Live Music Review: Pato Milo @ Bay Vista

Second Life Live Music Review
Written by Enniv Zarf (RL: Paul Kwo)
Metaverse Music
Pato Milo
Bay Vista
3 stars out of 5 stars

Alright, it's late night and I'm in need of doing a review. What do I do?

I get this IM from Second Life Music group that said:

"Pato Milo Live @ Rainforest 10PM : Yahhhh You Latenight Partiers,,,You know whats up...Get Your pixels on over here to party in the rain with SLs most rockin Duckie!! rowboat attached!"

This sounds like fun. I know I'm known all about getting into the quality of the music and the singing. But I am absolutely alright with entertainers if they are here to entertain. But they better be darn well entertaining.

Pato isn't all that fantastic when it comes to singing. He has a pleasant voice though, and I like listening to his voice quality. He just doesn't sing very well. But he does like to give his banter between songs, rambling about really nothing important. Which is fine since he’s pitching himself more of a party guy and an entertainer.

My favorite part of Pato's act...

...is his Banjo. I was told it is a 6 strings banjo that is played like a guitar. But I have nothing against that as long as he delivers the sound, and as long as it's not a computer playing a MIDI instrument. Yes, another performer Winters Kanto was caught with this caught by one of his venue host. In fact he IMed me in the middle of this concert. I will definitely write up a post about this.

But since Pato is playing the Banjo himself, it really doesn't matter to me. Some people call it a cheater's Banjo, but would I call someone who's playing keyboard synths of non-piano sounds a cheater? It takes just as much skill to play that well. I love Pato's Banjo. Whenever that's out, I feel like Pato's on.

That was about it though for me. He wasn't a bad entertainer, but he wasn't good either. I wasn't really that interested in what he was saying or singing or doing, but I didn't mind him being there either. It was more like background noise to add to the atmosphere while I chatted with my friends and did my things. Sometimes I would look up and enjoy the brief moments of interest. But that's about it. There were moments here and there that were kind of interesting. But honestly nothing was really memorable. There are other entertainers in Second Life that is just memorable and catchy (“Sex and beer” comes to mind) and I just can't get enough of. Pato isn't one of them.

But he is relatable. I think that's his catch, I can relate to him. He feels real. So I don't mind at all having him there just to be real. It has this quality of being in a real life coffee shop in NYC or some other major metropolitan area. There's some guy doing his thing there. Nothing great; nothing horrific. He’s just there to add to the ambience. That is what Pato is to me. Nothing wrong with that, just nothing special. He's just there but real.

I don't know if I will say he should change it or do something different if this is his thing. I don't have any problems with him being there. But if he wants to be more then just being there, he needs to move to a more extreme place. He's not deadpan enough to be deadpan. He's also not crazy enough to be wild. He's not funny enough to make me pee in my pants. I'm just not sure where he really wants to go with his act and I'm not sure he is sure either.

Well the notice read party with rockin' duckies. I guess I got that. But it's not the wild crazy musician parties, it's more of a chill and mellow out with your friend type of party.

By the way, I had to write this review the next day cause while I was at the concert I got like 4 IM’s all trying to talk to me about different issues. So I just jotted down some notes as I sat and chatted.

Live Music Review: Izabela Jaworower @ Appassionato Resort

Second Life Music Review
Written by Enniv Zarf (RL: Paul Kwo)
Originally for Classical Music in Second Life
Izabela Jaworower
Appassioinato Resort

I heard Young Zeid a few weeks ago and heard Izabela at a duo concert with Young last week. But I wanted to do a review on just Izabela and so I just sat and enjoyed the last concert and didn't review that. For your information their duo concerts are not double stacked streams, they are actually in the same location performing.

She started off the concert with an "encore" piece, Schumann’s "Tramerei" which wasn't on the program. She forgot to put that back in and even forgot to announce it before she played. But it was definitely a delightful treat to hear such a beautiful piece played with such sensitivity.

Izabela's playing has a wonderful sensitivity to her that is both elegant but with vigor when necessary. Her techniques were near flawless and her tone has a wonderful singing quality. It's brilliant to hear her take the stage on her own from top to finish.

This was the second time...

...I heard her play Vivaldi's "Winter" from "The Four Season". She played it last week at the duo concert and she must have worked on it over the weekend cause it's even better then the last time I heard it. Her tone's even more solid throughout the work and there were even less flaws throughout the piece. Don't get me wrong, she was pretty darn good to begin with. But this performance was definitely on a different league then the last one. It's absolutely fantastic. She had such a wonderful feel for the entire piece today and just sounded like she was totally immersed in the sonic world of Vivaldi. She was able to create both the delicate moments with beautiful singing tones, and flew away with full on vigor virtuosity when appropriate.

She then performed Bach's famous "Air on G String" with just deep passion in a very soulful manner. I almost wouldn't mind if she totally played it without the backing tracks for these pieces. She has such a rich tone in her lower register that I can listen to and enjoy all on its own. I have a special affinity for the G-string on the violin. It really is my favorite string on the instrument and Izabela does not disappoint.

The Szymanowski is a haunting piece and Izabela delivers a chilling performance that is appropriate for the program for this winter season. My one problem is the balance between the piano and the violin. The piano sounds very distant while the violin sounds very close. I would prefer the piano to be more present. It's just a tad bit too far off in comparison that I lose some of the watery effects that it's trying to carry. I much prefer the balance on her performance on Franck then I did on this. But Izabela speaks just so well with her instrument on this piece where her understanding of the message is absolute. This is the kind of music we need to hear more of.

Izabela just speaks so well with her instrument no matter what she plays. Her sounds carry with it tremendous weight and power. And she does them with such passion that even when she's by herself with no accompaniment we wouldn’t have missed them. She moves from era to era, style to style with ease and grace. She delivers a fantastic performance of both classics and lesser-known works. She offers a wonderful contrast from Young's playing that is definitely worth listening to.

By the way, here's her entire program.

"Tramerei" from "Kinderscenen"........R. Schumann
"Winter" from "The Four Seasons"....................... Antonioa Vivaldi
"Air on G String".......J.S. Bach
"Arethusa Spring" for violin & piano.............. Karol Szymanowski
"Polish Capriccio" for solo violin,
"Oberek"................................................................ Grazyna Bacewicz
"Polonaise Brillante" in A Major ......................Henryk Wieniawski
"Sonata" for violin and piano .....................................Cesar Franck

Live Music Review: Satin Galli @ Golden Horn

Second Life Live Music Review
Written by Enniv Zarf (RL: Paul Kwo)
Metaverse Music
Satin Galli
Golden Horn

Time for another review.

Satin Galli was advertised as (and I quote):

• "Satin Galli's name says it all! His voice is smooth as satin! If you're looking for great vocals and style, you've found the right guy! Satin has sung must of his life, and grew up in a very musical family. 'Everything involved music growing up' Satin says. Talent comes from deep within him"

I know puffery is a big part of marketing and used to hype up a lot of people. But with puffery comes judgment. My take is the more you puff up something, the higher you increase someone's expectation. When my expectations are up, I become more critical about the person and the music. If you tell me it's just a fun party with no standards, well I come in expecting that. If it's more then that then I'm even more delighted. But if you tell me someone has a voice as smooth as satin, yes I know it's a play on his name, I am literally expecting that.

So was Satin's voice as smooth as satin? No. Usually I put this criticism on the venue for hyping up someone to get attention. But not this one, this was in Satin's profile. On top of that, he writes:

• "If you're looking for great vocals and style, you've found the right guy! Satins name says it all."

There are minor issues in his singing throughout the concert. There are the occasional pitch intonation problems. There are passages that sound like a bland karaoke singing at a local pub. But, there is some nice stuff here and there and his voice does have a good quality to it. It's just not fully polished.

His voice isn't bad, but it is not what I would consider smooth as satin, great vocals and style. A much more accurate description would be Satin’s is a good singer who enjoys sharing his oldies and some contemporaries with his audience. Once in a while he may even be as smooth as Satin, if that’s possible.

Satin sings a lot of oldies...

...which were nice to enjoy. He does do some contemporary rocks too but they are not as good as his oldies. I can tell he does enjoy all these songs and love singing them. And before you all think I hate Satin, I don't. I just don't think he's correct in his advertisement of his own abilities. He is really on par with a good local bar singer outside of a major US metropolitan area.

It is very obvious that his voice definitely needs some polishing to create a real sound that would be record worthy. To me that is what the words great vocals and style means. If you are great, then you are record worthy. You may not have any intention to record anything and you don't have to. But that's what great is, at least to me. Satin is not record worthy, at least not what I heard live at Golden Horn live. Even his Myspace stuff isn't what I would consider great vocals and full of style, though there are some good moments in some of the recordings like "Landing in London."

I have been a bit harsher on Satin because of his description of himself. I do think if he didn't advertise himself as that I would be much less judgmental about his music. He is a good singer. He has a good voice. He is pretty on pitch most of the time. He struggles at the higher register. He’s really a Baritone. He does have a descent quality in his voice that those couple of moments of goodness sounds pretty nice and enjoyable. I would encourage Satin to record every live session of his and then listen to them all from top to bottom. That's the best way to learn and since he has a musical family, maybe have them sit down and give them an honest weigh in. But I know how often that doesn't work since family tends to want to support you then to be honest.

As for style, I think Satin is trying to nail down his style and his voice. I don't think he has it yet. It's one thing to sing your favorite songs really well. That's the beginning. But until you can turn even song that aren't your favorites and make them your own like you own them, and until we can say that is definitely a Satin Galli performance because of how you sing it, you don't have style yet. Style is very hard to develop, especially for singers. We have a huge tendency to imitate when we sing but that will only get you maybe to a hotel lounge singer level. There are a couple of people I have heard in Second Life so far that actually have a style of their own. They turn all the songs (covers and originals) they sing into their own versions. We may not always agree or like them, but that is real style.

I did get a chance to chat with Jeanaette Janus who is in charge of the venue at Golden Horn. I think she's an absolutely wonderful person to talk to and very intelligent. Given the fact that I had been rather critical about some of the performers at her venue that she is still talking to me, I have to give her major credit. The conversations are probably something for a From the Editor's Desk column, but the conclusion I got is that we are all playing a part here in Second Life live music. She is supporting it in her own way while I see it my way and does it my own. To me it's always a pull between all the different sides that makes a scene. If it's all one sided, all happy and bubbly, it doesn't work. If it's all critical and judgmental, it doesn't work. We need both and everything in between.

There have been some real streaming issues lately in Second Life. I few people I know have been struggling with things like that. But they are out of the control of the artist so it's just something we all have to put up with. I am still having issues with my own stream on my Mac and have to use my PC to log on today to play the streams to review. That's Second Life.

I would say if you like to hear some oldies in a decently performed manner, Satin is the right guy for you. But don't go in expecting awesomeness and something that's just great. The vocals are good but not flawless. The style is correct but not unique. But you may occasionally hear something that may be close to being as smooth as silk. But the over all quality of the entire concert is not smooth as silk.

Live Music Review: Noma Falta @ The Original Winterland

Second Life Live Music Review
Written by Enniv Zarf (RL: Paul Kwo)
Metaverse Music
Noma Falta
The Original Winterland

Finally my stream decided to work again, all on its own. I didn't do anything to fix it, no one did. I am just counting my blessings that it's working and I can continue to review.

Of course it wouldn't be an Enniv Zarf day of reviews if I didn't have something to complain about. Today's concert was for UNICEF charity for children, a fantastic thing to support. My only complain was actually the teleport point. What in the world is up with these teleport points at ridiculously far off places? As if Second Life lag isn't bad enough with a ton of people at a concert, some venue owners decided they want you to first get lost and not know where the concert is after teleporting in, then when you do find it you have to lag through the walkway to get to the actual concert. Please set teleport points right in the middle of the concert area or at least somewhere close enough that I can see it without having to look at a map.

But that aside I am very glad to have stopped by Noma Falta's concert. She has one great voice and she knows how to work it too. She's a blues singer who also venture into soulful rock, which leads me to think do blues singer hold themselves to higher standards then pop and alternative rock singers. No matter Noma really has a fantastic rich voice and puts on an awesome show!

Her voice has great...

...range that is solid from the lowest of her register to the very top falsettos. On top of that her chops on her electric guitar is just electrifying. There is a lot of power coming through the stream and just lights up my speakers.

The best parts I think of her set are the wonderful songs she sings with only her bass. They feel like the equivalent of an unplugged version by most other singers who does it with a guitar. I think they are just sweet to listen to. It’s great to just hear her voice carry the entire song which she has no problem doing. In these songs, she was totally exposed but still carried through strong. She doesn't hide her voice and she doesn't need to. She did have a headache today and was having some issues juggling some stuff, which contributed to some shakiness at rare moments that are barely detectable. I probably wouldn’t have paid attention to them if she didn't point out her nerves kicking in. She did stop midway one song, but that is not an issue to me at all. We all have those days.

Her other numbers are also very well mixed and balanced never to cover her wonderful voice, which is definitely her selling point. Having this wonderful complete sound and varying it back and forth between this and the slimmed down electric bass versions really adds to the diversity that helps keep things fresh throughout.

She also has a good diverse selection of songs to begin with that covers a few good sub-categories of blues. And no matter which style she does, she still brings her gifts to the table and owns them all.

I do want to get to know more about her original music. I usually have a hard time telling which are the originals at a concert since without them explicitly telling me it’s an original, it could be an obscure cover. So whenever doing a concert that mixes in both, make sure to let your audience know what’s what.

Another worthy note that I absolutely think is a thing we have to get more into in Second Life is to sing each other’s original songs. We are a community here so why not? Noma presented a song by a friend of hers near the beginning of the concert. It was a good song too and her voice worked very well with it, carrying the song into my living room. I can think of a few other songwriters in Second Life whose songs I would like to hear someone else singing.

Noma's music has a wonderful old school vibe that I can certainly get used to hearing. Her voice along with her instrumentals is just both rock solid. She claimed to have a headache, but if this is her off day I sure can't wait to hear her on an on day. So check her out any day of the week and you’ll all have a great time with some great music.

Music Review: The Schumann Duo @ Amadora Recital Hall

Second Life Live Music Review
Written by Michael Schaf
Originally from Classical Music in Second Life
The Schumann Duo
Amadora Recital Hall

[NOTES FROM ENNIV ZARF: This review is written by Michael Schaf who is a choral conductor living in the United States. More info about him coming soon.]

Tonight, I had the pleasure of hearing the Schumann Duo playing their benefit concert for Toys for Tots.

The concert featured a series of pieces for a variety of instruments accompanied by piano, including the oboe, the English horn, the bass oboe, and not the least of which was the saw. Yes, the saw! The duo made some clever choices, presenting a number of pieces with the saw as the feature instrument, being played with a string bow to produce some interesting undulations.

I have to salute this double-reed player's skills. His accompanist noted that he played for many years as first-chair oboe for the L.A. Orchestra, no small feat to accomplish. His mastery of the instruments was amazing. Lovely control of dynamic, articulation, and artistry. In particular, I was touched by the performance of Edward Elgar's "Salut d'amour" on the English horn. The sensitivity given the piece by the duo drew me in a way I did not expect through a digital universe. I guess it goes to show that music can be beautiful through any medium if handled well. Thank you so much!

The saw on the other hand...

...ha ha ha ha. I find myself unable to embrace it. The technique of the player is certainly not to be questioned. He knew what he was doing, but I suppose the novelty of the instrument didn't win me over. It was cute to play "Hark! The herald angels sing!" on the saw and make everyone smile, but I wouldn't expect John Williams to add a part for it in any of his coming movie scores.

Another thing that perplexed me was the way in which the literature was presented. Most of the pieces were very short, less than 2 minutes in length, with just a few going longer. I admit I'm not a fan of lots of talking in a classical recital, where this recital had 1.5 minutes of music followed by 2 minutes of talking, making for a somewhat choppy experience. The duo played a lovely arrangement of "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel" for bass oboe and piano that I thoroughly enjoyed hearing, but it felt like barely an introduction to so much more. I was sad that it ended so soon. Let's hear the Milhaud Sonatina next time so we can revel in your gorgeous sounds, whaddaya say?

In short, the Schumann Duo are an excellent pair of musicians and a welcome addition to my second life. In spite of a few minor differences in opinion, I look forward to hearing them again.

This Week in the Metaverse (Second Life) - Dec. 5, 2008 to Dec. 12, 2008

Second Life Live Music Review
Written by Enniv Zarf (RL: Paul Kwo)
Metaverse Music

This week has been a whirlwind for me and that's why this edition is a bit late. I have been caught up with people who are upset with me and what I wrote from all sides of the isle. But I think though soon it will all become less pronounced when people starts to see the bigger picture and realize that this is just a review amongst the many. (Check my From the Editor's series on the right to read up on what I think.)

So I have a little less artists to choose from this week so the super hot list is a tad bit shorter. But these are my absolute favorite from this week. There were others that I enjoyed tremendously too and I'll mention them later. There is also one that isn't about an artist but about a music project that I thought is super hot and worthy of the list!

My Super Hot List - Dec. 12
Damian Carbenell @ D2TK
Ayden Kruh @ Romantica Yacht Club
Thom Dowd & Gorse Ferraris @ Cairo
Crap Mariner's Tunes in SL Gallery Project

Damian has just got a fantastic voice and his show is just wonderful to listen to from top to bottom. He has some great original music that deserves our attention and I will definitely get to those in the future. I only wish he plays them up more during his show.

Ayden also has a brilliant voice doing all the covers he does. He has got some nice originals too. I am just disappointed that not enough people are requesting him to sing his originals instead of constantly asking him to do covers.

Thom Dowd and Gorse Ferraris are just fantastic musicians and presents a totally different point of view of Second Life music that is well deserving of our attention. They are definitely something to enjoy this holiday season as their music is just fitting to get into the spirit of things.

Crap Mariner's Tunes in SL Gallery Project is definitely note worthy in my books as he's an avid lover of Second Life original artists. He decidedly to go and buy albums by Second Life musicians on itunes and also sets up their album covers in his venues to help promote them. I definitely believe this is something that's worthy of our support and embrace and we should all be more encouraging in the advancement of original music. But do not put these musicians in a bubble. Be nice but be honest. Your musicians will love you and appreciate you in the end to keep them in check. If they are so into their own world and refuse to at least hear you out, chances are they are not really worthy of your support. Remember we only intervene with those who we love! We let those who we hate out in the cold to fend for themselves.

There are a few other people I thought worthy of some attention. I thought KevinMThomas has some fantastic original sounds. Though at times it was way too much belting for my own taste but still thought they are worth checking out. Jaggpro McCann had some great music and a good voice to enjoy and listen to from down under. FrankLee Anatra has a pretty solid voice to offer to his crowd too. Dakota7z7 also offers some really good country sounds as an alternative to the other musicians for me this week. I also thought Djaj puts on a fun and engaging show that is very entertaining and full of original material.

Things are really being put into perspective here for me. I am also seeing the who's who of what camp in Second Life music and I am actually very glad that I was in no camp before going into this to be a little more objective then I would be if I was already going to some people's concerts on a consistent basis. It's fascinating to hear about reputations after I actually hear the music. Some are in line with what I heard, some are not quite. The ones that are not has a lot to do with hype and the aftermath of hype overload. I am learning a lot about this as I continue my journey around Second Life Music. And I hope you are all going to continue to ride along with me for this awesome ride for the good and the bad.

>> Dec. 10, 2008
KevinMThomas Carpool @ Red Rock
Jaggpro McCann @ Dolphin's Dream

>> Dec. 9, 2008
Djai Skjellerup @ SL Globe Theatre
Ayden Kruh @ Romantica Yacht Club
Mike00 Carnell @ Italia Vera: Milano Vera

>> Dec. 8, 2008
Dres Forder @ Pixel Hill
Doubledown Tandino @ Pixel Hill

>> Dec. 7, 2008
FrankLee Anatra @ Woodstock

>> Dec. 6, 2008
Strummer Vultee @ BarrioBeat Productions
Dakota7z7 Pluto @ Close to the Edge
Thom Dowd & Gorse Ferraris @ Cairo
Jackdog Snook @ The Warehouse

>> Dec. 5, 2008
Damian Carbenell @ D2TK
Al Hofmann @ Bibi's Beach
Russell Eponym @ Unity

From the Editor's Desk: I lose either way

Second Life Live Music Review
Written by Enniv Zarf (RL: Paul Kwo)
Metaverse Music

I hope everyone knows that I am not doing this for my own satisfaction cause I lose no matter what I write. (I'm writing this and then going back to reviewing. I took yesterday slower cause I got caught up with a few controversies that came about from my writing. I'm also having trouble with stream so I probably have to restart my computer to get it to work - it didn't and now I have to really figure out what's wrong. I also promise this will be one of my last rants for a while and really focus back on the music. I just need to have this here so I point anyone who have issues with me to just read this. They can do what they will after.)

First of all, I'm not jealous about anyone or anything in Second Life. I'm doing this out of my love of it, cause I love SL Music. Honestly not to boast or anything, but I'm on national TV and on major network TV shows and working on major blockbuster films. I am not jealous about anyone or anything in Second Life. Nothing to be jealous about. To me Second Life is a way to grow as an artist. It's a way to become better. It is however not a bubble to put ourselves in free form the rest of the world. I do not at all buy into the I'm in Second Life not Real Life so I get to live in a bubble. There is no such thing. If you want to live in a bubble, do something that involves no other human beings.

Second I am not out to get anyone. I lose either way with every review I write. I write a good review about someone, there are bound to be people who will get upset because I said he's good. I write a bad review about someone, there are bound to people who will get upset because I said he's bad. I don't win. There's no winning for me either way. I hope you all know that.

I only say what I observed. Observation is what it all is. Know what a review is, it's observations. Reviewers and critics observed and write what they observed. Artists should take it and leave it at that. And no you won't agree with everything that I observed but that doesn't mean I didn't observe them. What you should do is to see why I saw what I saw.

Do you know how many times I've been told myself I sound like...

...so and so. I have been told I sound like Keith Jarret and George Winston, both of whom I have never heard of before someone told me. I went and checked them out on itunes and online to see what they sound like. I don't think I sound like them in totality, and wasn't directly influenced by them. But perhaps somewhere down my musical journey I may have crossed something of theirs inadvertently and then somehow it got fused in. Or maybe I independently arrived at some of those similar ideas.

I've also been told who I look like and how I act like. I've been told I looked like an Asian version of Conan O'Brian. I am not even sure how to take that. But instead of getting upset or angry or whatever I ask myself why did they say that. What about me coveyed that. Is that something I want to continue to portray myself as? Is that something that really is a big deal? It's only as big of a deal as I make it. When I mention that to people, some of them would say oh yeah I can see that and tell me it's because I'm kinda tall, lanky and a little awkwardly quirky. Then I go, ah, so that's what it means to be an Asian version of Conan O'Brian. I learned something there.

I've even been told once when I performed something at an audition by the casting director I acted like someone I had no real idea is at all. In fact I can't even remember that name of the reference. I want to cause that's how I learn. I learn from understanding other people's observations of what I do both good and bad.

A wonderful drama teacher once told me, whenever someone gives you a critic, it's an observation and take it as that. They are neither right nor wrong, it's their observation. It has nothing to do with accuracy if I said he sounded like so and so and I heard such and such as long as I really did hear that. You don't have to agree with me. It's not meant as a compliment or an insult. It's just what it is, an observation.

So in the end I just want to say I lose either way. Every musician has supportive fans and jealous fans of their rivals I walked into this knowing this but why am I still doing this? I love Second Life Live Music and I am not jealous. Absolutely nothing to be jealous about. I know what I do and I know those who like me will like me. I also do know that I have a lot to lose cause I can turn off potential fans who may like my music if I didn't write something bad about someone they loved.

I don't want to ruin anyone. I want people to improv. Use those Second Looks and invite me back once you've improved. If you are serious about your music, that would be the thing to do. We are in a closed off environment. This is your chance to learn and grow and get some honest feedback. Trust me you fans are not telling you the truth, and they won't no matter how hard you try to pry it out of them. They feel supporting you is to tell you that you're amazing. I'm supporting you by telling you what you need to hear so you get your act better and move up and get more fans.

I don't want people to live in a bubble when it comes to their music. It's not safe. Every bubble burst. Mine was busted soon after high school and it hurts. There is truth to the higher you are the harder you fall. If you really love the artists you support, perhaps a little reality check once in a while isn't all that bad. The reality is the world is a huge place, there's a lot of music out there that puts even the best of us in here to shame. I point out everything here that I observe so everyone knows who they are and what they do and do them well. That's how you succeed in real life. It's really hard, and I had a lot of trouble doing that and am still working on it. It's a lifelong process really but very important. Know thyself everyone.

Original Music Review: Blindboy Gumbo

Second Life Live Music Review
Written by Enniv Zarf (RL: Paul Kwo)
Metaverse Music
Blindboy Gumbo's Original Music

I picked Blindboy Gumbo to be the first to review because he invited me to a second look at his concert after reading my first review about his music. He was also one of my very first review so my perspective have definitely shifted as I grew here. Come on, you can't expect me to come out right off the bat and know exactly where I stand on everything. Every critic has to start somewhere and every critic grows as they gain more experience.

I can also tell you that this is going to be a rather long post because I am going to dissect things more in depth since I am not on the run trying to figure out what's going on in a live setting.

Blindboy also invited me back to hear another one of his concert live where he performed the entire set of his original music. It's awesome that he did this concert and I think it's actually a pretty solid set. He has his own sound in his music that does carry over from song to song. A lot of that has to do with the way he plays the guitar to create a sort of pedal point trance like feel to his music. It does feel like he finds a sound he likes and then go with it.

There are some songs that I liked and were rather catchy and got to my head and some songs that were just alright. But hey that's pretty true for most artists’ albums anyways. There's the hit singles and then there are the others. You just need that one song to catch everyone's attention.

His songs have a folksy quality to it...

...which I will attribute it in great part to his voices and the way he sings many of the songs he did. But he does have songs that stretch out to more bluish or other areas as well by borrowing elements from those genres. But they still retain the pedal point like feel to them that still makes it rather distinctively Blindboy.

I want to thank Blindboy though for inviting me to the concert where he decided to only perform his original tunes. It is very hard to do that in Second Life and draw an audience. The truth is many of us say we support live music, but in truth we are just out there partying. We are not really supporting these live musicians. If we are truly are supporting musicians in Second Life, we should be requesting them to perform their original music and not covers. When you ask an original artist to perform covers after cover, you are saying to them their music is not good enough for you. You are telling them that I don’t want to hear your tunes, but the tunes of some other artists. That is not support. When you show up to their concert when they perform mostly covers but fail to appear when they perform their original music, that is not what I call support! That is being selfish. So thank you everyone who actually showed up to Blindboy’s all original live concert. Those are the ones who are truly supportive of Blindboy.

This type of behavior goes all across the board in all genres of live music in Second Life and it has got to stop! That is how music dies when we don’t support new music. I know because that’s what I see in the world of Classical Music. It’s having serious problems because music stopped for many Classical Music lovers at 1950 when Bartok died. Don’t tell me you support Second Life music if you don’t ever show up to all original all new concerts. No one should ever request an original artist to do a cover period. That is an affront to their original music. An original artist should do a cover when they feel that this song is so special to them that they want to pay their respect and share it with their audience. I learned that listening to Canton Pop concerts as a kid. These artist (even though they don’t actually write their songs but are usually given songs to sing) usually only cover songs that they love so much that they decided they wanted to share it with their fans.

Don’t get me wrong, if you don’t want to listen to their original music that’s absolutely acceptable. There are people whom I do not want to listen to too. But I don’t pretend to support that musician because I go to only their cover events. I don’t call myself a supporter of those musicians if I don’t support their original shows. However I am guessing that a lot of you do actually love the artists you go even if it’s usually only for their cover music.

Back to Blindboy’s original music. Most of my review will be based on the stuff he uploaded at his thesixtyone.com account since it’s not really fair to talk about a piece of music with just one listen at his concert.

Blindboy does have some memorable tracks and some that could really get in your head if you heard it a few times. Particularly memorable for me was his song Monday Morning. The song really works well between the instruments and his voice. The hook really is very catchy and he’s got a very good bluegrass feel fused with a contemporary rock feeling that gives it a rather electric feel. The harmonies in this song are very simple blues type progression but the production of the music adds a lot to the song and boost up the worth of the song. His electric guitar solo is actually very refreshing to hear in the middle of the song as he doesn’t try to do a huge show and flash pass. Rather he takes the opposite route and gives you this really laid back blurb of a solo that is true to the song and distinctive enough to keep me interested.

The biggest problem Blindboy has to face with his music especially in this recording is to create that top 40 quality recording. Without that kind of sound, it’s extremely difficult to get the attention he needs to bring light on his music. Monday morning is really catchy, by far the catchiest of them all in terms of a hook. But the vocals are not rock solid. There are just little flaws throughout that just say he’s not there yet and still needs work. I have absolute respect for a work in progress, but this is a tough world of music we live in. The overall audience in the general public does not care for imperfection when they are used to perfected studio sounds. By no means am I suggesting to cheat and manipulate the vocal tracks as so many artists do. I think Blindboy can solidify his voice and should. I am certain he’s working on that too. I’m merely pointing out what I heard.

The other song that has a lot of attention by Blindboy is “sleeping in the ground,” which has a fantastic feel to the singing. He’s got a nice sound going on with the well worked instrumentals and a highly reverbed voice. Normally I don’t like all the crazy reverb voice but sometimes it works and here I think it gives it something interesting to listen to. But I also don’t think it’s the best sounding reverb and precisely what he’s going for. I think it’s close but something about it isn’t quite absolutely right. There’s still a bit of mismatch between that and the instrument. I do however enjoy this song. I like the way he sings it, but again similar little minor vocal flaws keeps the song from being a bigger hit then it probably can be. I think I would also like to hear an unplugged version of this song as I think it would be very fun.

“Hold me down” demo version has a very wonderful guitar opening that I thought sets up the song very well. It made me want to hear more. The song is a pretty song and has a wonderful haunting quality to it. But I am not sure the way he’s singing it is the best way to get the feeling of it. His accent got a little in the way of this song even though I like his accent in his other songs. But for this song I feel like it would be better if it were sang more simply, you know with that all too overused airy voice. Well I think it’s actually needed here in this song. Other then that the song is a really good song, so good actually I actually sort of want to sing it for fun myself. If I had the music I’d probably take it over to my piano and then sing it right now.

With “broken bones” he again has a very good guitar lick going for him that sets up a fantastic groove. He actually has really nice catchy guitar licks going for most of the songs he does. “P.L.C.” has a very memorable opening that got me interested. But with all his songs though they are good, the problems in his vocal techniques is getting in the way. I think it is something that can be fixed though with a vocal coach to sit down with him to clean them up to get a great recording.

I think Blindboy has very nice originals going for him and I hope you all check out this mix of country and rock that really has something to offer. They do need to be polished vocally but as they are right now are still pretty good songs to listen to. I would support Blindboy as he continues to work out the vocal issues and finally produce that’s a perfect recording of these great songs of his.

From the Editor's Desk: Who is Enniv Zarf?

Second Life Live Music Review
Written by Enniv Zarf (RL: Paul Kwo)
Metaverse Music

I think I need to make sure I have this down in writing here for everyone is my emphasis on Second Look.

First I want to say that I am an open book here. I want to be honest and give you my absolute honesty as much as I could afford without committing professional suicide. I do not have any problem with whatever you derive out of this article. It is for your reference so you know even better where I am coming from since these topics seems to keep popping up from discussions I had with various people.

A little about my experience of Live Music in Second Life. I used to attend very little concerts in Second Life because I used to think there's really nothing worth listening to here. And for the most part, a lot of that is true. There is nothing much that I can really gain in hearing one after another average or slightly better then average artists doing covers after covers. What would I gain from that? What would anyone with serious musical interest gain from that?

But I realized that deep beneath that layer of junk are gems that needs to be discovered and I can gain a lot from those people and so can everyone else too. But I used to rely a lot on other people who have attended a fair amount of concerts to tell me who's good and who's not. Although I love and respect all those people, most of the time I remained unimpressed. They were better then the junk I have heard, but they were not great. And on this note, please do not stop your research of these artists at my writing. You need to do your own homework. Reading my reviews only counts as a part of it. But if you judge an artist based solely on my one review of that person, then you are not being a good music fan.

When I first started this site, I really was...

...wondering if I would discover real gems. But I know there must be some since the world of Classical Music in Second Life has a few real shinning examples. But I wondered if I would be qualified to review all of Second Life live music since I wasn't all too active in the listening aspect of it even though I have performed a lot. At first I did only review Classical Music only because I didn't feel confident to review the rest. But what am I talking about, I am not a classical artist. Anyone who thinks what I play is classical has no idea what the world of classical music is. Elitist snobs who rejects anything new. I am not understating this as I do believe in this strongly. Point of clarification, I am referring to the world of Classical Music as a whole, not the one in Second Life. In fact the classical world of Second Life is a bit more embracing. However I will say I am pretty certain what some of those people are thinking even though they have never came out and said it to me. They don't respect improvs. They don't think improvs are legitimate classical music. Please note I am not thinking about anyone specific, but the numbers who show at my concerts is telling.

Don't think this is jealousy at all. I choose this path because it's what I believe in. I am stating this because I know what my music is about and who my audience is. I know where my marketing efforts are hampered and where it is strong. Many Classical music fans see improvs as non-classical. That's their opinion and they are entitled to that. And now you also know that I will voice my opinion on everything. I am guessing a lot of you feel like I have an agenda for Classical Music. But I really am just calling it out as it is.

On the other side of things, many pop music lovers who see my posting as freestyle piano improv assumes it's classical. I often wonder about that. A lot of my music has a film score quality to it, which is half classical and half pop. I use a lot of pop music chord progressions. I have been a church musician playing contemporary praise music all my life. I know how to read a fake book. I even took a few lessons in Jazz piano and Jazz voice. So occasionally some of my improvs have Jazz elements. And I even had a few semesters of world music history and sampled music from all over the world. I had a random conversation with someone one day and she mentioned Airyang (probably misspelled it here) and I knew that's a patriotic Korean Anthem because of the class I took. It was a part of my composition degree. I also grew up on Chinese Pop, mostly Canton Pop. I sing a ton of Canton Pop. I also did a musical theatre minor as a part of my undergrad studies along with a theatre minor. Yes while everyone did a safe minor to fall back on, my minors were just as shaky of a world to get into as my major was: Piano performance as an undergrad and Composition as a Master. So I know a lot of Broadway repertoire. I sing them, from Gershwin to Rogers and Hammerstein to Andrew Loyld Weber to Jason Robert Brown and Johnathan Larson. I listen to a ton of rock and Pop whenever I am driving. I can't stand listening to Classical in a car, it just ruins it. So I pretty much listens to Pop and alternative rock and like to sing them on occasion.

No I don't know all the facts and names of a lot of musicians. Mainly because these radios just pretty much stopped telling me who I just heard. But I do know a good deal, and what I do have is a good ear, a very good one I believe when I am not distracted. So I felt I do qualify to review music, all of music in Second Life. I doubt there are many other Second Life residents with this diverse of a background who's willing to review people and be in public scrutiny.

I also believe in having my real life identity out so that you can hold me responsible for what I am saying. I am not some guy hiding behind an avatar ripping other people apart. I am here, with my real identity to take a critical look at the music scene in Second life with a focus in Live and Original music. I am not at all interested in the Club and DJing scene.

So all this brings me to what I want to say about my reviewing technique and where I am heading.

I have a business plan. This is not something I randomly decided to run and go. Because if I didn't have this business plan of mine I will end up reviewing a couple people and then stop and all of it would end up being taken out of context. This site is a journey and none of the articles is an end on their own and I want to emphasize that no one should read one article and then think that's it. This site is designed to be read as a whole so that everyone will have a better understanding of the whole music scene in Second Life. But no where in my business plan is to deliberately sabotage a musician with a review that isn't what I truly believe and felt and I want to make that clear.

My first goal was to review a good chunk of artists right off the bat. I originally was thinking to review everyone first but I realized that if I wait too long before I start writing these kinds of posts and also to move to original music, I would have lost a lot of you. So now I have to work extra hard to balance the two together.

So my second goal is to review original music and find them. But I needed of course at least a good chunk of my first goal done before moving here. I can't dive right into original music if I have not talked a lot about the whole scene in general. I think having reviewed about fifty artists gives me that basis to start with original music.

But keep in mind that each post is one glimpse into an artists life. I don't ever claim that is all an artist have to offer in an article of about one thousand words. However I still have to do my critiques. And that is why the Second Look and even Third Look offer is absolutely paramount.

Between the lag and the lack or scattering of info for a lot of musicians and the massive amounts of distraction while being at a live concert, I will and do miss things. It is not possible for me to miss things like a song is an original or the title of it especially when the musician barely mumbles it once very quickly and then off he goes. It boggles my mind when they spend five minutes naming every name in the audience but when it comes to the name of their own music, they give it a splash of a mention and sometimes not even mention it's an original and off they go. With these kinds of performances, it's a little hard for anyone who hasn't been to ten or fifteen of that same person's concert to know. And there is no way I can go to more then two or three times of most people's concert when there are hundreds of musicians around. You cannot expect me to know everything about everyone. So if your profile and your websites have no listings of what your original tunes are, if you don't tell me what you are doing at your concert and assume everyone at your concert has been to all your other concerts, well that's all the information I am getting. That's what I will be reviewing. It's all a tricky balance, I know. Is it absolutely fair? Probably not. But if you can think of a better way for me to review everyone then by all means, please let me know! Right now I am prying through all your profiles, groups and websites, trying to listen to your live stream and then locate and possibly compare to your recorded originals and hope to find a match. All the while I'm also trying to write the review and answer people's IM's. I'm also trying to donate to you too, the ones I like. I am only human.

So I want to emphasize the importance of Second Looks and Third Looks. I do and will miss things and I am absolutely thankful for those of you who are understanding of what I am doing. I am always more then thrilled to be invited back to a Second Look. But if you do, please make sure you really know what you are doing. The last thing I ever want to do is to write a second negative review on someone because nothing has changed even though it may have in their minds. But I think that's also important to point out. I have had these same issues that I point out. I have times where I thought I changed it for the better, but it turned out the same or worse. Thank goodness I had teachers who were honest and told me. So please note that I am here in hopes of helping you to grow as an artist.

Seriously in truth no one should be too worried about what I am saying. I'm just a small time critic reviewing people in a niche Second Life market. Do you think if a record label wants you, what I have to say will make any difference? I would hope so, but the truth is I am just one person who has too much to say. If you are great, your fans and record labels will love you no matter what I said. If you are not, they don't need me to tell them, they already know. Again I do tell it as I hear it. I don't make up stuff. I don't lie. These are really what I felt and believed.

In the end, this is a journey of discovery for me. Anyone who reads a single post and then decides that's the end is completely missing my point. Sometimes I may review someone who is actually good negatively because of that one concert I went to. Sometimes I may review someone who is bad positively because also that one concert I went to. But rest assured if you point it out to me and suggest I take a second look, I will. I will catch it on the second time for sure. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. There is truth to that!

So I would go back and add updates to my reviews. You will see the original and what I updated. I can change my mind too. I am human and we all change our minds. But I will tell you my reasons for all that. I don't go back and erase things so you can all see the mistakes that I make. I got nothing to hide.

And of course sometimes updates are not enough and I will post new articles to clarify my positions and also to reexamine an artist. You don't have to be an artist to tell me to go and take a second look. If you are a fan and you think I was incorrect in my review, be it I was too nice or too mean, let me know! I will definitely take them all into consideration and check it out again. I promise I will catch it on the second time around if what you are saying is true!

So please do take advantage of these second looks. I am not here to get anyone. I am here to give people my honest opinion.

Well that's my rant for the day. I have been typing all night long to explain to some people what I was doing and now here. I will however release my first original music review here of another Second Life Musician, which also happens to be a sort of Second Look request!

An Enniv Zarf Original: Concerto for a Computer Keyboard, Mouse and Piano

Second Life Original Music
Written by Enniv Zarf (RL: Paul Kwo)
Metaverse Music
Enniv Zarf
Concerto for a Computer Keyboard, Mouse and Piano

Kicking off my discussion of original music from Second Life, I figure I should introduce my own original and then go from here. But this post is also about my philosophy on music to a certain extent too. So you may want to read it to get more insight about what I am doing. Honestly I don't want to hurt anyone. I want people to grow and I think honesty is the best way to do this. I am not perfect in how I am honest sometimes, so call me out whenever you think I'm off or I'm rude. I appreciate that.

I have been exploring a lot of different ways to perform my music that is both true to me and still accessible to a good amount of people. I have composed things that are much more serious and much more difficult to understand in my life. But I have also written pop songs too. Having been in Second Life and performing here I have been working with what I have in my resource as well as what the audience can bare and withstand. It is always a toss up. The farther out you go, the harder it is to take people along with you. But I also find that if they like you enough, they will go wherever you lead them. Well to a certain extent.

I won't talk too much about...

... my own music here. I just want to present it and hear your opinion and thoughts on it. This one's a little more out there with the computer keyboard and other things. But it's fun so I wanted to share it here. Feel free to comment both positive and negative and even mixed here in the comment section. As long as you don't use any foul language and not personally attacking me with an extreme hatred, I welcome it all. And you can also comment anything else I have uploaded on thesixtyone.com or any of my other sites. Please leave me your comments of my music. I think it's only fair that you get to review me too. I actually want to be reviewed. I love reading what others write about me.

I will also start reviewing original music here by various artists of Second Life both in a live and non-live setting. That really is what I wanted to do all along. I will also slow down a little bit on the live concert reviews I do each day as I continue to still make my way around Second Life. After all I only have so many hours a day. I know a lot of people are talking about what I am writing here. I am learning too. I am growing as a critic and as an artist. I learn from my own mistakes and the mistakes of others to improv myself. I even learned to use thesixtyone.com too! And in fact someone gave me a thought about my concerto. I like that they were honest about what they heard. I can definitely understand why she heard that and I am glad someone told me what they heard. To me music is a conversation between me and the audience. If I am going to make you hear my music, the you deserve to let me know what you thought about what you heard. My audience are not puppets to dangle and admire at my every move, but to grow and share my exciting musical journey for the good and for the bad. And this site is not here just for you guys, but for my own musical and personal growth too. Sample music from across the world and performance style and then grab what I want to learn from them.

However with the original reviews, I will tell you I will pretty much only review good stuff. I don't have time to review everything that comes my way that's bad. I am already doing that with the live performances but I can only do so much. But that doesn't mean when I write an original review it'll be all great, good and yada, yada, yada. But it will at least be something I liked enough to write an in depth article about. I hope to eventually have a few other people present originals that they love too here at the site. Working on it. I do need to get some advertisers to I can pay those who help out here. I can tell you I will listen to these originals multiple times to talk about them, so that's why I will only do them for the stuff I like. I will point out what I thought in a critical manner, but it doesn't mean I didn't like it. It's still a review, but I have to pick and choose. But I really do like a wide variety of stuff.

Back to the concerto. It really is a commentary about how we at live concerts in Second Life hear all the noises that are in our houses like the typing of the keyboard and the clicking of the mouse. So I thought instead of having that in the background, why not have that as a part of the piece. I was really thinking about John Cage's 4'33" piece that was a famous piece he performed at a concert of his where he just literally sat down at the piano, opened the cover and then placed his hands on the piano. He moved his hands 3 times in the time he was on stage but didn't play a single note. He then finally closed the cap of the piano and then bowed and left the stage. Music that we listen to isn't isolated from the environment we live in. From the shuffling of feet to the coughing by the buy in the back row, to the humming of the air conditioner. These are all a part of the musical landscape. What makes someone who perform live better then as a recording artist has a lot to do with how he generates other sounds from the audience on top of his music to create a different soundscape. So when you hear the actual recorded tracks, it could feel lacking sometimes.

It really is a fascinating thing though to think about music in these terms. Think about how the piece sounds when you have all your inworld noises turned on versus when it's all muted. Think about the whole package and what it really means to listen to live music in SL. When someone's sitting at home playing, what kind of environment do they create versus what kind of environment are they really in. A good live performer knows how to work the soundscape between the music and knows how to get the right feel. I have learned a lot the last year and a half playing live online here in SL and grew also as a host too. I have hosted a radio show before in my real life reviewing movies for three years. But they were prerecorded with edits not live. I am always learning. Every medium is different and it's those who knows how to work it to their advantage and knows who their audience is at any given point who are going to succeed. I am only trying to help as much as I can but I am definitely not perfect.