OK. The question I get asked the most is, “You play where?” And, when I say, “In Second Life,” they usually stare blankly back at me.
So, what’s up with this “playing in Second Life” stuff anyway? Well, back in October of 2006 I got wind of this virtual world called Second Life where a lot of musicians, singers and DJs were starting to strut their stuff to world-wide audiences. It sounded like a cool idea. So, I joined up (opened an account). At that time you could create your own first name but had to choose a last name from their list of names. I decided to keep “Ray” as my first name (has had its pluses and minuses) and chose a last name that sounded musical: “Weyland.”
Now we could diverge here because that’s what I did. I got into building things. So, I didn’t actually start performing until early in 2008. Before that, I had created a small meeting place (a virtual Bar, you might say), put together a 60 minute taped show of my songs and streamed that 24/7 at my place. I did that because I sent an mp3 to someone who wanted to hear me. They really loved the song and set me up with this capability. But, it was not effective because it required that someone come along and actually stay for the “show.” That seldom happened. Later, another friend I knew, who had a “venue” where she hosted Live shows, wanted to hear my music. So, I sent her a 3 song demo. She signed me up immediately. And that was the start of my performing in Second Life.
I don’t perform in “Real Life” (that’s what people in SL call it) because I’m not equipped for it. Plus, I have always had terrible Stage Fright. Thanks to SL, I could probably get over that now. So, the gear is the limiting factor. Having said that, I’m sure the first few gigs would be traumatic.
Now, it’s not like I haven’t sung in RL before. I was a member of the Minnesota Association of Songwriters (MAS) for a number of years and joined into some of their group jams and played in one group outing at a local mall. It was loads of fun. However, you should have been there. I started sweating. I was dripping sweat so badly I couldn’t see. One of my fellow performers gave me some paper towels to dry off with. It was a hoot (sort of). But, that’s where I also learned that I was improperly equipped for doing Live gigs.
So, there you have it. That’s why I perform in Second Life as Ray Weyland. Besides the fact I can play in my PJs and no one would know. Plus, the audience can chat with me while I play and you can have all sorts of special effects going on (I don’t but many do) during your show. And, I have played to people from Minnesota to England to Australia. It really is great fun.
So, until next time, have fun … in any Life.
