Thursday night was a night full of firsts.
While it wasn't the first time I joined my friend singer-songwriter Lyndon Heart onstage at Molaskey's Pub in Second Life (that happened back in September), it was the first time I wasn't "on top". Let me explain something here (skip the next paragraph if you're not a complete Internet/audio geek).
Here's how "dual streaming" works in Second Life. The most simple explanation is that one person streams live audio from their location, and another person receives that audio (over an audio stream, via something like iTunes, just like dialing in an Internet radio station). Then, that person adds his/her own musical contribution, mixes it with the signal from the first person, and sends the combined signal into SL.
Lyndon (right) and me, rocking out and having fun via dual-stream at Molaskey's. Photo by Kat.
Anyway, the first time I did this, I was "on top", meaning that I was the first one playing, and Lyndon played along with what I was doing, with guitar leads and harmony vocals. But last night, we flippity-flopped the fling-flang, and Lyndon drove the music while I added my own parts. It was every bit as fun, and perhaps more so in a way; the person "on top" can't hear what the other person is doing (this is due to the latency of time, space, and Internet servers in various places... I don't want to get detailed here about the techno shit).
The crowd at Molaskey's, enjoying the tunes from Lyndon and I. Photo by Kat.
So, that was a first. Another first was a batch of tunes that I played with Lyndon, along with a couple of covers of my own that I'd never done before. Check it out...
Molaskey's/Lyndon Heart Set List...
With Lyndon:
*Ain't No Sunshine (Bill Withers)
*Love is the Seventh Wave (Sting)
*Stir It Up (Bob Marley & the Wailers)
*Up On Cripple Creek (The Band)
*I Can See Clearly Now (Johnny Nash)
*After Midnight (Eric Clapton)
Solo Set
Big Yellow Taxi (Joni Mitchell)
*Games Without Frontiers (Peter Gabriel)
You're Like a Cloud (Zak Claxton)
*Every Day I Write the Book (Elvis Costello)
†The Loner (Neil Young)
Broken Day (Zak Claxton)
Always Tomorrow (Zak Claxton)
Ashes to Ashes (David Bowie)
Man of Constant Sorrow (Traditional)
*Indicates the first time I've performed this song in SL.
†My last performance of "The Loner" was October 28, 2008.
As you can see from the list above, we did a similar format to the last show, except Lyndon started us out with 45 minutes of his own stuff, followed by a half hour of us performing together, and then 45 minutes on my own. There was yet another first during my set, and not a particularly joyous one; in the four years I've been playing at Molaskey's, I've never had any problems with their venue stream until last night. During my set, the stream was stuttering and cutting in/out, and there was nothing that could be done (it was a server problem). On the bright side, at least the stream was steady during the section with Lyndon and I playing, and once we acquiesced that something was wrong, I simply switched over to my own stream for the remainder of the show and all was well. No big deal; shit happens in the technology-filled world that lets us do things like performing in our homes to fans around the world.
My view. Photo by Triana.
Regardless, it was a fun-filled show that I enjoyed greatly. Any show at Molaskey's usually ranks among the best; add in the fact that I'm doing a live jam along with a guy who is 1,000 miles north of me, and it's an evening full of win. Lyndon and I are scheduled to do this again at Molaskey's sometime in November, and I'd like to see what we can come up with to make it even better.
Lyndon hangs out and cheers me on while I keep the rock rolling (when the stream decided to let me do so). Photo by Kat.
Triana and Kat hanging out toward the end of the evening. Photo by Kat.
Huge thanks to everyone who helped support the show!
Heaven Glendale, Catherinne Earnshaw, Triana Caldera, Mia Kitchensink, Thynka Little, Cicadetta Stillwater, Alexis Fairlady, Thadicus Caligari, Kat Claxton, Woodstock Burleigh, Tangle Giano, Thinkerer Melville, Diana Renoir, my (and Lyndon's) terrific manager Maali Beck, and Molaskey's owners and staff (especially Katydid Something). Love all you people!
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