Music in SL - an outsider's perspective

Today I've been ruminating on one of my favourite things - music. Since I now actually work for a living again (rather than going to graduate school, a rather masochistic thing in itself), I listen to music at work to filter out the stuff going on around me. I've started bringing my CDs to work to rip when I get bored with what I already have...eventually I'll have everything ripped.

Now, I'm no performer. I have taken many years of piano lessons, and played French horn in college - in concert band, marching band, brass choir and orchestra. So I know the terminology and the basics. I just don't have "It". I don't even know what "It" is - I just know that I've played with people that have "It", and I don't.

"It", to me, is a combination of some magical raw talent and the creativity to do something with it. One of my fellow horn players in college was absolutely amazing. If I had his talent, I'd never have done anything but play. Others had some part of "It", and on occasion everything came together and magic would happen.

But I digress. (I do that a lot.) Getting back to SL music.....

Only a few times in SL have I heard performers with "It". Every once in awhile, someone will do something - hit the right combination of notes, or create the right sound, or utter lyrics that somehow touch my heart - and magic happens. It is those performers that I keep going back to again and again, just waiting for that next time.

There is a reason that I have consistently hosted music shows with the same three performers - Fable, Song and Chronic. I know that with the three playing together, it is almost guaranteed that we'll have some of those magical moments. And, for some reason, each of them seems to play over and above their usual abilities when they play together.

Fable is a world unto herself. You just cannot be sad when Fable sings - you can hear the joy in her soul when she sings. I've watched her grow over the last year both as a person and a musician, and it has been a lovely trip. Her songwriting has matured wonderfully, and her guitar work is magnitudes better now than when she started. Her first gig on SL was for me, at my home venue way back when, with Song and Chronic. She even crashed my sim! (I'll remember that hot air balloon for a LONG time!)

But in particular, Song and Chronic seem to feed each other. They both enjoy obscure covers, and both are just incredible musicians; I could listen to just their guitar and be quite happy. The unusual format of the shows I host (30-minute alternating sets) came about because Song thought he and Chronic would feed each other, and he was spot on. I can hear how pumped they each get as the sets progress. This format is unique to SL, as far as I know. After the show in January, Chronic stayed at Max's and DJ'ed for all of us, introducing us to some totally new music. He was there for hours! We had a blast.

Another thing that I look forward to with these three musicians is the new things they play. I know that at any show I hear from Song or Chronic, there will be something in there that I have either never heard before, or heard very few times. Chronic is always creating something new, and one never ever knows what Song will cover next - both have surprised me over and over. Chronic has even played my beloved Emerson Lake and Palmer! From the Kinks to Guided By Voices to Syd Barrett...nothing is sacred. :)

This brings me back to music in SL in general. I go to a few shows as time permits, and I gotta tell ya - most of them sound the same. I hear the same covers, by the same performers, time and time again, and it's hard to distinguish. There are some really captivating musicians out there - Lyn Carlberg played for me last Sunday, and was fantastic, and Rocket Docherty has played for me a few times and has that magic, too - but the majority just don't....well....have "It". Maybe I'm just getting set in my ways, or perhaps I just expect something different than the hordes that attend these shows regularly - I dunno.

I'm not posting this to offend anyone. I do attend shows by various musicians when I can, just hoping for that "It" moment to hit. It may be that I'm not attending the *right* shows; if so, point me in a direction!

Oh...I cannot end this diatribe without one more quick plug for another group of musicians that have played for me once - their only time on SL so far. This is the Dreamscapes Project, which you can read about in great gory detail at http://www.thedreamscapesproject.com/. The funny-lookin' one in the front on that introduction page picture works just two desks away from me, which is why I got involved with 'em. Keith is an incredibly talented musician, and one of the most intelligent people I've met in a long time. He doesn't think outside the box; he just has no box. The group was playing at a local bar, and let me stream them into SL. In fact, they debuted Max's White Orchid Club on January 4th. It was a first for SL, and for the group too. I hope to get them back inworld someday soon...stay tuned, and I'll announce it here.