THE 2ND ANNUAL KASBAH CHRISTMAS SHOW!!!

By Tessa1 Beck

Photos by Cavelle Somerset 

The night started with Karter Stonecutter. He was dressed appropriately in an awesome santa suit ready to deck the halls with sounds of music! His rendition of The Little Drummer Boy was sweet! He even broke out a little of Elvis's Blue Christmas...the atmoshphere in the club...festive to say the least! Each musician was given 30 minutes to sing as many Christmas songs as they could. Karter made the time fly by and before we knew it he was leaving the stage to make room for Taunter Goodnight!

The crowd was ready for some fun and Taunter delivered with her usual flair! She set the tone for her 30 minute set with songs full of mirth and the audience was delighted! Taunters voice was perfect for her version of I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas and everyone was dancing in SL and I can just bet a good portion of the audience was chair dancing in RL too! It was an awesome half hour. She left us feeling all happy and welcomed AMFORTE Clarity to the stage!

AMFORTE was a big hit with the excited crowd! She regaled us with Christmas songs with her haunting twist. It was great to hear her sing Santa baby! She was chatting between songs about shopping and kids and everyone was sharing their stories about the holiday mall crawls! The set ended on a high note..Jingle Bells!!! We all clapped heartily as AM left and Porter Paquot climbed up on the stage in her lovely gown to entertain us.

Porter started her set off hot with her smoky voice, singing Merry Christmas Baby. Everyone mellowed out and held their loved ones tight as she crooned. She moved into some fun tunes as she cheerfully threatened everyone..Take a copy of the gift I made! Take it! We were all laughing along with her as she sang her own 12 Days of Christmas. It was just too funny! She finished off the set telling jokes and generally entertaining us as only Porter can. I was sad to see her go, but then...Buckley was up next!

That's Buckley Moonwall for those of you that don't know...and he was amazing tonight! The audience began to fill with some of the best musicians SL has to offer...one after another arrived for the festivities! The venue was rockin and the crowd was enjoying Buckleys low key personality and beautiful voice. Everyone was a comedian tonight...Buckley was singing songs he said he was "passing off" as Christmas songs...and we all pretended they were totally Christmasy! He sang some the most obscure and awesome holiday songs and we all had a blast! Buckley wished us all happy holidays and exited the stage as Max Kleene took his place.

Max crashed right off the bat but he continued on as the wonderful performer he is...singing a gorgeous version of Little Drummer Boy. Max and a few others knew a secret and we were so excited....it was torture waiting for the big moment when the secret would be revealed. When all was ready, Max began his song and Loegan asked the big question..."Porter, will you be my partner? The crowd erupted with shouts and well wishes for the happy couple.....it was truly a special moment and we were all lucky to be a part of it! Max ended his set with congratulations to the happy couple and moved aside for kasbah fave Strum Diesel.

The general good feelings we all shared were kept in tact as Strum sang his heart out. He was giving us covers and orginals that really blew us away. I personally love Strums originals, they hit home for me and I am sure many others. The venue was chock full of friends all enjoying this incredible night full of fun, music and love. Strum ended his set with a beautiful, sweet Christmas song that brought tears to some...what a lovely performance. His heartfelt way of sharing his gift of music was the perfect seguay for the final performer of the night LizAday Solo.

The night was winding down...Liz gave us a fantastic performance....she was joined by Golden Xenno...and the banter was fun and entertaining! I think everyone was laughing when they sang the silliest songs....it was a great time! 10 PM came around way too soon...and Liz was on a roll...anxious to keep the night going. It was a perfect party...The best music possible...the sweetest moment shared between 2 very happy friends and a celebration of a wonderful holiday season. We at Kasbah would like to wish you all a Very Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!!!

SANTA IS COMING TO KASBAH!

The sims are turning white with snow, the holiday decorations are up, and everyone can see that It's that time of the year again - The 2nd annual Kasbah Christmas show! A special night of ALL HOLIDAY SONGS by your favorite SL Musicians!!

ART + MUSIC = THE STUDIO GENRE ART CRAWL!

Today was the first ever Studio Genre Art Crawl! For those of you not aware, an art crawl is just like a bar crawl but without the liquor lol. We started at Lucky, the home of Strum Diesel. The lush greenery of the landscape coupled with the incredible music of Strum created the perfect beginning to an amazing three hours of live music and beautiful art. Strum is a true artist, writing songs that touch us all with emotions and thoughts from his soul. He spent 30 minutes entertaining us with his original music and always enjoyable banter. The crowd that gathered were enthusiastic to say the least! It was a treat to be among some of SL's premiere artists, musicians and art supporters.

The next stop on the art crawl was Van's Wild West Gallery featuring the music of SweetLilly Pinelli. Van is an interesting artist who does his paintings primarily on small pieces of glass. He has a vast array of paintings displayed here, ranging from the older style of western art to his unique perspective on the SL avatar. SweetLilly filled the gallery with the gentle sounds of her sometimes hauntingly but always beautiful voice. The guests traveled through the gallery to the rooftop stage, stopping along the way to enjoy the art covered walls. I think it was a perfect blend of music and art, giving us 30 minutes of relaxation and pleasure.

We traveled on to The Aries Gallery to take in some breathtaking paintings from the incredibly talented littleone Aries. Kelvinblue Oh was onstage and ready to take over the next 30 minutes of SL music. Littleone's art is a tribute to her surroundings, she paints what she sees from her studio windows and all the beauty of her island home. The studio quickly filled with visitors anxious to hear Kelvin rip into some of his trademark songs.The sharp contrast between Kelvins hard rocking blues and the romance of the art made this half hour pure fun with some awesome guitar and vibrant images that SL has to offer!

I took the tp to the next gallery and was immediately hit with the sounds of Amforte's smoky voice. She was giving herself to a song full of angst. It was a kind of weird feeling hearing her, the screen black during tp...and as the room came into focus there was another surprise, a stage befitting an art gallery...indescribable really...gold and red hues surrounding a small stage. Syl Darcy's Fine Art Gallery held so much to see and enjoy. I cammed down to the art below and really enjoyed the original works she is sharing with all of us. Such lovely landscapes and beautiful watercolors and even a gift for everyone under the christmas tree! Amforte sang songs ranging from the afore mentioned sad to the very happy, Felice Navidad! Her originals and covers were the perfect compliment to Syl's beautiful gallery.

Antenna Rae's Fine Arts Studio was the next gallery in the crawl. I had never been to her studio and I found out quickly that I had missed something wonderful. The paintings were exactly my style, soft, beautiful water colors washed over the canvas, each more beautiful than the next. These are the kinds of paintings you want surrounding you when you want to relax, have a glass of wine and listen to some good music. This is exactly what I did as I listened to Porter Paquot, an awesome SL vocalist with a powerful voice and the bubbliest personality ever to grace SL. The art crawlers spent the half hour perusing the paintings as they hummed along with our Miss Porter. The mood was definitely happy as we finished the half hour and moved on to the last gallery.

Kundemor Tamatzui Fine Artis a fabulous studio full of color and light. His vision of incorporating the kundiamor melon and the latin woman together in his unique way has been accomplished skillfully. The colors and textures creating a feeling of understanding, each painting more vivid and interesting than the last. While we took in the art gracing the walls of this elegant studio we were entertained by the beautiful sounds of Lawanda Andel. Her gorgeous music, all instrumental piano, added to the elegance of the scene. It was the perfect way to close the Studio Genre Art Crawl. I encourage each of you to stop by the various galleries, there really is something for everyone here. Share the Landmark with a friend. Art, music and friendship, who could ask for anything more.

Tessa1 Beck

STUDIO GENRE 1st ART CRAWL December 11 1pm-4pm

ART CRAWL @ STUDIO GENRE:

Music and Art!

YOU ARE INVITED TO THE STUDIO GENRE ART CRAWL

The art crawl is pretty much like a bar crawl. You get a rowdy bunch of people who go from one bar to the next, usually walking and creating mayhem as they go. An art crawl is the same thing only people will be going from one gallery to the next.

The idea is to get people to roam around the sim, discover all the great art Studio Genre has to offer, and enjoy some great music in the process!

Dec 11, 2010

1:00pm SLT Gallery: Strum Diesel/ Musician Strum Diesel

1:30pm SLT Gallery: Van Caerendow / Musician SweetLilly

2:00pm SLT Gallery: Littleone Aries/ Musician Kelvinblue Oh

2:30pm SLT Gallery: Syl Darcy / Musician AMFORTE

3:00pm SLT Gallery: Antenna Rae/ Musician Porter Paquot

3:30pm SLT Gallery: Kundemor Tamtzui / Musician Lawanda Andel

TESSA CHATS WITH KUNDEMOR TAMATZUI

Welcome to the Kasbah Blog, and another installment of Tessa Chats. Today I had the good fortune of speaking with one of SL's most interesting artists. His name is Kundemor Tamatzui (Orlando Catro Ortiz), a wonderful painter from Puerto Rico. When Kundemor isn't painting he is hard at work at the Department of Education in Puerto Rico. He began drawing as a child and painted even before he began his Bachelor studies in the late 1970's. I was lucky enough to see some of his earliest works. His style has changed greatly from those early days, most of the paintings he did back then were done of the human figure, usually quite realistic, almost photographic. I was treated to a timeline of images ranging from oil based to pencil applications. It was very interesting to watch the progression from the realistic art he started with to the more abstract painting he does today. There is a story in each of his paintings, and the one I liked best was the inspiration he found in something most of us would find annoying. The coloring on his television went bad, making the color of the people abnormal....as he was trying to fix the television he realized how interesting the change in color made the people...and thus he began painting the human figure in unrealistic tones with wonderful results.

Kundemor also has an interesting story of how he came to be in SL. He received an e-mail from an SL resident who owned a museum inworld. It was a request to place 2 of Mr. Tamatzui's paintings in the museum. Kundemor had no idea what SL was, but he agreed anyway with the thought that any exposure was good. Once the images had been placed the museum owner sent photos for Kundemor to see. He was so impressed, he decided to investigate what SL was all about. He logged in and was immediately hit by the idea of how great the exposure of his art could be and quickly opened a gallery. He now has 4 such galleries including the one at Studio Genre.

I was given a tour of the Studio Genre Gallery as well as some very interesting conversation about the types of paints used (all oil now, but he has used acrylic in the past) and the implements like brushes and knives to create the desired effects. Kundemor's most recent works all center around the cundiamor or bitter mellon, a fruit that grows on his property.

Each painting shows the bitter mellon with the image of the female form somehow incorporated into it. In some of the paintings it is easy to see the human body shown in colors of orange and yellow, in others you have to really look and sometimes even imagine it. Kundemor's inspiration for this series is the idea that the Latin woman is very much like the cundiamor and he wanted to express that thought in every way possible. The paintings are vibrant and interesting. His other recent works are also full of vibrant colors and so beautiful, you almost wish you could reach out and touch the wet paint...to actually feel it.

Kundemor's art is shown in RL so the people of his country have the opportunity of being almost close enough to feel and experienceit first hand. His goal is to reach all the cities and towns of his country through his art. I asked Mr. Tamatzui what else might be coming up for him and he said that he has met someone from SL who resides in Japan and they are in talks about showing his paintings at the University of Japan. We talked about how wonderful it is to have a platform like SL to reach so many people from so many places and share not only art, but ideas and thoughts.

One of the ways Kundemor is reaching out to the SL community is by painting live on webcam. I was lucky enough to see one of these moments, beautiful music filled the gallery as I watched colorful images slowly appear. It was fascinating to see the progress from a blob of paint to a beautiful stroke on the canvas. This type of interaction is something Kundemor really enjoys and hopes to continue with in the future, along with perhaps a piano concert for which he has ample space.

After having seen many of the paintings in his gallery I was curious if he had a favorite. I know it is a difficult question, almost like asking a parent to choose which child is their favorite, but, Kundemor was thoughtful as he showed me a few of the ones he was particularly fond of. My personal favorite is a 3 dimensional painting, somewhat darker than the rest. I have included some images of my favorite as well as some he specifically pointed out to me. I really enjoyed getting to know a little bit about Kundemor and his paintings, they are beautiful and thought provoking. Please take a moment to stop by the gallery on your next visit to Studio Genre, I am sure you will find the paintings as interesting as I did. Thats all for now, until next time...Tessa1 Beck.

Tessa Chat's With Strum Diesel

 Hi Kasbah friends and fans! It's time for another Chat with Tessa! This time I sat down with Strum Diesel to learn a little bit more about this awesome SL performer. I have had the pleasure of attending several of Strums shows, but I must admit it was fairly recently, so I didn't really know too much about him. I decided to start at the beginning and asked Strum how he got started in SL music. Strum said that a little over two years ago his RL friend, DJ Deere, aka as Fantasy2u Deere in SL, began mentioning Second Life to him. It was probably 6 months of DJ talking it up before he actually gave it a try. He had become burned out, performing way too often in RL for far too little appreciation, so he decided to take a break, lucky for us, he popped into SL! "I was really lucky, right off the bat I met  Valeria Paster and she helped me get set up to stream, I had a lot of help, met so many nice people at first...I started performing and never stopped.....in fact I think I went a little crazy, played too much...I actually sprained a tendon in my hand and had to stay off the guitar....thats how I began using the piano in my performances." I know I for one am really glad he did!

    
         Speaking of performances, I was curious about Strum's RL shows and how SL might have had an impact on how he approaches them now. He shared with me that when he first started in SL he really was burned out from the RL music scene, doing 4 hour gigs and really not feeling like he had been heard as a writer or an artist. The first thing he noticed in SL was how much more receptive the people are, how much more appreciated he felt as an artist and it really boosted his confidence. Now, when he performs in RL he says he thinks there is an overall improvement in his stage presence, a confidence he didn't have before. He went on to say, " Knowing people WANT to hear what I have to say has really helped...in fact, the first contest I entered in RL since joining SL I won!" I could feel the enthusiasm and appreciation for SL Strum has when he said, "It has really helped my writing, I feel like I am connecting with the people and it gives me more motivation! You can't beat the energy and many times a simple show turns out to be much more like a party!"

         The first time I attended one of Strum's "parties" I noticed his signature green hair...you know me, I had to ask about it! He was gracious enough to explain to me in detail how he enjoys changing the color of his hair in RL and that in SL the avatar is what we see as the perfect "us". He said green is the color his hair is now, and that it is his favorite color. He also believes in the power of colors and that green is known to bring fortune and good luck. Strum also said something I thought was so important in this day and age of computers and virtual worlds..."We need to stay connected to nature...we are heading into a virtual existence and it is vital that we keep in touch with the real world around us."

           I was really impressed with Strums views and it  brought me to thinking about some of his other views, more specifically, his political views. I had noticed that many of Strum's original songs have very strong political messages and I asked him if he used SL as a platform to get his messages out there. Without a moments pause he said "Yes, absolutely yes!" He explained how SL is full of people from everywhere and with his songs they can connect experiences...how any song with a political quality comes from his own experiences. He quoted Ani Difranco..."the personal is political and the function of art is to comment on society" he said one of his goals is to maybe not give people answers to their questions, but to inspire them to search for those answers. "SL is a great tool to reach people and to learn about what is happening politically all over the world" It was refreshing to speak to someone so in touch with what he believes in and so willing to share those beliefs with the rest of us.

            With such a strong desire to share his message  I was curious what might be coming up next for this interesting and animated performer. "I am playing a little less, trying to get the next album underway. I already released an album earlier this year....in the new album the songs are very connected SL and I want to capture the energy I feel from the audience" He also told me that there has been some talk about him going to Scotland, possibly late winter of next year...if that works out, he may even book more shows and possibly make it a tour of Europe. Strum can be seen most Saturday nights at the Kasbah! He is also doing the Fire and Ice show for Diabetes, taking place today from 3 to 9pm SL...a benefit being run by Mandy Ornamental at the Fire and Ice Club, all proceeds go to RL diabetes research, so be sure and catch him there if you are able!http://thestreamteam2.serverroom.us:8884
      
            If you are a fan you know that the relationship between fans and SL performers is unique. I asked Strum his thoughts on his fans in SL and WOW he really opened up to how he feels about SL and his fans. He expressed to me how incredible it is to know that people come to listen to you because they like what you have to say, how you sound..."so many times in RL the people at the shows are friends, or friends of friends that feel obligated to come...in SL, the people come not because they are your friends but because they WANT to hear you." He marveled at the generosity of his fans, even how he worries sometimes that they over indulge him. He raved about venue owners that will sometimes go over and above, turning the entire stage green, encouraging guests to wear green...how much he appreciates those ways the fans connect with him.  We talked about how wonderful it is to be able to touch someone with your music, people you might never reach if it were not for the SL platform.

           Strum really has a strong connection to his fans and I felt he would be the perfect person to ask my favorite last question to..."Do you have anything you would like to say to your friends and fans before we close?" I felt the smile, the warmth as he said "I have said it so much and I will never be able to say it enough...thank you for hearing me, for understanding, connecting to me...for buying my records and my groceries and putting up with me when I am acting like a total rockstar LOL...I am so glad you are all along for the ride!" I don't think you can truly aprreciate those words without actually hearing them...the chat was lovely...I love my job! Thats all for now, until next time...Tessa1 Beck

Scruplz Live Music Event @ Kasbah

Hi all you lovers of live music! Tonight was an amazing night at The Kasbah! Scruplz sponsored 4 hours of live music to launch their new publication, The Scene. It is a directory listing active live musicians and live music venues across the grid with advertisements 100% focused on live music.  It will be a constant work in progress with improvements as times goes on making it more and more useful to the live music community in Second Life.  To celebrate this awesome new addition to Live music they put together a thrilling lineup! Guitar Zane opened the evening, launching into some of the best guitar playing I have heard in a long time! He did some really great covers from such greats as  3 Doors Down and my personal favorite, his cover of Heartless by Kanye West. He was really able to let loose and showcase his vocal abilities! Halfway through his set the place was packed and everyone enjoyed the originals he shared with us as well as the covers! Before we knew it, the hour was up and time for another awesome musician to take the stage...Maximillion Kleene, one of SL's shining stars, was ready to go, diving into his first song with the enthusiasm we have all come to expect. His set was filled with covers from some of our favorite bands and solo artists. There is little better in SL music than listening to Max, but as soon as that thought came to me...he upped the anty inviting Raspbury Rearwin to join him onstage for a bit of dual streaming! The two good friends performed together some really fun songs and through it all maintained a constant stream of amusing banter. They ended their set together with a dedication to me...playing one of my all time favorite songs, I Don't Want To Lose You Yet by Steve Earle. Max left the stage to huge applause, thanking everybody as he went. Raspbury continued on with his solo set never missing a beat. We were treated to some of his original songs and covers, all with the usual Raspy twist! Someone once said about Raspbury.."Yeah, he is fun, but when he whispers....there is nothing like it!" We got to hear a little of that whisper with his cover of Closer. All too soon it was time to say goodbye to Raspbury and hello to the final performer of the evening...CraigLyons Writer. Craig was new to the Kasbah stage and he was welcomed in the usual Kasbah style. He had live video running so we could watch as he performed some really wonderful covers and great originals! Craigs audience comes equipped with loads of fun gestures including the stomp stomp clap, one of my favorites. It was nice to hear that Craig still donates a portion of his tips to Global Green and he even showed a short video featuring Global Green during his set. His last song was one of my favorites and he played it for one of his group members, a special version of a John Lennon song, Across the Universe. Craig does that song to perfection and the crowd went wild. There were fireworks and lots of gestures flying! It was a great end to a wonderful night of live music at the Kasbah! Be sure to grab your copy of The Scene so you can be informed of all the exciting things SL live music has to offer! Thanks to Scruplz for sponsoring this wonderful event and for bringing us all together again!