oops missed my Monday blog

Hi to anyone who reads my blog. I am sorry, but this week got away from me and I did not get to do any of the things I planned including my Monday blog.
Sunwolf was ill for two days so not only was he unable to handle being in front of pc, he was also unable to much at all. Glad to say he is better now , but it meant I had a lot of extra things to do in RL so there was less time to spend in SL. That coupled with the fact we have been very busy recording our own songs on the days Sunwolf was well, caused me to forget Monday was Monday if you get my meaning.


Till next time, Love, Light and Peace.

Music, Roses and Thorny Issues.

Well, here we are again, boy does a week seem to fly by. Today I am going to concentrate on a couple of things that were highlighted for me this week.
First, to my mind, music is like roses. There are many different kinds and all are beautiful. So it is with music, from the wonderful full sound of an orchestra in full flow, likened to the most exquisite highbred tea rose, to the single performer, one voice and one instrument.
I liken the Dog Rose to the Folk Music scene. A wild, but delightful, delicate beauty, springing up in the hedgerows, fighting for it's survival among all the other foliage, yet often reaching great heights.
But, among all that loveliness there are thorns that can, and do, draw blood if you are not careful in the handling of the blooms. Today I wish to address a couple of thorny issues in the SL music scene, without any blood I hope.
First, our little venue was honoured to be visited by three other venue owners last week. Our good friends Katja and Tim from Spice, Crystal Robespear from Southbound and Katspurs from Ragged Edge. All were graciously complimentary about the pub, and I give heartfelt thanks to them all. During the course of that evening, one of them remarked, that it would be a good thing if the venues and their owners were to back and support one another and I agree wholeheartedly. It set me thinking, I know there is some differences of opinion as to whether tips only venues are being fair to the artists they host. It is said that the musicians should be paid by the venue for the shows they provide and in principal this is right. Sunwolf and I, as performers as well as venue owners, can see this, but if all the venues who can not afford to pay set fees to the performers were to close the Sl music scene would no longer be the vibrant and thriving community that it is.
The truth is, that if you want to make money, do not run a venue. Most folks do it for the love of live music and to give artists the chance to be heard and if you have the resources to be able to sink your own money into your venue to pay the musicians you host then that is wonderful, but does it then follow, that those who can't do that should not run their shows. Tips only venues, of which our pub is one, are invaluable for providing places to play for new acts and those who are not main stream,  and therefore do not have a big audience providing lots of tips to the venue. A young female performer said to me the other day, that even if only one person turns up and enjoys her show, then she feels that what she has done is worthwhile. She would rather play for tips than not be given the chance to play at all.  It is also worth remembering, that the musicians who do come to play at tips only venues have the final say, they are free to decline if they wish. There are many performers out there who struggle to get gigs in fee paying venues for one reason or another, Wolf and Hawk are in that category, should we then not be given our chance to play, even though we do have a small fan group who enjoy what we do?
One of the things I so dearly love about SL music scene is that it is not like the music scene in RL where only the money spinning folks get a chance, where it  all is about exploitation and stabbing others in the back. Here in SL, all are given a chance to fullfil their dream of performing and that is often due to the tips only venues.
I can not speak for others here, but I can state that Sunwolf and I, never take any money from the venue for our own personal use, it is all used to keep the venue running as we have no external source of income for this purpose. Any money left over goes to paying as large a tips to the artists performing as we can possibly manage.We are doing this purely to support the performers who wish to play, and we honestly feel we are doing our bit to help the music scene stay thriving and diverse, and yes, it would be wonderful if all venues could realise the worth of all the others trying to do the same job in what ever humble way that may be.

My second issue this week should take no where near as long to explain. On Wednesday, Wolf n Hawk played a set to an empty room. It was a disappointing and rather demoralising experience, but we carried on for as a good friend of ours, Quinton Whitman, once said, that's just the way it goes sometimes. It wasn't till we were checking the figures afterwards that we saw we had, in fact  several listeners, all off world. Now I know folks have various reasons for not coming to the venue, but I have been told by one or two folks that they feel they can not come if they have no money to tip. Now again, I can't speak for all other performers, though I knew quite a few who will agree with my next statement, and I can say this for Wolf n Hawk, Please, please, do not stay away if your only reason is lack of money.  We would much rather see you there enjoying the music, it is what makes our show worthwhile. I must also say sorry to the folks who were listening off world if my performance was a little flat that night, but without even a hostess, we really were playing to an empty room.

That's about it for this week folks, next week will see us back to venue hoping and bringing you news of the folks we meet and the wonderful music and venues that make up the SL music scene.

Till then love, light and peace to you all.

Back on Track

Hi Folks, I do hope this finds you well.
This week saw Sunwolf and I returned to doing our shows. I must admit I had missed performing and on counting, it was nearly two weeks we had been away. It was do good to be back. Our first gig was at ,Ye Olde Wolf n Hawk. It took a couple of songs for me to get back into the swing of things, but eventually I settled down and just enjoyed what we were doing. The audience were lovely, being generous with their applause and encouragement.
Capos Calderwood followed us with a great set, his guitar playing really is awesome.
Our last performer that Wednesday, was the lovable rouge, Gweeb. He always makes me laugh with his in between songs banter, and his blues guitar just blows me away.
Thursday, saw us playing out regular slot at, Waffles, hosted by our dear friend, Larry the Panda, another really great guy.
Later that evening, Sunwolf and I, called in at Spice to catch, Tim Anadyr, Joaquin Gustaf and Lyn Carlberg.
As usual it was a great show and we left in awe of the amazing talents we had  seen.
Just before we logged off for the night, we dropped in to a new venue called, Southbound Jazz Club, managed by Crystal Robespear. It's a nice little place with a good atmosphere. We would have stayed a bit longer, but it was getting very late by this time and my bed was calling me.
Friday saw us at Guthries for our regular weekly show. You know no matter how often we play there I still get such a buzz from being on that stage. I have always loved the place and what it stands for, long may it continue.
Later that day, it was time to host at our own venue. It was quite a small audience that night, people came and went but not in any great numbers. Still those who were there seemed to have a good time and it was a joy to have the tinies in again, they are such sweet folk.
RonnieMayes kicked off the evening. I just love this guy and could listen to him for hours.
Cailidgh Spires, our regular weekly song bird, followed Ronnie, with a show packed full of great tunes and her own particular brand of lovable lunacy.
Mamaa Saiz was due to follow Caili, but he had to cancel as he too fell to the bugs that seem to be circulating the globe right now. Our dear friend, and great talent, Rick (Ugh Yeu), came to our rescue and delivered a lovely set to a small, but appreciative group of people.
Of course Friday evening are resurved for Cuddlers Cove, and this particular night was, all Brits day.
Cailidgh did a stunning hour of beautiful songs, and then Sunwolf and I took to the stage for a set.
We were both touched to see the tinies stay for our show as it was very late in the UK in fact gone 1am by the time we had vacated the stage.
I know I have said this before, but Cuddlers was where Wolf n Hawk were born so it is always such a joy to play there.
Saturday saw us at Cuddlers again. This is our regular weekly thing, so anyone wanting to find us at the weekend need go no further than check the times for this venue and there we will be( as in fact tends to be the case with the venue Spice also).
It was wonderful to hear Quinton, it seemed like a long time since we had heard him play. It was a set of mostly originals and wow what a set, we both loved it.
Twin Ghost followed and again it was a set containing a lot of original material.
The last set of the day was Rapture Damone and her two sons who were playing bass guitar and drums.
Now this set  was incredible, I just loved every minute of it and didn't want them to stop. I thought it was
great that the two boys wanted to share their talent with their Mum. I have always enjoyed Raptures sets but this one was well, as I said, Incredible and if you get the chance to see them I would say it is a must.
                                               Quinton Whitman performing at Cuddlers Cove.

Well, that was my week here in SL. Sunwolf and I, do take the odd day away from the screens.  This week it was Sunday , so that concludes the weeks news from me on the SL Music Scene though, we will be getting round to a lot more places in future weeks now that the bugs have finally left us.
So till next time,
Wishing you love, light, peace, health and happiness.

CLIPPED WINGS.

Hi Folks,
When I said last time the next entry would not be so long, I had no thought that it would be because of ill health, but so it turned out to be. Sunwolf came down with a very nasty cold (he called it man flu) and I caught it a day or so later. Because I have other health issues, these things are always so long and drawn out with me and I have to go to bed, which I don't like much. I have never been a one for lying around, even when I don't feel so good, but sometimes we all have to give in and give our bodies time to heal. I don't know which was worse, feeling awful or having to cancel our shows. I suspect it was the latter, as I have not been truly well for many years and so am used to a certain amount of discomfort on a daily basis.
However, last Monday evening saw, Sunwolf and I, at Stinna's Rez Day party.  It was a great evening, with LB Celt starting us off with a great set of tunes, some of which he doesn't usually play at his shows. Following LB, was the DJ Jezebel Charleville, who played a good mix of tunes, something for everyone in there.
The highlight for me was when MTMS burst out of a huge birthday cake, very amusing.
Though we could not do our sets, we did manage to get to the lovely little venue, Spice, for the first shows of the new year. Tim Anadyr opened as he usually does and he was followed by our dear friend Cailidgh Spires and then Lyn Carlberg took the stage. They were all wonderful sets and helped take my mind off how grotty I was feeling.We did not manage to catch the last act, as it was late and my RL body needed rest by that time.
By Friday, I felt well enough to host our shows at Ye Olde Wolf n Hawk. We only had two acts that night, Cailidgh and Ringo Robonaught, but both were well attended and both played some great tunes.
To finish our Friday, we went on to Cuddlers Cove as we usually do on Friday evenings,( well it is evening for us in RL), Gweeb was playing the first show. I love this guy, he is funny and also very talented. I just adore his blues numbers, though I don't think he played anything I did not care for. If you haven't seen him yet make a point of doing so.
Steveeolio, was the last performer at Cuddlers that night. Always a joy to listen to, and by the time he was finished it was past 1am in RL and time to get to bed tired, but happy enough.
Apart from the above mentioned, we didn't go very far this week, spent most of it in RL resting and trying shake this blessed virus. We did try a few practise songs mid week, but that left us both coughing and exhausted.
At the time of writing, we are both just about over the worsted and are looking forward to resuming our shows this Wednesday, when we play at our pub Hope to see you there.

Picture of Gweeb on stage at Cuddlers Cove.

Till next time, I wish you wealth in all that is positive.
Love and Bright Blessings.

Looking backwards forwards and in between.

(Thanks to Merlin for taking this picture of us during one of our gigs at Guthries:))
Well, here we are again, this past week saw the end of the old year and the beginning of the new.
 In RL  the past year has not been a particularly good one, though it had some high spots to hold onto. Like the  making of Cailidgh Spires 1st CD , Spare Change. It was a joy to have this talented young musician in our home. There was hard work, but also plenty of laughter, and some tears, evoked by the beauty we were creating. Caili is a dear and treasured friend and we look forward to working with her again on her 2nd CD early in the new year.
Try as I might, I can not really recall much else that was particularly good in RL other than the visits of family and friends , these seem to become less and less frequent as we all struggle to find that ever elusive time slot when we can all be in the same place at the same time.
The only other thing, is the fact that Sunwolf and I made it through living and breathing and only a little worse for wear, that in itself is a blessing. I learned quite a while ago now that this in itself should never be taken for granted, as these are great gifts in themselves.
The negatives in the past year are not worth dwelling on as we can not change the past, only learn from it if we are open to.
Now I turn to the past Year in SL, and that is an altogether different scenario. Here the positives far outweighed any negative incidents.
In this one year, Sunwolf and I have gone from being among the admiring audience on the music scene, to becoming performers too. Sometimes I still marvel at that. We are just as in awe of the amazing talent of so many artists as we ever were, and are thrilled to now be considered a part of it. We are also running our own little venue and are loving it.
You know, I have been singing since I was 2 years old (in RL that is). I used to play keyboards and native flutes too, but a trapped nerve in my neck has made it almost impossible now, as I can't play long enough to practise anything before I loose the feeling in my hands. Still I have harboured a dream of becoming part of an artistic/musical community for may years. SL has enabled my dream to finally come true, and it is every bit as wonderful as I thought it would be. I could never have begun living my dream without my dear RL husband or our many SL friends and our little group of Wolf n Hawk supporters. I thank them all from the bottom of my heart.
And so at last, I get to the past weeks happening here on the music scene. Sunwolf and I both have heavy colds that we seem unable to shift at the moment and this has made the going a bit tough at times. However, we opened our SL pub in it's new location for the first time last Wednesday. Steveeolio opened for us when Ari, who was going to have her debute had to cancell due to ill health.
After Stevee, Sunwolf and I did a set, followed by Ronniemayes. If you haven't heard Ronnie yet ( he has only been playing in SL for about a month ), then do make a note to catch his show. I particularly recamend his originals,( when he slips the odd one in), but also his version of , Only Women Bleed by Alice Cooper, and Joe Cockers ,With a Little Help From My Friends, are brilliant. The latter is particularly so appropriate for second life I think.
It was Guthries 3rd birthday on the 28th Dec, and I was so looking forward to to joining in the celebrations there. It wasn't too be,  I spent most of the day in bed feeling awful,and the PC didn't go on except for a couple of hours later in the day, and this was only to make sure we were ready for the venue's show the following day.
Friday was my 1st year Rezz day, and what better way to start celebrating than to play our regular set at Guthries. I must admit, I struggled with my vocals, at times it felt like I had ants running up and down my throat, but we got through with only one or two coughing fits (Sunwolf was only a little better than me), and we can't thank the audience or Dottie enough for their patience. I guess on reflection, we should have cancelled, but neither Sunwolf or I like letting folks down and we both had thought we would have been on the mend by then. In point of fact, at the time of writing this blasted virus is still causing havoc for both of us.
After our set, we stayed at Guthries to catch Moses Rae, I particularly like his original song, Citizen Of Avalon, though his whole set is always very good.
Lazarus Doghouse was up next, another brilliant performer with his own unique style and delivery. We just love his shows.
Quinton Whitman, our dear friend, was the last act we saw before needing to return to RL for practicalities like eating etc. I don't really need to say how great Quinton's show was, because he is consistently great and Friday was no exception.
Two hours later, Sunwolf and I were welcoming Russell's Eponymous family to Ye Olde Wolf n Hawk. We wondered how the sim would hold up as Russells shows are always well attended. We need not have worried, the sim did just fine, and Russell was in great form. He sang 'Happy Rezz Day' for me and I think my avi would have blushed if she could have.
Next to take the stage, was Tim Anadyr, another wonderful performer and great friend, as well as co runner of another great little venue with Katja Runo, called Spice. If you haven't been there, then you are missing out on some great shows and lovely folks who tend to hang out there.
Cailidgh brought her talented, madcap, mayhem to us after Tim. She also sang, Happy Rezz day and Ari bless her gave me a lovely gift, of a picture, that we have hung in the pub. Caili's crowd are another bunch of great people.
We finished the events at the pub with Capos Calderwood. It was a great set with a few comedy songs throw in and all I can say is, Wow what a talent. He is another one of those folks you swear has more than the normal amount of fingers on his hands. Here I give a big thank you to, Alix Pleides,who had booked him  before she decided to stand down from running the pub with us.
After the pub closed, Sunwolf and I rushed over to out other favorite haunt Cuddlers Cove, where we managed to catch most of Gweeb's set. Another joker, but talented guy, well worth a listen if you haven't already.
Laid Back Celt ,ended the night for us at Cuddlers, with his own brand of rocking. Sun and I just love his sound.
So, to the new years celebrations themselves. We were back at Guthries to see Ronnie again, can't get enough of this guy. Then we hopped over to Ozland to see Ari finally get her debute. What a lovely soothing voice she has, and her guitar playing was wonderful. We do hope to have her on our stage at the pub real soon.
Caili was doing a marathon set after Ari. We could only stay for awhile, as we had promised to see the new year in at Waffles with Rick Ugh Yeu. Twinkie, the venue owner, was away but had said it was ok to use the venue in her absence.
So we danced away as Rick played, sang and counted down the time to midnight. I can't think of a better way to have seen in the new year.
Straight after this, we went to our last place of the, by now early morning.Larry the Panda had invited us to a place he had built up especially for a new year party. It was for robots really, though anyone was welcome.
Larry had a brilliant Rock Music radio station on and we stayed until we virtually fell asleep at the keyboards.
It was such a pretty place with lots of coloured lights everywhere. Larry is such a lovely guy, if you don't know him you are missing someone very special.
The next two days saw,Sunwolf and I, take a much needed break from all the running around, and that brings us up to today and completes the week phew! I if you have got this far you deserve a medal and I can assure you, future blogs will not be this long, I promise.
Wishing you Love, Light, Peace and Prosperity.