Gas Up The Virtual, and Kick It

 Okay, not much of a title, I know. 

Trying to pay homage to two venues this time around - Sherie's Gaslight and Kickin'.

The weekend kicked off late night, propelling Belinda and I to check out the music scene before taking in some well-needed rest (after many hard days in that other world).  

Bel checking out the scene!

Paul Nowles & his 'Wild Stallions'

 
We caught up with Paul Nowles at Sherie's Gaslight at Unsung Heroes (13, 230, 25), along with his stage band (The Wild Stallions, he notes) - Magic, Kathleen, Coco, and Cheyanne (his wife). 

Definitely fun for the audience - and the band.   It was my first time hearing him. Paul has a long play list, and can just about cover anything.    He also educates listeners on the ins and outs of the business, from his experience as an audio engineer and musician.   For more info, head over to http://paulnowles.com.  He's a relateable entertainer, and has attracted a good following as well.   
 

Grif and the Tambourettes

Next up, was Grif Bamaisin.  It's always good to hear him, although it's been awhile for me.   He is definitely hard core, so much in fact, he lets Dru (on stage in the provocative neon green outfit) run his avatar, while he intends solely to his music ("I perform ever note and word you hear").  Grif still pays attention to local chat, and responds to his audience over the mic.  

 

Along with him and Dru, typically its Susan, Mac, Steven and ReyRey.   Anticipate a lot of disrobing at his concerts from his loyal fans (Tambourettes), who not only enjoy getting exposed to his music, but simply getting exposed.    For more about this RL/SL entertainer, check out http://www.grifbamaisin.com.   A fantastic article about him may surprise you about his RL accomplishments, http://www.oregonlive.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2011/10/virtual_community_second_life.html

Josie Anderton

So then Belinda and I decided to see a long-time friend, Josie Anderton, one-of-a-kind singer... artist/photographer, and a super nice and talented woman from the UK.   She put on a great hour at Kickin.  Her span of music has increased over the past four years, something for everybody and every occasion, particularly adding punch to the classic pop tunes. 

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Kickin/171/184/24

Always a lively show - her bubbly (yet intelligent) personality is refreshing;  along with good tunes, it's the ideal fit for a Friday night get-together on the grid - what else does one need in the virtual to kick start the weekend.   

GPALOOZA Festival

I wanted to share some photos from Second Life's GPALOOZA Festival.





It's in the midst of the wild, one finds the festival stage for the third annual event.



Here we see Clairede Dirval and Dixie Silverweb performing in the early evening. Clairede lets it go on stage - let's say her style reflects Joplin, Starship, maybe Aretha Franklin, etc., but the point is - the woman has quite a range, from raw rock to torch.

Clairede closed her set with a beautiful Jessica Rabbit torch tune.  Sultry is an understatement for her voice.


Then following, Maxx Sabretooth kept the warm glow going - with his always smooth vocals, sharing the new and classic in a mix of R&B and pop (that Clairede and Dixie seemed to especially enjoy)!  

Maxx Sabretooth

Wayne Davis (www.waynedavisrocks.com) is a favorite on the grid, and Thursday was no exception, as he rocked and rolled the closing hour of the festival.

All in all, live music rang through the great outdoors!

For more info on the GSpot, http://www.thegspotclub.com/

MiMi Singer Hits Those High Notes! (NOS Summer Jam)

MiMi Singer kept the beat going Saturday night, singing an assortment of R&B and Pop tunes with her incredible vocal range (from Whitney Houston, Celine Dion to Stevie Nicks, for example, to a good mix of current and old). Michey Hadisson (RL) is a professional R&B singer and it shows!   She mentioned the release of a new single...soon, she reports.

MiMi is one of the many talented acts at NOS SUMMER JAM 2014, which continues through Sunday August 17th 9PM.

For more info and the complete line-up, check out WhatsUpSoni.

Later, I caught Seth Regan (Mankind Tracer) in concert at LC Live (The Last Coconut Music Park) at Tabby  (224, 23, 23) -   http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Tabby/225/24/24

Always a great show!  Be sure to pick up his original music! 

In fact, Mankind is definitely one of the SL originals!

 

Enjoy the SL Music Scene this weekend and daily if you can!

Day One: SL LIVE Radio

8-10-14 

Dear Diary, 

Okay, so I got off to a rough start, and had to reboot as soon as I went on air.  Go figure.  But in the end, all went well.  I have to really thank Thorn and Esme for their continual encouragement, and to my exceptional friends - partner Belinda Barnes and the awesome Kara Trapdoor for being there, cheerleading me on throughout my two hours.   Kara took some pics of me on my SL LIVE debut.   Bel is to my right, and Kara to the left.  And the music was great because the SL musicians are fantastic!   I hope to build my music collection.  Hope the listeners will help!

Soni

Following my show, our SL LIVE CEOs went off to Breakfast at Mimi's, a fashion showcase presented by Penumbra.  The after party, with Thorn broadcasting live, was a perfect fit for the festivities.  I caught a few pics of Thorn, Esme, Mimi, and Penumbra's CEO Zzoie Zee.

So you see those feet - in the sky!  

 Yup!  That's Thorn, rising to the occasion.

 And again - Careful now, Thorn.  Watch out for Mimi.

 It was a fantastic first day - with SL LIVE, being once again the life of the party!

See you on the grid listening to SL music, and next Sunday, noon-2pm SLT on SL LIVE Radio!


- Soni

SL LIVE Radio's Got Sonicity!

Slow Bake is back.  

It's been awhile.  But I am bringing back Slow Bake to SL Live Radio.

I just can't leave the live music scene alone in Second Life.   I have been in Second Life since 2006, and still love it and the music.    Thanks to Esme Capelo and Thorn Andel for presenting me with a wonderful weekend time slot of Sundays, noon to 2pm SLT.  

Please join me as I play the SL classics and head on a sonic journey to discover new SL talent as well.   My events blog, whatsupsoni, showcases some upcoming events, and invites SL residents and tourists alike to tell me their fav artists and songs.

I visited a long-time sl friend and musician today, James Olmos (a.k.a., AcousticEnergy Nitely), the epitome of great music rolled up into a wonderful personality, and thought I would share with him the good news, and my excitement with broadcasting the music of our virtual world once again.   My other long-time friend Sher Salmson was there too (LC Live @ The Lost Coconut Music Park), beautiful as ever, swaying to James' set.  She is now involved in creating music machinima featuring SL artists. I hope to feature some of her works soon.

Later that afternoon at LC Live,  Collin Martin (below) played a number of covers with passionate guitar strokes (i.e., Chris Isaak's Wicked Games; Stealers Wheel's Stuck in the Middle).  In the latter he did his so-real impression of a trumpet, great voice work!  Then there was his brilliant piano performance for a "said" amateur (i.e. Eric Clapton's You Look Wonderful Tonight).  All and all, doing more than justice to the original musicians.  (Wonders if he has a CD?)  Really even Colin Hays/Men at Work's Overkill! near the close of his show.  Excellent rendition of Tom Petty (Free Fallin'), I might add.  Super talent in the midst of Texas performing in Second Life.  How did I miss him on the grid? So I check his profile, and it says he is 6 days old.   Okay, I forgive myself and make a note to check him out again.  He has time to play one more tune, as the next artist was running slightly late, so he plays Wildfire by Michael Martin Murphy.  Nice job!  Christopher Quan, another long-time SL pro and grid favorite, took the stream.   Too bad I had to go, for I have enjoyed his performances many times over.

Well all this to say, I am pleased to be back on-air.   In fact, I prefer being here than returning to mainstream real world stations.   I consider Second Life and SL Live Radio and the entire virtual world music scene to be relevant to all our lives, first and second.

The SL Live studios are moving to their new headquarters, but this weekend I will still be at the old digs, http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Beach/223/48/3502

See us there, Sonicity & Belinda (to left of me)