Acoustic guitar players in Second Life haven't exactly pushed the limits of musical expression ... but that's not fair to all of them as there are some damn fine musicians playing acoustic guitars who do it by choice rather than simple circumstance. And two of them played at Cat's Art MusikCircus last night.
Joaquin Gustav is a performer about whom I've written many times and there's not much new I can tell you. Joaquin plays a whole lot of shows in Second Life and he's been doing it for quite a few years so his set is fairly stable in what he does. It's not a bombs and rockets kind of performance but the people coming to hear him aren't looking for explosions.
If there's one key word for describing Joaquin Gustav's performance, it would probably be 'gentle.' Even though he plays at extraordinary speed, he's got an exceptionally delicate touch to his play and this delicacy is likely what draws people back.
Maybe you're thinking just now, hey, hombre, that ain't an acoustic guitar. And, no, it's not. It looks very much like a Gibson arch top which is the standard by which other jazz guitars are judged ... but it's definitely not acoustic. However, Joaquin plays in acoustic tones and he fingerpicks which is very much a technique for acoustic guitar playing. (No, I haven't forgotten about Mark Knopfler but he's a different chapter in the story)
I thought I'd try out a couple of bubble machines for Joaquin's show and they turned out to be quite pleasant. Ozzy Osbourne's stage crew tried out bubble machines for his show and Ozzy freaked right out when he saw them: "The Prince of fucking Darkness doesn't have fucking bubbles in his show!"
Well, Joaquin isn't trying to be the Prince of Darkness and the bubbles were very nice as he played.
And so were the lasers.
Let the record show that I didn't do the lasers as Kasandra brought them. I did think they looked pretty cool, tho. Maybe you don't think lasers and bubbles work together but this is Cat's Art MusikCircus where trying different things is always encouraged.
What sets Voodoo Shilton apart is that he never stops pushing his sound in every possible direction he can. He does it with the variety of instruments he uses, the way he plays them, and his exacting standards for how they need to sound. He's been having tremendous fun with a flute and a saxophone lately and he got a different controller so he can get even more expressive with them. Some of the stuff he does is so subtle that sometimes you wouldn't know immediately that he's changed something but, on listening to his first version of a song next to the new version, you would hear it right away.
It's this kind of aggressiveness in expanding his musical cosmos that makes Voodoo a very special performer and the way he engages people who come to hear him play is another very big part of it. With Voodoo, music is much more than the notes and of course you know already it's more than the notes but knowing it and being able to play it are very far apart.
If you're looking to play at Cat's Art MusikCircus, knowing that a note is more than a dot on a page is a big part of what Cat is listening to hear. Some think her standards are too high but I am quite sure her standards are exactly what make the MusikCircus such an incredible place to play. Don't just ask me, ask anyone.
Joaquin Gustav is a performer about whom I've written many times and there's not much new I can tell you. Joaquin plays a whole lot of shows in Second Life and he's been doing it for quite a few years so his set is fairly stable in what he does. It's not a bombs and rockets kind of performance but the people coming to hear him aren't looking for explosions.
If there's one key word for describing Joaquin Gustav's performance, it would probably be 'gentle.' Even though he plays at extraordinary speed, he's got an exceptionally delicate touch to his play and this delicacy is likely what draws people back.
Maybe you're thinking just now, hey, hombre, that ain't an acoustic guitar. And, no, it's not. It looks very much like a Gibson arch top which is the standard by which other jazz guitars are judged ... but it's definitely not acoustic. However, Joaquin plays in acoustic tones and he fingerpicks which is very much a technique for acoustic guitar playing. (No, I haven't forgotten about Mark Knopfler but he's a different chapter in the story)
I thought I'd try out a couple of bubble machines for Joaquin's show and they turned out to be quite pleasant. Ozzy Osbourne's stage crew tried out bubble machines for his show and Ozzy freaked right out when he saw them: "The Prince of fucking Darkness doesn't have fucking bubbles in his show!"
Well, Joaquin isn't trying to be the Prince of Darkness and the bubbles were very nice as he played.
And so were the lasers.
Let the record show that I didn't do the lasers as Kasandra brought them. I did think they looked pretty cool, tho. Maybe you don't think lasers and bubbles work together but this is Cat's Art MusikCircus where trying different things is always encouraged.
What sets Voodoo Shilton apart is that he never stops pushing his sound in every possible direction he can. He does it with the variety of instruments he uses, the way he plays them, and his exacting standards for how they need to sound. He's been having tremendous fun with a flute and a saxophone lately and he got a different controller so he can get even more expressive with them. Some of the stuff he does is so subtle that sometimes you wouldn't know immediately that he's changed something but, on listening to his first version of a song next to the new version, you would hear it right away.
It's this kind of aggressiveness in expanding his musical cosmos that makes Voodoo a very special performer and the way he engages people who come to hear him play is another very big part of it. With Voodoo, music is much more than the notes and of course you know already it's more than the notes but knowing it and being able to play it are very far apart.
If you're looking to play at Cat's Art MusikCircus, knowing that a note is more than a dot on a page is a big part of what Cat is listening to hear. Some think her standards are too high but I am quite sure her standards are exactly what make the MusikCircus such an incredible place to play. Don't just ask me, ask anyone.
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