Mamaa Saiz - Songs From a Simpler Time



by Traci Nubalo

Metaverse Tribune - January 28, 2012


Life has gotten complex - few will dispute this. Many of us are looking for something - anything - that will ease this complication. And we often find it in music.

When I first came across the name Mamaa Saiz I didn’t exactly know what to think. In fact, I assumed that “Mamaa” was female. Truth be told, I pretty much ignored the act during the short amount of time it took for the SL buzz to drift to my ears. Then I saw the listing: Mamma Saiz playing at the Slum Rock Christmas Party, an annual holiday event hosted by two SL social groups: the Hobos and the Lollygaggers. So off I went.

Much to my surprise, “Mamaa” is a dude. And no, the dude don’t look like a lady. He’s actually a tall, handsome, soft-spoken 63-year-old veteran performer from Texas. “I live in the Dallas area; was born in San Antonio several hundred miles from here”, he told me. The only name I am able to cajole from him is…Mamaa Saiz. But we do know this…

Mamaa Saiz: I came from a showbiz family. My uncle was the first human cannonball, but they fired him.
Traci Nubalo: {rimshot
MS: I played rock and roll as a teenager, and after the military, I moved to Dallas and got a job with long running comedy show Bowley and Wilson. I was there for 14 years, until it played out. I was the Amazing Jimmy Gray, keyboards and magic.
Traci Nubalo: Awesome!
MS: Around that time, I had my first child. So I left the business to work real jobs that would have me home at night. They were expecting to eat every day, so music is a bad choice when you have kids.
TN: Yes. I know it well.
MS: Now that they are grown, I am making my comeback, in Second Life.


Back at the Slum Rock bash, Mamaa takes the stage and my avi instinctively starts moving as we groove to his stylish version of “Operator” from Jim Croce. This description of Mamaa’s guitar style will hold true across the board for him: he’s a precise player; very good bottom-end play, excellent and imaginative right hand work. And he’s tasty. Mamaa knows how to swing and when to drive.

I also very much enjoyed Mamaa’s singing delivery. His vocal view of the material is thoughtful and often bittersweet. He has the world-weary voice of the veteran crooner who’s made a living with vocal chords seasoned by too many late-night gigs and too much tobacco and whiskey. (And if he doesn’t partake in those, even more power to him for pulling it off). That voice represents a unique and loveable characteristic from the first listen. And he has the smarts (as only a road veteran would) to choose material that takes advantage of the intimacy and casual strength in the voice itself.

He confesses to the packed crowd that he has a “weakness for the British invasion” then breezes right into music by a poster child for the early years of that era - Gerry Marsden’s “Ferry Cross The Mersey.” Now tell the truth - you smiled, too, didn‘t you? He does a gorgeous and vocally-spot-on rendition of this early radio hit that so many have long loved! Here we were exactly two songs into Mamaa’s set when it hit me that if Mr. Mamaa could sustain this authentic sound and emotional connection to the music for the remainder of his set list, he’d be gold! And he managed to do exactly that.

When someone shouts a request for a Bob Dylan song he gently wins the moment with an adroit bit of carny misdirection as he flatly replies, “I have a deal with Dylan: I don’t play his songs and he doesn’t play mine. And if I stay more than 100 feet away I don’t have to go to jail.”

His song introductions are soft-spoken, assuring and well-researched-and-delivered. He told the virtual audience that “Glenn Frey is one of my favorite song writers. He has a way of laying his heart out there. This one has been a hit for a lot of people. It’s a song called Desperado.” Hitting the jackpot again he eases into a superb rendition of this Eagles classic. He seems to have developed a winning methodology and it works for him and for his audiences!

Along the way I realized that there was a kind of sneaky lure to Mamaa that I hadn’t noticed at first: Mamaa Saiz is a raconteur; a storyteller. Every song choice; that easy audience chat; the set list; his unique vocal delivery and guitar arrangements - in a true and honest way, each of these serves Mamaa’s end result: a musical set which tells the story of a generation moving forward in time while simultaneously hanging on to and loving the amazing songs which they enjoyed growing up.

I’m grateful to Mamaa for bringing to our hearts a remembrance of a simpler time. He not only treats us to the depth and soul of some of the best music ever written, but he creates a ton of smiles along the way.


(c) Copyright Traci Nubalo 2012. All rights reserved.

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Russell Eponym: SL’s Favorite Male Musician


by Traci Nubalo

photos by Jami Mills

(Reprinted courtesy of rez Magazine, January 2012 issue.)



His Christian name is Russell Taylor Ashby, but we in Second Life know him as Russell Eponym.

I met Russell within my first hour of being a new resident here in SL. I believe I may have told this story before but it’s a fun tale and demonstrates in just one way what an influence Eponym has been on our inworld art scene.

A friend in RL had spent significant time trying to explain to me how Second Life works and I’m afraid I just wasn’t grasping her message. Then she hit on what she thought was a surefire way to get me to log on and check it out. She said, “And there’s live music there.” So now she found herself trying desperately to get me to understand that in SL there are concert halls and nightclubs which residents visit to attend live performances by musicians from all over the world.

Armed only with a big empty space in my head just waiting to be filled by knowledge of this new universe, I logged on the very next day. I was determined to find out what all the fuss was about. Learning curves being what they are my entry was to be trial by fire (and error)!

So there I was bright and early, in SL and minding my own business: MMOB.

Well, I was a noob avatar - less than a day inworld. When you’re that new here you really have only YOUR business to mind! I was just standing there (wherever “there” is in a universe of pixels), looking around. I recall saying profound things like “wtf?” as I frantically pushed buttons and clicked boxes trying to make sense of this new world. Bear in mind, with my standard SL hair and that horrible pants and top set I must have looked a mess! But I was too new to even realize that I resembled a bag lady from the planet Ruth.

So - even if it was out of pure ignorance - I was truthfully MMOB.

And that’s when I met the true hero of this tale - no, not Russell Eponym. The real saint here is the one resident out of dozens that passed by who offered to help as I stood there totally perplexed. This brave and kind man took about 30 minutes out of his day to help me to calm down and learn how to walk (a little), and how to keep IMs and Open Chat separate, a skill which held me in good stead during my upcoming (and mercifully-short) “Gossiping in SL” period. But that’s a story for another time, and - if your luck holds out - another magazine, as well.

But he took me to school in a patient and nonjudgmental manner and along the way we began to chat a bit about my predicament. It was then that I realized that I hadn’t even considered that I would be chatting with people. I didn’t have a single thing to say to this guy, and I didn’t see anything coming down my intellectual turnpike, either. So I decided to ask him about music.

He replied that yes, what I had been told about live music in SL was, indeed, correct and that it really was my lucky day since he knew the very best live musician in Second Life. In short order my hero then determined that this mystery performer was, in fact on stage at that exact moment! He offered to go to the venue and tp me in. (Here‘s how noob I was: “What’s a tp?”).

He landed me right in front of the stage in some SL music space. If he was in any way bothered by being seen in public with me he didn’t show it; he patiently walked me through the process of setting up my sound preferences. I did notice, however, that as soon as I said that I could hear a guitar he was gone - faster than I could say “poof”.

And there was Russell, some ten meters or so away, his little avi hands moving smoothly across his little avi guitar with “people” dancing and swirling as he played. It was a very cute scene; very attractive and welcoming to the newest resident of SL.

But what was coming through my headphones was anything but cute. Attractive, yes; upscale, totally. But I could tell from first listen that this Russell character was a true world-class musician. A force to be reckoned with.

I’ll sum up Russell Eponym’s musical qualifications in short form, since his skill set (writing, singing, playing, entertaining) is so powerful that only seeing him perform live will suffice. He’s an expert-level guitarist with an exceptionally-strong and creative right hand. This provides him with the rare gift of being able to accurately and smoothly fingerpick even at the fastest of tempos.

Vocally, Russ delivers smoothly and consistently, in a crystal-clear British accent. Every syllable of every word is heard crisply. His harp work is intelligent and always tonally accurate.

Compositionally, Russ is a great songwriter with originals as diverse as “You Have No Eyes”, “To Be Free”, and a very well-written instrumental guitar piece called “Eponymous Rag”.

Russell’s overall packet of talents is offered via the wonderful medium of a speaking voice that seems custom-designed for his work: that of a perfectly-proper English gentleman.

To encounter all of these wonderful qualities together in one form (human or avi) made for a marvelous find, indeed, on my first day in a strange new world.

** ** **

A few years and a few thousand performances later I find myself preparing for this, my third article on Eponym and his craft. He’s from the North of Wales, and has had a long RL career as a musical professional in bands, folk groups and as a busker on the streets of London, Paris and Vienna.

When he arrived in SL he was one of the first professional musicians on the virtual scene. As this group of pioneer performers began creating what we now enjoy as a vibrant SL music scene each was forming his or her own fan base. While we all know that size isn’t everything, in terms of an artist’s inworld popularity it’s a decent determining factor of success.

Just before this piece went to publication the “Eponymous Family” hit the magic number of 1,000 members. That’s a lot of avis, ladies and gentlemen.
And the group recently held a party to celebrate Eponym’s winning of a major Second Life award:

TN: Russ, can you fill the rez Magazine readers in on your recent award?
RE: Yes, I was very surprised by the award. I had been informed that I had been nominated and I really thought no more about it. It’s the Avi Choice Awards. There are awards for a number of things in SL: design, clothes, animations - as well as venues and musicians. The award I received was 'Favourite Male Musician 2011'. There were other categories such as favourite rock singer, pop singer, country singer. I was not nominated in any of those categories.
TN: Who else was in your nominated group?
RE: Skye Galaxy - Max Kleene - Frogg Marlowe
TN: Wow!
RE: Antonio Galloway - Damian Carbanell
TN: Very stiff competition. Who did the nominating?
RE: Readers and residents.
TN: I see. Excellent! Congratulations from myself and rez Magazine, Russ.
RE: I was really delighted. And thank you. I accepted the award for myself and my family.
TN: Have you been getting response from your fan group - the Eponymous Family - on this?
RE: Yes, very much response from my fan group. And I’ve received a lot more interest in my work from venue and club owners.
TN: I hear that your fan group recently had some celebrating to do.
RE: Yes, we are going to delay full celebrations until the new year but the group has grown to 1,000 members. It was our aim to do this by Christmas and it’s a truly wonderful feeling to know that we have done it.
TN: That's a very large fan group. And wonderful people.
RE: Yes, you will remember my group when it had a more modest population.
TN: Yes I do! I first interviewed you back in '09 I think. For the Virtual Times. How did you achieve such a number?
RE: Well, I am fortunate in that very few people leave the group; the retention levels are high. And even if they do not come to many shows they still remain in the group, attending my shows when they can. They feel the community.
RE: Yes. I have by far the best family group in SL. They are highly animated and very loyal.
TN: That must be a good feeling for you.
RE: It is the best feeling. I do not do shows and concerts alone; they contribute as much as I do. They are well known for their generosity, their intelligence and wit, not to mention their delightful lunacy. I am sure you understand how all of that can enhance the experience of one of my concerts.
TN: I know first hand that your group’s private chat line is hilarious at times.
But, to tell the whole story, Russ, while the fan group's interactions are very fun (and very funny), I’ve witnessed a different side to them. I have been there when someone had gotten ill, or had RL family issues. You guys often will stop to talk about it as a family.
RE: The support of this group to each other is one of its remarkable characteristics. People care. We have gotten to know one other. We have welcomed new members on a daily basis and everyone is made to feel important - because they are. It’s a simple philosophy: we are all humans in various guises discovering the joys of the virtual world - encouraging, protecting and supporting.

We treat this seriously, and that is why we can have genuine fun.


So many times one will hear discussions on the relative merits of this musician or that technique - musical “shop talk” in other words. This can be particularly fascinating to observe when a few really good players get together, perhaps backstage at a concert. They will pass guitars back and forth commenting on ease of play and the various features each instrument offers. They will discuss styles and methods and ways to get maximum result from various systems for practicing and playing the guitar. Eventually, however, such discussion will usually result in one or more players reporting some physical wear-and-tear taking place in their hands. This is, of course, more prevalent among the guitarists who tour and/or record a lot.

Carpal tunnel, repetitive-motion damage; ligament issues; these are all relatively commonplace (but not publically-known, usually) miseries for the working guitarist to possibly endure. Russell’s long time in the market and strenuous playing schedules forced me to bring it up:

TN: Let's talk about longevity
RE: Well, I’ve been here for six years, playing fulltime.
TN: I know that at one point you were playing more than 1,000 shows per year in SL.
RE: Yes, and I have played well in excess of 5,000 shows here although now I play fewer.
TN: How long could you sustain the 1,000-show-per-year pace?
RE: You and I have talked about wear and tear before. I have learned that balance is important. There is psychological wear and tear as well as the physical. So while I could have sustained that pace indefinitely, it would have been at great cost to my health.
TN: Exactly. I know that at one point you were suffering some pretty painful hand problems to the degree that there was discussion of possible retirement from playing live. How is that for you these days?
RE: My joints are in good shape now. I play less these days and I do the simple things to ensure their safety: massage and manipulation; frequent changing of strings.
TN: Russ, you and I chatted the other day and you told me of an amazing therapy you do on your hands now. Can you share that with the readers?
RE: Ah! Yes, of course. In order to prevent repetition problems I use as many as six different guitars - and the banjo, of course. Each has different specifications: slightly different shapes, sizes, and weights so there is less tendency for my hands to become stuck in the repetitive positions.
TN: I thought that to be a truly zen sort of solution. How have your hands responded?
RE: They are feeling wonderful. By changing guitars so often my hands are being asked to explore more and to free themselves of the confinements of one guitar. My right hand has always been my main playing hand but this has enabled greater freedom for my fretting hand too. So I have pulled my old 1973 Martin off the wall.
TN: Tech talk alert!


RE: It’s a 1973 Martin D18. I now have all of my guitars lined up and ready to play.
TN: What others do you use?
RE: A Taylor acoustic/electric; a Takamine 2001 Ltd Edition; an Epiphone; the Breedlove. And the Yamaha, which still has a great unplugged sound.
TN: Russell, what is left for you to explore musically in SL?
RE: I am now combining elements of the creative arts; I am doing more and more poetry and story readings, combining with music. This is a new area for many listeners. I love the experience of reading poetry and prose to my audiences. Also, I have enjoyed one or two live joint sessions. David Perdu came to my home and we streamed together for a few shows.
TN: Oh yes. He’s a fine musician.
RE: And Mel Cheeky and I are hoping to do a few together too - the Welsh Connection.
TN: Awesome. I love her voice.
RE: A phenomenal voice; the warmest voice.
TN: What does the future hold for Russell Eponym?
RE: My aim is to explore extensively the possibilities of live music in the virtual universe, and to meet as many SL music lovers with me as possible. The level of of energy and excitement I experience in this job never drops, even after all of these years. And as always I‘d like to thank my listeners, my family - your readers - for the undying support and loyalty they have shown me on a daily basis over such a long period of time.
TN: Congratulations to you and the Eponymous Family, Russ.


And I would like to thank that thoughtful and patient avatar who took time to help me way back in September of 2008. Your kindness paved the way for this article, and for many others like it.


Copyright (c) 2012 Traci Nubalo/Jami Mills. All rights reserved.

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Edward Kyomoon: I Wanna Pick You Up




by Traci Nubalo

images by Jami Mills


(reprinted courtesy of rez magazine, December 2011 issue)



Where does one begin? At the beginning, of course.

At our Rez Magazine staff meeting one night I happened to half-jokingly ask if anyone knew of any killer SL musicians who I might like to go see.

So Jami Mills pipes in: “Edward Kyomoon. He’s playing tomorrow. Come with us.”

You know Jami. She’s one of the very best photographers in Second Life. She’s clearly the most amazing artist of imagery that I have ever worked with - by far. She’s been here with me for quite a few gigs now - each issue cooking up delectable eye candy to go with what we hope will be a good story. And in the process of becoming the musical eyes and ears (by proxy) for concert lovers across the artistic grid, we have become friends.

So just about 24 hours later, Jami introduced me to the wild ride of Ed Kyomoon.

My first impression was that it was a great crowd at Sweet Whispers. It was inspiring to see so many SL music lovers gathering for the concert when so many deserving performers and venues are catching light crowds of late. Then I noticed that many of the fans seemed to know one another. They seemed to have done this before. This, I realized, is Ed’s core group of fans - the ones who show up for almost every show.

Sweet Whispers just celebrated their first anniversary in Second Life. It’s a lovely outdoor venue with plenty of room and excellent sightlines to the stage. In speaking with Isabelle Brucato, who co-owns the room with Jessica Gabardini, I learned that they work very hard to make Sweet Whispers the “place to be” for quality live music. One of the strategies that they have successfully employed is to strive to have the best SL artists available to play the room regularly. And this is Ed Kyomoon’s regular night. (In future visits I was to learn that Sweet Whispers is becoming a “place to be” for SL musicians and others working in the business).

The gunslinger appears right on time and he MUST have gotten the memo: black tee shirt; black jeans; black hair grown into a long bang over his left eye. Black shoes; black Fender Stratocaster (“with custom black pick guard and knobs,” he would later clarify); grim game face. This guy is ready to kill. He has that elusive aura of a man who intends to take no prisoners. Not tonight.


Jami and I discussed how much we'd like to get a shot of Ed at work up on the videoscreen.
At an evening gig at The Roof@NYC she captured this amazing four-dimensional photo.
I love how she got Ed the poster, Ed the avatar, Ed on the screen, and Donn DeVore in RL.
Thanks to Lingual Markus and his awesome SL venue The Roof@NYC!


As his avatar moves through the venue and arrives at the stage, Donn DeVore (he is Ed Kyomoon in Second Life and Donn DeVore everywhere else!) appears in realtime on the huge video screen provided by Kyomoon’s production team. For the next hour we joined the packed house and just flat-out partied! Watching Ed’s intensity on the live-feed screen caught and held my fascination and attention for the entire hour. I’m a very big fan of the relatively-new process of artistically merging RL and SL via interactive real time broadcasting of gigs. I regard this as a huge leap forward for all involved, especially the listener/viewer. So I asked him:

Traci Nubalo: My readers really enjoy some technical discussion. Can we open this interview with some ‘Tech Talk’? I’d like to discuss the vidscreen a bit.
Edward Kyomoon: Sure. I'm an audio engineer in RL so the technical is fun for me.
TN: To me, the realtime video screen is a major development. It brings you (and your avatar) right into my living room.
EK: I use Quicktime Broadcaster, a free Apple app, to capture the live video and send it to a relay server that sends it to the viewers, using the built-in iSight cam on a 2007 Macbook Pro.
TN: You are one of only several in live SL music who uses this new technology. I wonder why so few?
EK: I've seen a few other people use video in SL. I think I might be the only one that uses it at nearly every show now.
TN: I agree.
TN: CraigLyons Writer was the first that I saw using the real life hookup, I think.
EK: Yeah, I saw Craig using it as well. He had different cameras he could switch between.
TN: Yes. He also used the vidscreen to very successfully demonstrate his loop pedal stuff - building the song structure by using looped layers of sound. I liked that guy’s performances a lot.
TN: I‘ve also covered Tone Uriza when he used his screen. You know, the fabulous SL blues guitarist.
EK: Oh yeah. I know Tone. Also Anek Fuchs does video, too. Great guitar player.
TN: Yes, he is. If I’m not mistaken, I think that Anek is in on the tech aspect of vidscreening as well. It really is a great development though and I'm glad to see you using it.
EK: Since my decision to use it I’ve added colored lights, backdrops. I used to use lava lamps close to the cam so they looked huge!
TN: Really? Too funny.
EK: Yes. They were framing the scene - blue lava lamps?
TN: LMAO. Yes, I love it. The whole real time video thing is very cool for the viewer. It really adds another dimension to the SL experience.


TN: Awesome. Moving on - you play a black Stratocaster guitar?
EK: Yes, my main guitar is a Fender Standard Stratocaster HSS. I customized it a bit with black pickguard and knobs, and had new frets put on it. It needs a new bridge now, because I play the thing so much.
TN: *smile* It is awesome-looking.
EK: My acoustic is a Taylor 110. Simple guitar, no pickup or built in mic. I use a stereo mic setup for that.
TN: With the strat - what sort of rig are you using?
EK: The electric guitars use a Line 6 POD for all amp sounds. It lets me switch between lots of different sounds and amps, effects, etc. And I use a Boss Phaser effect pedal a LOT. Hehe, probably too much!
TN: Does the Boss have the cry baby effect as well?
EK: Yes, it's like a auto-wah effect. A sweeping sound.

One of several truly-amazing features of his live performance is his slide guitar work. I have seen and heard some amazing slide players: Ry Cooder, David Lindley, Duane Allman, Max Lasser, Bonnie Raitt - I could go on and on and never break the surface. But Kyomoon takes all of those styles and puts them together and adds a bunch of “nasty” to the mix. And when he stalks onto the stage he carries that swagger with him: it’s an abiding sense of authority and confidence that he demonstrates night after night.

Opening with “She Sets Me Free” he laid that hot metal slide onto the steel strings and coaxed and wrenched perfectly unearthly sounds from the Fender song after song. Along the way he adroitly covered Tom Petty, doing a commanding version of “Listen To Your Heart”. He also treated us to one of my all-time favorite songs when he swung into a fascinating and musically-powerful rendition of “Romeo and Juliet” by the great Mark Knopfler. He opens with a tonally-sweet echoed electric guitar to which he adds some soft, conversational, almost-spoken-word lyrics to further sweeten an already-excellent performance. His intelligence and openness (as both artist and man) allows him to read this one almost perfectly: passion and romance.

Despite such stellar covers at his fingertips the focus of his live set seems to be his original material. And rightly so. Tonight Ed featured some more downright skuzzy-sounding guitar on “I Miss You So Much I Go Crazy”. The beginning of this clever tune also reminds me of Dire Straits, until he starts blazing with intensity and frenzy (and a tone so wicked that I had the urge to excuse myself and go wash my hands). All musical hell broke out during the fast-paced mid-break when he put the figurative (and literal, eventually) pedal to the metal. Everyone I was chatting with (yes, sometimes I do shop-talk during a set) was literally blown away at this point. This was the moment when I recall having the thought: “This is the real fucking deal.” I was convinced; I had become a Kyomoonie. I was to notice in the nights ahead that I would enjoy these songs even more on the second or third concert listen.

The 38-year-old from “somewhere outside of Seattle” displayed prodigious prowess on standard (non-slide electric) on another smooth original entitled “I Wanna Know”. I’m thinking that this must be a fan favorite, based on audience response to this, my first listen. Everyone in the room just beams and wiggles and flat-out rocks this one top to bottom.

“Wanna pick you up…
Wanna take you out…
Wanna take you home…
Wanna taste your skin…
Wanna be your sin...
Wanna know your name.”

This is radical, raw, cutting edge power rock with hook-laden lyrics that any songwriter would die for.

Looking around, watching the avatars spinning in their ecstatic connection I feel my spirit released and enlivened; and if there’s a better way for human women and men to spend their free time, I don’t yet know what it is.

* * *

Like any good, solid musical performer, Ed has found himself in the midst of a fascinating group of supporters and friends to help him along the way. It’s even become a family affair. His SL wife Zoey Starsider takes the role of #1 fan and fulfills it perfectly. One of the things she does best is to flash the current lyrics into Open Chat, making the original material, especially, more accessible to the newcomer and more exciting overall. Edward's RL mom, known as Foxxie Fang here in SL makes the appearance at most shows, (“as long as it’s not too late”, she mentioned in one IM to me) helping with the vid screen. In fact, when I was having trouble getting the image up at one show it was Foxxie who kindly took the time to talk me through the process of reinstalling the current version of Quicktime, a process which took all of four minutes and did the trick perfectly. Thanks, Mom!

In the middle of my time hanging with the team at Ed's SL concerts while writing this piece a major piece of SL music news sweeps through the camp: longtime Kyomoon personal manager Carol Greenwood has stepped down. Information begins to circulate that the team will announce that Sher Salmson’s crack management team SpiritFire Management has taken the booking/management helm. Arguably one of the most powerful figures on the gridwide live music scene, Sher and I go back a long way in SL music, so I had a chat with her about the acquisition.

Traci Nubalo: Hi Sher. Congratulations on signing Ed Kyomoon to SpiritFire. I think it's a master stroke for both of you.
Sher Salmson: Thank you, Traci. I can tell you - I am thrilled. *smile*
TN: In my opinion this is a major SL music story: “market leader joins forces with market leader.”
SS: I know without a doubt that Ed is a professional, which pleases me to no end. Not only is he a great talent but he knows how to enhance his appeal through his professionalism. I'll let you in on a secret, too. You know that I rarely get to go to concerts outside the artists on our SpiritFire roster, simply because of time restraints. But when I did have the time Ed is one that I would always try to go see. I would go to his concerts. The energy at his concerts is exceptional and always energized me!
TN: This a perfect match, then. Okay, Sher - myself and Rez congratulate you!

Next, I grabbed Kyomoon personally and discussed the move with him:

Traci Nubalo: Congratulations, Ed!
Edward Kyomoon: Thanks, Traci! I’m really excited about going to the SpiritFire group. It seems like the best thing to do. I was on my own for a couple of weeks. Not fun.
TN: It’s a master stroke, Ed. You could not have chosen better. And perfect that this breaks during my article. I'm doing a rewrite to include this.
EK: Well, I was always happy working with Carol Greenwood. But this move is to a new level entirely. Also I know most every other musician on the team, too. I was Allister's [Westland] best man in SL years ago. I stayed at Gina [Stella] and Anek's [Fuchs] in RL when I was in Chicago in 2010.
TN: What do you expect SpiritFire can do for you that will be growth-oriented?
EK: I hope that working with them will get my gig calendar full again and give me access to more venues. I‘m playing about ten per week now and I’d like to play at least twelve. 12 -15 live shows is a good week for me if I can keep up. My face hurts after a few nights; my fingers bleed…
TN: SpiritFire Entertainment is top of the line, Ed, both as managers and as people.
EK: Yeah, I feel very comfortable with them. It’s all very exciting.

* * *

The move to Spritifire, however, marks the entry of the artist into the top realms of the SL entertainment scene. I knew Sher (and wrote about her and her performers) back in the days when she was doing everything but selling AcousticEnergy Nitely music from the trunk of her virtual car! Now her roster still carries the always-amazing AE, plus the incredible talent of a strong list of artists including: Allister Westland, Anek Fuchs, Gina Stella, and the powerfully-original singer-songwriter Quantamis Navarathna (who will be featured in an upcoming issue of rez magazine).

And Ed Kyomoon.

* * *

Since seeing the show last time I had been pondering what it is that makes this artist’s concert set so very enjoyable to see and hear (and feel!). There are obviously several factors which are common to most successful acts in either world: excellent singing/playing ability, compositional abilities, astute song selection at concerts, ease of communication with the audience, strong technical prowess, etc. Leave out one of these factors and your band may very quickly find itself playing Saturday mornings at an empty inworld garden center, or performing on a multiple bill onstage at the slave market on Gor.

Then it hit me! There’s a deeper level to this creative story than audiences in SL ever get to see - and never should: long before any other set of ears have heard it - maybe even before the song is finished - our guy is in his studio laboring long and hard; sweating out grueling, meticulous hours to create tracks which will eventually give the song not only its heart: drums, bass and rhythm guitars, but also its soul: lead guitars, backing vocals, effects, etc. This is where Kyomoon shines. These tracks - so lovingly nurtured in the studio - polished until the magic is revealed. And it’s this enchantment that gives the guitarist a musical backing that can not only stand up to but enhance his incredible live skills. In other words, his live “band” is him. And when recorded and performed with artisty it becomes just that: the total package from Ed Kyomoon is an art form unique to himself.

Traci Nubalo: So, yes. You have a studio background?
Edward Kyomoon: Yes, I studied music and audio in college in the early 90's, and then worked as a live sound tech for a few years in Houston where I grew up. Then I moved to Seattle to pursue a career in the recording industry, which I've been doing since 1998 here.
TN: What kind of recording are you doing?
EK: Every thing you can think of: rock bands, jazz, classical, voice-overs, TV ads, radio spots, demos, major label bands, bluegrass, too many to list.
TN: Awesome.
EK: Eventually I became the owner of a very large studio and ran that for a few years. I’ve made thousands of records with thousands of musicians. It’s become second nature to me. When you are in a studio 30 days a month, 12-16 hours a day, you get good at it.
TN: Your studio background really is evident in your backing tracks. Do you produce/engineer your live backing tracks?
EK: Yes, I use Logic Pro 8 and Protools software for composing and recording all my backing tracks for originals songs and many of the cover songs, although there are many well-produced backing tracks available online.
TN: Your backing tracks are (in my opinion) one of the keys to your live SL set, Ed. I think they are so well-produced that they free you to perform live. They augment your show, not get in the way.
EK: Yes, I started out just playing acoustic guitar, no tracks. Simple setup. I'm always trying to make it sound better. I try to blend the tracks with my live vocal mic and guitar to make it sound like a band. Sometimes it’s tricky - mixing while playing and singing, but I get bored easy, I guess.

* * *

Back in the world of live music, the tour has stopped by for an evening at Key West Resort and Marina, one of SL’s musical mainstays. Liz Harley, the vivacious owner of Key West, has been personally greeting every single avatar who has walked through the door since July, 2007. It’s one of those venues that is loved equally by audiences and musicians. The room sits outdoors right on the water and it has that laid-back “beach club” vibe that we all love so much.

I’m sitting here pretty-well stunned by a wonderfully- orchestrated live version of Ed's amazing original “Twilight’s Sparkle”. I find myself so deeply absorbed into the layers of sound that I have moments where it all fits together precisely. Like an audio satori. Later (when thinking reestablishes itself) I realize that this was caused by the preciseness of the recording, arranging, and live playing (excellent slide guitar, again); everything perfect in itself. “Sparkle” could very well be used effectively for a film score. I hope that Ed is able to pursue this lucrative avenue.

[Hours before handing in my final version of this article Kyomoon hit the stage with a more recent version of "Twilight's Sparkle" complete with supporting vocalizations from the "My Little Pony" cartoon series of which he seems to be a major fan. It’s amazingly cute, musically-valid and clearly a step in the cinematic direction.]

Truth be told, I found it very difficult to review only a few of his originals in this piece. I wanted to write about all of them. (An earlier incarnation of this article was actually a lot more tune-heavy, but weighed in at an onerous 5,000 words!)

Tonight’s set also featured a surprise (for me, anyway)! Out of his pocket Edward pulls the opening notes of “Black Magic Woman”, which most of us ~ myself included ~ assumed was written by Carlos Santana. Ed will quickly correct you in that endearing rockstar way he has about himself that it was penned by Peter Green of early Fleetwood Mac fame. He then proceeds to burn the house down with it.

** ** **

After about 15 live shows on the virtual road with Ed Kyomoon I reluctantly decided that my career demanded that I move on. I told one friend that I could happily rewrite this article using all of the new info that I gathered just in the last few shows. But everything moves forward…

It’s great when the tale finishes with everyone so happy. Jami is happy; Ed Kyomoon makes a positive career move; Sher Salmson lands another top group for her roster; SL music fans will get to see more of this great act live; and my editor will be thrilled that I am finally turning this article in.


So, where do I end this? At the end, of course.

THE END


Copyright (c) 2011/2012 Traci Nubalo/Jami Mills. All rights reserved.

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