A friend had introduced us shortly after I’d heard her perform for the first time. She’d wowed the audience that evening with a marvelous voice and a professional stage presence. Normally a solo artist, she’d appeared that day in a dual stream performance with her SL Partner Diesel Karillion. We chatted briefly after the show and discussed dates and time for a meeting. We both had busy schedule and it was a few weeks before we did so. We met in my office at this newspaper headquarters.
“Hello there! Don’t mind the get up, I’m doing a 70's disco gig at 6pm and I’m totally Gloria Gaynor’ed out.” She said as she arrived.
I commented that she hadn’t rezzed for me yet and she replied, “Trust me. I’m a walking disco ball, which is all good. Give the people what they want. I was a ferret for April fool's day. The venue owners wanted different. So I sat on my tip jar all night as a ferret and sang.”
“Isn't that what show business is all about.” I commented.
“Absolutely!” She exclaimed then added, “My mom was a lounge singer, and as a kid I grew up in bars with her band ... she would wear all the bling in the world, the costume jewelry to match. She said it was all a show, from sound to visuals. I think I’m channeling that.”
“When did you start performing?” I asked, and then quickly added for clarification, “In both RL and SL.”
“In RL ... around age ten, but not professionally. I come from a very musical family ... I took piano and cello since I was a kid and did recitals. Mom is a voice coach sang a lot with her and my brother at church things. I learned at her knee, than started doing my own gigs around town, mostly weddings, piano bars, tagging along with a piano player I know. It's a fun thing for me, really. Meet a lot of great people … SL is the same. I’ve only been singing in SL since July.”
“What bought you into SL?”
“A pal of mine who was singing here asked me to come in and I showed up ...Voila! It wasn't too much prodding needed. I'm a computer nerd by trade, I do websites in RL and the whole program fascinated me and the live music scene that he was talking about. How I loved it right from the get-go, I go listen more than I sing in SL ... enjoy the theatrics of it all ... the talent ... the diversity. “
“Is there one memory and venue here in SL that stands out for you?”
“Actually yes … While there are many that I'm endeared to for giving me my start in SL, namely Jade's Jazz Island and Heavens Tears. The one venue that stands out in my mind ... is on a SIM called Bosporus because I got to sing on a suspension bridge over a bay dancing my tail off on top of an old cab ... everyone around me having a great time. It was just so breathtaking. I thought to myself while I was singing ... can this get any better.”
“Do you write some of your songs?”
“I wish I did. I play instruments, and I sing, but songwriting is not one of my skills. I guess I can't have everything. One of the things I wish I could do for myself. I have to be happy with the idea that not all musicians can write their own music. Seeing jazz singer Diana Krall in concert this summer ... she sings all standards, other people's music, and she's okay with that. It has to work for me as I can't do it myself.”
“Is there one genre you prefer to perform?”
“If I had to answer… I'd say Broadway. However, there isn't much of an audience in SL, that I’ve come across anyway, that wants to hear a lot of it. I grew up listening to Broadway stuff... When I was living in NY, I'd make a trip to the city and catch the shows.”
“Where do you see yourself in six months to a year from now?”
“In RL, no place different … Just more oratorio under my belt and a nicer resume for soloist work around town. In SL, that’s hard to say. I have this weird fear... of over exposing myself. Like the people in my fan groups would tire of hearing my voice. I think I'm pretty lucky to be doing as well as I am in SL as it is. I can't really hope for much more. People, their tastes change … and the SL music scene is seeing new faces and hearing new voices day by day. So I may be lost in the mix. I hope I won’t.”
“If a new SL musician came to you for advice, what would you tell them?”
“New SL musicians come to me all the time and I love it. I've helped three of them in the last two months alone. Not sure why they come to me ... but they do and I’m more than happy to get them started. They ask questions about music, equipment, booking gigs, getting your name out there … but I do impart one piece of advice to all of them … don't let it stop being fun. I think that's paramount. When you lose sight of the happiness and joy that you can bring to people and it turns into drudgery … something you feel you have to do and it no longer is a fun thing … step back and regroup.”
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