J&J’s Dozen Roses with ZED ESSEX

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The editor and I want to hear what the musicians have to say, so we developed ‘J&J’s Dozen Roses’. Twelve questions we thought the musician should answer. Zed Essex has agreed and here is our current installment.
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Th: Music in Second Life® has been slow to start, most artists have only been in Second Life® less than a year, how long have you been performing and how long have you been performing in Second Life®?

ZE: A Little over 2 years now.

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Th: I know that categorizing a performer is always something that is hard to do, so tell me. How would you categorize your style of music?

ZE: Well the music I play is of various styles! But I guess Rock Acoustic Singer sums it up in a misleading little package!

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Th: Performing in Second Life® is not easy, most artists do two or three shows a night and it’s not about the money. How many do you think you do in a month and do you want to do more?

ZE: I play between 20 and 30 shows a month, I would like to get that up to around 40 if possible, not including charity events and promotional stuff.

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Th: If you’re performing in Second Life® you’re most likely a singer primarily, any other hidden musical talents?

ZE: I can play Guitar, Bass Guitar and drums quite well. I mostly use guitar synth for keyboard sounds but I can do some basic piano / keyboard stuff as well. I used to play saxophone when I was in High school but I haven't played in years, always scouring the pawn shops for an alto sax in good shape for a good price tho!

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Th: Most artists have already been in the studio, have you and where can anyone hear or buy a sample of your music?

ZE: There are some original songs of mine on my myspace page http://www.myspace.com/zedessex. If you go to Broadjam.com and search for "shadows of the Vague" you will find some songs for purchase there as well. I will make a full length CD that includes some already recorded material, and I am currently working on a new project as well.

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Th: Avatars are a large part of Second Life®; some are Frogs, Humans, etc... What is the inspiration for your Avatar or your Second Life® Name?

ZE: I wanted a name that could be represented by one letter! The last name I chose because it was short and Essex, is a county in the province of Ontario Canada.

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Th: Everyone has a favorite song, which song is your favorite to perform and which song is most requested?

ZE: I usually have the most fun performing something I just learned, especially if it took a while and a lot of work to master it. I think my most requested songs are the ones by The Cure. My friend Pansy always requests songs by someone called Nusrat, but I don't know any.

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Th: Do you see Second Life® Live Music as a stepping stone in your music career or is this just a hobby?

ZE: I play primarily to pay for the land tier on my 3/4 of a sim in Spidermouse.

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Th: Where do you see yourself musically in a year from now?

ZE: I don't know, and I don't want to know! That would take all the mystery out it!

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Th: A lot of venues support Music in Second Life® and they work darn hard to keep music alive in Second Life® but tell me, what is your favorite spot to perform and why?

ZE: I have a few favorite spots, I like Gia's, and the Vera Italia sims as well. I have just begun playing at The Bliss Reloaded, that's a good spot as well. Club Neptune is another really good one, there are a lot of places where I feel very welcome, The Frog and Toad in Eternia is another place I can't wait to get back to. Red Rock is in that category as well. There are places I don't play at anymore that I miss like Pegleg Saloon, you'd think it would be scarier playing for vampires! I used to play at Demonic as well, I think I will look them up and see if they have anything for me!

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Th: Some find that managers are a good resource and others like the hands-on approach. Do you have a management team and can you tell us about them or if you like to do it yourself, why?

ZE: If you have a friend you can trust and they just manage YOU and YOU alone, that can be cool. Some of the Best musicians in SL work that way. Max Kleene has Joyus who does an amazing job for him as an example. I have a few people that get me bookings at different places, Annieblue Octavia books me in a few places. However I think it's never a good idea to get involved with these management companies that handle a bunch if different musicians. It gets political, even if they swear to you it won't! In my experience when you rely on these types of agents you end up with fewer shows not more shows, and you end up alienating yourself from the people that run the venues. Even the management groups that don't charge the artists any fees or have optional fees, often "play favorites" when booking artists, because they want to kiss up to them and make them feel important! Trust me I have belonged to two such groups, and even when they mean well the results are negative more often than not. In short MANAGEMENT GROUPS ARE TO BE AVOIDED!!!

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Th: And my final question is simple; there are two types of people in Second Life®. The ones that have Second Life® as Second Life® and those that separate the two. Which are you and why?

ZE: Well this is always a difficult one to answer. I guess besides the music and a very short list of friends I've met here, all other aspects of my Real life and Second life are separate.

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