Tag: Music in SL

Lab announces a 12th anniversary music fest and invites auditions

Posted on by Inara Pey

secondlifeWhile the traditional Second Life Birthday celebrations are now pretty much coordinated and run by the community – hence the title Second Life Birthday Community Celebrations, the Lab has a track record of sharing in the celebratory mood around the time of SL’s anniversary through various promotions, gifts, and so on, often as an overall part of the community celebrations

Xiola Linden brings word that this year, the Lab is trying something a little different – a music festival; and they’re inviting musicians from across SL to participate.

Xiola’s blog post on the festival reads in part:

Second Life is turning 12 this June, and we’re planning a few extra special ways to help commemorate a dozen amazing years with our Residents! You’ll have to stay tuned to this blog and our social media pages for all the exciting things as they roll out, but today we’re announcing auditions for … (drum roll, please) … the Second Life Music Fest – sponsored by Linden Lab – a two day music-extravaganza inworld to celebrate!

Second Life is full of talented musicians, and we’re hoping to draw out all you guitarists, bassists, drummers, singers, tambourine shakers and other music makers to come audition for the festival. All genres are welcome!

The Second Life Music Fest is an opportunity to perform at one of the biggest celebrations in Second Life, and it’s a paid gig!

Those interested in taking part are invite to complete the audition application form – and to do so no later than Wednesday, May 20th. The blog post notes that completion of the application never signifies a commitment on the part of the artist to take part, nor a guarantee they’ll be called upon to audition before a panel of judges comprising Lab personnel and residents.

Musicians who are selected to audition will receive word directly from the Lab via e-mail. Those successful in their audition will be invited to perform a 30-minute set at the Second Life Music Fest, and (subject to the Lab’s terms and conditions) receive payment for doing so.

The auditions themselves will be open to the public, and will take place at Feed A Smile’s Lavender Fields on the following dates and times:

  • Friday, May 22nd 12:00 noon to 14:00 SLT
  • Saturday, May 23rd 18:00 to 20:00 SLT

So, if this sounds like it might be your kind of gig as a musician – follow the links and apply.

Viviana Houston concert to benefit MIC Imagin@rium

Posted on by Inara Pey
MIC's watery exhibit space not only offers a unique environment for installations displayed there, the gallery's own builds are works of art themselves
MIC’s watery exhibit space not only offers a unique environment for installations, the gallery’s own builds are also works of art and well worth exploring, celebrating as they do the cultural heritage of Rome

On Monday, April 20th, starting 13:00 SLT, Viviana Houston will be singing at a special Save the Culture concert to help raise money for the MIC Imagin@rium gallery in Second Life.

One of the leading privately held venues for art for a number of years, MIC has drawn  respect from across the community for hosting a wide range of art installations and exhibits, and for also offering a beautiful venue for a range of activities and which celebrates the rich cultural history of Rome.

However, a shortfall in finances of around L$50,000 means the gallery is currently unable to meet its upcoming tier, and the aim of the concert is to help raise funds to make up the shortfall and allow MIC to remain active in Second Life.

No Signal, MIC, May 2014
No Signal by Nessuno Myoo, MIC, May 2014

To further assist in the fund-raising effort, there will be a special sale of MIC Imagin@rium fashion at the gallery’s store in the Temple of Portunus, commencing on Sunday, April 19th.

“This has been a hard thing for me to face,” Mexi said. “After years of hard work from a lot of people, we have encountered a shortfall in tier. I had considered taking the region offline; but there is always the worry that once it goes offline, it may never come back.

Viviana Houston, singing in support of MIC from 13:00 SLT on Monday, April 20th
Viviana Houston, singing in support of MIC from 13:00 SLT on Monday, April 20th

“We have several projects going on in the physical world, which have meant we’ve been unable to host any installations lately, and so funding from donations have fallen sharply. However, most of that is behind us now, are we are convinced that if we can get past this immediate problem, we’ll be OK for the future.

“Thanks to the extraordinary generosity of Viviana, we now have a real chance to make-up the shortfall, and I hope everyone will come along to the concert and help us keep MIC Imagin@ruim alive for people to continue to enjoy.”

One of the hallmarks of MIC Imagin@ruim is that as well as hosting in-world art exhibits and installations, it has also bridged the divide between the physical the virtual. One such example of this came in December 2013, with Red Shoes, which saw MIC and 25 artists in Second Life collaborating with the Il Margutta Gallery in Rome and Mexican visual artist Elina Chauvet.

Giorgio Mayo's piece for Red Shoes at MIC, December 2013
Giorgio Mayo’s piece for Red Shoes at MIC, December 2013

Save the Culture with Viviana Houston will take place in the MIC  Amphitheatre on Monday, April 20th. On offer will be great music and the opportunity to help a wonderful venue for art continue into the future. And if you can’t make the event, donations to Mexi will be put directly to the region’s tier.

One Billion Rising: drum, dance, rise – change

Posted on by Inara Pey
The main stage at OBR in SL 2015
The main stage at OBR in SL 2015

At midnight SLT on the 13th/14th February, 2015, One Billion Rising in Second Life will commence 24 hours of music, performance and art is support of the global One Billion Rising campaign.

Now in its third year in both the physical world and the virtual, the campaign uses music and dance to draw attention to the domestic and societal violence so many woman face in their every day lives, and to provide a platform from which action can be taken in changing our attitudes towards gender-based violence.

As with previous years, Victor1st Mornington has again brought together a stunning 4-part stage for the main events, which straddles the four OBR regions of OBR Drum, OBR Dance, OBR Rise and OBR Change.  modelled on a huge turn table, complete with stylus and record, the stage is marvellously in keeping with the overall themes of music and dance.

"No surrender" by Secret Rage
“No surrender” by Secret Rage

Around this central stage, visitors can follow the path past this year’s art installation and also to the additional poetry and performance stage located in OBR Dance, with the picture Gallery alongside it on OBR Rise, both of which face the Sculpture Garden (on OBR Change) and the 2Lei installation (on OBR Drum) across the main stage.

Full details of the events taking place over the 24 hours of the event can be found on the official website’s event schedule.

2Lei installation at OBR 2015
2Lei installation at OBR 2015

A critique sometimes levelled at OBR / OBR in SL is that the issues it raises cannot be solved by dance. Well, that’s absolutely true, just as marching through the streets carrying placards and banners is unlikely to have a lasting impact on whatever it is people might be marching about.

BUT like marches and protests, dance and music does serve to draw attention to matters; it provides a means by which people are encouraged to stop and think, and through which information and ideas can be disseminated. And it does so in a manner which is a lot less confrontational and antagonistic than a march or protest might be seen, particularly in some parts of the world where the right to protest, even peacefully, isn’t always a given. And that’s an important point to remember.

About One Billion Rising

One Billion Rising was the biggest mass action in human history. The campaign, launched on Valentine’s Day 2012, began as a call to action based on the staggering statistic that 1 in 3 women on the planet will be beaten or raped during her lifetime. With the world population at 7 billion, this adds up to more than one billion women and girls.

On 14 February 2013, people across the world came together to express their outrage, strike, dance, and RISE in defiance of the injustices women suffer, demanding an end at last to violence against women. On 14 February 2014 OBR called on women and men everywhere to harness their power and imagination to rise for justice. In 2015, OBR are calling for a revolution for change.

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Stand Up 2 Cancer: SL music races for a cure raises over L$1.5 million

Posted on by Inara Pey

SL Music-logoAcross four days between Thursday September 4th and Sunday September 7th, and in support of Stand Up to Cancer (SU2C) 2014, venues across Second Life and musicians around the world came together under the banner SL Music Races for a Cure to further help raise funds to accelerate the pace of groundbreaking translational cancer research that can get new cancer therapies to patients quickly.

I was able to preview the event ahead of time, and played a small role in encouraging the Lab to promote it as well, but I’m running a little behind in covering the outcome, which has been quite phenomenal.

SL Music Races for a Cure was the brainchild of Still Braveheart, and brought together more than 20 music venues in SL and over 150 artists in a four-day festival of music and fundraising (including snail races!), all undertaken with the official support of SU2C.

And the result is that during the four days of the event, over L$1.5 million (around $6,000 USD) was raised in Second Life for SU2C. What’s more, as some venues still have kiosks up and available, the money is still being received as further donations are made.

Still Braveheart (via her profile picture)
Still Braveheart (via her profile picture)

“There are not enough thank yous in the world that would begin to cover it all,” Still said after the event, “The music community has always been such a wonderful community with such huge hearts, so very passionate, it is overwhelming.  I have seen some things that venues have done this past month; performers gave so much of their hearts and time.  There was a beauty in watching venue owners put together some amazing, amazing line ups.”

Nor did venues stop at hosting events, as Still points out, “BS’s, LC Live, and Guthries all changed their land to show that Stand Up 2 Cancer was what they were doing and you did not see their own logos. Smokin’ Aces gave out shirts they made. Solana’s place made shoulder pets that were given out [and] also made ribbons that were put up with every donation…” Individuals also got involved in helping to support things, with Still noting, “A close friend of mine made a beautiful memorial clock that was given out with a specific donation amount.”

Transparency in any fundraising event is important – and it is very important to Still as well. To this end, she has published, and has been updating, a full transaction history for the festival, which is open for anyone to view. There are also photos taken at the various venues available via Facebook. and on Flickr, such as through Wildstar Beaumont’s photosteam.

SU2C at Ce Soir, taken by Wildstar Beaumont, September 7th, 2014, on FlickrSU2C at Ce Soir, taken by Wildstar Beaumont, September 7th, 2014 (Flickr)

Such has been the response, that Still has been inundated with requests from people wanting to do more. However, rather than rushing into things, she’s taking a wise and pragmatic route, stating she’ll only consider further steps and possible activities once she has consulted with the folk at SU2C.

There’s little doubt the SL Music Races for a Cure was a very special event – one which may possibly be repeated as a part of future SU2C events.

About Stand Up 2 Cancer

SU2C-logoStand Up 2 Cancer SU2C, is a US-centric, non-profit organisation run under the auspices of the Entertainment Industry Foundation, specifically established to raise funds to accelerate the pace of groundbreaking translational cancer research that can get new cancer therapies to patients quickly.

Since its inception in May 2008, SU2C has seen over $261 million pledged in funds, which has contributed to some 141 clinical trials involving 750 scientists and 5,000 cancer patients, and which have spanned 112 US institutions.

SU2C’s approach is to break down the barriers faced by cancer researchers in having to compete for funding for their projects, by fostering and financing interdisciplinary and cross-organisational collaborative research programmes using what they refer to as Dream Teams.  100% of all public donations goes directly into supporting these collaborative research activities.

Find out more through the following links:

Stand Up 2 Cancer 2014: SL music races for a cure

Posted on by Inara Pey

SL Music-logoFriday September 5th will see a special evening hosted on US prime time television in support of Stand Up 2 Cancer, a US-centric organisation (also supported in Canada), established within the entertainment industry specifically to raise funds to accelerate the pace of groundbreaking translational cancer research.

The event will feature performances from top recording artists and celebrities from film and television, and feature patient stories that illustrate the remarkable progress that SU2C has made in cancer research since its inception in May 2008. During the show, those watching will be invited to offer donations to SU2C, with the guarantee that 100% of public donations received by the organisation will go directly into supporting SU2C’s collaborative research programmes.

To mark the event, music venues across Second Life, together with SL artists and musicians from around the world are coming together in  4-day festival of music and fund-raising also in support of SU2C.

StillSL Music Races for a Cure has being organised by Still Braveheart, has the full approval of SU2C, and is also listed as an official SU2C fundraising team.

In all some 23 live music venues and over 150 performers will be taking place across the weekend.Those attending any of the events can make donations to SU2C at the venues themselves via the SU2C donation boards, or they can visit the team webpage and made donations there.

Full details of venues and performances can be found at The Shore – simply click on the Stand Up 2 Cancer logo to receive a note card set for venues and performers across the 4 days. However, to give you a flavour of things, you can see the line-up as it stood at the time of writing this piece. There were still some slots open across a number of venues through the four days of the event, so if you are a performer and would like to participate, please contact Still directly.

Commenting on the weekend, Still Braveheart said, “we are just about ready to kick off the most awesome fund-raiser on the grid next week.  23 live music venues, over 150 different performers. all with in 3-4 days.  We are truly going to rock the grid, have fun and most importantly, MAKE A DIFFERENCE in this battle against a horrible disease!”

About Stand Up 2 Cancer

SU2C-logoStand Up 2 Cancer SU2C, is a US-centric, non-profit organisation run under the auspices of the Entertainment Industry Foundation, specifically established to raise funds to accelerate the pace of groundbreaking translational cancer research that can get new cancer therapies to patients quickly.

Since its inception in May 2008, SU2C has seen over $261 million pledged in funds, which has contributed to some 141 clinical trials involving 750 scientists and 5,000 cancer patients, and which have spanned 112 US institutions.

SU2C’s approach is to break down the barriers faced by cancer researchers in having to compete for funding for their projects, by fostering and financing interdisciplinary and cross-organisational collaborative research programmes using what they refer to as Dream Teams.  100% of all public donations goes directly into supporting these collaborative research activities.

Find out more through the following links:

Moulin Rouge: love and loss in dance

Posted on by Inara Pey

showgirlsI’ve been remiss in not posting about this sooner – but schedules have been such that it was only this weekend that I managed to see Moulin Rouge, the latest show performed by Alma Fushikizoh and Blysse Biondi’s Showgirls. And I wish I’d seen it sooner.

Putting on any live show in Second Life is never easy, as any artist will tell you. A “simple” concert can be prone to a wide variety of problems at the best of times, particularly when Second Life wants to really misbehave and start crashing people. When you’re trying to combine a stage piece with live / streamed music and / or Voice, the issues can frequently be compounded – trying to get everyone moving at the right time, combatting lag, ensuring dances are correctly synced, the music is streaming correctly – it all takes time, patience, understanding and a lot of hard work by the cast and crew.

mr-20

As such, Moulin Rouge – which is probably best described as a dance interpretation of key songs and scenes from Baz Luhrmann’s 2001 version of the film Moulin Rouge! which featured Nicole Kidman, Ewan McGregor and John Leguizamo – is a daring undertaking.

Conceived by Blysse Biondi, directed by Alma Fushikizoh, and produced by Alma, Blysse and Ayesha Lytton, and with choreography by Alma and Dixie Barbosa (animations), the show currently runs through until the 24th of March, with performances on Saturday and Sunday nights commencing at 18:00 SLT at the Balboa Theatre in San Diego – and it really is worth seeing.

Moulin Rouge is being staged at the Balboa Theatre, March 16/17 and 23/24 at 18:00
Moulin Rouge is being staged at the Balboa Theatre, March 16/17 and 23/24 at 18:00

With a cast of ten, and dance numbers of significant complexity – performers being both synced to one another and to the music while at times performing entirely separate dance sequences to one another – Moulin Rouge really does need to be seen, rather than described. The stage sets themselves are both original and familiar, encompassing both the famous red windmill of Le Moulin Rouge itself, as well as representing the interior of the great cabaret club in a reflection of scenes from Luhrmann’s movie.

Moulin Rouge: Satine (Jaine Elvehjem) flanked by Christian (Mischievious John) and Toulouse Lautrec (Mishimaishi Resident) with the Showgirl dancers in one of the show's several complex routines
Moulin Rouge: Satine (Jaine Elvehjem) flanked by Christian (Mischievious John) and Toulouse Lautrec (Mishimaishi Resident) with the Showgirl dancers in one of the show’s several complex routines

Each dance interprets a key scenes from the film, including Satine’s arrival via trapeze, Jacek Koman’s gutteral rendition of Roxanne in El Tango Roxanne, together with The Show Must Go On,  Nature Boy and Hindi Sad Diamonds, and, of course, Come What May. With a total of eight dance “acts”, the entire show runs for some 30 minutes, and not even SL deciding to be especially mischievous on the night I sat down in the theatre (a dancer crashed immediately prior to curtain-up, then two more suffered the same fate during El Tango Roxanne – one of who was operating the stage HUD) could dampen the enthusiasm of both cast and audience.

El Tango Roxanne - Moulin Rouge
El Tango Roxanne – Moulin Rouge

As mentioned above, Moulin Rouge has four more performances currently planned for the Balboa Theatre, on the 16th, 17th, 23rd and 24th March. It is a show worth seeing.

Tips on Attending

Live performances in virtual worlds frequently face challenges such as lag. Virtual Dance is no exception to this, particularly as it involves a lot of scripting and gestures. To assist in the audience’s enjoyment of the show, therefore, patrons attending any presentation of Moulin Rouge are respectively asked to consider:

  • Arriving early: performances can be held up as a result of a lot of people arriving just before the curtain is due to go up, and who inevitably suffer rendering delays, problems getting audio streaming active, etc. A slightly earlier arrival ensures these things can be dealt with easier and without the fear of missing part of the show
  • Reducing lag both in the viewer and on the region where the performance is taking place by: removing any heavily scripted HUDs and other items; wearing lower-prim hair; dispensing with the bling;  turning off nametags / Show Lookat to reduce the number of things your viewer has to process
  • Making sure all microphones are off if Voice is used within SL. If someone does leave their microphone open, the gentle thing to do is to open the “Active Speakers” list or “Nearby Voice” list, select the person, and roll the volume slider at the bottom of the window down
  • Keeping calm: most performances encourage audience reactions in local chat.  It helps the performers know that you are there and having a good time.   However, please save such noisemaking until it is time to applaud
  • Turning on Quiet Snapshots, if taking photos.
Christian and
Christian (Mischievious John) and Satine (Jaine Elvehjem) in the finale of Moulin Rouge

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