Zak Claxton Goes Mixed Reality for his Album Release Party

Zak Claxton's Album Release Party Goes Mixed Reality (Real Life and Second Life) Live.

Zak: "This was the first time I did a hybrid show that hit both a real life audience and an SL crowd at the same time. I found that I wanted to be able to pay more attention to my digital fans who hung around during the show, but the real people had to take precedence. NO matter, it was fun for everyone."

Check out the videos and pictures of the event on Zak Claxton's Blog here:

Album release party at The Bean Counter (12.11.09)

 

Extreme Reality Halloween Party - October 30th, 2009 - 6pm-10pm (slt)

Witches, Goblins and Ghosts! Oh My!
Halloween Party at Extreme Reality

October 30, 2009 - 6:00 - 10:00 PM SLT
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Mystical Island/161/88/21

Holy Sheet! It’s a Halloween party for the BOO-tiful people!
It's is going to be so much fun, its scary!!!!

Dress up (of course!) and drop in for Halloween treats, sweets and witches’ brew. We will have prizes, lindens and gift certificates for all the fang-tastic contests and spooktacular events.

Hydra Shaftoe will find out if you are scary smart with plenty of fun Halloween trivia : history, customs and traditions.

Come race pumpkin boats on the beach, try your luck at the lucky pumpkin patch, apple bob, visit the haunted grave yard, shoot zombies with your pumpkin thrower and dance the night away!

MUSIC PERFORMANCES BY:

6 PM Slim Warrior
Eclectic and original mixture of songs composed and produced herself from Ambient to Dance. Slimmie has a unique presentation and style for each of her shows.

7 PM Doubledown Tandino
Doubledown Tandino performs a unique blend of live electronica rock fusion using a combo of beat machines, sequencers and technological sophistication.

8 PM Zak Claxton
Both unique and entertaining, Live music performer Zak Claxton performs his own original music with guitar (and the occasional harmonica).  Zak Claxton's Post

9 PM Eris
DJ, audio mixologist and Total Fusion CEO one of SL's leading promotional entertainment companies will present a total mind funk experience

BYOB - Bring Your Own BOOS and come eat, drink and be scary! Let's have a great time carving out this Halloween Party and have a horrifically fab time! Make sure you wear your Halloweener poofer present from ArminasX Electric Pixels!* Keep your pumpkin thrower close to you! Never know who will spook you!*
Any questions? Contact Bevan Whitfield in SL!

* presents in the SL object invitation that was sent out
if you didn't get one, please contact Bevan Whitfield or Mystical Demina


Chestnut's Choices: 10/29 - 11/4

The Making of a New Song (Part 1) by Zak Claxton

The Making of a New Song (Part 1)

by Zak Claxton 

 

I've had a lot of people over the years ask me about my songwriting process, and I never feel like I have a good answer for them. I'm also not at all sure that my process of writing a song is like anyone else's. Songwriting is kind of a private affair, and it seems to me that even in the great collaborative teams (Lennon/McCartney, Jagger/Richards, Rodgers/Hammerstein and so on), you have one guy who's the lyricist and another guy that does the music. In cases where both people do both jobs, they rarely do them together. I know it's neat to imagine multiple people assembling this audible work of art, but even in those Beatles tunes that John and Paul actually worked on together, almost all of them had Paul writing the verse and chorus, and John contributing the bridge, or vice-versa. It's not like they were sitting together saying, "Ooh, make the next chord a G minor!" and so on. Ultimately, creativity is a solo gig, at least in the initial stage... a one-person deal.

Anyway, since I'm in the process of writing songs for the next album (even though the first one hasn't hit the streets yet), I thought I'd share what my version of songwriting is all about. By the way, while I hate the fact that I have to write this, everything you hear here is copyrighted by me, Zak Claxton. This blog post is date/time stamped, obviously, so don't get any funny ideas about borrowing this little tune. I do like to share; I don't like to get ripped off. Enough said.

1. The Idea...

[READ THE FULL ARTICLE BY ZAK CLAXTON HERE] 


Zak Claxton : Demo Song Video

Business of Music in the Metaverse (via Pixelsandpolicy.com)

Zak Claxton and the Business of Music in the Metaverse
via Pixels and Policy

                 Zak Claxton: Live in Second Life

Could major radio stations soon be playing the music of artists best known for their Second Life avatars?

If one well-known Metaverse rocker has his way, the tunes that have players lining up in the virtual world will soon find their way into a real-world album release.

Zak Claxton is a big deal in Second Life. His live music performances and audience-pleasing style have over the years grown into a true fan following. So when Claxton had to decide whether to release his first real-world album using his real name or the Claxton nomme de Metaverse, the choice was easy.

Pixels and Policy spoke with Claxton to find out why virtual music is bringing him real recognition.

Synthetic Solo Artist

Claxton is one of a growing number of avatars turning the expansive Metaverse into a stage for their passions and talents. From heavily publicized art showings to lectures on economics, real-world entrepreneurs are unleashing their creativity and expertise on the virtual frontier.

Claxton's muse is the guitar, and he has courted the possibility of turning his Second Life performances into a real-world album from an early stage. In the real world, Claxton helped produce the successful albums of other performers while engaging in his Second Life hobby.

"The mesh of reality and SL came when I made the decision to record and release the album as Zak Claxton," Claxton told Pixels and Policy. "I've built a nice-sized global audience that would never have been possible as an independent singer-songwriter." Claxton is proud to say that more listeners know him as Zak Claxton than as his real-life persona.

Three years after his entry into Second Life, the virtual guitarist has a mastered CD and a scheduled a December 11, 2009 release date for his first record, "Zak Claxton."

Taking Virtual Music Global

In 2008, Wagner James Au of New World Notes reported on blues performer Von Johin, an avatar that landed a record deal through boutique firm Reality Entertainment.

At the time, Johin was one of the biggest musical draws in Second Life. His music continues to draw huge crowds at Muse Isle, and Johin's three-week "hiatus" led to a well-attended three hour "farewell set."

Claxton follows Johin by recording solely using a Second Life name: "Everything I'm doing musically now, in both real life and in virtual worlds and all over the web, is under the Zak Claxton name," Claxton told us. "It's less confusing for my audience, and the songs I'm currently performing have all been created while I've been performing as Zak.

The release of Claxton's eponymous debut album will almost certainly have a heavy Second Life presence, and if the growing popularity of digital musicians continues apace with the growth of virtual worlds, major record labels may soon see commercial potential in artists like Claxton.

As artists like Zak Claxton and Von Johin break through the distribution barrier of real world music by building an audience in the metaverse, the observer is left to wonder how long is left until established real-world performers bring their music and production teams to Second Life for virtual performances on a large scale.

[Article Via Pixels and Policy]

Zak Claxton's Thoughts on Music Venue Cover Charges in Second Life

Zak weighs in on Second Life Cover Charges
by Zak Claxton: via http://zakclaxton.blogspot.com

"Since everybody and their respective monkeys have offered an opinion on the proposals to standardize cover charges at Second Life live music shows, I felt a need to add my L$10 to the fray. Don't worry; I don't think you'll find anything particularly inflammatory or controversial here. Just a few thoughts on the topic. First, the background.

Flame On!
Late last month, the Second Life Newspaper ran an article on a cover charge system that was brought up by a fellow SL musician, Mankind Tracer. Note that I said "brought up"; he's hardly the first person to suggest this plan, nor the first to implement it. But he seems to be the focus of the controversy for current go-round of the idea that SL audiences should pay a cover charge to see live music events, as opposed to relying on people's desire to tip artists and venues on their own accord.

Why is this even being considered?
Pretty simple answer to a complex situation: it's getting harder and harder for venues to pay performing musicians. Many venues that formerly offered a fee to musicians found themselves unable to do so for various reasons, and one of two things happened; they either closed their stages, or they convinced the musicians that performing for tips only was in the best interest of everyone. So today, the majority of places you go to see live music in SL do NOT pay their musicians (but some still do... more on that in a bit).

So, according to the article, Mankind Tracer's plan would have a preset entry fee, enforced by a "bouncer bot" that would eject non-paying residents from shows. He initially suggested a ticket price of L$500 (about two US dollars, for those of you unfamiliar with SL's in-world currency) for an artist of his caliber, from which a 20% portion of the total take would go to the venue. Sounds pretty good on paper, at least for the artist and the venue, right? Let's say Mankind gets 30 people to come to the show at L$500 a pop. The evening grosses L$15,000, the venue takes $3,000, and everybody is happy, right?

Nope.
Here's why this system is not going to work for most artists, venues, and (most importantly) audiences in SL live music. In no particular order... "

READ THE FULL STORY HERE: 
Zak weighs in on Second Life Cover Charges

The Art of Zak Claxton - Art Opening and Ball - August 10th, 2008 - 2pm (slt)

August Art Opening and Ball: The art of Zak Claxton

August 10th, 2008 - 2pm (slt)

SLNE is pleased to announce the opening of our newest exhibit on Nantucket Town Square, Sunday the 10th August.

This new show will feature the wonderful creations of Zak Claxton, a professional (first life) musician, writer and artist. Kicking off the event will be a formal gala ball beginning at 2:00 SLT.

Zak is a self-described 21st century renaissance man, and has based his entire life around fanning the creative flame. While basing his career around graphic arts and web design, he has also spent over 20 years as a touring and recording musician and singer-songwriter. Combining his passions, his real life company does marketing and design work for the music industry.

Zak's artistic influences span several schools of art, from pop artists like Haring and Lichtenstein to nonrepresentational and surrealistic influences like Mondrian, Magritte, Dali, and others. Claxton's work ranges from geometrical precision to cartoonish illustration, with his medium of choice being the Macintosh computer, the mouse, and Photoshop (though he still occasionally turns to pencils, oils, and cameras to build elements of his pieces). Recurring subjects of Claxton's pieces include locales around his Southern California home, as well as everyday objects both serene and nightmarish. Much like the spawning of his original music, Zak only creates artwork when inspired to do so, never sitting down to "try" and create visual art. Find out more about him at http://www.zakclaxton.com/.

Written by Signey Gustafson Tuesday, 29 July 2008 18:17

Zak Claxton - Second Life Performer - Promo 2008 Video

Zak Claxton is a Los Angeles-based songwriter, singer, and multi-instrumentalist whose self-titled debut album is in the midst of being created, during spring and summer 2008, with an anticipated release date this fall. Check out a preview of his new releases HERE

Electronic Musician's Feature Article on Playing Concerts in Second Life by Jeff Klopmeyer (a.k.a. Zak Claxton)

"Playing Concerts in Second Life"
Mar 1, 2008 12:00 PM, By Jeff Klopmeyer

Picture this: you're at a gig, tuning up your guitar, when suddenly an 8-foot-tall, pointy-eared gothic elf flies into the room. He is greeted by a purple-skinned, scantily clad woman, who then teleports herself into a seat near the stage.

No, you're not hallucinating. You've entered the online world of Second Life (http://www.secondlife.com/), which is quickly becoming a popular new place for musicians to perform live in front of appreciative audiences.

READ ON HERE

The Doubledown Tandino 2-Year Rez Day Superfest - Sunday March 9th, 2008

The Doubledown Tandino 2-Year Rez Day Superfest - Sunday March 9th, 2008

Photo by Crap Mariner'