Willow's Playlist: In-world and Out-World With Jed Luckless, Second Life Rocker and Grateful Dead Tribute Artist

Exclusive to NWN, Willow Caldera covers SL's burgeoning live music scene

For all its virtues, one thing the in-world music scene is hard pressed to recreate is the joy of watching a musician's face and body language while they perform. An avatar, sadly, can't quite cope with the nuance, nor show the interaction of an artist with their instrument of choice.

Jed Luckless has happened across a way to cater to those who miss this aspect of the experience - and without impacting the pleasure of those who don't. His performances, as with most other Second Life musicians, take place on the grid, through the medium of his avatar, and his fans chat and dance and enjoy the informal atmosphere and respond to his comments throughout. But for those who need their eyes to enjoy the music as well as their ears, he offers the option of watching his Grateful Dead, Phish and Led Zeppelin-influenced brand of gravel-voiced rock live on a video stream.

Here he is performing in the Second Life place you're most likely to find him: Darkstar, a whole sim devoted to the Grateful Dead community on the grid. [SLURL]

Video shot live during a performance for Darkstar, featuring original song "Old Man Miller"

"With a pretty diverse set of influences and a self-taught technique that doesn’t really subscribe to any one convention, it’s a bit difficult to categorize the music I write," says Jed. "But even when playing structured original or cover tunes, the concept at the heart of my music is improvisation and spontaneity. I love the idea of music that exists only in a moment. This was always the appeal to me of bands like the Grateful Dead and Phish, whose shows are never the same twice. I’ve tried to retain that feeling at my shows, by not using pre-planned set lists, by playing two long sets with a set break and by filling in transitions and solos with extended, improvisational jams. This has led fans to brand me with the nickname 'Jammin’ Jed.'"

Much as Grateful Dead fans head to their concerts partly for the company of other fans, and the Parking Lot antics, so Jed places heavy focus on the community aspect of his shows.

"Often the pre- and post-parties we have in the lot are as much fun as the show itself. We’ve got a great community at Darkstar and a growing number of Jed Heads who look forward to show night so that they can party together... before, during and after," he says.

"I should mention what a great philanthropic group the Jed Heads are as well. In December we held a fundraiser to feed the hungry in America and we raised upwards of L$80,000. And in January I played as part of a Haiti relief benefit, where we raised over L$100,000. Whenever there is a cause I feel is worthy of supporting, the Jed Heads will be right there to support it with me."

It took a couple of years for Jed to realise the potential of Second Life as a musical medium - and for his computing power to catch up with his interest. He uses BUTT for streaming, with an Ibanez acoustic-electric guitar, a Zoom A-2 acoustic modeler to give the guitar a Martin sound, a Carl Martin AC-Tone pedal and a Boss HM-2 Heavy Metal pedal for solos and Boss RC-20 loop station for looping. This is run into a Yamaha PAS-300 PA system where it is sometimes mixed with other sources he uses during shows, such as the Roland TD-6 V-Drums.

"I had been playing with a Grateful Dead tribute band in RL and had been working hard on perfecting a large selection of Dead tunes. When my band’s schedule got cut back, I logged back on to SL specifically to see if I could take a solo act into the metaverse. I really had no idea what to expect," Jed explains. "Since I was very specific with what I wanted to do initially (re-create the feeling of a full Grateful Dead show), it was pretty easy to identify the likely venues. First stop was the Merry Prankster, where I met Nancy Lei, who I really should credit for pushing me off the ledge. She could not have been nicer, and gave me all the info I needed to get set up technically. I continued to explore as I downloaded and installed BUTT."

"And that’s when I found my home," he continues. "In fact, when I first stepped foot on Darkstar, the proprietor/creator of this amazing world, Starling Glitterbuck, actually said 'Welcome home.' It was a complete sim honoring the Grateful Dead, built down to every minute detail from their vast catalog of songs and mythology. I knew right away Darkstar was the place for me to do my thing. Within a week or two of that, I was amazed to be playing the August West Amphitheater, where Starling has actually recreated the famous Grateful Dead wall of sound! I subsequently moved into the Mars Hotel on Darkstar which is where I (and other Darkstar musicians) make an SL home."

"A couple months later I met Beachy Piers, who became my PR manager. Beachy is one of the most outgoing people you will ever meet, and between her passion, smarts and friendships in SL, she really helped take everything to the next level. She took my group from 5 to 150 in a couple months. Together we’ve organized several very successful charity events as well as other special events at Darkstar, such as the recent Phish Bowl. She also helped get my social networking presence off the ground, which has been another great way to connect with fans."

August West Amphitheater on Darkstar is Jed's home stadium, where he puts on a show every Wednesday night. You can also catch him twice a month at The Merry Prankster and often at the Hotel Chelsea, which holds a special meaning to him as a native New Yorker. But, no matter where he plays, it's the fan experience he believes sets him apart from his peers.

"My shows and music just do not work without a connection with the fans," he says. "The audience is the extra band member, and it’s their energy that usually drives the energy of the show. It’s a bit like a circuit… without the fans to complete the circuit and conduct the energy, the electricity doesn’t flow. Part of this connection with fans comes off the stage. I’ve been to plenty of shows where the performer is gone within 5 minutes of the end of  the show. I often will continue to party with the fans all night after the show – this helps create a tight bond between me and the fans. I sincerely feel close to most of them. And as I’ve said many times in-world and fully believe, 'Jed Heads are the BEST fans.' You cannot have a bad time with this group."

For Jed, choosing the content of his shows is about keeping it fresh and interesting by expanding and changing his repertoire to make every one a different experience.

"I think something that sets us apart is that we’re trying to do more than just play music. We’re trying to build something. A community. A family. And that goes way beyond music. At a personal level, as a Jed Head you are instantly part of a great group of people, compassionate to no end, and willing to help however they can in a time of need. On a professional level, our organization, Jedtainment Inc. has an ongoing goal of philanthropy and cultural development within SL. As such, we’ve organized numerous charity events and have peripheral programs such as the JNMP (“Jedtainment New Music Program”) which aims to help new musicians get up and running on SL and give them a nurturing forum to perform in. There are so many possibilities in SL, it seems like every day there’s some fun new idea on our drawing board! Stay tuned!"

More about Jed Luckless:

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What live music groups should Willow Caldera cover for New World Notes? Suggest groups and performers by contacting her by IM or at [email protected]

Her taste in music is somewhat eclectic, ranging from Kings of Leon to Frou Frou and Deftones to Lady GaGa and Avenged Sevenfold.

Comments

[Lias Leandros]

I love to see the progression of Live Music in SL. Please remember that Live Music's sole supporter since the beginning in SL are the venues. I do not feel the SL Music Scene is succeeding as long as the venues that support live music have to pay hundreds of dollars a month to provide an audience for the Live Musicians. There has to a plan put in place to cover the costs of Live Music in SL. Right now the costs are all on the venue owner and we have to strive to develop a working system that fixes this problem. Then we will see some real growth in the SL music scene.