I finished 3 SecondLife videos in December:
Sinner's Burlesque Wonderland { H E R E } Aura's Christmas Card { H E R E } Something 'bout December { H E R E } I also completed a short piece for SineWave Space { H E R E }
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I decided that I would like to bring you some highlights of the talent in SL... Especially the lesser spotted variety :D Mark Allen Jensen in concert at Our Place 21st December 2016
I like to get out and see other performers when I can and I am always so happy to discover another talent that I have not heard before. Yesterday I went to "Our Place" to see Lisa Brune and was intrigued to stay. If I go along to listen to a familiar artist I like to try and catch a couple of the songs of the following artist as well. After all you don't know what you might be missing! Mark turned out to be well worth staying for. He has a lovely mellow guitar style with clarity and resonance; his voice is evocative of James Taylor and Gordon Lightfoot. He plays a combination of covers and his own songs. Mark classes himself as folk/rock but his sound is actually very fresh and contemporary. When I mentioned the similarity in his voice to Lightfoot he sang a wonderful rendition of "If You Could Read My Mind Love", a personal favourite of mine. Mark comes to us via satelite from Minneapolis. This is a return to SecondLife for him after 2 years. He has been writing and performing his own compositions since the age of 19 and has travelled a lot to perform. He describes his songs as "little pieces of his shredded soul". When I took a look at his website, I found a very honest and frank summary of his past. It was certainly no sunshine and rainbows. He stands out as an excellent example of someone who has used the shadows to fuel the creation of his songs. This has resulted in some really beautiful works such as "What Am I Still Doing Here?" and "If I Fail This Time", both of which can be found on the track listings of his website. Don't let this fool you into thinking that his songs are maudlin, far from it. In the words of one of his songs, "I don't want to write no sad songs..." He proved this as he played us one of his songs, "Hazel Green", which has a very catchy riff and an almost playful lyric. He does however maintain that it is all about "..the need for my soul to be heard" You can't argue with that. For someone as unassuming and humble in the words between his music, Mark sure has tremendous talent to share with the world. His use of melody and harmony make for enchanting songs. I should mention that he is also very funny; something I discovered before he even got on stage. Mark finished his performance with a cover of Adele's "Someone Like You" and did probably the most outstanding version I have heard in SL. Carry on Mark...! we are listening :) You can see a clip of Mark performing { H E R E } http://www.markjensenmusic.com - lots of content https://www.facebook.com/Markallanjensen/ To book Mark for your venue, please contact Nyna Slate-Sands either in world or on Facebook. Last night was my last concert at Smokin' Aces. The club is closing tomorrow, the 22nd of December; the latest in a string of club closures in SecondLife. I only sang there a few times but it still had me close to tears. The place has the most wonderful staff...such lovely genuine people who really care about music.
I went to see Lisa Brune there a few months back and it just happened that whoever was singing after her had to cancel, so Lisa suggested me to Jan. I jumped at the chance to get some more experience and I had an amazing time. Thomas Etzel, from The Jitterbug Club was there that night and that was how he came to hear me. Button was hostessing and she friended me and expressed an interest in having me back there for a spot of my own. These people had never really engaged with me before, but something magical happened and they reached out to me because they liked what they heard. I can't tell you how much that touched me, as it always does when I sing and someone appreciates it. I don't expect everyone to like me or what I do, but when they do, it is so special to me. YOU ALL MATTER...everyone of you. It delights me to touch someone's heart. Thank you Jan and Button for giving me that chance. I want to say that again, where people can see. You always did an amazing job, and I am sure that you will make a difference elsewhere. Please go on trying...and that goes for the rest of your staff too. I hate that clubs have to close. That is why I have said over and over, we can't be greedy as performers. This is not a real life economy where club owners can sell you a ticket. They rely on generosity. Pay it forward. Think of the bigger picture. Talking of which, Smokin' Aces always had a big picture of the Polar Express up in the club and it always made me think of "Believe" by Josh Groban. I sang it last night and a few of us were crying. Thank you for being the best club staff that you could be, and remember: "Believe in what you feel inside And give your dreams the wings to fly You have everything you need If you just believe... Destinations Are where we begin again" Oh bugger, I need another tissue! So much has happened in the last month in SL and RL that it's been a bit hard to keep up with everything, but I am trying! Thank you to everyone who has given me so much support and been so understanding. The Winter Wonderland at Sinner's Burlesque took some focus and then making a couple of videos. You can find my Video Christmas card to you all HERE So last night we had an awesome event with Lisa Brune and myself in the Ice Caves. It's coming up to my one year mark singing in SL. Last year I didn't get to do any Christmas songs so last night was my first proper set with a a few surprises ;) As always, It was great to perform with Lisa and she sounded better than ever last night. I think the Ice caves have very good acoustics ha! Thanks to all of you who attended. I hope you had as good a time as we did! Lisa Brune wows the crowd!
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