About (virtual) money...

Unlike my RL, in SL I am pretty well to do... I never have to scramble to pay my rent and buy 500/1000 L$ outfits on a whim. If I did that in the real world, well lets just say I'd be walking everywhere... As long as I have a good internet connection, I can run a pretty successful business playing music (some call that DJ-ing) and it actually pays my bills. Now, mind you, even the biggest house in SL costs less than a case of beer RL.

I just teleported away from a very dissatisfying negotiation about a fee for doing a two hour gig. Mostly I play music in SL for fun... Having said that, there is cost associated with doing so, not to mention the time involvement. I ask a minimum of 500 L$ for two hours. In the real world, that doesn't even buy me a pack of cigarettes. If Walmart could get away with paying their cashiers like that the American economy would be even worse than it is now!

Still there are club owners in SL not willing to commit to beer money. I just had a conversation with one... Their argument is that they provide me a venue to perform at and access to their "clientele". I am putting the word clientele in quote marks here, because the notion is ludicrous!

Let's face it... What is a club in SL? It's a place for people to talk to other people. So it' a chat room? No wait this chat room has decor! Ah! It's a chat room while staring at a painting? Close, but... They play music in a club! So it's a chat room while staring at a painting amidst listening to the radio? BINGO!! In an SL club you can't even get drunk! Now don't get me wrong, the social aspect of these clubs is priceless. But having me spend two hours out of my day to entertain your guests without compensation, sorry that's not flying with me. Why not you ask? Let me explain!

As I said, your club is nothing but a chat room. A chat room with trees, but still... Are your guests really your guests, or are they there because you are throwing on an event? One that I am at the epicenter of. I can easily argue that most clubs are utterly and completely dead until a performer shows up. Go to any club, do it right now, where no performer is scheduled and tell me what you find... So is the club in business because I am there? Or am I in business because the club is there??

Like George Carlin said "A house is place to put your stuff while you are out looking for more stuff". If you own a club, and you keep paying the rent (or the tier, as the case may be) that club will remain. What you own is a building. A virtual one at that! People will not come to your shack unless you do something special. That something special is me...

Your patrons are there to see/hear the show, not to stand around in a nicely feng shui-ed virtual hangar. So having those patrons pay the performer... NO!!

If you tell me that most performers make 750 (plus) Lindens in tips and I ask you to back that up by a guarantee... Ask you to pay the difference if your "clientele" somehow do not tip me as expected... If you are unwilling to do so, all I can say is... You are bluffing! In other parts of the world we call that "liar liar pants on fire". All you have to do as a club owner is, put me on your calendar and maybe advertise me on the SL event list, a time investment of all but 15 minutes. On the other hand I am expected to entertain your chat room buddies for 2 (plus) hours.

Bottom line: You don't pay, I don't play!

Bye Goblins...

It came to my attention that to some my Halloween rags should have stayed a surprise. I didn't think anyone was reading this (then why do I write here huh?) but it came to my attention that my selection for Halloween outfits already made the rounds thru' my limited circle in the Metaverse.

So the cat is out the bag, the upside... yes there is one...

Now you can prepare to match!

Hi Goblins!

Ready for showtime? After a much too long hiatus, I am preparing for my return. And since my comeback show will be during the week of Halloween, I had to go look for a costume! Well, a previous SNAFU (making my legs disappear) in SL, inspired me to go hunt for... something. As it turns out I am not the only lunatic that thought of it. Found a cheap thingie that was just what "the doctor ordered". (Yes, pun intended)

Look at the photograph. This is as close as having my head on a platter (just in case you virtually hate me) as you'll ever get.

Of blogs and frogs...

So, I canceled Linri's until I am back home... There just doesn't seem to be enough time in my RL day to properly prepare for doing a show from the road (if you read my last post you will know it didn't go over quite so good). All I do is drive from meeting to meeting and work on my regular RL to do list in between. There is a down side to being away from home. Business is good, but SL suffers...

A while ago, I wrote about "frog toting" people (yes pun intended). Today I heard some great news. My friend Guc (the one that gave me the frog to wear) is back home and hopes to make an appearance in-world tomorrow. We missed her. I will not miss her requests for Jimmy Buffet. I can't stand Jimmy Buffet! And as soon as she will ask I will tell her I played it last week (no honestly, I did) while she was away in La La Land...

Anyway, it's good to hear she is recovering! Glad to have her back!

Weird...

What a crap ass day it was in SL! My Show at Linri's was weird! I am not home so I don't have access to my "pro" studio... and that was highly noticable.... UGH! I figured I could stream my show from anywhere. Well not from this hotel room! DSL is really not up to par... The music was skipping and too fast and cutting out and distorted and... YIKES! Emyly walked out after 45 minutes. While I was feverishly working trying to make it sound better. To tell you the truth, I love her, but I was pissed she walked on me. I am a perfectionist, so I can understand she was frustrated, but you know, sometimes life deals you lemons... Deal with it! And for crying out loud, don't use what happened before show-time as an excuse either. Especially if you don't tell me what actually transpired. How the hell do you forgive a person for their circumstances (and their reactions to them) if they don't tell you what these circumstances are?

Right after she left, things got much better. I grasped a fairly decent handle on the technical situation... Oh well, I made 1000L$, Emy made... well zilch, for not being there.

Sadly, the regulars were so glad I stayed, it would have been a big ego boost for my sister to hear that. It sounded like she needed it... Her own actions made her miss out on that token of affection from all the regular visitors to Party Funk at Linri's

Well next week I will try another tech solution... after all, the show must go on!
Meanwhile, here is a picture of the outfit I was wearing. Emy told me in no uncertain terms that the orange boots were HORRIBLE. Ah, she is so predictable!

Hit the (RL) road... Jack...

I have a small mixer(200 dollars), I could just drop it in my suitcase... But then I would have to bring a microphone (300 dollars), cables (50 dollars), a microphone stand (30 dollars), I would like to have my compressor (199 dollars) with me.... Oh the trials and tribulations of trying to play music for you guys (Having Delta break or lose my my equipment in NYC -- Priceless!)

I am going on the road Wednesday. As I said in my previous blog post, I don't know whether or not I can DJ from the road. Not that it can't be done, I am just one of those people that isn't satisfied with mediocrity. If it's not perfect, I rather not do it than do it half-assed. AND I AM RUNNING OUT OF TIME!! When the RL company planned this trip that is so interfering with my SL, I thought... Oh I have months to figure this out. Well now it's almost here and quite frankly, I haven't figured it out yet (how do you spell: procrastination?)

Speaking of not having much time... We usually don't (as a species in general, be it your pixelated or meat and potatoes form) take enough of it to smell the roses... I am reminded of this every day.

There are people in SL wearing frogs on their shoulder. Why? It's in memory of Joshua. A boy that died at the age of nine from the side effects of epilepsy and cerebral palsy. I was made aware of this by a good friend of mine, who herself is undergoing chemo for a very bad form of cancer. Speaking of cancer, a group of people got together and put on a charity event for a little three year old girl with leukemia. In a single day they raised over one million Lindens! That same friend wearing that silly frog on her shoulder, lost her husband. He was in tower two of the World Trade Center on September 11th.

There is so much we can share, good or bad, that makes SL an experience not to joke about... All we need to do, is wake up and take the time to smell the roses. That same frog wearing, cancer fighting lady has a sister. In RL she works in one of the craziest places... I wouldn't be friggin' caught dead in that joint, but... She sends me pictures of the things she does for a living and oh my god do I envy! Do I ever envy her!

Take some time out of your busy schedule. Remember there are marvelous things to see and do every day. Miracles happen in your life on a daily basis, really! Just take the time to watch them. If you are feeling low, talk to people that have been there before you. They will lend you a helping hand, if all you do is take the time to get to know them. This is a tribute to all the wonderful people I met over the past, say... three years or so. Give me you hand, lend me an ear (and I will try not to sing out of key)

Remember, you gonna get by with a little help from your friends. And in the words of a man with infinite wisdom... Be kind to the women of the world, just remember we all had mothers.

Jim, I want you to spell New York...

...Can you do that Jim??

A knife, a fork a bottle and a cork.

RL has got me leaving on a business trip soon, so I am going flat out, pulling 16 hour days making sure I can leave and leave everyone in good hands. Meanwhile SL goes on. Funny thing happened this week... In the midst of RL mayhem there is of course the DJ/MC gigs I do. During one of them, Jim offered me friendship. There is of course nothing strange about a fan of DJ wanting to be on your friends list.... that is...

Me and Jim go way way way back. The first time I met him, was also the first time I saw my (now adopted) sister Emy. Strange how things go. When I first saw Emyly in SL, I somehow offended her. She was dancing, I was bugging her (I really was just trying to make converation, but she didn't see it that way) and she recruited Jim to INTERROGATE me about my intentions. I was looking my old, harsh and brass, self, including bad skin and newbie hair...

And now, a long time later, me and Emyly work together. In the same club we met. In the same spot I offended her. It was in that same club that good ole Jim, during one of our gigs, he offered friendship. Already playing friends with his "loved one" and spinning requests for her, why wouldn't he?

Strange how things go huh?

My gig at P4 is canceled for the time being... Too much going on. Hate to leave them high and dry, but with me traveling, and being in a different time zone, there is not much I can do. Matter of fact, I really have to take care of this, I am not even sure if I can DJ at Linri's.... I simply don't know if I can bring enough equipment to do this from the road. I have to figure something out. After all Linri's Palace, is not just the place where I got my start DJ-ing in SL, it's where I met the best friend a boisterous asshole like myself can wish for... It's also where I met Jim.

A knife, a fork a bottle and a cork...
Hey Jim I want you to spell New York for me, can you do that Jim??