Poetry, Live music with Shannon Oherhily & Tukso Okey: Triple Dose of Fun at SpeakEasy

What an amazing Sunday! I knew the day was going to be packed since I put the schedule together but when the day finally arrived, I was beyond excited. First up, we had our regular scheduled open mic poetry at SpeakEasy with writers of all genres. Lemonodo Oh opened the hour with two wonderful poems. I must say he's always ready to share and rarely reads the same pieces twice. Second Life was acting up and for the life of me could not get voice to work. I pass the mic to Anamaria who has a knack for reading some of the thought provoking poems I've ever heard. I can't say enough about how brilliantly talented she is! After many voice reset, I was finally able to take the floor to read. I shared this week's 100 word challenge. The word was "smoke." I had to sleep on that one a bit before I came up with Lola's new adventure at work. I also read several poems from poetry 180, a program that encourages high school students to read a poem a day. I do quite a bit of digging for new poems or stories in preparation for hosting the open mics. I randomly chose a few from the website that I found intriguing. Before I knew it, the hour was over and it was time for our 2 hour live music concert to start.

Singer/Songwriter Shannon Oherhily is featured at SpeakEasy on the first Sunday of the month and is a favorite at Four Bridges. She never disappoints. This Sunday was no exception. She sang one of my favorites, "Emotional Vampire" and a few other deep songs. It was awesome hour of live music. Lot of friends and new faces in the crowd. Carl and Drumstick dropped by. millay Freschi (Founder of Four Bridges) and Orb Thursday were also in the audience. Yay!  

For the third hour of marathon Sunday at SpeakEasy, Musician Tukso Okey, guitar king, took the stage. I've been anticipating this concert for a few days and was on cloud 9 when the date was confirmed.  Padula Bing, Tukso's Manager was the first few to arrive. Becca from his street team was also in the crowd. Shepp and Kari, two friends that I often see at live music venues joined the party. I even got a little birthday smooch from Shepp. lol     This was such a fun hour of Tukso madness and awesomeness. He ROCKED it out! This blog entry won't do justice to the experience. That means you have to come to one of the upcoming shows to get a dose of Tukso live and loud.
I later realized an hour is just not enough to soak into Tukso's music, especially on a special occasion like a celebration. Like in in real life, all good things in moderation. I'm satisfied until the next concert is announced:)
I was happy that the reading and performances have exceeded my expectations. Plus, everyone told me they had a great time:)
On that happy note, I invite you to tp over next Sunday at 11am slt to enjoy hours of poetry and live music. CECI Dover performs live at noon slt. You do not want to miss her debut at SpeakEasy!

Musician Tukso Okey Live at SpeakEasy: May 6!

As many of you may know, I kicked off a month long celebration on April 29 to celebrate my birthday through the end of May! I'm also celebrating the 1st Anniversary of hosting open mic  and live music at Four Bridges. Yay! Some people relax on their birthday, I plan more events and launch new venues:) So this Sunday, Tukso will finally debut at Four Bridges/SpeakEasy as part of my Red Hot Celebration. If you're a fan or never experience Tukso before, this is the venue you want to be at on May 6 at 1pm slt sharp.
When I first started this blog, I promised or hinted I would devote a whole entry to one of my all time favorite musicians in Second Life, the guitar god himself, Tukso Okey. I try to attend as many of his concerts as my schedule allows. The shows are my energy boost but mostly to party with him and the best fan group ever.
I know I'm a little biased but I always feel better the moment I hit the dance floor whether with my own silly dance animations or lucky enough to be in someone's dance hud. Tukso's fans know how to have a rockin' good time (whispers: you know who I'm talking about!).
So let me go back to how I first experienced Tukso magic...In 2011, I attended a concert at Lavender Field where Tukso was performing to support Feed a Smile managed by Brique Topaz. I could not believe his electrifying presence  and performance live.  I now call it, "musical spell at first riff." OMG! That guitar, his voice and just the cheer rawness of his performance that day was unbelievable. I was also impressed  of his support of such an amazing organization that provides resources for poor children. I wanted to spread the word about him and his charity of choice. A few weeks later, Brique was a guest on my rl show and we chatted a bit about Tukso's upcoming performances for the charity in second life. I then joined his group so I could get a second dose of  his music. Little did I know that two doses would turn into a lifetime fan and a friend:) Every show has a little twist and fun surprises that brings me back to that concert. That day I increased my computer volume to the maximum. Experiencing Tukso is best loud and live (you know what I mean lol). Although I would never ever call myself a party girl in rl but when I'm at any of his concerts, movement is a must! I also write whatever comes to mind or what I'm feeling in local chat which at times is not always legible but fans know exactly what I mean lol
So, when I'm there I lose myself in Tukso's energy, his voice, words, screams and guitar riffs. Within minutes, I have shed all the day/week's grind to feel renewed sense of excitement, serenity and fittingly part of an extended family. One element of the Tukso experience that never fails is a lack of deja-vu at his concerts. I'm still surprised by his sets and song selecions as if I were listening to him back at my first concert. Naturally, I included Tukso as part of the line for my month long celebration this year, as he is one of the best reasons being in Second Life, is still meaningful.

Open Mic poetry at Four Bridges & Mrmulti at NPC!

What a weekend I had? Sunday is becoming my busiest day of the week which has actually made Monday more bearable. On April 29, I held a community meeting at Four Bridges to connect with members and find out what everyone has been working on. Since we just celebrated Earth Day, I invited Carl to join us to provide a brief update of all the festivities he was involved in. Based on his report, the drum circle at Feed a smile was a major success and fun too. There will be a weekly drum circle on Sundays at 8am slt in second life. This time was chosen to avoid the start of poetry marathon at 9am in second life (many people are quickly discovering this). I thought the session went well and I made a few more announcement of whats to come in May at Four Bridges.

At 11am slt, our open mic poetry quickly started with Lemonodo oh who's already read the most versatile poetry selections. Although I was somewhat ready, I prefer hearing other first while I warm up a bit. I woke that morning listening to Billie Holiday and then proceeded to Ana Difranco, exactly in that order. I was taken by the lyrics of "fuel" and played the song several times to explore the possibility of reading it out loud. I decided they would be perfect for the crowd at SpeakEasy but was a bit reluctant about my ability to do the piece justice. So I held back and pass the mic to Anamaria who read 2 amazing poems of her own. Ana had to leave a little early to head to DNA for their poetry reading. She was the featured poet. She's brilliant and has the voice to match. I knew she would dazzle the crowd with her selections:)
A few more readers shared their favorite poems and other genres. I decided to read "fuel" and my 100 word challenge. "Fuel" was definitely a mouthful but really enjoyed sharing it with the audience. Ani also can sing that song with such intensity that the lyrics hit home every time I listen to it. So, the word of the week for the challenge was "hotel." I guess it's called a challenge for a reason because it took me till the wee morning hour to finish this over the weekend. It's such a relief when I send it to crap and know it's off my writing list but really worth it when I see the final product from 1 random word. You can read my entry below and let me know what you think:

"Hotels are often portrayed as luxurious hideaways, vacation escapes for the rich and famous. A safe house for celebrities and an escape from the scandals and unspeakable behaviors that often accompany them. A code of silence between the guests and skilled laborers provides protection for all. Laborers, the common populace that is forced to clean up afterwards, while smiling. Lola knows firsthand the irreparable damages of guests gone badly behind closed doors. She knows the sweat, and sore feet needed to protect them. She also knows what doesn't stay hidden, isolation, anger, addiction, desperation, loneliness, all disguised as high life."

The day is not over yet readers. At 12pm slt, I head over to NPC to launch my month long Red Hot celebration for my birthday. Yay! MrMulti is the featured performer of the hour at my NPC parcel to promote my work with the Girls' Project in sl. This is his second time on the sim to celebrate an important day in my life. As you may recall, he was one of the performers for my rezz day event as well with Annan Dreamscape.  Mic is a fun perform to listen to and of course dance to his music. He did all originals for a whole hour which was awesome! A lot of friends popped over, including, Carl, Brokali, Sevi, Drumstick and some new faces as well. Meetu Writer, his manager, was also there and its her birthday too which I learned while at Guthrie's for his 10am slt show. Mic sang Happy Birthday to both of us. Very sweet:)
I danced for most of the hour except when I crashed which is always a challenge while hosting events but I'm so used to it now, I just logged right back in. Needless to say, the hour flew by and the launch of my celebration is off to a great start!

Next Sunday, May 6, Shannon Oherhily (noon slt) & Tukso Okey (1pm slt) will continue the Red Hot Celebration at Four Bridges/SpeakEasy. You do not want to miss this show!
 

Earth Day Celebration in Second Life

On April 22, our open mic poetry at Four Bridges/SpeakEasy, celebrated Mother Earth! We also recognized the urgency to continue our collective efforts to protect and preserve the environment. So much more can be done on a daily basis to ensure we seize to overuse our natural resources. Given every Sunday, we share the written word to inspire, educate, connect and just add a dose of relaxation to our weekend. We were happy to include Earth Day as part of this week's theme. Many residents read poetry and other genres reflecting Earth Day in some way. Our practice is not to restrict our readers, so they can still read whatever moves them that morning.  I was lucky again to be joined by Microfiction writer Brokali, who read a special short piece that he wrote for the occasion. I was grateful that most in attendance were able to find something in their inventory or their own  writing to share.
I also read a few pieces I found online and 2 of my own that fits the occasion perfectly. I've included 1 stanza from the poem "Leaves" and "Fish."  I also read "moon" which was this week's 100 word challenge with crap mariner. We had many other readers as well. Carl Solutionary read 2 pieces specifically about Earth Day. Medora Chevalier also shared a brilliant piece. Anamaria, a regular at SpeakEasy, also read some of her favorite poems and of course found one that covers our theme of the day. I was happy to see Orb Thursday, 4B member and designer extraordinaire, joined us. She has designed a large portion of the four bridges sim, including the 4B town center, which includes the speakeasy space.
As you can see, you never know who you will run into at our open mics and events. I hope one of these Sundays, if you haven't yet, you'll pop over for the hour. I would love to see you:)

Poetry & First Sunday with Shannon Oherhily at SpeakEasy

Another exciting Sunday at SpeakEasy with Open Mic poetry at 11am slt. I was joined by co-host Brokali Resident, known for his thought-provoking microfiction stories. He was his usual funny self and engage the crowd between readers. I read this week's 100 word challenge with the word "hug." I usually don't know what I'm going to write until about Friday or Saturday. Sometimes I'm making changes as I'm emailing it to crap mariner for his podcast. I must admit I'm happy with what I wrote this week. Sevi and Brokali also read their version of the challenge during the hour. We were pleased to have Anamaria joined us and read a few of her favorite poems. She has a few that she will confess that "she's obsessed with." After hearing her read them so beautifully, I'm beyond obsessed with her selections. Even Brokali, who's quick to say he's not a poet threw in a "wow" after listening to Anamaria's reading. DangerDave, another awesome SL writer, also popped over for the first time at SpeakEasy but did not read.  I hope to see him again if rl does not interfere. Lemonodo read a few poems in several languages including: German and Italian. It's always a treat to hear literary works in other languages. We have a few French writers who typically do the honors but Lemonodo has broken the record for the most languages read in 1 hour. Naturally the hour flew by as we enjoyed hearing various individuals read both poetry and microfiction.
At noon slt, Shannon Oherhily took the stage for her live performance. It's First Sunday! Yay! We're always happy to have Shannon sing her heart-felt originals and covers. Maurice, her manager was also at SpeakEasy. Many of her fans tp over for the concert. Carmel was in the crowd, another amazing SL artist. I will definitely invite her to debut at 4B in the new future. I love hearing Shannon's stories between songs which are not always funny but memorable. She once lost her guitar in Montreal while traveling. Montreal is one of my favorite cities but I wouldn't want to leave any of my possessions behind:( Shannon did a great set filled with favorites of fans and a few originals in the mix.  With the end of the concert, we closed an awesome 2 hour of open mic and live music at SpeakEasy!

Join us every Sunday at 11am slt at SpeakEasy for poetry & microfiction. Shannon will be back next month for another laid back Sunday concert.

100 word challenge "hug"

This week's word is "hug." This turns out to be a fun word to play with. Lola continues her surprising adventures in the city. Many of you have read previous stories with Lola as the main character. I will read this entry during my open mic on Sunday, at SpeakEasy, 11am slt. Check out the entry and recording.

Lola doesn't often hug. She hugs friends on special occasions, or to comfort a good girlfriend after a blindsided break up. Other people seem to hug everywhere. Airports, train stations, restaurants, clubs are all notorious for sudden thoughtless embraces. Most movies include at least one oddly placed embrace. But still, Lola thinks hugs should be reserved for crisis, or only when desperately needed. Until recently,with the start of an intense romance. She has found serenity in her lover's bounty of hugs. And needs no reason to open her arms.She realizes now a hug is an extension of heart.

 

100 word challenge "sick"

This week's word is "sick." Check out the entry and recording.

Lola was on alert to fight back sneaky germs during the flu season. She stocked on multi-vitamins, ginger roots and cold medications for a month's worth. She's been exposed to some sick zombies leaking fluids from everywhere. On the trains, she noticed some couldn't breathe. While few were always on the brink of sneezing. Others were coughing non-stop in their oversized coats with tissues on the other hand. The rest were too weak to even dry their red droopy eyes.  Lola was determined to beat these viruses before plotting and snatching their chance to trap her to a sick bed.