Visit www.wamimusic.com for the full list of winners. Congratulations to all the nominees!

Fri Feb 20th, 6PM (PT) at OD Designs for a virtual “Rez Day” party for founder of OD, Othro Vargas.

Sat Feb 21st 1PM (PT). Roxi’s Music Theatre with supporting act Gray Earl, (Daniel Nathan) opening at noon.

www.secondlife.com

www.midwestentertainers.net

The VRCA 2008 Awards Nominee list has been released. We’re excited to announce that Nevin Nightfire (Dave Mikesch - Postal Fury) is a nominee for “Best Live Musician” in Second Life!

Vain Inc. www.vaininc.com is a monthly publication in Second Life with a circulation of over 30,000 Resident readers. Topics covered by Vain Inc. include SL style, art, fashion, photography and music. The nominees and winners are chosen by the readers votes. The winners will be named in January 2009.

Nevin Nightfire sincerely thanks all the Vain Inc. readers that voted for him. Congratulations to all the nominees!

The Second Life Music Association (SLMA) will host their annual holiday party and musician recognition night on December 17^th from 6PM to 10PM (PT) in Second Life. www.secondlife.com

Lineup will include live acoustic/vocalist Gray Earl  www.myspace.com/thedanielnathanband at 6PM followed by progressive rock guitarist  Nevin Nightfire www.myspace.com/postalfury at 8PM.

Musicians performing in Second Life do so with an audio stream. If you aren’t a resident of Second Life but want to listen in, place the following url in your browser during showtimes.

Residents and new members wishing to join SL for free can follow the SURL to teleport to the show after sign in. http://slurl.com/secondlife/Frenscent/29/47/25

The SLMA is a live music support group founded by Roxi Bingyi, aka: Deb Mikesch of www.midwestentertainers.net

Roxi Bingyi was chosen as OD Design’s December 2008 Calendar Girl! OD Designs is the largest and most visited music gear company in Second Life. Ortho Vargas, owner works under official permission from certain guitars companies such as Dean Guitars to build virtual guitars for avatars with the precision of the real thing.

OD Designs also creates drums, keyboards, lighting systems and much more. The instruments are scripted with animations for all genres from thrashing to gentle swaying to lightning bolts and flames. The Back Porch Stage at OD Designs hosts some of the finest entertainment in Second Life.

 Roxi would like to thank Ortho and his team at OD Designs for honoring her with the December Calendar Cover! The calendar can be picked up at the OD Designs store in world or on our website at www.midwestentertainers.net.  

Nov 26th at 8PM: Musical Turkey Bash at Roxi’s Music Theatre with progressive rock guitarist Nevin Nightfire. http://www.myspace.com/postalfury
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Frenscent/29/47/25

Dec 8th all day: Dimebag Darrell Memorial Tribute at Roxiland Beach. Guitarist Dimebag Darrell Abbott was brutally killed onstage during a performance, Dec 8th 2004 in Ohio. We will honor him with a SL memorial and his music on stream during this sad day of remembrance. http://slurl.com/secondlife/Frenscent/19/77/23

Dec 11th at 6PM- Guitarist/vocalist/violinist Gray Earl debuts his RL 4-pc act, The Daniel Nathan Band at Roxi’s Music Theatre. http://www.myspace.com/thedanielnathanband
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Frenscent/29/47/25

Dec 17th, 6PM - 10PM: SLMA Musicians Appreciation Night. Gray Earl peforms at 6PM with Nevin Nightfire at 8PM. Open mic at 9PM. Gifts for all and L$1000 for best Holiday Outfit! http://slurl.com/secondlife/Frenscent/29/47/25

Can’t log in but want to listen in? Place this url in your browser during showtimes. http://cyan.neostreams.info:21934

Avatars in SL use many  unique words and terms in world. You’ll want to be familiar with the basic ones: We’ll start with A – L. I’m listing the ones I use most often however, there are many more than listed on the Second Life website at www.secondlife.com.

AFK – Away From Keyboard

AO – Animation Override, an object that takes over your default animations.

AR – Abuse Report. This is what you will need to send to report abusive avatars.

Attachment – An item that attaches to your avatar such as a guitar or a gun.

Ban – You can ban people from your land, Linden Lab can ban you from the game.

Bump – The act of pushing another resident. Often done by accident by a new resident.

Covenant – The rules of the land you are visiting. If you own your own land you can set your own covenant for your land.

Deep-Think – Related to sim performance which can be caused by a colliding of too many objects.

Estate – Private owned region.

RL and SL – Your real life and second life.

Furry – An avatar that represents an animal.

Gestures – Mix of avatar animation, sounds and movements. You’ll use these a lot.

Gorean – A society in SL based on the novels by John Norman regarding master/slave.

Grid – This is slang for the virtual world of SL.

Griefer – An avatar specifically in world to cause grief/trouble to others.

IM – Instant messages to other avatars.

Home – This is the location you set for home base.

Inventory – A ever expanding, never ending file of items picked up in SL. Inventories can get out of control very fast if not organized.

In-World – Inside the virtual world of Second Life.

L$ - A linden dollar. More later on making money in SL.

Lag – When SL takes forever to load, freezing, gray matter. Bump up the memory on your computer to avoid lag.

LM – Landmarks are created for specific places to find them again later. The LM remains in your inventory until you delete it.

LL – Linden Lab is the company that created and maintains SL based in California.

Lindex Exchange – This is where online currency can be exchanged for RL dollars via paypal.

LSL – Linden Scripting Language. The script used to animate objects in SL.

 The most important thing you’ll be asked to do at registration is to pick your avatar name. Take your time with this, try several variations before choosing. You can not change your name once your account is activated. You may not think it important at the time, but in the long run you have to live with the name, promote the name, and accept it for the lifespan of your avatar. SL doesn’t make it very easy as you MUST use a last name from their list. Many of the offers are barely pronounceable so choose your name with the same care as you would when naming your pets or children.

It is not necessary for a musician to know the entire logistics of SL to perform a show. Just understanding how to walk, fly and use your camera angles are enough. Creating your custom avatar generally evolves as you become more immersed. My organization, the Second Life Music Association, (SLMA), can set you up with a male or female avatar to remove the “noob” look you begin your SL with. We also provide any instruments you may need.

Download the free winamp to your computer. http://www.winamp.com/player

Download the free shoutcast plugin from winamp to your computer. Here’s the quickest  link I’ve found for the plugin. http://www.brothersoft.com/shoutcast-dsp-plug-in-for-winamp-123793.html

Read the basic help files on both. Be sure when you open your winamp the shoutcast plugin is set to auto open as well. It will be hidden behind your winamp in some cases, so just move the player over to see it.

The shoutcast plugin is how you stream into Second Life.