Tuesday, April 21, 2020

Serenity Gardens (04.20.20)

Serenity Gardens, a lovely virtual place to spend some time with me and my music every other Monday night. Photo by Kat.

In typical years, I'd have written a lighthearted post about having performed on 4/20, and probably included some info on the supposed reasons that "420" has long been a code name for anything having to do with marijuana. For those of you who are wondering, the "420" reference goes back at least to my own high school days in the early/mid '80s. My own assumption at the time was that 4:20PM was the ideal time to get high. You were off school, you had time to get home or perhaps meet up with your stoner friends, the parents weren't back from work yet, and you could put on your Floyd album and chill instead of doing homework or whatever the fuck you were supposed to be doing on a Thursday afternoon. That was my thought at the time, anyway.

But, as we all know, it's anything but a typical year. I will tell you something that I mentioned to my audience last night at Serenity Gardens, and it's that I never do my live shows in Second Life impaired by drug or alcohol use. Never. Zero. Zilch. The reason is not that I'm some kind of saint who doesn't touch intoxicating substances. I don't do shows while impaired because I am incapable of doing them well in an altered state. I get too self-conscious, and that goes against the free-flowing vibe of my show. You would know if I was high while performing. I would relate to the audience less, be more self-conscious, and wouldn't play guitar or sing as well as I do (which isn't completely amazing to begin with and certainly doesn't need any help being worse). Plus, I'd be more prone to be anxious and less focused on playing music and making sure people were having fun. None of it adds up to a good experience for myself or my crowd. I stopped performing while intoxicated in my early 20s after a number of pretty awful gigs whee I should never have been up on a stage. Anyway, now you know. The fun and silly Zak you see and hear at SL shows is just me being my usual self (which is why I often refer to myself at show as "the musical fool of Second Life").

Grocery Store Day
It's Tuesday, which has become my grocery shopping day here in pandemic land. Let me explain something to you: I live a block and a half from my local Vons grocery store. I can walk there in under three minutes, door to door. Having lived in this neighborhood since 1995, I've been very familiar with treating the store like my personal pantry. Out of something like eggs or milk or whatever? No problem. Bip over to Vons, buy it, be back in 10 minutes total. No problem.

Obviously, COVID-19 changed all that in a huge way. First, like most smart people, we're trying to minimize our exposure to other human beings, meaning that instead of making a shopping trip whenever we feel like it, we make sure to go rarely and just get all that we'll need to last a week or more. Side note: many things, we do buy in advance, like canned goods and other non-perishables. But for things with limited expirations, or things you use a lot of on a regular basis, you have little choice other than to shop every now and then.

Anyway, Tuesday is my shopping day, and I'm indeed running low on a few essentials. I think the first couple of times, I was too distracted by the newness of everything... "Look, people are starting to wear masks! Oh no, there's still no toilet paper!" and the like. But now, as we grind through the weeks and weeks of quarantine, the thought of going to the store is just a big ball of anxiety. It's nothing terrible; not like panic attacks or anything like that. But it's definitely not something I look forward to, other than getting it over with. Frankly, I don't like being near people at all these days. I find myself slightly holding my breath when I have to pass by someone in an aisle, even if we're both wearing masks (as is the law right now). I don't like having to look behind me to make sure I'm not having my social distance violated while in line at check-out. And the last couple of times I went there, I had that psychologically-induced sensation of feeling like bugs were crawling on me when I got back. Some of it is pure paranoia, and some of it is prudent caution in the face of a pandemic. So despite all that, my family needs things, and I'm the designated person who handles that, so as always, I'll do what I need to do to make sure my family stays well (and well fed).

Me in my pandemic outfit inside Vons.

The one saving grace about going outside anywhere is seeing stuff like this.

The Show
I didn't think I had a specific theme going when I put together my set list for last night at Serenity Gardens, but as I played through the songs, it became apparent to me that thoughts of isolation and loneliness were common ground for many of the songs I chose. It's funny, because I'm not really burdened by those thoughts and feelings... it's more from the empathy in seeing it in other people. One note: I did my song "Broken Day" which for a variety of reasons I had put aside for a long time. A quick Google search tells my that my last performance of that song was on March 6, 2014 at the final show at Molaskey's Pub... over six years ago. I actually found I enjoyed doing the song last night regardless of its self-pitying vibe, and I'll probably whip it out more often.

All photos by Kat.

Serenity Gardens set list...
Is She Really Going Out With Him? (Joe Jackson)
Longing On (They Stole My Crayon)
Nobody Home (Pink Floyd)
*Invisible Sun (The Police)
Redemption Song (Bob Marley)
Mad World (Tears for Fears)
Broken Day (Zak Claxton)
Rocket Man (Elton John)
Pickles (Zak Claxton)
Sleeper in the Valley (Laura Veirs)
It's Easy Like Walking (The Sadies w/Kurt Vile)
My God Is the Sun (Queens of the Stone Age)
*Serenity Improv #4,903 (Zak Claxton)

*Indicates the first time I've performed this song in SL.

Big thanks to all who hung out at the show, and super duper thanks to the following who helped support it!
AaronCabottJones Resident, Alaina Nightfire, Linaya Beck, Lauralynn Foxtrot, Turn Pike, Maurice Mistwallow, Asimia Heron, Kat Claxton, Trouble Streeter, Jaron Metaluna, Alex Zelin, go2smoky Resident, Bee Blackrain, Triana Caldera, my excellent manager Maali Beck, and the fabulous team at Serenity Gardens, Tilly Rose and Ilsa Wilde!

Tuesday, April 7, 2020

Serenity Gardens (04.06.20)

Another great night at Serenity Gardens. Photo by Kat.

I just did something that perhaps I should have done a long time ago: I thanked my garbageman.

It wasn't planned. Like many of you during this pandemic, I'd seen some videos and news stories in recent times that showed people applauding the work of the "essential" workers of the world who are still going into their workplace during the lockdown. These are often doctors, nurses, and other medical staff who obviously place themselves in peril via multiple exposures to people infected by coronavirus, but they are also people who work in areas like like law enforcement, grocery stores, mass transit, and so on.

But think for a moment what life would be like without someone coming around to pick up your garbage. In a time when keeping things as clean as possible is paramount to public health, the garbageman (properly called the "waste collector", though most of them in the USA seem to refer to themselves by the more common name) has one of the most crucial roles in society. Here's something you may not know: having nothing to do with COVID-19, the garbageman has a more dangerous job than just about any other profession. Statistically, the garbageman is more likely to be injured or killed on the job than a cop. There are only a couple of other professions, like commercial fisherman or ranch hand, whose jobs are more dangerous than that of the garbageman. Every single day, they are tasked with being near broken glass, medical waste, chemicals, heavy objects falling, and much more... and that's not to mention constantly being exposed to smells and other aspects that would turn most people's stomachs.

Anyway, I was up and about early this morning as usual, and I heard the unmistakable sound of the garbage truck rumbling down the alley behind my building. I then recalled some of the stories I'd seen lately of folks applauding hospital staff during shift changes and so on, and thought, "It'd be nice to do that for other essential folks as well." The timing was perfect; I walked to the back just as the garbageman in his reflective yellow vest was getting out to grab a dumpster. We made eye contact, and over the sound of his idling engine, I stood a safe distance away and raised two thumbs to the sky and yelled, "Thanks for everything you do!", and he waved and a huge grin crossed his face, and he yelled back, "Thanks bro!". I'm going to give you a recommendation... if you leave your home (for some presumably important purpose) and run into any of the essential workers out there, please let them know that the rest of us truly appreciate the risk they are taking to keep the world as we know it going strong.

“Helping Hand (We’re All In This Together)"
A couple of weeks back, I was wrapping up a show when my fellow Second Life performer Jed Luckless messaged me. He let me know he was putting together a collaborative song with other SL musicians to raise money for charities who were providing COVID-19 relief, and would I be interested in being part of it? I said yes immediately, and the following weekend, I was able to take a few minutes and record a vocal track for Jed's song “Helping Hand (We’re All In This Together)". Again, and I've said this over and over on so many occasions: if you ever have the opportunity to help people in any way and even to a small degree with the use of your artistic talents, do it! You will never, ever regret it.

Jed named this random group of SL performers "The Helping Band", and includes Jed Luckless, Lexie Luan (who co-wrote the song with Jed), Wes West, Donn Devore, Twostep Spiritweaver, Joe Paravane, Marqs De Sade, Lexus Melodie, Boney Mosley, Dandy Pianoman, Cailidgh Spires, Lluis Indigo, and myself. Those among you who are familiar with my voice should be able to easily pick up what parts I sang on the tune. The song debuted today, and you can listen to it and make donations at http://www.helpingband.org/.

Some members of the "Helping Band" recording their parts on the tune (clockwise from top left): Jed Luckless, Lexie Luan, Cailidgh Spires, Marqs DeSade, Joe Paravane, and me.

April Tunes at Serenity Gardens
And now, open to the topic of this post, which was my show last night at Serenity Gardens. I wanted to do a set there that was a little different than my recent series of shows, so to do that, I had what I think ended up being a really good idea. Using this very blog, I started looking through many years of set lists, focused only on shows I'd done in the month of April. Choosing from a variety of shows going all the way back to 2009 or so, I put together a list of songs that, for the most part, I haven't done in years. Based on the reaction of the crowd, it was a good plan. What I sometimes forget is that while a few folks out there have been checking out my shows for well over a decade, the way people come and go in SL, I have a number of regular fans who only got into my tunes in the past few years. I think it was cool for them to listen to a bunch of tunes that in many cases, they'd never heard me perform before.

Side note, as I'll be continuing to mention: I'll be wearing a mask on my SL avatar until the world gets to a point that the COVID-19 pandemic is under control. The day that I and my friends around the world feel comfortable going to the grocery store without a mask here in real life, I'll happily remove my Second Life mask as well.

April songs on an April evening. Photo by Kat.

Me, well protected in a mask as a reminder to remain so in the real world. Photo by Kat.

Kat and I chilling after my show. Photo by Kat.

Serenity Gardens set list...
Jane (Barenaked Ladies)
Things Under Trees (They Stole My Crayon)
Ziggy Stardust (David Bowie)
The Worst (Rolling Stones)
You've Got To Hide Your Love Away (Beatles)
She's Always a Woman (Billy Joel)
A Case of You (Joni Mitchell)
Wish You Were Here (Pink Floyd)
Big Empty (Stone Temple Pilots)
Pink Moon (Nick Drake)
Man of Constant Sorrow (Traditional)
Behind Blue Eyes (The Who)
†Serenity Pickles (Zak Claxton)

†So, I didn't have enough time left to do a full tune without eating into the next artist's set, but had a request for my song "Pickles", and did a trimmed down silly (sillier?) version with improvised lyrics.

Huge thanks to all who came to the show. Extra big thanks to the following who helped support it!
Jed Luckless, Rusty Seisenbacher, Jaron Metaluna, Trouble Streeter, Alex Zelin, Kat Claxton, Nina Brandenburg, Triana Caldera, GilShalos Resident, my excellent manager Maali Beck, and the fabulous team at Serenity Gardens, Tilly Rose and Ilsa Wilde!

Sunday, April 5, 2020

The Spirit Gallery for Relay for Life (04.04.20)

Why do I wear a mask in the safe pixel-based world of SL? Because protecting against COVID-19 is serious shit and I don't mind being a walking reminder for everyone, even during an RFL benefit at the lovely Spirit Gallery. Photo by Kat.

I've written many times about how giving back to the world at large via my music has long been an important component of my overall life as a musician. It's also hopefully something that happens in every person's growth as a human being, ideally. Your youth is about getting yourself figured out, and then you likely go through a selfish phase where your biggest concern is only about yourself and the people closest to you. There's a next level of human development that you reach when you start to devote yourself to the world at large, and that's the feeling I get when I do things like perform fundraising shows like the one I did yesterday in Second Life at The Spirit Garden for Relay for Life.

What Is Relay for Life?
Relay for Life is the community-based fundraising arm of the American Cancer Society. As the name implies, the event started as an actual sponsored walking/running event, but it's also expanded into many forms of fundraising over the years. The virtual environment of Second Life is perfect for RFL in that events can be run for people to easily attend from around the world. Even though Second Life is a microeconomy, those little donations all add up; it's said that millions of dollars have been raised since RFL events started in Second Life in 2005.

My Show at The Spirit Gallery
I've done a bunch of RFL shows in SL over the years, and it's always difficult to predict what attendance will be like. I was a little concerned when I was about to start my first song at yesterday's show and could count the people there on one hand. Obviously, playing a fundraising event is only really worthwhile when you draw enough people to actually... raise funds. But after a little while, we had some more people coming in an congregating, and presumably donating to the many kiosks located around the sim.

I should note that The Spirit Gallery was a nice-looking place, and I plan on going back sometime to explore the space some more. As usual, it was my manager Maali Beck who booked me for the show, but I know it was done via the team of Kammie2 and Darkstone Aeon, and I've done a number of RFL shows for them in the past. It's always a good feeling to devote some time and energy to do a show where you know there will be a direct benefit to people who desperately need it.

I think people were having fun despite the nature of the show. Photo by Kat.

People enjoying the Zak tunes and helping to cure cancer... that's a good thing to do on a Saturday afternoon. Photo by Kat.

One note in that regard, which I mentioned at the show... we're in the middle of a pandemic that's affecting the whole planet, so why bother focusing on cancer right now? It's very simple. Not only are cancer patients more likely to have severe results if they get infected with COVID-19, but those medical resources that they rely on are being used to help fight coronavirus. In other words, there's never been a more important time for RFL and the funds it raises. I marked the occasion by throwing in a couple of songs I hadn't done before. A funny side note: there are some songs I've literally only done once, and whoever was around to hear it that time become the only ones who ever do.

Spirit Gallery/RFL set list...
Wildflowers (Tom Petty)
This Afternoon (Zak Claxton)
Comes a Time (Neil Young)
Driven to Tears (The Police)
Games Without Frontiers (Peter Gabriel)
*Got a Letter From My Kid Today (Bob Wills)
High and Dry (Radiohead)
Blew the Dust Away (They Stole My Crayon)
Voices Carry (’Til Tuesday)
Free Man in Paris (Joni Mitchell)
*Nobody Told Me (John Lennon)
Northern Sky (Nick Drake)
Pretty Pimpin (Kurt Vile)

*Indicates the first time I've performed this song in Second Life.

Huge thanks to everyone who attended the show and gave so generously! You all made a difference in someone's life, and on their behalf, I thank you.