Beginnings, Endings and Anniversaries.

I can't believe a whole week has gone by since I last wrote, but so it has. Today I will begin with an ending. That seems to be back to front! but it is said, that in order for a door to open in front of us, we must first close a door behind us.
Our second week of running the venue, Ye Olde Wolf n Hawk, went well except for one small problem, the avi capacity was far too low for comfort. The performers, Mamaa Saiz and Beth Odets, Shannon Oherlihy and Cailidgh Spires are popular entertainers and the venue was full from the first 15 minutes. While that may sound like a good thing, the problem was, how could Shannon or Cailidgh get into the venue to perform their sets if we were full to capacity. We had also received a few I M's from folks who could not get in and were wondering why?
Anyway to cut a long story, luck was on our side and both performers were able to get in as people came and went, but it showed us very clearly that if we wanted to carry on with the venue then we had to move to a sim that could accommodate more people, and so at the end of the show  and celebrations for that day, we were off land hunting.
We found somewhere relatively quickly and so said goodbye to the sim we had all lovingly created ,and Sunwolf and I began  dismantling and reassembling  the venue in it's new home during the early hours of the morning.
Unfortunately Alix and Trick, have so much going on in RL that they have decided not to continue with the venue, so now it is down to Sunwolf and I to run it. It is both  exciting and a bit scary, we just hope we manage to get it right, I guess time will tell.                                                                                           Sunwolf and I are lucky that it was just us two and the dog for xmas, so we were able to work on n off through the holiday and finally finished putting the last pieces in place earlier today.
Friday the23rd was Sunwolf's rezz day birthday, he was one year old.  He laughed and said how amazing it was that a one year old could play a mandolin and run a pc.
We played at Guthries that morning, a place we love dearly. There were a nice group of people in and it was a just great to be able perform for them.
Next, we were hosting at our own venue and again. There were a lovely group of folks in, so that in spite of the worry mentioned above, we still had a good time. Cailidgh and her band of tinies took over the venue during her set, and were still partying when Sunwolf and I left to get ready for our show at Cuddlers Cove.
It is always a joy to play At Cuddlers, it is the place Wolf n Hawk were born, and that would't have happened at all if it wasn't for the encouragement of Quinton and Suka, and knowing how much the music and playing gives to  Sunwolf and I makes their support more valuable than I could ever say.
We were truly touched when the aforementioned band of tinies turned up to our show and bopped with us till they could stay awake no longer. We were also joined by our buddy, Laid Back Celt, and one or two others who's names, I must admit I cannot recall, but they were so welcome never the less.
To end our celebration, we were then entertained by the awesome talent of Quinton Whitman, and so ended a truly lovely day , both our hearts were glowing by the end of the night.
With all the moving and celebrating, we did not get round to many other places this week, but now the work is done we will be back venue hopping in between performing and hosting our venue, and with a bit of luck we will bump into you somewhere.
So till next time, I am wishing you Peace and Happy Holidays.
 

Busy Busy Busy but trying not to flap

Well, it's Monday again, how quick the week went, I look back and so much is a blur.

There are two high lights this week. The first was the opening of our little venue Ye Olde Wolk n Hawk that we run with Alix Pledies and Trick Socking ton. Sunwolf and I took to the stage at 11am slt and are pleased to say quite a few folks came in, most of whom said they thought it was a lovely little place. All credit to Sunwolf who built it, I had kitted it out and Alix had also added some lovely touches. Trick would love to have been more involved I know, but RL issues have kept him pretty busy, still he managed to make the opening night which was just great to have us all together for that special time.

Rick (Ugh Yeu) followed us on stage and that was a great set, we look forward to having him back in the near future. He was then followed by the smooth relaxing voice of Steveeolio, who proceeded to wow us all , and graciously offered to do a set on Friday too.

Friday night at the Pub, found us listening to the lovely voice of, Miss Cailidgh Spires, who followed another wonderful set by Steveeolio, and we wound up with our lovable Lion, Ringo Robonaught, who did a mixed set with plenty of xmas songs to get us all ready for the holiday season. Again there were quite a few folks coming and going and enjoying the music. Alix did a sterling job welcoming folks with Sunwolf and I helping where we could. We have never hosted at a venue before, let alone our own, but I don't think we did too bad a job. We hope to have all these wonderful performers at the Wolf n Hawk again sometime in the new year.

Special thanks to Russell Eponym, who found time in a busy and trying day to come over and support us. He is  a wonderful guy and a real gentleman, as well as The avi choice for male performer of the year.  I can only say no one deserves this honour more.

Our only problem, at Ye Olde Wolf n Hawk, is the limited number of people we can have at the venue in our present location and I think we will have to address this issue fairly soon. 

In the meantime,I can only give my heartfelt appreciation to all who either performed or attended our first week, we can't thank you all enough.

Sandwiched in between our sl venue opening, was the sad event where we had to say goodbye to our dear RL friend Alan ( see prev blog). He was a very popular man and the crematorium was packed. The service was as much about celebrating his life as saying goodbye, never the less, my heart went out to his wife Sue, and his two grown up children Ben and Zoe, I came home feeling washed out and sad.

I was so happy to see my dear SL friend Sher123 returning , she had been suffering from pc problems and had to drop out for awhile, I do hope she is back to stay we have missed her terribly. Also now around a bit more is another dear friend( also in RL too) and that is Cailidgh Spires always guaranteed to make you smile. We haven't been able to get together in RL for quite a while either, so it's wonderful to see her around again. 

Finally we were honoured to play a benefit show for, Toys for Tots, on Saturday night at the Margaritaville venue, ( well it was night for us as we took the stage at midnight) It was a good show, and I hope we helped raise plenty of lindens for this wonderful cause. Following us on stage was another dear friend and awesome musician, Quinton Whitman, his set was brilliant as always.  Rick (Ugh Yeu) followed him, as the scheduled performer was having pc problems, so he stepped in. Rick had also been involved in the planning and hosting of this event, another big hearted guy. By this time it was gone 2am and though we did our best by 2.20am we had to admit defeat and log out for some much needed sleep.

I want to finish this week by saying, Sunwolf and I are often awed by the love and kindness of the folks on the SL music scene. I am sure there are lots of others too who are worthy of mention, but as we spend most of our time in and around the music scene this is the only group I feel confident to speak about. The  audiences are usually generous with their praise and tips, without which the music scene could not function. The artists are, in the main supportive of one another, no matter what the genre of music is they are playing, and the venue owners are gracious, caring people, who are dedicated to bringing live music to folks without trying to get rich, in fact most of them fund their venues, in part, from their own pockets it seems.

Occasionally it comes to my ears that there are some folks who are unhappy with the way the SL music scene runs and want to see things change. I say , think long and hard about this. The music scene is here for everyone to enjoy, not just those who can afford it, or have a limited idea about what folks should be allowed to perform or hear. After all, its the audiences who make a show, without them ,there is no show. Who is it really hurting to play the songs folks want to hear, especially when you can bring so much joy when doing so. I have often been moved to tears by the beauty of a song sung from the heart, and I know others have too. What greater reward can an artist have..! So I say, long may the SL music scene carry on and flourish just the way it is.

I wish the greeting card attached to this blog had gone where I wanted it which was here, but I am still learning the ropes and don't know how to shift it, so it remains where it is lol

Well, that's about it for this week, it just remains for me to wish you all a peaceful and joyful festive Season

until next time love and bright blessings to you all. 

THE ROLLER COASTER CONTINUES......

Now we come to the bit that hasn't been so much fun. In RL Sunwolf and I are saying goodbye to a dear friend and fellow musician this week (his funeral is Friday) I have written a little piece that I would like to share here

Alan 

You came to see me the other day,

stood long in the doorway drinking  the sight 

of the room we used to play in

where the passion of music used to ignite

There was a special kind of energy then

when the music flowed around

all of us in harmony

though no one spoke a sound.

The instruments expressed our souls

each one fitted to it's place

and we sang to one another in turn

I still picture your smiling face

You, dear friend, have left us now

to go to that other place

and I never knew, the day you came

it would be the last I saw your face.

Well that's  all for this time, see you next week until then Bright Blessings.

A ROLLER COASTER WEEK

It has been quite a week filled with highs and lows hence the title, as is my way, I will start with the good things.

Sunwolf,(my RL and SL husband) and I have caught quite a few good shows on the circuit this week.It was good to see Mash Rhodes again, he seemed to have been away for a few weeks and though we are relatively new to his music he has become a firm favourite of ours. His set at the Blarney stone began early and finished late, meaning he did about an hour and a half instead of the usual hour set, no complaints from us we loved it and the Blarney Stone is a nice venue full of friendly folks having a good time which to my mind is what SL is all about.
We also managed to catch, Conor Savage, Rick ( Ugh Yeu), Laid Back Celt and his lovely lady Stinna pop star,
Rapture Damone, Tim Anadyr, PonDman Halan Mamaa Sez and Russell Eponimn by Venue hopping. Russell has just won an award for Best Male Artist in SL,it is well deserved as he is one of the nicest guys you will ever meet in SL and his music is always a joy to hear. Each and everyone of the aforementioned artists are performing shows well worth catching, so if you haven't seen any of them yet do please try to get there, I am sure you won't regret it.
Sunwolf and I do have particular venues we like to hang out in whenever we get the time. All the venues are doing a great job in bringing good artists and music to SL, but there are some we feel more at home in and tend to go to as often as we can, for me personally these venues combine pleasant surroundings with welcoming and friendly owners / managers, enthusiastic hosts/esses where used and an all round good feel. Cuddlers Cove,
Guthries and Spice are the ones we most frequent. Spice has just recently re located to a sim with less lag problems and I know Tim and Katja worked through the night to get the new Spice up and running. It is looking so lovely and Sunwolf and I wish them every success and are proud to say they are friends of ours.
Again if you haven't visited any of these venues, try to go along, I will be surprised if you don't have a great time.There is another venue we also enjoy that is for the moment not putting on shows and that is Bring a Friend and Stay Awhile run by  Still Braveheart, Still is unable to open at the moment due to ill health and I will take this opportunity to wish her a speedy recovery and look forward to the time we will be attending shows at her venue once again.
Personally, Sunwolf and I were delighted to be given an extension to our weekly slots at Guthries on Friday mornings, we can't thank Dottie enough, to be a regular part of the line up at Guthries feels like such an honour to us.It was a defenate high in this week
Another high spot was being invited to Laid Back and Stinnas home sim for an impromptu get together. It's a lovely sim, especially the hidden bit, and Stinna and LB both did a few songs. Our good friend Alix Pleides was with us and we all had a great time. Stinna took a few photos and you can see these on my facebook page (titled Sparrowhawk).

Finally, on the good side, Alix, Sunwolf and I, have  finished the pub we have been setting up on Alix's land and are planning to open this Wednesday (see photo). It was our dream to be able to perform in SL and dear friends have encouraged and supported us in making that dream come true (see previous blogs). We are now hoping to help Alix realise a dream of hers, and assist her running this little venue, which she has graciously allowed to be called Ye Olde WolfnHawk. Unfortuately none of us are wealthy folks so the venue will be tips only to begin with. We open for her (again an honour) on wednesday 14th dec

No Blogg this week.

A dear RL friend and fellow musician died at the weekend and I am taking this week out from writing, but I will resume next week.

now the not so good

I don't believe in dwelling on negative issues, but to deny there are any is to give a false picture, so I will now write briefly about the things that were not so great.
Griefers are the first thing that comes to mind. We were once pushed all round a sim in the middle of a performance. I wasn't so much upset as mystified as to what sort of person ,or persons in this case, get a buzz from spoiling other people's enjoyment., I am still mystified, but you know I am rather glad of that, I don't think I want to know anything about it. Sunwolf and I have  got a gadget now that prevents these folks from pushing you around so it won't happen again but honestly!
Next, we come to a hostess that turned up over 20mins late to put the music stream in, by which time most of
  the audience had gone. We don't know to this day why she was late, she was on line and had been sent numerous i m 's  and when she eventually turned up no word of explanation was given, in fact she said nothing at all throughout what was left of the show.
That brings me to non responsive audiences.  We performed at a fundraiser a few months ago (not the one mentioned in the previous blogg), and no one said anything at all for the whole hour. We sang and played to our best ability as we always do, and no one said a word, even someone saying they didn't like it would have been something. It is not so hard to find an applause gesture (even  I can do it and I am not the worlds best with pc skills). It is giving part of yourself when you put your avi on the stage and perform a set, surly hitting an applause gesture now and again is not asking too much, it isn't like it  costs  anything. We weren't the only ones who got no response that day, we watched several other performers treated the same way, such a shame.
Finally, a note about venue owners and managers. Sunwolf and I know that our music is not really main stream and as such the appeal is limited, but if an artist approaches a venue owner or person who hires acts and the act isn't right for the venue or doesn't appeal in some way, please think about being honest about that and say so. Being told to wait for a response that never comes is hurtful and demoralising, much better to know where you stand from the start, then you don't go on wondering what the reason is.
Well, I am glad this piece is written and over with, like I said dwelling on the negative is not a good idea, but it needed to be addressed and now it has been.
Finally, not in the same vein, but sad never the less, was the death of a performer called Lonewolf Genersis.
Sunwolf and I only knew him a short while,  we used to hand over to him after our show at Waffles on Thursdays.
He was always so kind and complimentary about our show and we would usually stay around to hear his set.
We loved his distinctive voice and choice of songs. We attended a memorial service for him at Waffles that poor Twinky had  knocked herself out to put it together. It was so moving , I struggled to get through our part in it without tears, and several other contributors had broken down. At the end poor Twinky was tearful and exhausted, but it was a beautiful  tribute that she can be very proud of. A collection was taken for Lonewolf's family and a book of sentiments was also made for them. The service was very well attended and we felt honoured to be there.

Next time I write, it will be to talk about some of the lovely people Sunwolf and I have met around the grid, there have been so many of them and I want to mention them all so that could take some time, but for now I wish you all Bright Blessings and Peace.

Highs and Lows

 Well here I am again and today I thought I would tell you the high and low spots to date. I am going to be writing every week from now, but since we began playing on the grid on the first of September I thought I would cover the past event first before going on to give a weekly update, so here we go.
 Lets start with the good things shall we, Please note these may not be in the exact order they happened my memory is not that good. First I recall being invited to attending the wedding of two dear friends of ours, Mark, Music Oxygen and Katrose Serendipity, of course I am reffering to an SL wedding. It was so beautiful, the ceremony brought tears to my eyes and Kat looked so lovely standing next to her handsome husband to be, unfortunately we could not stay long, the time difference meant it was the early hours of the morning and I needed to get some sleep, but it was a truly memorable and lovely occasion and we were thrilled to be invited.In case you may not know Katrose and Music Oxygen are two amazingly talented SL performers who take the stage as individual performers and also harmonise on one another's songs, if you haven't caught one of their shows yet then you are missing out on some beautiful songs and talent.
 Next Sunwolf and I were playing our regular slot at Waffles (see previous blogg for details) when Mr Robert Little and his lovely wife turned up there and  Robert shot some video footage of us performing a song http://youtu.be/wZu1-9akTEs. We were quite blown away with this realisation as Robert travels round the grid making these Videos to show on his web page((rpbizzle(robert69 little) on you tube))   and we have watched some of these particularly the one with Mamaa Saiz performing Funny little Clown, such a lovely song and Mamaa does it so well, anyway we can't thank Robert enough it was so kind of him and his videos are so well put together again we felt honoured.
Yesterday we opened for a fundraiser to get some lindens for an organisation called The Lucas Dog Trust, Smiling Dog Farms, again I can only say how delighted we were to be able to do this. It was a big event lasting several days, Grateful Striker was the guy running it and I can only admire someone who can work so hard for the benefit of our furry friends, and as a bonus, our dear friend Quinton Whitman was following us so we got to introduce him to the stage.
My last comment here is to mention hearing a truly awesome guy last night at Spice, another great venue,  Katja and Tim who run it are such lovely people,and Tim is also a great Musician, it's such a pretty place too, anyway, the entertainment was first rate, though we missed the first act as we got held up. The  last act of the night was a man called Conor Savage, we had never heard him before and it is always such a great feelig to discover another artist who really touches you, if you have never heard either Tim Anadyr or Conor be sure to get to one of their shows, I am sure you won't regret it.
Well, I have decided to leave this blogg here and tackle the lows at a later date, wishing you love light and peace till next time.

connections and growth

Hi once again, I do hope this finds you well and thriving both in RL and SL.I will now continue this very potted history of how this journey began for Sunwolf and I.
 When we played at Cuddlers Cove a lady was there called Twinky Waffle, a wonderfully kind lady who does a lot in the music scene and runs an organisation called Respect yourself that is  there to help folks who have had a not altogether positive experience and would like to talk with someone (you can find out more about this by contacting the afore mentioned Twinky) She also runs the venue, Waffles Music Agency, and she was the first person to give Wolf n Hawk a regular slot for our music. We
 can't thank her enough. Waffles is a great little place with a friendly atmosphere and some really good musicians, well worth a visit. If you haven't been there Check it Out .
Next, on the recommendation of Quinton and Suka, we submitted a  few of our original songs to Dottie Iceberg and  were  given a slot at Guthries. Here music is played in it's purest form no backing tracks,  and Guthries is legendary in the music scene on SL, in fact it was the first live music venue I found when I first joined, and again the folks there are so welcoming and friendly and Dottie Iceberge who runs the venue is as hard a working person as you will find anywhere on SL, running a set of shows everyday and two sets at weekends, a truly phenominal task with all those musicians to be planned for and hosted.  She truly has my respect for the amazing amount she does single handedly to support live music, and we feel honoured to be playing there among so many great musicians.
 Next time I write, I will tell you about some of the other music venues we have been to both as audience members and artists. If anyone would like to comment on anything I have said please feel free. I would love to hear from you, Music is to my way of thinking the way the your spirit gets to express it's self as well as entertainment and I can't overestimate it's importance in my life.  If you have any thoughts around this or anything else you would like to share, please make contact.Till next time, love, peace,  prosperity and good health to you.

It Begins

Hi Folks, thought it might be a good idea to share some thoughts and feelings about life both in the real world and in second life where I spend a fair amount of my time. For those that don't know, I am one half of a musical duo called Wolf n Hawk and we play in various places around the second life grid.
 The first thing I want to say is how lovely most of the folks are who we have met both the musicians and the audiences who go to see them.It all began for us with Suka and Quinton Whitman at their music venue Cuddlers Cove, we had been going there to watch other folks play for quite awhile, they have a rich and varied group of musicians there playing many different styles of music. Folks were so welcoming and friendly that we made it a habit to go to Cuddlers when ever they have a show, which it usually Fridays and Saturdays most weeks. Quinton is a particular favourite of ours and as he open the show each saturday morning its a bonus for us. Anyway, Quinton and Suka had heard some of our music on Reverb Nation and encouraged us to think about doing a set on SL, we werent sure at first because what they had heard was us with out guitarist who had  since left because of too many other commitments , but they kept asking and so we began to rework our music around just the two of us, till finally in early September we did our stream test for them. We were terrified, but it seemed to go OK and Suka gave us our first real show after she had had a cancellation. Again we were terrified, but we loved doing the show especially for such lovely folks, and so it began. Wolf n Hawk were born at Cuddlers Cove and we can not thank them enough. Next time I write I will tell you what happened next, the good the bad and the totally Bizzare, but for now Bye and I wish you love light and peace.