The Numbers don’t Lie February started out with the pre-groundhog day grand opening of Journey Island in SL. The numbers were impressive and support the feelings of the sim managers and Journey, that the grand opening was a success. To greet the fans in their first 3D virtual world endeavor were Ross Valory of Journey and the island managers Farrokh Vavoom and his SL (as well as RL) wife, Argus Collingwood, Adrian Harbinger and his SL (also RL) wife Jocelyn Sands. Farrokh and Argus, the owners of Industrial-Design.com, have been the web developers for Journey for many years. Having taken their talents and energy, combined with those of Adrian and Jocelyn, and put them into the creation of Journey Island, it was only natural that Journey would bring their musical talent from the real world into Second Life. Adrian Harbinger, founder and co-owner of Harbinger’s Haven Builder’s Sandbox in SL, is a RL sculptor as well as a SL sculptor. His work is evident on Journey Island as well as many other places around Second Life. “I am passionate about building in-world”, Adrian says, having sculpted all the Journey albums you will see on Journey Island. All other sculptures are at the hand of Adrian Harbinger as well. Jocelyn Sands, assisting with the building, the voice-overs for the smaller builders called nests, also DJ’ed with Farrokh for the grand opening. Asked how the idea of Journey Island in Second Life was conceived, Farrokh Vavoom says, “The band decided to take a year off after a very long tour. So we had the opportunity for the first time in many years to start over with the website [www.journeymusic.com]. I floated the idea of a Journey island in second life and to my surprise they said yes let’s do it!” This is not surprising since Journey has “always been on the cutting edge of technology”, adds Argus. There are many plans for the development of Journey Island as well as events for fans to participate in and as Farrokh tells us, “Neal Schon our guitarist has already asked me to build him a studio here so he can share new ideas with fans. He wants a place where he can interact at will from his home studio.” A regular schedule of events will be available soon. As an excited Farrokh announces, “We hope to be able to stream some rehearsals and stuff like that”, Argus tells us that many Journey forum members have already become SL residents with enthusiasm. The fans are “charged” with anticipation of getting a chat with a band member on Journey Island and Farrokh states “More and more bands have Internet access on the bus and while they are on the road they have a lot of free time to indulge things like this, so bus concerts are a [viable] possibility.” It would seem our chances of getting that chat with a band member are more real than one might think as Neal Schon had been at the Island every night for the 3 nights leading up to the grand opening. Reporting from Escape Club on Journey Island (130.200.43 - mature) http://slurl.com/secondlife/Journey%20Rock%20Band/130/200/43
Submitted by Rocket Flasheart

Second Life is absolutely music-filled but not all the gigs are distinguishing and worthy of the time spent by people in attending them:going around through the several venues that host live events sometimes it happens , thankfully ,to hit on something really special: last sunday i went at the great opening of an italian venue, Italian Beach Jazz Club and what i assisted to it’s been really amazing, Luigi Vandeverre,the owner of the land, supported by the live event manager Sandy Demina organised a 4 hours live music event that has caught the attention of almost 300 avatars:the show started with the performance of CTM Underwood who warmed up the atmosphere thanks to oldies, classic rock, country, jazz, party songs.He has been playing venues in the USA since the early 70’s and loves the same music many avatars grew up listening to.He played , Billy Joel, Elton John, Eagles, Kansas, Chicago, The Alan Parsons Project, Pink Floyd.:and everyone at the club enjoyed both the music and the funny animations that the artist had brought in order to allow everyone to dance and have fun! After this delightful introduction it’s been the turn of two wonderful ladies of SL music:Juel Resistance and Cylindrian Rutabaga they played some wonderful songs both originals( I especially appreciated Cyl- Grace Buford’s: Phoenix Rising and Into the Water and Suzen Juel’s Ordinary Lie and Rhytm of redemption) and covers. I’d like to say somethg about the importance that musicians playing covers in SL as well as in RL have to be able to perform in an absolutely personal way !Pink Floyd’s “Wish you were here”,Metallica’s “Nohing else matters”,Tori Amos “Cornflake girl” in the interpretation of these two ladies appeared to us actually in a brand new way,in a new looking dimension able to arouse nice vibes in the atmosphere ! The highest level of the show has been reached when Juel and Cyl started singing together in such amazing duets that were able to show clearly both the peculiarities and at the same time the magical according of their voices.When the artists started singing together Leonard Cohen’s “Alleluja” everyone felt emotionally involved because something really unusual was happening:two singers were dueting in SL although they were so distant in RL,Juel streaming from Minneapolis(MI) and Cylindrian from Atlanta(GA)! After the show I asked Cyilindrian how could it be possible for them to play together in SL and she told me that doing a duet of that kind is technically very difficult. The “lead” stream cannot hear the second stream. The Second Stream is responsible for the “mix” and making sure that both voices are balanced. This is extremely difficult to do because what one was hearing in her moniter was different than what the stream picks up so they have to record the mix, listen, and make adjustments based on the stream mix. Cylindrian sayed to me:”I loved doing those duets with Juel. I find her rhythms to be simple and easy to follow and adlib with. Also, she is great at giving a soft verbal direction or cues to me to tell me what she is going to be doing. This makes it a more unified performance. Her vocal style and annunciation of words is very different from mine, so harmonizing all the time can be very tricky, but its a challenge that I love. I love working with a talent like Juel Resistance.” I really guess that they fulfilled a dream for all the inworld artists: singing together notwithstanding the material distance!Isn’t it amazing what it’s possible on the huge virtual SL stage?The sharing of experiences and emotions in real time is in my opinion the originality and the strength of SL music! At the end of the show we enjoyed the concert of Joaquin Gustav:the soulful sound of his guitar ravished eveyone to a charming tango house where dancing together with a partner seemed absolutely realistic for the warmth of the atmosphere caused by those magic notes…Astor Piazzolla pieces and classical milongas of the argentinian popular tradition perfectly performed by the artist concluded the event , leaving in everyone the sensation of having attended a really precious show, that didn’t have anything less of an RL event! In this cool venue totally renewed,I have above all appreciated the refinement of the italian-style design and the extreme care for each details. I loved the stage layout and the moonbeam light on the big piano. The attendees at the show were very kind and supportive with their applause and comments. Artists received some feedback from them and that that was very positive.
Submitted by Simona Dawes

In conclusion I spent some hours of my time in a nice way and I hope that this kind of shows will become more and more usual inworld!
Submitted by Simona Dawes

Flytta Lytton has been in second life more than 5 months. She had three relationships and is now convinced, as she says, “It’s a dumb idea” Maybe she could benefit from visiting the *~*Garden of Sorrows*~*, where the slogan is, “Where Wounded Hearts Are Cleansed and Reborn” Lytton goes on to say, “It’s all stupid. How can you love with out seeing and being truly with that person. It’s not love.” When asked had she loved or been in a relationship, “I thought I loved. I tried to love, and wasn’t loved. But I no longer care. Unless you live really close in rl, it’s pointless.”
Some would say the Second Life interface allows people to get to know each other from the inside first. Flytta says it allows people to be untruthful easier. If you find yourself agreeing with Flytta, search places on “Garden of Sorrows” and see if the experience there helps you find Solace. Jim Sella for iReports.
Submitted by Jim Sella

I had been standing “People Watching” in the meeting place of Ahern, when a Second Life Mentor, Shelly Blachere, spotted that I wrote for CNN. She told me that if I wanted a really good story about a wonderful person I should write one about Kimber Enoch, who is also a Mentor as well as being fundraiser for Charities in Second Life.
Intrigued, I contacted Kimber, and although she is so busy in both real life and Second Life, she agreed to meet me. Kimber is a delightful person to talk to, on first meeting her she is friendly and puts you at ease with her manner, making her an ideal person to be a Mentor for newbies or anyone else who asks for her help. What puts Kimber apart from the other Mentors though, is that she is a cancer patient, who also suffers from ME (chronic fatigue syndrome) and is dyspraxic (dyslexia but on the autism scale).
In spite of her ill health she works relentlessly. Her profile under the 1st Life tag is really impressive, she is on the board of Amnesty International UK, she states she is bisexual, a student of social sciences, a vegan and a human rights activist. Not only is Kimber a Mentor in Second Life, but she is also a teacher at TUi Neophytes, where she teaches av’s to build, script, learn to be a DJ, as well as teaching some mature subjects. I asked her how she fitted all this in to her schedule and she told me that she has learned good time management skills and because of her dyspraxic symptoms she is very organised. Kimber told me that she started collecting for charities from the age of 7, she says that her parents were very wonderful and supportive of her, she raised £2000 for Romanian orphanages, which was quite an achievement then.
Kimber was taken ill with ME when she was just 14, so she has battled illness most of her life. Kimber, being always involved in fundraising, recently helped form the MMCF (Mental Mentors Charity Foundation) on the 15th January 2008. This Second Life foundation will organise and run four major fundraisers for various charities over a year, one a quarter, and they hope to raise hundreds if not thousands of pounds (or Linden dollars!) for the charities. The events planned by the MMCF are the playing of ‘Live Music’ for 24 to 48 hours, Charity Auctions, including an Art Auction (so artists take note about donating!), Dances and Balls and many other projects. They also want to educate others to carry out actions on behalf of the charity. The MMCF starts the first project from 7th April till the 7th July 2008 when they will be raising funds for Cancer Research UK. Kimber tells me that the MMCF are a brilliant group of people, basically Mentors, working together to raise awareness and funds. Kimber says she loves helping newbies and that she gets a lot back from helping people, saying that she has had lots of good things in her life and has been very, very fortunate in many ways, so she wants to give some of it back by helping others. At the present time she is planning on buying a new sim. She wants it to be a nice neighbourhood place, a safe place for newbies and older av’s to hang out.
There is no limit to Kimber’s generosity and caring for others and she is a very special person. Come on all you people who would like to help Kimber collect for such a worthwhile cause, as well as attending the events, you can donate as little or as many Lindens as you wish to the MMFC as every Linden counts. Any Musicians who are interested in playing live should contact Kimber, and any Artists who would like to donate their paintings for the Art Auction. If you have a Company in Second Life it would be a great idea as well to donate as many items as possible for the Auctions, what a nice way to advertise your business!!! If you can help with any of this, please contact Kimber Enoch “in World.”
Submitted by Janey Bracken