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Friday, July 27, 2012

GUESS WHAT----I GOT TO GO VENUE HOPPING!!!!

Finally as things return to normal....Thank you Ling for inviting me to hear your newest performer.  You gave me reason to take a break from working on my own line up...and off to The Roof I went.  As always The Roof was filled with old friends many that I have not seen in months.  I listened to Amareth Popstar, quite a performer and entertainer.  Many of you may remember him when he used to perform....he is back!!!!  I had a great time listening to him.

Hmmmm venue hopping is so much fun....thinking i will pull up search and see who else is playing where today.  Otherwise all I am doing is cleaning out an inventory that used to be so organized and has become a complete mess over the past few months.  That and waiting for answers from the notecard I sent out to performers and managers, hoping we can work something out....so far soooo good!!!!!  It will be nice to put BS's back on the map with the everyday line ups, versus the one or two days a week I have been doing.

On to The Wharf Cafe and Beach Venue.....and just think i could be using this time more productively by packing up my house but this is so much more fun.  The Wharf Beach Venue is a pretty cool venue with a large dance floor.  I got to listen to Peanuts4u (Lauria Savio)  such a pretty voice.  Looking forward to seeing more of her.

Off I go to Roadhouse Dreams.  Two venues that I had not been at before....and three performers that I had not heard before. Tessa Landmann has the best tip jar there....I love it had to tip it twice....just to hear it...giggles. Nakita Mortenwold...this is a performer I have not heard in a while, so it was wonderful to listen to her beautiful voice.

On to G.R.I.T.S. to hear a performer I had not heard before, Clyde Fearsome, but no one was there.  Time to move on to Paradise City Purple Haze to hear Mike Nelson.  A completely purple venue :)))  I saw a friend performing that I had not seen in a while so I was off to Tormented Aces to hear Hazie Moonwall.  This man is such a versatile performer.  Hazie;s shows are well FUN is the best way I can say it....giggles though he swears he is not a country singer......he can belt them out when he does do them.  Dinner calls ans so I must go.  Hope you are all having as good a day as I am.

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

DID YOU MISS ME????

WOW What a month it has been.   So much going on that this is truly the first time I have had a chance to even look at the blog.

Where to begin....hmmmm....guess where I left off is as good a place as any.

So much went on both on the team and in the music community.   so sit back in your chair....there is some reading ahead of you.  Chuckles, though I will try to break it up between a couple of different blogs.

I left off with heading into the Originals weekend.  What a weekend it was!!!!  July 23rd was a full line up at the Source....another venue not on the team.....but giggles maybe we can adopt them....A great venue, great line up and culminating with some very special friends that I had the pleasure of meeting at Nashville....The Follow.  Gar thank you sooo much.  The second day of the originals  weekend was at Accoustic Meadow where Lizzy and Alexxis had another awesome line up.  A total of 16.5 hours of originals by sl performers....all i can say is WOW!!!! and thank you.

Now I get to brag a bit....two days later I was on my way to Iowa.....where i got to see the most beautiful granddaughter say hello to the world.  But needless to say...laptop was with me...though I was not in world too much, I was able to make it in that weekend for the International Song Contest at Echoes of the Past.  Chance did a wonderful job in putting that together and raised over 70k in an hour of voting....Congratulations to all the participants...you represented the music community and your countries in such an awesome manner.  You are all winners....but with that said I also have to give a congratulations to TORAN BABENCO of the United States receiving the most votes and therefore raising the most lindens for RFL and MIRGAN CANARE from Germany for coming in second place.  Great job by everyone, you truly made a difference!!!!

Also on the 30th the Global Music Fest began.  Cancer is global and so is music, so between many different venues, music representing many different areas of the world was played.  CE SOIR "TONIGHT started us out with French and Cajun.....the music of KevinBlue and the lovely French songstress Lisa Brune.  On to  LA MORADA DE CAMPANILLA they took us to HORUS' FRIENDS., with the Spanish speaking countries of the world....as much as I tried to be there...with a new baby around and a bit of problem because well sl was being sl...I did not make it there....that is one that I had looked so forward to...though I was not familiar with many of the line up...rounding it off was Horus, and many of you know from past blogs, I believe him to be one of the most talented pianists in sl.  Sunday July 1, was the second day of the Global Music Fest.  Unfortunately, due to rl issues the European branch had to be cancelled.  The Village Cafe though did a wonderful job with the North American branch, having both performers from Canada and the US...it is so appropriate to wave the Canadian Flag as it was also Canada Day.....We skipped a couple of days and met back at Gwampa's Dance Kamp bringing in the Japanese part of the world.  I have said it before and I will say it again,,,,If you have not had a chance to see Gago...you are truly missing something absolutely wonderful.

Smiles have you had enough yet?  Stay tuned for the next blog. 

THE STORY CONTINUES

Did you take that break?  Grab something to drink...something to munch on...time to get comfy again.  The next couple of weeks was a roller coaster.  When I arrived back home from my daughter's house, it was time to truly hit the ground running.  The end of Relay was in site...that meant a campsite.  On a team of music...building can prove to be a challenge, so we did what we do best.....music ....a stage a dance floor...that is every single venue on the team....instruments....Though it brought a chuckle.  People watched a dance floor go up and almost immediately started iming me about what events we had planned.  Giggles, as venue owners we strive hard to keep lag to a minimum so that our guests can dance and performers can play without too much of a problem.  Unfortunately, lag was so bad on these sims before they opened up to the public, that planning an event would have been foolish on our part.  The campsite was set up that way to represent the very team it was.  In keeping with the theme of the year,, we did a timeline.  A timeline of cancer and of music.  Turns out they are close to the very same age, though cancer is older as it was found in fossils from the dinosaur age.  So walls were built depicting the era it represented with pictures of things both representing the music in that decade and medical advancements in cancer.  Timelines intertwined was included in signs.  If people took the time to read each one....they were all extremely informative.  The research that went into the timelines was amazing....I learned sooo very much.  Because one had to go to many different sources to truly get all the information regarding cancer, it was quite a learning experience.  It also showed me just how many organizations out there are fighting the battle against cancer.  I am of the train of thought that ultimately...just like RFL is many small teams each ultimately a part of one large team.  The many different organizations are no different...many organizations all fighting the same battle, ultimately all one team.  Some of those organizations are very impressive.  The American Cancer Society is extremely impressive.  Many countries have very impressive organizations.  I wish I was wealthy enough to give to each.  There is one though that is right in my own backyard besides the American Cancer Society that I also found to truly astound me.  Maybe because in the music community it hits home...but the entertainment community has also formed an organization called Stand Up 2 Cancer.   Regardless of the many different names of the organizations out there....it is still boils down to ONE TEAM...ONE DREAM,,,,,to be cancer free.  On a separate note, in going through the timeline with music intertwined...it is also a walk down memory lane.  Even though the scientific side of cancer is in there, you can't help but smile as you walk back through the days of Ol Blue Eyes, Woodstock, songs that touched places inside each of us.

There are some people that should be recognized for the work they put into the campsite, Starry Bosch...on hand to build whatever we needed.  Chance Caldwell terraforming a lovely parcel, and Sam55 Chester.....that woman can whip up textures so well.  Also contributing to the many textures, Liz Harley, Precious Rallier, Grace Mcdonnough.  Giggles left up to me....we would still be waiting on the first texture.  Though I promise to learn by next year.  Pammie Warrior, Johnny Paramour, Sam55 and Starry Bosch your committment to relaying was WOW.  Even when I could not do it (sorry I was a bit sick getting ready for the dr on Monday) I don't think Pammie ever left.  Thea came out to the campsite and spent quite a bit of time with us....I do believe this woman is an adopted member of the team.  Syl Darcy took some amazing pictures of the campsite.

Now besides the time building the campsite, the team overall stayed busy....Precious and I learned some modeling techniques.  Giggles keep in mind that I am a clutz....so modeling and me do not go together well.  I waited to actually walk off the stage....though Precious assured me she had me tied to her so I could not...lol and I made it through it.  Learning this proved to be a an experience in translation.  I used a translator...which proved well in other events as well...I just changed to language to Japanese.  The downside to translators is that all it translates is local chat.  It also does not translate what others say, so though what I needed to say could be translated...quite often I was not aware of what others were saying.

The first SL Music Relayer Pagent was born.  A special congratulations to the winners: Miss Music Relayer Vicky Laloix, 1st Runner Up Lauryn Bellic, 2nd Runner Up  Dalla Rayner also to Mr Music Relayer Alej Klaber, 1st Runner Up  Juank.Art, 2nd Runner Up  Elkiyo de Hayde.  Thank you to team members Chance Caldwell & Rebeca Avila as well as MariviGC Adamczyk and Lucia Brune for organizing this event.

Going into the last weekend before Relay weekend we also had Venues Gone Wild.  Though they kept their same line up and performers, all venue tips went to RFL.  Some performers at the venues also joined in and did not put out their tip jars.  Our last event of Music thru Time...took place at Under the Willows, with a look at the future, tying environmental issues in as well.

Then on to Relay Weekend.  The Campsite was built, the events done and we were ready.  We entered Relay weekend just short of 4 million lindens, within two hours we had hit that 4 million mark, with many iming me asking what we could do to hit 5 million.  Lo and behold our own Pammie Warrior and Johnny Paramour after spending much of the weekend at the track, while I was headed back out of town (time for those pesty tests and procedures again), put together an event bringing in over 100,000 linden.

Though I am just now home again and catching up with everything, many pictures have been posted to the team's facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/SlMusicRacesForACure

Winking at you.....smiling mischieveiously....guess what???  you can still help us hit that 5 million mark by donating at the following link....whether it be 1 dollar, 10 dollars, or 50 dollars...every single dollar helps!!!!

Before you say "I can't today"  something to think about-- My time in Iowa holding this beautiful new granddaughter and welcoming her into the world, looking at that precious little face made me realize something that hit home hard.  Though we fight for those who are survivors and caregivers, remember those we have lost to this insidious desease.....the real reason for doing this was held in my arms....protecting future generations.  To allow them to grow and flourish without ever having to deal with the word cancer.....to turn it into a word in the history books.  Ultimately it is the future that we do this for.  So look at children, grandchildren think about their children and remember the pain this disease has given each of us in some way....lets gather together so they never have to feel this pain.

http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR/RelayForLife/RFLFY12SL?team_id=1115404&pg=team&fr_id=42558

THANK YOU

My undoing came at the start of Relay weekend.  At the opening ceremonies when they announced the winner of the New Team Participation Award and it was SL Music Races For A Cure.  I could barely see through the tears to let the team know they won.  I have had watched how hard so many have worked and how very much they deserve this award.

So now I am stuck with finding the words to say thank you.  How do you ever thank 177 team members, 190 more people in the music community, artists, clothing designers, 37 different events, for the time, the dedication, the emotions?  Over $16,000 USD raised to make a difference.

I do not have enough room to list everyone and I would be remiss in naming some and not naming others.  On that note, there are a couple of people that I have developed an admiration, respect, and even love for.  Liz Harley, this is the most amazing woman.  If there is something that needs to be done, she is the first to volunteer and whats more than she handles it from the ground up and makes it into an fantastic event.  Precious Rallier, a woman that attended every single event she could and even donned a modeling career all to help with RFL.  Precious was the queen of understanding the infamous raffle scripts so she often helped other teams to work through and set up their raffles. Syd Baddingham, the genius behind the performer clothing auction.  These three very talented women were our co-captains for the 2012 year. 

It would be impossible for me to list every single person in here. 

In the past I have done many things in rl...formed grass roots organizations, participated in numerous non profit organizations, held officer positions on boards, locally, state and nationally....yet in all I have done, no group of people has had the affect on me that these 177 team members and 190 additional volunteers have had.  There are truly not enough words to ever express my gratitude.  I have always known that the hearts in the music community were some of the largest I have ever had the opportunity to know.....thank you for allowing me to experience it first hand.

 On the team or not on the team.....I have seen all the notices of all the  performances done.....such an amazing, giving, inspirational community.   The best I can possibly do is say thank you to the entire musical community. I love this entire community.

I am looking so forward to next year.....this amazing group has already been giving ideas for next year....the roster is already being formed,  most are returning and 5 mind you 5 co-captains!!!!!!!  Welcoming so many that watched us this past year and are joining us next year.  MUSIC MAKES THE WORLD GO ROUND......MUSIC MAKES A DIFFERENCE!!!!!!

BACK TO THE NORMAL GRIND!

Second Life never a dull moment....and some... it is like a broken record.

In between putting up a campsite, I kept getting im's ....skypes....wow  we were back to the cover charge system debate.  Hmmm sort of like listening to broken record.  Though I have to admit, it prompted quite a bit of intelligent conversation and has made people think about ways to do things differently. Well intelligent conversation, until it went against what the original poster wanted to accomplish,  Then we all became evil and mud slinging began.

Thank you to the many that worked hard to keep it civil.  There have been some wonderful ideas and suggestions that have come out of those conversations, and I am so interested in learning how the different ideas turn out .  Split tip jars is one that I heard some good initial feedback on.  It will be interesting to know whether the venue and the performer are using a mutual agreed upon tip jar that both can see what was brought in or if one is trusting the other to use their own tip jar.  This would work well if all tips are seen in hover text.  Many performers and venues do not display totals though so it is solely on the other's word.  That is something I would question not with most but just like anything else there are always one or two.  Wondering if there is a way to let both parties know when tips come in so that both parties have the opportunity to thank the person donating. There are many questions that will come up with any new ideas....it will only be by answering those questions that each of us will be able to make informed decisions.

Many of you may remember about three years ago when I presented to both venue owners and about 400 performers an idea I had.  At the time I was working with someone that I did not completely trust so I never released any of the research I had done nor gone forward with it.  At the time, the performers were so willing to try it.  Lately, I have had a number of performers ask me about that plan.  I still believe with all my heart that it is a win for performers, venues, fans, and other avenues of sl.  I will also say that it is a large undertaking and I can not do it alone.  I am willing to train and get staff going...giggles change the name from Oristill and put focus on to it.

At the same time, now that Relay For Life is winding down I am also going back to a full line up 4-5 days aweek.  I am soooo excited about getting back to the venue and to venue hopping again.  I loved working with the team, there was an added benefit to it all, I gained exposure to some of the more international venues and heard some wonderful music that I am looking forward to bringing to the venue as well.

It will be good to put my focus back on the everyday of the community that I love so very much.