All Matters Of Music Because All Music Matters

Issu

e #4

Jun

09

Soundman:optimize your broadcast sound

Forever In the moment - BodhI CongreJo

metropolIS - vintage science fiction meets the 21st century

Open Mic

DirectOry

Metaverse Live Music Publication

editor's note

Welcome to the Music Matters #4. Inside this latest issue you will find interesting stories, valuable resources, and the latest news about all aspects of the Second Life music scene. It is our goal to keep you informed, entertained and aware of the vast number of musicians, venues and music mediums availa-ble to you in world, to enrich your total experience.

As we continue to grow and develop with the everchanging climate and technology of Second Life, we invite your sugges-tions and comments, and welcome your interest in becoming involved in Music Matters magazine production. Please drop us an e-mail at musicmattersmagazine@gmail.com.

We hope you enjoy Music Matters magazine! Editor

Impressum

editor Andrew Hellershanks

art layout & design Kaela Kilara

Contributors Angharad Catteneo,

Bibi Ballinger, Shannon Oherlihy, Taff Nouvelle

distribution Reslez Steeplechase

publisher Pat Insoo

Click for more detail

musicmattersmagazine@gmail.com

Season Of peace Season Of WarA homage to veterans worldwide

Still Waters run DeepA deeper look at one of music's most elusive gems, Bodhi Congrejo

MetropolisVisionaries created this classic film in the 1920's, the CARP group delivers to the mark in this 21st century reproduction

the Old Barn Where the dear and the talented play

taBle Of cOntentS // Issue 4 // June 2009

Dakota Skies Gallery Freestar Bay FCMC Radio Kaelaidoscope.nice things Moondoggirl Mp3 By Me

Advertiser Index

Nad Gough Ravenlong Productions Sonorous Breaks The Stream Team This Device

open mic directoryWhere to go. Breaking the ice in this new medium

the SoundmanTweaky, tweaky little star,you want to shine bright as you are

the Old Barn Where the dear and the talented play

Keiko takamura

evaMoon ember

Kaklick Martin

taBle Of cOntentS // Issue 4 // June 2009

Jimmy427 Alter and Jessamyn Alter have created this wonderful space “to open people’s eyes to the fact that men and women are fighting for our freedom, and I want people to know that. These soldiers, as well as the fallen soldiers deserve to be honored,” says Jimmy427 Alter, who himself is a Vietnam vet. “When they return home, they need to be treated better than the Vietnam soldiers were.”

SeaSon

of Peace,

SeaSon

of War

Strummer SWanSong and Shannon oherlihy

gave their voiceS and talentS to SuPPort

veteranS and bring about aWareneSS of

JJ’S monumentS & muSeum.

Jessamyn Alter, Jimmy427’s wife and partner adds, “Pictures are worth a thousand words, even when they cause tears, but tears heal when it comes to facing the realities of lo-sing loved ones in whatever battles in life we find ourselves involved in. Just as my mother and grandmo-thers did, I could do no less – sup-port the men and women having

Strummer Swansong is an real life/Second Life music

ian

who has been performing live con-

certs for 20 years. He started

playing in Second Life beginning

in 2009. Strummer has built up

a repertoire of songs borrowed

from musicians playing the UK

acoustic music scene. He

puts his heart into the

performance of each song,

trying to feel his way

through them rather than

merely singing them. He sin-

cerely hopes that you will feel

the songs with him.

www.strummerswansong.co.uk

the courage to fight for what they believe to be right.”

Musicians Swansong and Oherlihy played songs about the war and peace, as well as songs of hope to honor all soldiers who so bravely fought and died for their country.

Strummer Swansong wrote a song based on a picture he had seen in the museum of a soldier mourning the loss of a fallen com-rade. The song, titled “Season of Peace, Season of War”, pays homage to all soldiers who died in the line of duty. Shannon Oherlihy

featured her award-winning song, “The Test”, as a song of hope, and a call to action for a post-9/11 world. The song was chosen as the fan favorite out of 26 songs written and performed by 18 Second Life musicians.

The song will be made into an Second Life video, and will also be on a compilation CD that will be available in Second Life and on Amnesty International’s website.

Shannon Oherlihy is a singer/songwriter/guitar player based in Stratford, CT. She has been singing since she was a little girl, when she sang

into her hairbrush along with Carly Simon re-cords. When she was nine, she got her first guitar and started writing her own songs at the age of ten. Inspired by the music of John Denver, Gordon Lightfoot, Joan Baez, Joni Mit-chell, Judy Collins, and Bob Dylan, Shannon found her musical roots in con-temporary folk.

Her music is available on iTunes, CD Baby, and MySpace.

www.shannonmcmahonmusic.com www.cdbaby.com/shannonmcmahon

Bodhi is undoubtedly one of the great talents in Second Life. There’s a wistfulness and yearning to the words of his songs, the poetry of a sensitive soul. He’s a singer with a passion for his work, a singer who wants his music to create good in this world. He’s an artist whose charisma captivates his audiences

with every note, and he’s a leader whose many followers feel he inspires in them a sense of well being and hope.

The son of a piano teacher, Bodhi was born near Washington, D.C. and travelled to Europe, Africa, and Asia until he was 21 before settling

STILL WATERS RuN DEEP

by Angharad Catteneo

in Tucson, Arizona. His father first tried teaching him to play, but by the time he’d turned 8 it was clear that Bodhi had other plans: “Even then I had authority issues.” until he was 16, he sang but then his love affair with his trademark 12-string guitar began “[It’s] the best instru-ment because of its portability. I play around campfires for hours and sing; no other instrument allows that. I’ve played from dusk ’til dawn more than several times.” It’s not hard to imagine why his audiences would have stayed.

Bodhi cuts a striking figure on and off stage. He’s tall and strong- featured with shimmering dread-locks and a penchant for black. A man who is honest enough to admit that he was “startled when the audience clapped at the end of a song – so used to starting the next song before I know if they liked the last one.” He has since come to recognize the ways in which music can connect people.

Indeed, the exploration of relation-ships is central to Bodhi’s work.

“Nothing exists in and of itself, only in relationship – we do not exist except in relationship”. Describing his ethos, he ventures further “Karma may be the closest to explaining it, but I tend to think of it as chaos in the non-linear dynamical sense. It‘s not a foreign concept and it’s really not com- plicated. Explaining a sunset doesn’t make it any less beautiful.”

Bodhi’s other love is mathematics, a love that’s well-known. He speaks of Gödel, Escher, Bach, and The Eternal Golden Braid. It’s a book he’s tried to read three times. “I know Gödel, and Bach; I want to understand Escher. I love Escher, and I understand the geometry. I just can’t make a similar triangle.

101001000110100100011010010001

Beauty is beauty. It’s why I love Ari-zona. The sunset and the stars – to-tally mathematically describable, but why bother when it’s so beautiful.” Expression is the real magic of his poetry as he finds beauty all around him, then conveys this peace and the love of life’s simple things, in song. “Life is almost always simple. We create all the noise ourselves. We can choose to make it less noisy. Culture, society – they make it complicated.”

Talking to Bodhi is like peeling an onion; one uncovered layer expos-ing yet another beneath it. His songs often hold a message, betraying meanings within meanings,

101001000110100100011010010001

When discussing his life influences, Bodhi singles out two memorable moments, both of which highlight his deep appreciation of nature. “I met Jean-Michel Cousteau in Fiji. He was a friend of John Denver, and John had just died [the previous] year. We sat around the bula bowl, playing songs into the wee hours under the Southern skies – I’ll never forget it. Not much changed after it; it was a culmination kind of thing.

Jacques Cousteau was my hero as a kid; I got to dive with Jean-Michel, [and] have his signature in my dive log.“

“There are moments in one’s life that one recognizes as being incred-ibly important. But the biggest was in the Grand Canyon, on Horseshoe Mesa, about half-way down the canyon on one of the ledges. 1500 feet down, left and right; 2500 feet up, in front, and behind – full moon, perfectly clear skies – a 10 foot wide shelf, and buffeting winds. I was at one with the universe that night.”

Bodhi has a rare gift. Whether it’s in music or words, he pares life’s

HIS SONGS FIND HIM, HE SAyS, AND

MOST ARE 90% COMPLETE WITHIN

AN HOuR.

I See you BeSIde me, your eyeS In a dream. I’m all By mySelF and I JuSt wanna SCreamBut there’S nothIng to do, But keep movIn’ down the hIghway. chasing the rain / album - goodbye Carolina

experiences to the bone before capturing their essence with crystal clarity. He makes it all look so easy. His songs find him, he says, and most are 90% complete within an hour. “They just sneak into my head and usually won’t leave me alone until they’re done enough to grow.” The results paint more than a picture in the mind’s eye: his lyrics reach out and touch all that hear them, enveloping audiences in spiritual well-being.

Bodhi is not well-known in world as he only performs one show a week in Second Life. usually, you can find him listed in the evnts calendar, on Tuesdays at 3PM. Bodhi’s talent deserves an audience, and yet he regularly finds simple pleasure in playing alone. But, he’s a performer at heart. He loves to share his music, and is clearly ex-cited by the prospect of an upcom-ing real life gig. Make sure you find time to experience Bodhi’s music for yourselves. you’ll be rewarded with a sound that’s uplifting and true.

METROPOLISMaking the impossible possible

By immersing the audience into the scenes the mind’s eye actually perceives that one is the third person in the room.

By Bibi Ballinger

The silent film Metropolis, filmed in 1925/26 by Fritz Lang, is regarded as a landmark of production and tech-nique for its time. It’s an amazing work of science fiction, with beauti-ful exotic sets, masterful orchestral music, explosive production tech-niques, and a cast of hundreds. Why would a music magazine in a virtual world care about an ancient silent

movie when we have moved so far away into the 21st century? Well, I will tell you about dreaming big and pushing cybernetics into our virtual lives here and now.

CARP Diabolus is a talented group of visionaries in Second Life who successfully brought Pink Floyd’s The Wall and The Rings to life. They are dreamers and doers. Why not bring Metropolis as a staged pro-duction unlike any other we have seen in Second Life? It couldn’t just be a remake of the film, or a play on a fixed stage in front of an audience, but a combination of the two. If real life holographic entertainment is the future, then this is the step on the way to that technology in virtual reality. Immersing the audience into the scenes, not as actors but as viewers seemingly standing amongst them, allows the show, and viewer, to move as a unit from stage to

stage. The mind’s eye actually per-ceives that one is the third per-son in the room. This was to be a mind-boggling idea that would take months of planning and creating to bring it to virtual reality. New technologies would have to be in-vented and the creators, each from a different country, would have to somehow land on the same page. There are many sites with videos about the finished production and making of the Second Life Metro-polis. I encourage you to look as you

will be amazed, what lengths this group went to in it’s pursuit of bringing us a high quality ex- perience. Imagine building robots as tall as a 30-story building just to make every detail perfect before reducing it to one average avatar size. This is just one of the many challenges that were met.

Debbie Trilling brought her idea to recreate Metropolis to Velazquez Bonetto and Josina Burgess. Velaz-quez built the imposing Gothic city,

He follows her to the dirty underground of the city.

wrote programs and scripts, placed the scenery in their places, and introduced new technology to Second Life. Josina built the avatars and created the characters and costuming. Together they created and used Muybridge simulations for large groups of people, when needed. The Muybridge technique uses multiple still images that are animated to give the appearance of bodies in motion. With a limitation on the number of avatars able to occupy a sim, this production tech-nique is a way to simulate large numbers of people performing in the production. Windyy Lane built the scenery for the privileged class scenes and made all the animations. Sca Shilova built an amazing robot

and animations that are key to the story. Nnoiz Papp composed all the music for the production. The cast includes Debbie Trilling, Josina Burgess, MillaMilla Noel, Efrantirise Morane, and Velazquez Bonetto.

The story is of the city of Metropolis in the year 2026. It is the story of a

A spellbinding story that has been translated to not only

one of the classic films of the last century, but an amazing

production in Second Life

society split into two groups. They are thinkers and planners who have no understanding of how things work but live privileged lives, then there are the workers who live underground to keep the machine of the city running. It is a classic story of the divisiveness of brains and brawn without a

soul or heart to connect the two. This struggle leads to unrest and potential revolution. It is also a love story between a man and a woman, and of the love of a father for his son.

As the story unfolds, Freder, who is the son of the mastermind of the

Cyberspace is where anything is possible

city Johann Fredersen, sees a beau-tiful young servant woman, Maria, and is determined to meet her. He follows her to a place he has never been before, the dirty under-ground of the city. Freder is appalled with the disregard for the workers, and terrible working conditions. He discovers that Maria is consi-dered a prophet to the workers and one who believes that revolution is not the answer but that they must wait for a “savior or heart” to me-diate the differences between the “head and hands”. young Freder decides to join Maria’s cause and to fight for change.

When Freder’s father discovers the love brewing between his son and the servant girl, and the pending revolution, he hatches a diabolical plan to keep control of the workers. The plot involves ideas of science fiction that must have been almost unimaginable in the early part of the 20th century. The story weaves through simple but effective sub-plots to a conclusion of gigantic proportions. It is a spellbinding story

that has been translated to not only one of the classic films of the last century, but an amazing production in Second Life. I won’t be a spoiler and tell you any more except to say that what CARP created will leave you astounded and excited about the possibilities that lay before us in Second Life. I rented the 1926 film a few days after I went to the Second

Cyberspace is where anything is possible

Life production and was astounded to see how well this production stands up to the film. I would en-courage you to enjoy both, as I did.

One goes to the sim and takes a seat in one of three banks of seating. A camera system is built into the seats. Off in the distance is the build itself, a massively complex structure

of grays, blacks, and whites. you’ll wait until every seat is filled, and they will be as the time to start nears. After you are welcomed and receive some information about the history and advised not to leave your seats, the music begins, chat quiets down, and the story begins on your screen in words just like in a silent film. The first few minutes of the show displays the credits, actually a clever device used to load the multitude of textures required for the entire production. The audi-ence sitting in the banks of seats is

transported automatically to each new scene as the actors teleport from stage to stage to perform. As the story unfolds, you will see every scene through the camera system, or you can cam around to see the set actors, audience, and build. It is quite fascinating and worth more than one trip to take it all in.

This talented group of artists could have updated their production of Metropolis to make it worthy of Hollywood. Instead, they chose to stay true to the original film.

The look is much the same as an old movie with very little color, actors seemingly from the 1920‘s with vin-tage clothing and actions. In ad- dition to music electronically pro- duced solely for this show, the sounds of machinery and a city are heard. This production is stark and powerful and technologically so-phisticated. The attention to detail is quite remarkable! At the end of the show, the audience is trans-ported back to the place where it began and the cast comes down to the floor take their bows to bravos and kudos.

In the short period of time that Se-cond Life has existed, people have learned how to manipulate the lowly prim into creating almost anything and everything one can imagine. We have seen a few ballets, some opera, and several rock band tribute shows, all on a stage in front of an

audience. Where is Second Life en-tertainment going? Go to any of the music forums and you will see the struggle for audiences by musicians and venue owners. Cyberspace is where anything is possible yet we accept a lone musician standing at a microphone as our primary source of entertainment. Surely with the

current technology available to us in Second Life we can expand our virtual horizons. It will require time, vision, creativity, and hard work. Is it worth the trouble? you bet it is!

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – Keiko Taka-mura is releasing her one-and-only self-titled solo album for a limited time online at http://keikotakamura.etsy.com. MP3s are available on her Myspace page at http://mys-pace.com/keikotakamura, and in-world at Keiko’s Cafe in the Flotsam Beach sim.

Making the move from solo artist to member of Hope Squad, Keiko will be deleting her MySpace page and website after CD sales have drop off, to focus on promoting her band’s new music.

Keiko Takamura (aka Takamura Keiko in Second Life) has been an

Dana Ceriano

JR Ronas

active Second Life musician since 2006. From her meager beginnings in a college dorm room in Tokyo with nothing but a headset mic, a borrowed guitar, and a Dell laptop, she began performing her songs for an ever-growing virtual audience.

Her self-described style of music is “girl with a guitar”, but more speci-fically it is acoustic indie-alternative with just the Slightest touch of twee. She’s been compared to Tegan and Sara, Juliana Hatfield, and Lisa Loeb, among others.

Keiko Takamura

Jason Towton

Her prominence in Second Life’s live music scene gained her two features on MTV. One in 2007 for a short segment on MTV News with Stephen Totilo (now a writer for the popular gaming blog, Kotaku), and another in 2008 on MTV’s more documentary-minded reality show, “True Life”.

Keiko plans to continue perfor-ming in Second Life, only with more shows including her band members, and with a stronger focus on promo-ting her band’s new music.

Her new band members have already created Second Life avatars for themselves and have performed in world, and have simulcast real life shows into Second Life.

Kaklick Martin is a singer/songwriter and longtime Second Life performer. His latest CD, entitled “Mr. Lincoln,” sounds “As if Barenaked Ladies re-placed Steven Page with Nick Cave and took up blues.”

The album runs an emotional roller coaster from murder ballads (“Pretty Polly”, “Jackie”) to the lighthearted “I Want to Be a Canadian” and “Let Go of the Monkey” to the pain of being on the verge of losing a loved one (“105”) and the desperation of isolation (“Say Anything”).

Writing began for “Mr. Lincoln” in 2007, shortly after “Big Bad World” and “Roadhouse Ranch and Saloon” were released. Kaklick (Bryan Baker in RL) wrote the title track that summer, toward the end of the Bush era, and has it been a staple in his live sets since that time. It‘s the most overtly political track on the album, but in a way that seems approachable by all who hunger for real leadership. The CD is available at http://cdbaby.com/cd/bryanbaker3.

KAKLICK MARTIN

RELEASES

“MR. LINCOLN”,

HIS LATEST CD

The CD, with all our cool graphics and notes and stuff, will be launched at our CD release party at Soulfood Books in Redmond AND live in SL Saturday, June 27, with Capos Calderwood. I‘ll be selling it in-world at my next show, but don‘t wait! Hop over to http://evamoon.net/ right now for the download version.

Take one part Bette Midler’s divine chutzpah, one part Fiona Apple‘s juice, down a quick shot of Wine-house, and top with Tori Amos’ flaming hair. Blend in a hot band and stir with a comedy shtick, and you have the Eva Moon cocktail. Mmm, tasty.

Eva Moon & the Lunatics’ new release, Moon Falling Down, is a quirky, high-energy mix of pop, jazz, funk, and Latin originals. The music is hot and the lyrics are hotter.

Brazilian waxes, mail-order vibra-tors, barista lust, sadistic parenting

– nothing is off limits. So, put the kids to bed ... and slip into something both shaken and stirred.

Regulars on the Seattle live music scene, Eva Moon & the Lunatics are veteran artists who have performed a wide range of music all over the u.S. and abroad.

Check out the Lunatalk Blog: http://evamoon.net/blog

Musical mischief after dark http://evamoon.net 425-867-0565

Moon Falling Down is out!

Rustic charm and a friendly atmos- phere, complete with horses, stalls, and hay, give The Old Barn its down-home appeal. One of Second Life’s many music venues, The Old Barn offers first-rate performances by some of the best performers in Second Life and provides a casual and comfortable atmosphere for enjoying music.

The Old Barn opened on March 17th of this year and, in a few short months, has grown in popularity. With 12 regular shows and 4 to 6 impromptu shows weekly, the venue presents itself as the place to be to hear established and emerging Second Life artists.

Sternchen Bellic, the owner, is from Denmark, and turned to live music after one and a half years as manager for clubs with DJs.

The Old Barn

She searched for a venue that was unlike the others, a place for people to hang out. The barn theme came from years of growing up on a farm and a great feeling of being in the barn with the animals.

Fun and quirky details create an en-ticing vignette. Stacked bales of hay, kegs, and casks, and other farm im-

By Shannon Oherlihy

plements, dress up the walls made of stone, the planked floor, and the beamed ceiling. There are two tip jars. Each one looks like an open sack with a rat on top. One rat has the name Oscar above it and indi-cates amount received. The other jar with rat above it does not in-dicate its name.. Guests are made welcome with a friendly “hello”

from Sternchen. The audience stands around the circular stage, or perches high in the rafters for a bird’s eye view. The griping stick figure man circles the room, voicing his complaints, and captures the attention of all who enter.

When asked about her vision for the The Old Barn, Sternchen says, “I have no other goals than the hope that people like the work I do, and that the venue carries itself financially. Goals in the matter of music have already been achieved. I have the most amazing musicians playing. I am so happy with the mix.”

THE SOUNDMANGot your sound set?

your staGe presentation

is the next most

important thinG.

Presentation is as important a part of your show as it is in virtual worlds. If you go to see a band or singer that just stands on the stage and does not put on a show, you will soon be bored. The same applies in virtual worlds.

A lot of real life artists performing in small venues take along their own sound and lighting. you can do something similar to add to the realism of your show. If you play a guitar, for instance, take along the equipment that you would use in real life; an amplifier, effects pedals, maybe a small mixing desk, and a microphone. Look around for a good set of animations that work for your style of music.

you could also take along a small lighting set. Lighting is getting very good now in Second Life. Some of the best shows in Second Life have a full lighting set with technicians to operate the lighting controls. you do not need to go that far. Good scripting can make the whole of your lighting configuration automatic. G G G

GG

THE SOUNDMANGot your sound set?

your staGe presentation

is the next most

important thinG.

The Soundman, a column dedicated to music production over the internet. If you have any questions or problems - setting up equipment to play live music in Second Life, this is the place to ask for help.

musicmattersmagazine@gmail.com

When you set up your lighting get several different friends to look at it. Something that looks great on a low spec system can look way too bright on a top end system. Do not overdo it. Just make it look as real as possible and not like a cartoon, unless of course, that is what you are aiming for.

Finally, for the utmost in convenience, you can also Edit, and Link all the objects making up your stage set. By doing so, you then only have to put out the one item, position it, and you are ready to go.

G G G

Merry Prankster

Open Mic DirectOry

SUnDay

twoKats

Time: 7 am - 9 am Run by: Solana Python

arthur´s tavern

7:30pm - 9;30 Peach Jansma http://slurl.com/secondlife/ Tarington/227/220/37

Open Mic Venues listed by day of the week. all times are Second life™ time (Slt). this list is correct at time of printing and will be updated regularly. contact us for submissions, corrections, questions and for… advertising! Musicmattersmagazine@gmail.com

Musicmattersmagazine@gmail.comSATURDAY

Your Club here

U21 Global

Merry Prankster

tUeSDay arthur´s tavern

Time: 7:30 am - 9:30 am Run by: Peach Jansma http://slurl.com/secondlife/ Tarington/227/220/37

aquastar lounge

Run by :Shellie Boucher, Pheobee Braveheart Time: 5 - 7 pm

MONDAY Yo

ur

Clu

b h

ere

Arthur´s Tavern

tHUrSDay The Hummingbird Cafe

Time: 4 pm - 6 pm Run by: DimiVan Ludwig http://slurl.com/secondlife/ Menorca/46/7/24

WeDneSDay

aquastar lounge

Time: 5 - 7 pm Run by: Shellie Boucher http://slurl.com/secondlife/ Mephit/169/147/63

twoKats

Time: 7 am - 9 amS Run by: Solana Python

FRIDAY U21 Global

Time: 1 pm - 3pm Run by: Keko Heckroth Genre: All http://slurl.com/secondlife/u21Global%20Campus/145/218/103

Mc Coy

Time: 5 pm - 8 pm Run by: Laura Polke http://slurl.com/secondlife/McCoy%20Island/127/128/86

The Hummingbird Cafe