and tasteful professionalism. Aroundthe walls are tightly packed notices andadverts: no space is wasted, but the mellowcolours create a warm,soothing atmosphere.

The variety of servicesoffered on the sim’sinteractive boards showtraining as a disc jockey isnot in isolation. Instructionis offered in hosting and clubmanagement too.

A holistic, teamworkapproach is taken, according to AcademyManager, Loki Kahanamoku. I t goes beyondmere technical proficiency. “Our classes areprobably 30% technical. Personal and socialski l ls matter far more than mastery ofsoftware."

"The biggest thing that they need to learn ishow to work the people. I tel l them anyone can

play music, but it takes someone who canreally work the crowd to be a DJ. The thing toavoid is being what I cal l a ‘music pusher’.That is, a DJ who plays music and the onlytalking they do is announce the next song.You need to read and respond to theaudience.”

“The bulk of the time is spent learning how todeal with variouspersonalities. Even moreimportant is how a DJcopes with criticism. Muchof the training teachespeople how to handle'negative comments'. Youare always going to havepeople who do not l ikeyour music. So, findingthe way around that is themost difficult thing

because you need to keep people involved inthe set, and keep them at the club as long aspossible.”

On top of dealing with negativity, the ambitiousDJ must also find a way of projecting asuitable persona. Loki explains, “For example,I am a versati le DJ. So, I have a country boypersonality and demeanour when I play

country and the fl irty, party boy when I play club music."

"Coordination is also vital. Each host and DJ make a team. I t is soimportant that you greet a customer within the first ten seconds of theirarrival. The failure to do so can result in that person leaving and nevercoming back. Plus, it is also important that they keep the local chatflowing.”

He has advice for club managers too. “A DJ should never be hiredunless they can be trusted to do a good job. So, let them do their job. I fthere are issues, then it is okay to bring them up. But, don'tmicromanage.”

Despite the emphasis on human skil ls, practitioners should keep up withtechnological changes. “There are always advances in technology.Soundboards are starting to make their way into Second Life. So,instead of control l ing things with a computer, you control the music withan actual DJ soundboard that attaches into your computer. Thisequipment is used for l ive mixer DJs. I t wil l make it easier and asmoother sound. There are mixing boards in the programs we use to DJwith, however, the difference is control l ing it with your mouse versuscontrol l ing it with your hands on a sound board.”

In addition to its core training, the Academy offers 'l ifetime backup' andaccess to its networks of clubs and contacts inside SL. Prices start at$1 600L for two hours of DJ training, $1 200L for management training and600L for host/dancer training. ◄VMS►