A Public Thank You to LL

Over the past year and a half I've admittedly done more than my share of complaining about Second Life and its troubles. Before the year ended, it was my goal to write a song giving "thanks" to all of the Lindens that make Second Life possible. Despite my grumbing and poking fun at you in song, I do appreciate all of your hard work.

At the same time, I got to wondering about who the "Lindens" are, what they do, etc. Thanks to Google, I stumbled upon the Second Life wiki article about Linden Lab employees which yielded enough information for the following creation:

44 Lines about 22 Lindens

Torley is the famous Linden
He's the one that does the blog
Robla works in management
He's just another Linden cog
Meta is the data cruncher
for the common metrics team
Poppy Linden finds the bugs
that cause us residents to scream

Pathfinder sends his snapshots
to his famous Flickr page
Mia rounds up volunteers
who do good work but don't get paid
Chiyo Linden is Japanese
we all call her Chiyo-chan
Colossus works with Jesse
keeping live music going strong

Brad is making Windlight
to turn the weather on and off
Bridie helps to fix the grid
when it starts to hack and cough
Elle is the french Linden
she's the one I'd like to meet
Blue Linden is famous
for the avatars that look so neat

He's also known as Cyan Linden
on the teen grid

Frontier's techy articles
I can never understand
Ginsu made the final call
on who or what got permabanned
Catherine's gift at marketing
helps Linden Lab stay in the press
Steve makes the SL Viewer
so Second Life will looks its best
Phoenix works on open source
for which he gets a lot of grief
Harry's making help search better
that should give us all relief
Cory's Linden Scripting Language
is what our world is based upon
but Philip Linden had the vision
so he's the one that ends this song

Thank you Lindens.
44 lines about 22 Lindens.

Open Letter to Readers of ontohollywood

From a post to the Music Dev list, I learned that there is an interest be YouTube performers about coming into SL to perform. I posted the following to the ontohollywood blog and am reposting it here:

As a member of the live music community of Second Life, I'd like to welcome all you readers to come into Second Life and check things out. It's a great place to catch a gig, make some friends or do just about everything that you can imagine.

It is also provides a wonderful opportunity for those of you looking for a place to perform YOUR original music, as long as you keep the following in mind:

(1) Second Life itself is pretty CPU and Graphics card intensive. Adding audio capture and streaming software to the mix will push your system to its limits, not to mention your broadband connection.

(2) Don't expect to learn Second Life AND performing in Second Life in the same day, or even the same week. It is going to take you a while to learn how to get around, communicate, find shows, listen to audio, rez something, search your inventory, buy stuff, etc. You HAVE to learn how to do all of that before you can even be in a position to consider live performing. My advice: get a SL account and spent a few weeks checking out gigs. You'll not only learn how to operate in SL, but you can get an idea of the venues that are available, meet some performers and make a determination as to whether or not SL is for you.

(3) Learning to stream audio is not as simple as "plug-n-play." After you get comfortable in SL and have settled on a virtual instrument to play, head over to one of the open mics that cater to new performers and introduce yourself. They can direct you as to which streaming application you should use and will walk you through the steps of accessing the stream, setting levels, etc. You are going to have to be able to juggle two or three different activities while performing. It's not hard, but does take a while to learn.

(4) Forget making any money in SL, at least at the beginning. No one is going to pay you to play if you don't know what you are doing, are an "unknown" in SL and don't have a following. Play for tips only. It will not only get you more gigs, but it will quickly give you some feedback as to whether or not performing in SL is for you. Think of it as virtual busking.

(5) Contrary to what you may think, SL is not a game to us residents. It is a place. We make friends, enemies, lovers; earn an income and spend a lot of time (and money!). There is a social protocol that is expected to be followed (e.g. use "/" before your typed chat at a gig) and an understood vocabulary. Behind every avatar is another human, some more fragile than others. Yes, there are some assholes in SL. There are also some of the finest people I have ever met. Please be one of the latter, and not the former.

(6) Audiences in SL prefer original music.

Feel free to email me and/or IM me if you make it in-world.

Best of luck,

Niko Donburi - The "Weird Al" of Second Life
www.nikodonburi.com

Slusic & a new look!

I blink and another week or two slips by without me getting the chance to update the blog with the latest happening. Here are some of the highlights:

-- A new service has arisen which caters to SL music performers and fans: Slusic. Two of my CD's worth of music (Tales from the Grid and God doesn't care) are available for streaming. I'm nowhere near getting into the top 10 of songs played, but with your help who knows!... :-)
Click here to go to Niko Donburi's Slusic page

-- After a show on 10/20 I was interviewed by an SLCN reporter(Second Life Cable Network) for a new spot focusing on the SL live music scene. More details to follow...

-- More time in the studio has definitely paid off with not one or two but three new SL songs: "44 Lines About 22 Lindens," "Should I Stay or Should I Log In?" and "Virtual Stranger." While none of them have yet been uploaded for your listening pleasure, I am playing them at my gigs...

-- You can catch my show twice a month at the fine ASD Studios Hollywood sim where I've somehow convinced them to give me a two hour time slot rather than the standard one hour. This not only gives you the listener more time to satisfy your craving for an extra serving of Donburi (hehe nihongo no joudan) but also gives me more time to slow the pace down, add a couple more covers and a lot more originals. Check out the photo above for my latest performance sans hair!

Niko on Tonite Live!

Come early to the set of the Second Life Cable Network's Tonite Live! with Paisley Beebe as it is going to be a packed sim. I'm this week's musical guest and will be interviewed post-performance by Paisley. Click here for a slurl to the show where you can watch it live. The show is also being streamed live in-world, so tune it in. It begins at 6 pm SL on Sun 10/7.

The show will be uploaded to the Tonite Live! website post-premiere so I'll get a link here in the next day or so as well.

Other guests include:

Upo Choche - Artistic Director - who will share how the Act Up Theater group brings 'live' theater to SL and Setori Spire - Metabrand Developer - who speciallizes in the conceptualization, design and development of Metabrands within the SL Metaverse.

OK, I'm outing myself right here before you read it in the Second Life Insider, Second Life Herald or one of the other SL rags....

My show at the Plus sim opening will NOT be live. I am lipsynching the entire event. Actually, since SL lacks any ability to move lips (see Kronos' Lip Flap for more on this), I am not even able to lip synch. I am just going to be standing there, strumming my guitar whilst a German DJ plays my mp3s.

You are no doubt wondering how I went from being the "Weird Al" of Second Life to the Milli Vanilli almost overnight. I am as well.

Just Saturday evening I was rocking out the House of Flame's, raking in the Lindens and now, Monday afternoon at 11:30 am SL I'll be perched on the back of a semi trailer pseudo-lip synching to my OWN tunes at the opening of what appears to be a German Home Depo type store.

What's even worse is that I am doing the whole thing for nothing. Not a Linden. I thought I was going to be playing live so I went and got a nice 100 connect stream, started plugging phrases into Babelfish to have a bit of German patter between songs (don't want to make that infamous Kennedy gaff!) only to find out that they DON'T want me "live" live.

Why did I volunteer to do the show in the first place? Well, it was my understanding that this would be a bit of SL history.... The people behind the scenes will be broadcasting the event from Second Life to the real world via their lifecrawler application. At least, that's what I think is what should be happening. Babelfish translations can only get me so far!

If you are in-world, here is a slurl: http://www.slurl.com/secondlife/plus/288/139/31

Log into the DJ's (slr2) stream here.

House of Flames: Sat 9/22 at 8pm SL

If you can't be in-world at the time of the show, feel free to listen in:

House of Flames stream

Cybster's Concert Stream

Radar Masukami tracked me down after a show for an interview for his podcast, SL Under the Radar:

SL Under the Radar 015 - Niko Donburi on SL, Music, and the SLCC

There are plenty of great musicians in Second Life. Niko Donburi (http://www.nikodonburi.com/) is one such musician, and he talks to me about second life, music, and the experience of playing at the SLCC.

Intro music is "Under the Radar" by the band What The...? (http://www.what-the.com/) Outro song this time is "Dear Linden, Dear Linden by Niko Donburi.

Click here for direct download in mp3

Take a listen to it and his other episodes. And, for you other podcasters out there, don't forget that all of my songs are podcast friendly!!!

SLCC Audio

Despite the technology problems at SLCC 2007 which thwarted plans to have performers in-world at the same time we were performing in Chicago, the audio was professionally captured, recorded and mixed by Nethermind Bliss. It is slowly being posted to the Internet Archive, a hosting site which features all sorts of free stuff that is in the public domain.

All of the music performances at SLCC can be located here.

Second Jam Radio

Xerses Goff (mastermind behind the Arbor Project and The Teleportation Trail), after being interviewed by ABC News at SLCC, turned around and interviewed me for his nascent Second Jam radio station.

Not only are many of my Second Life parodies playing, but he also has snippets from our interview and some of my non-SL songs as well. Other artists include Cylindrian Rutabaga, Rich DeSoto, Ka-klick Martin, and others.... Listen in.

Can't make SLCC? No problem!

I understand if this year's SLCC in Chicago is just too far away for you to attend, I really do. That's no excuse, however, for not catching the show.

Those of you with Second Life accounts can attend one of the various in-world venues that will be live streaming the audio. I and the rest of the band (the Music Monkeys) will be logged into SL whilst we are playing so you will be virtually there. If the many sims are full, lagged or if you simply have something else to do in-world then you can stream the audio to your parcel: http://social.phreak-radio.com.

What? You don't have any land? No problem: I'm setting my Tyta parcel to the stream before I leave so that you can stop by the ole duck pond (yes, it truly is a duck pond) and enjoy some SL wildlife along with the tunes.

Those of you that are technologically impaired or have chosen to avoid getting a Second Life for whatever reason don't need to feel left out either. Well, OK, you can feel left out but you can still listen in by entering the following into WinAmp, I-Tunes or another stream reader:

http://phreak-radio.com/social.pls

And lastly, those of you who truly have NO IDEA what the hell I am talking about need to get a life....

Tales from the Grid

After heavy lobbying from certain nuts in the peanut gallery I call my fanclub, the name of the CD has been finalized as Tales from the Grid. Actually, I think it perfectly summarizes the contents of the songs contained within.

Those of you attending SLCC in Chicago on Sat. August 25th will have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to purchase the CDs. I've only printed up 35 of them so once they are gone, they are gone. I'll set one aside for you if you send me an email. Heck, I'll even mail you one if you want to pay for shipping. The cost: only $5 US or whatever the equivalent is in Lindens! That's a better deal than you'll be getting on iTunes when I get around to finalizing the details for inclusion on that all-too-addictivesite.

CD title headache

As some of you know, I am in the process of finalizing a CD of my SL songs to bring to SLCC. Esch Snoates, design builder of Artropolis sim and a featured artist at this year's SLCC, and I have been trying to come up with a suitable title for the CD. Something that will capture the essence of the songs and SL.

Here are some of the ones discussed this evening:

"Second Life: Buggier Than First Life"
"The Furry Linden Conspiracy"
"Grid Wars: A New Dope"
"Lindens and Furrys and Geeks, Oh My!"
"Tales from the Grid"
"The Magical Mystery Grid"
"Second Life Survival Guide"
"Things to listen to while the grid is down"
"Second Life: The Saga Of The Rolling Update"
"Dear Linden, Dear Linden"
"Second Life: It's not just for porn anymore"
"Biting The Grid That Feeds Me"
"SL: The Chronicles Of Noob"
"So Pretentious, It's Untitled"
"Don't Eat Soggy Cornchips"
"This Aint' Yo Mama's Second Life"
"Not Suitable For Anybody"
"Missing Image"
"SL: The Day The Grid Died"
"Stability Isn't Just A Four Letter Word"
"Songs That Make You AFK"
"Packet Loss And You"
"Songs To Lag By"
"Untitled and Unloved"
"The Truth About Second Life"
"Waiting For A Third Life"
"For A Few Lindens More"
"A Fist Full Of Lindens"
"God Save The Lindens!"
"In Second Life, Titles Write You!"
"My poseball is bigger than your poseball"
"Gridstock"
"Singing In The Grid"
"Darkside Of The Grid"
"Bark At The Grid"
"Last Train To Gridsville"
"Sgt Niko's Lonely Second Life Band"
"SL: A Cry For Help"
"Second Life: A Fork In The Eye"
"Don't blame me, I voted for Niko!"
"Buy This CD And Grow Hair!"
"6 Songs To Help You Lose Weight!"
"Flammable Songs For Combustable People"
"The First Of Second Life"
"A Second Life First"

At the conclusion of which I said to hell with it and decided to simply name the thing "Second Life".

SLCC: Here we come!

Thankfully, as you have all likely heard by now, the performers at SLCC and the powers-that-are at SLCC were able to come to an agreement over the terms of the release. You can read more at the SLNN website.

OK, it was all my fault. I posted, in relevant part, the following on the SLCC Music Performers group:

I recently saw this on http://slcc2007.wordpress.com/2007/06/28/slcc-community-standards-agreement:

"5. With the exception of Phreak Media and its subsidiaries, recording
of video or audio of any sessions or live performances is strictly
prohibited and subject to legal action. We are bound by both union
rules and contractual obligations. This does not apply to news
coverage and interviews or incidental documentary footage, B-Roll and
background images. It is not permissible to rebroadcast any
performance, panel or track."

I found this "new requirement" particularly interesting given that I
am one of the performers that has been selected to perform at SLCC. It
was certainly news to me that I am now prohibited from recording (on
audio or video) my own performance. Even more interesting is that I
have somehow given "Phreak Media" (whomever they may be) the EXCLUSIVE
rights to record and publish my performance. When did I do this?

I think all of us performers are entitled to an explanation as to what
is going on. I routinely record my performances (both in RL and SL)
and encourage others to do as well. I was not pleased to find out that
some otherwise unknown entity (The Future United) has given another
unknown entity (Phreak Media) an exclusive license over my
intellectual property without having the decency to inform me.

The response included a "release" that I was informed I had to sign in order to play at SLCC. Then the fun began as set forth:

on Slim's blog

and SecondLife Insider amongst others.

Of particular note was John Swords a/k/a Johnny Ming of SecondCast's comment:

3. The agreement between Phreak Radio and SLCC organizers was not in the spirit of new media and should be reconsidered because its simply unprecedented.

I personally will attend regardless of what the musicians do. However, I fully intend to audio and video podcast from the event.

If Phreak Radio or the SLCC organizers want to escort me or anyone else off the premises for doing so, so be it.


Posted at 6:01PM on Jul 6th 2007 by John Swords

Let's all hold our breath and see what happens!!

Blog Posts

Thanks to my handy-dandy ego notification system (aka Google!), I received notice that Bella March stumbled upon and put in a plug for my tunes. Take a look at her post on her blog The Adventures of Bella March in Second Life.

It turns out that google doesn't get everything as Vint Falken also posted on her blog VintFalken.com about AND suggested an additional verse for Dear Linden, Dear Linden.

As Vint comments, Dear Linden, Dear Linden is a bit outdated these days. Everytime I play it I have to keep increasing the number of millions referenced in the third verse. When I first wrote it, 1,000,000 users was still a bit of a ways off (and brought the grid to its knees). Now we are at 7,256,167 as of this post. By the time SLCC comes around, I wonder if we'll have reached 10 million?

Take a look at this great screenshot captured by the talented Kronos. More can be found at his Bonfire photo site.

Upcoming Show

My next scheduled gig is, of course, the upcoming 24 hour BonFire Festival to be held June 1st and 2nd. I was given the 7 pm SL time slot by the ever gracious Flameheart Sol. Start spreading the word!

SL Relay for Life

Despite the problems with the most-recent update, there was a good turnout at last nite's gig starting off Haroldthe Burrel's "Once a Day in May" live music event for the SL Relay for Life on-going benefit. He is featuring a different performer each nite and was relentless in his attempts to get me to come out of "summer semi-retirement" and play a gig. While I don't know the finally tally of contributions made last night, hopefully he got off to a good start.

On other matters, I am honored to announce that the artistic creator of Artropolis Esch Snoats is working on the cover art for my Second Life CD which will be for sale at SLCC.

SecondCast: Escape - The Second Life Song

My car was broken into the other day and I haven't had a chance to get a new one. Hence I missed episode #55 of SecondCast where they played Escape - The Second Life Song in the middle of the podcast!

I was cooking dinner for the kids listening to SecondCast episodes I had missed when suddenly my daughter starts laughing and jumping around, yelling "that's Daddy's song"!

Blog Post: PacificRim Exchange

I was talking to a RL friend the other day about SL, you know, trying to explain what this cyberspaceplace really is all about, and I made the comment that my SL persona had more google hits than my RL one. When I ran my name through, I found a nice comment on the PacificRim Exchange blog wondering how many Linden Lab iPods have these tracks in their playlists?

Hmm... I know that Pathfinder Linden has heard my tunes. Perhaps a Linden may stumble upon this and let me know if I'm getting any airplay there at LL?

BTW, the post on PacificRim Exchange about the History of Avatars is worth a look.

House of Flames gig goes down in, well, flames!

So there I am, three-fourths of the way through my House of Flames gig when someone hijacks my stream! Apparently the in-world vendor I purchased it from sold it to someone else as well. So I'm trying to play a quiet acoustic tune whilst some other guy has decided to DJ deathcore or something. Quite an abrupt sound switch for my listening audience.

I've IMed the stream provider and am awaiting a response--and my money back. After all, my gig was ruined and I lost income I would have normally received PLUS came across looking as a complete noob who doesn't know how to stream a show. Hopefully the stream proprietor will make good so that I don't have to name names and spread word of what happened. Screw ups DO happen and I am willing to live with that, but I want my 4,000 Linden back.

Watch this space for more details....

IT'S OFFICIAL: SLCC2007 here we come!

Just as I was getting ready to log off yesterday evening, I received an IM from Nethermind that the selection of performers for SLCC2007 in Chicago had been made and that I was chosen to be one of the soloists that will be backed by the house band!!

So, if you are in Chicago August 24th - 26th, be sure and stop by the Chicago Hilton and check out the live performance. It is also my understanding that a SLCC2007 Compilation Album is going to be put out featuring a song from each of the performers. While I'll be putting out a poll in-world to determine which tune should go on the CD, feel free to drop me a comment as well.

Surprise! Donburi on Secondcast #53

I was listening to SecondCast episode #53 "Beer in the Ballroom" when I heard Johnnie mention my name as the one who did the intro music to SecondCast episode #52 "One Year Anniversary." Then he went ahead and played "Dear Linden, Dear Linden" again!

Episode #53 was about SLCC2007. I've submitted my stuff to be one of the "chosen five." Hmmm.... coincidence? Guess we'll just all have to wait and see. In the meantime, why not listen to some tunes?

gig: March 24 at House of Flames

I'll be headlining the House of Flames line-up for the March 24th "March Madness" show. I've submitted some material for use in their podcast which should be coming out shortly. I sent them a new tune written especially for the upcoming gig: My Favorite Things (About Second Life) so hopefully they'll give it a play.

NIKO DONBURI: THE SL COMMUNITY MUSICAL MUSE

There is nothing cooler than run a google search on yourself and finding a post. Lordfly Digeridoo had a nice post about me on his GridBlog:

"If you’ve been listening to Secondcast lately, you might have caught 'Dear Linden, Dear Linden' by Niko Donburi, an acoustic guitar musician who happens to write catchy songs about Second Life. His song style is pretty catchy, even the faux-covers (of REM and Cheech and Chong, so far), but the lyrics cover pretty much most of the facets of the SL experience. Give him a listen :)"

Hopefully the SLCC judges are reading!

Kat's Place podcast

Katronix Serf (cool name), the host of the The Kat's Place podcast, has asked me to write him a theme song for his show. Take a listen and let me know what you think of it. He also features Dear Linden, Dear Linden as one of his spotlight tunes so now you've GOT to listen in....

[t2]SecondTunes

Bobby Fairweather has spent a lot of time getting SecondTunes up and running. It allows us SL based musicians to sell or give away our mp3s in-world. My bio page can be found here. And yes, I know that that is a low def picture I have up but I haven't had the chance to upload a better one yet.

At any rate, stop by Bobby's music store in-world and get some tunes!

SLCC?

Today was the deadline for submissions to SLCC2007. Only five performers will be selected to play on stage during the live event. I submitted three of my SL tunes: Second Life (That's Where I Want To Be), Dear Linden, Dear Linden and It's the End of the World As We Know It (In Second Life). Watch this space to find out if I am one of the chosen few...!

Blog Post: 9scape

SL resident iconolith Taggart and RL participant Christen Bouffard (by day, an instructional designer for UAF who spends a disproportionate amount of time exploring SL from an educational perspective; by night a pie loving shape-changer) gave me a nice "shout out" on her 9scape blog and gave the links to Second Life (That's Where I Want To Be) and Dear Linden, Dear Linden. Be sure and take a look at her blogs.

Donburi on iLike!

I was just googling myself one day (boy, that sounds dirty, doesn't it?) and ran across a hit on iLike. Much to my surpise there is a listing for Niko Donburi. That's pretty cool. Someone called Robbiet480 has, as of this date, listened to Second Life (That's Where I Want To Be) 20 times!

I am going to do some more digging into this Robbiet480 person who obviously has great taste!

Dear Linden, Dear Linden on Secondcast

The Secondcast 1 year anniversary show begins with Dear Linden, Dear Linden. It will be interesting to see what type of attention this will attract. Perhaps the SLCC2007 music selection folks will happen to listen to it and think, "damn, we've got to have this guy play as one of the chosen five..."

Gig: The Cafe

I had a great time performing at the Cafe in Barcelona last nite. If you have not seen that sim then you definitely need to stop by and check it out. It was also the first time I have played for an SL audience that had a significant number of non-English speakers. It certainly made following the chat a bit more difficult!

Thanks to the following for their contributions: Liam Serf, Jacobi Haskell, Tami Lyne, Zann Canto, Maximillian Desoto, Kent Diplomat, Sean Cinquetti, Flameheart Sol, Kelly Young , Lovely Encore , Eponymous Drake and the ever generous Circe Broom !

Gig: Artropolis

Niko Donburi plays Live at Artropolis 02, originally uploaded by Pathfinder Linden.

Here is Pathfinder over on the left. Is that a frog? Lizard? I'd best check his profile and see. If someone knows, put it in the comments... please!

Gig: Artropolis

Niko Donburi plays Live at Artropolis 03, originally uploaded by Pathfinder Linden.

I played the Artropolis Sim opening at the Mandel'Brats and Brew stage yesterday. Artropolis is the only artist colony in SL that supports all the arts: Art, Music, Poetry, and Theater. Esch Snoats did the building of the sim and it looks great. I think Filthy Fluno runs the place.

Before the gig I had a bit of trouble TPing into the sim as it was full. I thought I might end up ghost streaming the gig but fortunately someone got a Linden to lift the AV cap. Or perhaps someone else got booted out of SL and I happened to push the button at the right time!

A funny story: I was just getting into the set and half-way through Dear Linden, Dear Linden when Pathfinder Linden strolls in and stands right up by the stage. As best I could tell, his AV is an amphibian of some sorts. Then he hops up, only to get hit in the head by the ceiling fan. It was quite hilarious. I actually stopped playing and had to restart the song. Pathfinder has posted more photos he took over on Flickr so take a look....