Cylindrian’s Grace Notes

Thank you, Thor Eldrich, for putting my new site together and for securing the domain for me. You are such an asset to me and I really appreciate all you do. It was so wonderful to meet you and I loved the THOR costume at the Masquerade Ball!

That being said, now I have another way in which to communicate with people…hooray!! Oh no…this really means more work for me to maintain another site….ACK!!! It’s all good tho’! Be sure to visit: http://gracebuford.com when you get a chance. Also the new cd, RIVER, is available for purchase!!! HOORAY!!! CD Baby should have the CD processed and ready to go by Friday, Aug 31st. I sold many copies at the convention and that was so GREAT!!! Also, shirts and other merchandise are available on CAFE PRESS.

Latest updates:

Post Second Life Convention: I had the most marvelous time meeting up with people that I’d only known in avatar form for the past year and a half. Having the opportunity to REALLY hug some necks and not pixels was so much more satisfying. The Hilton was a gorgeous hotel and the piano in the main lobby was so much fun to play. I will be posting my pics on Flickr very soon and will update this post with a link to it.

One of my favorite digital artists, John Boyd, and the photographer for my new CD, River…which is in hand by the way…has a new blog site that is dedicated to his art. Check it out!! He’s really cool!!

Diary of a Mad Artist

I’m spending the day going over my checklist of things I need to cram into my duffel bag for the flight to Chicago tomorrow morning. I am even more excited about this years’ SLCC than last year…because I might actually know who some of the people at the conference are.  That’s always a good thing…to know who’s going and run down the checklist of people that you can’t wait to meet.

One of the most exciting events for me this year, is the fact that I get to spend time playing music with other musicians. THAT…is the most thrilling for me. In SL, I don’t have a whole lot of time to get to a lot of shows…they are few and far between, simply due to my own schedule of RL and SL performances and of course the importance of my family. It has left me quite a bit detached from a lot of personal relationships  in SL the past few months.

To those of you who IM me and wait patiently for me to catch up to you…I really do appreciate being communicated with…its just hard to get to everything and most all of my IMs are business related which requires opening up Master Google and consulting with him in regards to scheduling/bookings….as I have double booked myself recently and that didn’t go over very well at all.

So, SLCC and me…goals:

1. Arrive safely- that would be really good…to take off in Atlanta and land in Chicago

2. Not get lost in Chicago-until I have a map…those of you who know me…I am NEVER lost…I merely explore at length till I recognize something

3. Meet: lots of ppl

4. Play: lots of music

5. Meet with a Consultant to Advise me on Hiring a PR Manager to manage a street team  (I need someone to be my Jerry Maguire…not only for SL but RL as well.)

6. Take pictures of myself in the city re-creating Ferris Beuhler scenes…The Sears Tower, The Art Museum, wonder if I can get someone to put on a parade so I can sing, “Shake It Up Baby…Twist & Shout”

I am very excited about this trip. Can’t wait to get there!

It will be a lot of work, but a lot of fun too. Who says work can’t be fun, eh?

Kitty O’shea’s Thursday Night…Ham Ramblers’ throwin’ down a parteee. We gotta be there!!

See you in Chicago!!

~cyl~

The Brock Scott Quartet won the Madness! They were really outstanding…and one musician described their music as “skipping through a field of wildflowers”. Stop by their MySpace page and give them a listen when you have a chance.

Some of the other artists that were a part of the competition and their MySpace links are below:

Sanjay Kothari

Sean Kagalis

Meghan Coffee

Erica Ambrose

The Last Aurora

Nathan Beaver

Lindsay Appel *corrected web address*

Groovestain

The Spencer Durham Group

There were so many that stood out to me that played…but these will get you started in seeing the kind of music and talent we have in the Atlanta Area.

Here are also some links to Creative Loafing Articles on the competition:

Creative Loafing Wrap Up

Article about the competition

The attendance this year was not as good as in previous years…and I know one problem I had with getting people out to Atlanta was the fact that it took place on the first week of school for most children in the state of Georgia. I know a lot of the musicians are parents of school age children, like me. Thanks to my family for being so supportive of me and helping with my kids all week. They were fabulous!

Again, win or lose, the Open Mic Madness was an incredible experience, even if the judges felt the soloists were lackluster…i cannot even begin to imagine how many musicians they get to see in the course of their careers and they have a right to be really picky…that’s why they are judges. What they cannot take away from the musicians, is the personal experience that each one received. The opportunity to network and listen to eachother, support each other, and grow the music community.

It was very cool. And I’m not about to put on some false rockstar ego…when I’m not even close to a rockstar…I was just happy to be able to be a part of it…and I put my all into it, that’s for sure…and loved every moment of it. I may have a lot to learn still in networking, marketing, producing, songwriting, mastering instruments and arranging songs, stage presence, performing, etc…but its something I am passionate about…and live for moments that I can use as learning experiences…that includes failure.

Ok…enough of that…I’m outta here…you readers of this blog, be sure to visit those sites and give the music a listen…its all fab!

~cyl~

A.R.t. Gallerie Opening

A.R.t Galerie is the New Boston Art Colony, residing on an island on the New Boston Station sim. A.R.t Galerie has three floors and spacious land, plenty of space for artists and exhibitors to show and sell their art in SL. We enjoy hosting fine art of all formats and genres: painting, still life, modern art, contemporary, photography, abstracts, stained glass, pottery, sculptures. We offer live music and/or DJs with our exhibition openings and other special events and programs. We have dance balls nicely located at various spots on the island and in the gallery. The A.R.t Galerie island is also available for New Boston Station Residents other individuals in the Arts & Humanities and Education community to hold their own events. Those individuals or groups should contact Robbin or Teo for details and scheduling.

Please Join us for our Grande Opening:
Saturday, 1 Sep 2007

11:30A SLT — open the doors
12:00P SLT — official announcements
1:00P - 2P SLT — live performance by Cylindrian Rutabaga, RL/SL singer/songwriter
7:00P - 9P SLT — DJ, Gabrielle Riel from Radio Riel……. let’s dance!

So, Open Mic Madness week is over.  I am pleased to report that the woman behind the avatar made it all the way to Round 4…that is the top 16 out of 128 acts. I still cannot believe I made it passed round 1 of this competition, so by the time they announced the top 16, I was floored. Unfortunately for me, Sommer Melody and her accompaniast guitar player were superior in performance and advanced to the final 8.

On the long ride home from Atlanta at 3am Saturday morning, I-85 was lit up like a runway…and I was coming in for the landing. …coming down off of such a high of performance was difficult, but at the same time…I really felt like I was validated as a songwriter this week.  Not that musicians should write songs in the hopes of being validated by others, we should be able to do that for ourselves, but being fairly new to all of this, I still feel like I have something to prove.

I met and/or heard some of the most talented musicians this week, Megan Coffee, Erica Ambrose, Lindsay Appel, Sanjay Kathari, The Last Aurora, Groovestain, The Brock Scott Quartet, Leaf Newman, Nathan Beaver, Elli Perry, Shawn Kegalis…just some fabulous people.  It was an experience that I will never forget and I’m so thankful to have been able to be a part of it for the length of time that I was.

~cyl~

Hey there…first off I have to say that I am deeply disappointed that I have to cancel my slot at SL Woodstock…but I’m beside myself with excitement for the reason WHY….

The woman behind the avatar has advanced to Round 3 of Atlanta’s most premiere songwriting competition, Open Mic Madness.  After running more than an hour late in the competition on Monday, last night, Wednesday was a lot more prompt with only running about 15 minutes behind. I was paired up with Leaf Newman who is an incredible singer/songwriter/guitarist and after listening to her song, I began to get the nerves…but once I hit the stage….the nerves left and I broke out “The Demon Song”. I don’t know if its the SWEET Martin guitar that I played on (which other musicians complained about…but I love that guitar) or the sound system or the lights or the adrenaline or what…but Mattie’s Runaway Train on Monday and The Demon Song last night have never sounded so good and I am my worst judge on all this. It truly is incredible and I probably won’t really accept the fact that my name was on the list of advancement until I’m called to take the stage again tomorrow night.

If by some wild chance, you happen to be in the area of Atlanta tomorrow night…or you live near there…it would mean the world to me if you could come out to Smith’s Olde Bar tomorrow night and support me in this endeavor. Tickets are $10.00 and the musicians/bands are so incredibly good. They have judges from the AJC, Columbia Records, prominent producers in the industry and the like, but in the case of a tie the Audience votes for their favorite performer and they will tally those. I’m not sure who I’m paired up with on Friday, but my hope is to just get out there and do my thing again and have a blast doing it.

Thank you for all the e-mails you’ve sent me and for the previous comments. It is so encouraging to get words of support like you all have given me. My SL resident fans are the BEST!!! I just wish I could teleport you all to Atlanta to be there.

In peace and with much gratitude and excitement,

~cylindrian~

Yes, its 2:25am…yes, I am still awake…I just returned home from a last ditch effort to get my kids remaining school supplies after advancing to Round 2 of the Open Mic Madness Competition at Smith’s Olde Bar in Atlanta. Special thanks to Cessee Hedges for staying up EXTRA late.

The competition was really amazing and will be even more fierce on Wednesday Aug 15th when I am paired with an incredible guitarist and songwriter who goes by the name, Leaf. She was brilliant in her song about making changes. I look forward to hearing her next performance.

For those of you who are local to Atlanta, Ga…I implore you to come out in support of the woman behind the avatar…who incidentally is me…Grace Buford. Leaf and I will be in a head-to-head…or rather, guitar-to-guitar competition which is slotted to take place at 9:05. (tonight they were running about an hour behind schedule, my slot was 11:45…I didn’t even take the stage till almost 1am. eeek!)

To learn more about Open Mic Madness visit the website by clicking the link:

I look forward to seeing some of you locals there…tickets are$8.00 at the door and you cast your vote for who you like as well…in case the judges tie, the audiences votes are the determining factor in the win.
Please come to Smith’s Olde Bar on Wednesday Aug 15th before 9:00pm to see me perform. I REALLY REALLY need you!
Thanks so much….pinch me…because I still think I’m dreaming…I’m totally blown away by this…I really didn’t expect to advance at all…so you can imagine my feelings right now…aside from exhaustion. Take care all…and THANK YOU for being so supportive of the woman behind the avatar.

This was outstanding yesterday. I just happened to log in to Second Life about midway through Jaynine’s performance. It was the grand opening of the Eldrich-Broom Concert Hall on Ratepoint Island.

Secondlife Newspaper wrote an article on this event.

Jaynine’s explanations about the different composers that she sang from were very entertaining and quite enjoyable. She sang the aria’s not at complete voice either as it was very late in Germany and she didn’t want to disturb her neighbors. Even still, her voice was enchanting and she sang with such passion. I thoroughly enjoyed myself yesterday along with the many avatars present.

As you can soee from the pictures, the Eldrich-Broom Concert Hall has surpassed any upscale concert hall I have seen in Second Life. Please come by Ratepoint Island to see this beautiful place.

This is a really cool idea and looks to be something that would be a GREAT help to the new artists in Second Life. A site dedicated to the D.I.Y. artist like myself. This can be incorporated in various mediums of art be they, hand-crafted, verbalized, or melodic.  I am really looking forward to doing more with this.

Coincidentally, I’ll be playing at the A.R.t. Gallery Grand Opening on SEPT 1st 1-2pSLT  **promo press package with lots of graphics to follow…meanwhile read on about the Virtual Artist Alliance Self Promotion Site

“Here, you will find all of the resources you need to increase your visibility to the public, both in your First and Second Lives. From press package templates to the basic Dos and Don’ts of being a Second Life artist, it is our goal to make sure your work is seen and your voice is heard!

Whether you’re an artist or a gallery owner, knowing how to promote yourself and your work is one of the most vital skills you can possess in the ever-growing art community of Second Life. Not only is it our goal to bring your abilities as an artist to light, it is our duty to expose Second Life’s art community to the general public for what it is: the backbone of our digital culture.

Please visit the following website to gain access to our free-for-all self-promotion goodies (highlight, right-click, copy, paste to your browser window):

http://self-promotion.krystalepic.com/index.php

This Kiosk is free for everyone to have on their land- just IM Cyanide Seelowe for a copy. ALL GALLERIES THAT KEEP THE KIOSK ON THEIR LAND WILL HAVE THEIR NAME AND SLURL ADDED TO A VERY VISIBLE LIST. IM CYANIDE SEELOWE FOR DETAILS.

I hope this helps you in your quest for recognition!

Sincerely,

Cyanide Seelowe
Founder
Virtual Artist Alliance