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.photos by Jami Mills
(Reprinted courtesy of rez Magazine, January 2012 issue.)
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.
