From this musicians mind to yours
Dec 31st, 2007: an interesting day…couldn’t sleep the night before due to having napped in the afternoon, fighting the flu, and a brain spinning in so many directions I couldn’t turn it off or make sense of anything I was thinking. Thinking too much can get me into trouble faster than a plate of freshly baked brownies. I arrived at Kavarna with my children and my parents, who I was so glad to have there and I love them so much for being there on New Years Eve.
Kavarna is a coffeeshop/cafe in Decatur, GA that has the best ambience of all other cafe’s I’ve played in. A relaxed and comfortable atmosphere settled in the center of Historical Oakhurst amid old bungalow homes, white picket fences, and Christmas lights. Worn and peeling plaster barely covers the brick wall behind me as I’m sitting on a leather couch in the back listening to Mark Phelps playing his music. The Melinda Kingsley Band is playing soon after and due to my son not feeling well, it looks like I might not be able to listen to them who I absolutely love. I had the pleasure of speaking with Melinda K. for a bit before my set started. She was just as friendly and personable as I expected her to be. This is one of the things I have noticed from my jaunts around Atlanta and the US, musicians are some of the most amazing people I’ve met. Unique in personality, creativity, and appearance…but most that I have encountered seem to understand the need to form a sort of unspoken brotherhood/sisterhood between eachother. You can see it in the way they look you in the eye, grip your hand to shake it, or wrap their arms around you to embrace you in a hug that seems to say, “we have to stick together”. Mutual appreciation and respect is what I pick up on.
After coming down from a euphoric open mic experience in Raleigh at Crowleys of Stonehenge and the family of musicians that graced that stage, this experience just keeps that fire going. This is why I work so hard to play music in the real world. Second Life is wonderful…BUT…there IS a but…a very big BUT. Eye contact, smiles, handshakes, hugs, body language, immediate response, the lights, the sights, the smells, the instantaneous banter between listener and performer, the energy….whoa the energy…I thrive in this environment and feel most at home in a cafe or a bar surrounded by musicians and strangers.
So, does that negate the Second Life concerts and make them less relevant in some way? Of course NOT! They are an extension of the live experience…there IS banter between the musician and the audience…but you do have to wait for the response, sometimes you miss what people are meaning by what they are typing ( I perform with my eyes closed a lot and sometimes a glance at the screen causes me to pick up and read wrong what someone is saying. Anyone else ever have that issue?? huh?? anyone??)
I love Second Life performing and am incredibly greatful for the program, the avid listeners, the venues that provide cool places to play, the fellow musicians that perform inworld, the friends I have made…I wouldn’t stop playing in SL…BUT…I HAVE to play LIVE LIVE in the real world. I have too. Otherwise, I feel like I’m somehow missing something. Human vs. Avatar contact. I love hugs! I love to look people in the eyes. I love hearing voices and watching mouths move. I love watching someone’s animated body movements! (I am fairly animated when I communicate…watch out, I might accidentally clock you upside the head.)
Truly, Second Life music holds a very dear place in my heart, mind, and soul…and I love every moment that I get the opportunity to play inworld. But its moments like I have had lately that reinforce the why in why I do what I do and why I have such a passion for music making. I LOVE MY JOB!!!
Thank you to Kavarna for having me tonight, for Mark Phelps for speaking so nicely about me and for the rockin’ bluesin’ smokin’ set, for Melinda Kingsley and the rest of the band for their friendly persona’s and talent. (they are setting up right now…and i keep watching the clock. I have to be home to ring in the New Year with my “lovelies”.)
Have a blessed New Year all you who read this…don’t lose sight of your passions…run to them…embrace them…don’t let go! Follow those dreams, love the life you live and live the life you LOVE!
~cyl~
Anderson and the Would Be Thieves with Grace Buford
Back a few weeks ago, I was at Kavarna with my friends, Kris Anderson, Boston Tim, and Mikhail…i’ll get the proper spelling of his name later…lets just call him the kick ass lead guitarist that has been playing with Anderson and WBT. Anderson has placed the recording of his song, Coward, onto his myspace page in which I had the opportunity to add some “color” to the song. Stop by his page and have a listen to it and let me know what you think. 
I’m sure Anderson would be all over some feedback as well. These guys are so great and Anderson writes some really great songs as well.
Anderson and The Would Be Thieves
(I’d love to have these guys join me in SL doing some shows…we’ll work on that.)
Best Real Life Open Mic…
…in Grace Buford’s history of performing at open mic’s occurred last night at Crowley’s of Stonehenge in North Raleigh, NC. Hosted by E.G. Peters and a group of extremely talented musicians, this open mic was chock full of funk, hip hop, rock-n-roll, modern folk rock (by me of course) and incredible times!
Atlanta open mic’s could really learn a lot from this venue. There was a steady rotation of musicians, from an 11-yr old on drums to a grad from Berkelee College of Music 3 generations his senior, a gentleman on bass that used to play with Arrested Development, a Rob Halford lookalike that sang Cocaine Blues and Led Zeppelin, a chicks-with-guitars-fronted band that reminded me of Heart named, Miss Demeanor .
It totally rocked, y’all. And best of all…I was offered a gig at a 40th Birthday party in the area on New Years’ Day. Members of Deep South and Matt Reardon are going to be there playing. The woman’s husband bought 2 of my CDs. (they were incredibly cool) Unfortunately, I’m leaving Raleigh on Saturday, Dec 29th and will be unable to come back on New Years Day for the show. These are the sacrifices a mother makes for her children, folks. An incredible music opportunity I have to turn down because my children are far more important to me. I believe, though, that other opportunities will come if I just keep pressing on and making good choices.
So, if you are a musician in Raleigh…GO TO CROWLEYS OF STONEHENGE…Thursday nights at 10pm! That is by far the VERY best open mic I have ever been too. ATLANTA WAKE UP!
What Cylindrian Does While Taking a Break
For those of you who actually read this blog…when I do blog…here’s what I’m up too:
After performing consistently in Second Life for almost 2 years now, I am taking a much needed break. This break consists of doing some reading, spending time with my children, planning out the upcoming year, writing, and resting. I do have a few real life shows that are falling in between this break.
Currently, I’m reading the book: Simple Grace: Living a Meaningful Life by author and inspirational speaker, Beth Jannery. I’m hoping to be joining Beth on some book signings and perform some of my music for those who come to listen. We’ll see where that goes and I’ll definitely keep you all posted on those events should they happen. It’d be great to bring her and her speaking engagements into Second Life onto a sim like Artropolis. My hope is to write some music inspired by her book. So far, I’m stumped but I’ve only been reading it for a few days. I’ve a lot of ideas, but at the moment no piano and I do most of my musical compositions on the piano and then move the pieces to the guitar. If Beth and I are able to plan out some events, they most likely will be in the Washington DC area unless I can wrangle some places to host us here in the Metro ATL. It would be really cool to do an event at a cafe/wine bar like Kavarna or The Red Light Cafe somewhere in midtown or the Decatur area. At any rate, I’m excited about the possibility of collaborating with such an amazing woman.
I’ve been busy this week reading through Shakespeare’s “Much Ado About Nothing” with my daughter (who loves Shakespeare) and my mom. What we find most amusing is how each time we read a line (supposedly the same character) our accent changes with each turn of phrase. My daughter developed a Scottish accent while reading the part for Beatrice. She admires Beatrice as a strong-willed female character and loves the insults that she hurls with such poise. Shakespeare was able to convey humor in a unique way and even made insults sound like flattery. It’s something I’ve noticed in the writings of Charlotte and Emily Bronte that they just couldn’t quite capture in their female characters, but I could tell that they indeed tried.
My son is busy doing what boys do best, playing with cars and video games…but he is writing a book. He is very fascinated with weather and outerspace. I absolutely love to watch him reading through this giant book on the solar system. The book is about as big as he is, but has some beautiful pictures taken from The Hubble Space Telescope. (We visit the previous site frequently as well). My kids are really excited about Christmas, naturally. Having a working musician for a mom means that Christmas at my place will be lean. But, I have always tried to make Christmas more about spending meaningful time together and making the most of what little we have. We are celebrating Christmas on my birthday this year. One of the joys of having a birthday two days before Christmas. Then they return to their fathers’ for the big day. It will be a strange thing for me to wake up Christmas morning and not have my children there and I believe that the sadness of the morning will hit me and maybe I’ll craft some songs from it just to let it all out. (That is why I’m thankful I’m a songwriter. It helps to have an outlet for all the emotions)
I have a few options available to me for the week of Christmas. I’ve been invited to a few places to spend a couple of days. Some folks have adopted me into their family and I may travel there on Christmas day as I assume traffic on the highways that morning should not be bad at all. Those of you who know me well, know that I love road trips. Except for the 18-wheelers barreling down the road and sandwiching me between them or riding my bumper. That upsets me and generally, I’ll speed up really fast to get away from them. (Juel remembers that trip from Raleigh to Atlanta all too well as she spent most of the trip leaning into me because of all the big trucks on the road. She’s like me…hates them just as much as I do)
So anyways, I most likely will return to performing on Dec 28th as I have a couple of bookings that day and a couple on Dec 29th. Those of you who subscribe to my Google Calendar should be getting the updates and notifications of when those events are taking place. Dec 31st I’ll be performing at Kavarna opening up for The Melinda Kingsley Band and there will be others playing that night as well. (I think I might be on first). At any rate, Melinda Kingsley Band is quite outstanding. I saw them at Eddie’s Attic a few weeks ago and they were extremely tight in rhythms and Melinda knows how to write some great hooks. Give her music a listen, I think you’ll agree.
I think I’m done now. Dolmere and Crap, thanks for reading this. And I hope you all have a great holiday season with family and friends. And maybe…just maybe I’ll pop in for something quite unusual next week. Who knows? You’ll just have to stay tuned.
PEACE
~cyl~
P.S. Here’s a Picture of the New (used and cheap Takamine G-series) Rutabaga Guitar
Hufschmid Guitars by Patrick Hufschmid now available in SL
Filthy Fluno , Narrative Abstract Artist and Friend Extraordinaire, introduced this gentleman to me today. We met, he provided me with demonstrations of his guitars and we even jammed out…virtually:
Filthy Fluno, me, and PatrickHufschmid Beaumont
Read on to learn more about Patrick Hufschmid (Real World Guitar Maker now in Second Life)
Please let me introduce myself, I’m a real life
electric guitar maker living in Switzerland and I also have a guitar shop in Second Life in which I sell some of my second life creations including my real life work replicas.
Hufschmid Guitar’s Store in SL
This is my story:’
Patrick Hufschmid was born in Rotterdam (The Netherlands) in 1976, were his multi-national family were then living. His father is Swiss, and his mother, Jennifer Paull, is an internationally known British musician and author.
Patrick showed his passion for music very early. He spent most of his time as a small child playing the piano, and later, the violin. He found his real vocation when he was able to experiment with a guitar, in his early teens, about the same time as he fell in love with metal music.
He discovered Steve Vai and Ingwe Malmsteen shortly after. This was the start of his dedication to playing, which led him to become increasingly interested in the design of the guitar itself. The endless variety of possibilities in modern electric guitar technique, witnessed at an encounter with Michael Angelo Batio, and his growing awareness of its necessities and possibilities, encouraged him to imagine his own designs. ‘I met Michael Angelo Batio at a terrific workshop in Monthey (Switzerland) when I was still a kid. Talking to him for only a couple of seconds made me want to play the guitar for the rest of my life! In my opinion, Michael is the best guitar player ever. Nothing can compare to his incredible technique!’
Patrick initially studied cuisine and obtained his Swiss Federal Certificate of Competence, (CFC) in 1995, the first rung on the ladder the becoming a chef. However, after four years, he decided to follow his passion for the guitar. He studied its design and Lutherie at Red Wing Technical College, Minnesota, USA. Patrick is a designer- creator, not a traditional luthier. As a skilled guitarist, he advocates simplicity and economy in his own designs.
His innovations give amazing degree of ergonomy and playability. These are the two ingredients for which his guitars are becoming so well known. The ‘Virtuoso Baroque’ model is a perfect illustration of his ideas.
In the summer of 2000, Patrick was invited to be the official guitar repairman at the world famous Montreux Jazz Festival. During the Festival he met many celebrities who played his instruments. Without exception, everybody was most enthusiastic.
Today, many well-known figures are Hufschmid Guitar performers, and the numbers are quickly rising! Inspired by the work and technique of the legendary luthier, Robert Benedetto, Patrick has developed his own style and palette of sound colours. He uses pickups that are made exclusively for him by world-renowned Kent Armstrong, and chooses his woods with loving care and attention.
He has made more than a hundred guitars in a variety of beautiful woods. Patrick decided to stop painting his instruments (with the exception of his model “Titan”), and let the natural grain be seen to its best advantage. Wood is tactile and noble.
Hufschmid guitars are hand-made individual works of passion from a man for whom guitar playing and design are not only profession, but also an Art. None of these guitars has a serial number. Each one has a unique personality for Patrick Hufschmid, whose aim is to create a living extension of the performer, his music, and his sound.
Hufschmid guitars will create the sound you want to make and incorporate any detailed specifications and requirements you may have.
I would be very happy to insite you to have a look at my work, and if you enjoyed your visit, please tell your friends to visit me!
‘Here is a little welcome present for you, I hope that you will enjoy it as much as I did to build them…
Patrick Hufschmid’
Grace Fashionable According to Facebook? *The Woman Behind the Avatar*
I just took a visual personality test on Facebook…it got me all wrong. You’re supposed to look at pictures and choose the best one that fits the statement…ie…What is Love? and I chose a picture of two elderly people walking hand in hand down a pathway. I think I look at the pictures they displayed and in my head they were meaning something very different than what came out in the results.
Those of you who know me well…are going to laugh. It’s so wrong. Those of you who don’t know me well…after this post…I think you will.
The Results:
Emotional
Friends and family are the most important people in your life. You’re good about keeping track of birthdays, people appreciate that you care about them..
**My family knows…I am the WORST about remembering birthdays and gift buying. You know that person in your family that gives the worst gifts? I’m that one. Don’t get me wrong…I adore my family. We don’t see enough of eachother and my sister in law keeps beating me at these facebook games…thanks allison. Anywho…I do care about people, just be ready to rewrap that gift or exchange it after you get it from me. Who hasn’t ever once wanted a Chia Pet…I mean, come on!**
Intellectual
Familiar with all of the latest fashions, you’re willing to make sacrifices in comfort in order to look good. Color coordination is one of your natural talents.
**OMG…this one made me laugh so hard. Familiar with FASHIONS? Are you kidding me?? I’m probably the most unfashionable person out there. Wal-mart and thrift stores are my friends. I have no fashion sense. Just look at my pictures people. Oh geez. How did they come up with that one?? I posted a picture here so you could see how I played at MahoneyFest this past spring. The fall fest was even worse…my hair was braided the whole time. I’m all about comfort people. No shoes, big shirts, baggy pants…although…i love dresses, sundresses that drape…dresses that wrap around the middle…aahh…oh yea comfort. There’s nothin’ more comfy than having the wind lift the skirt on a hot summer day. Color coordination…wrong…brown…tan…black…grey…dark green…brown…brown…and brown…i wear a lot of brown. Even my shoes are brown…my hair is orange…and my clothes are brown. Did i mention brown? I’ll shut up now…you are free to read on.**
Physical
First impressions do make a difference and your body is a temple. You make the effort to watch what you eat and work out at least a couple times each week.
**My body is a temple. I love the fact that I’m almost back to my pre-children weight. Yes, I exercise. Yes, I watch what I eat. No, I do not purge. So, I suppose this is a bit more on the rights about me. I enjoy Pilates and using Natural Resistance. I like long walks on the beach barefoot in the surf…almost as much as I like hiking in the north ga mountains. Nothin’ beats a hard hike to only to bask in the spray of a waterfall at the end. I haven’t done that in a number of months. Think I’ll have to remedy that. Anyone care to join me? I love good conversation.**
Alright…so there it is. 1 out of 3 ain’t too shabby. Maybe I should just retake the whole thing. Me…fashionable. HA!
COME TONIGHT TO THE BEAR CAVE IN MARIETTA GA TIX $7.00 9pmEST>>>and you too can see how unfashionable I am up close and personal. 
Spring MahoneyFest ‘07
would you call this keeping up with the latest fashions or willing to make sacrifices in comfort in order to look good?? color coordination a natural talent?? *ahem*
Fall MahoneyFest ‘07
here i am sporting the latest fashions in g-folky wear. the zipper sweater and camo cargo pants with the always in style dirty braided hair. to achieve this look one only has to go to goodwill for the sweater and the junior dept clearance rack at ross, do not shower for 3 days, sit by a campfire in the dirt, and play with cute slobbery dogs. *thank goodness this isn’t smell-o-vision*
