Traci Nubalo - The Word

by Traci Nubalo

He streams from Niagara Falls, Canada and he's been thrilling live Second Life music audiences since 2006 with his clear-as-a-bell vocals and exceptional guitar work. He also has one of the most progressive song lists in the business. Let's meet and greet Max Kleene and get the story of his amazing success in SL music.

Use this link to read the full story in Metaverse Tribune:



http://metaversetribune.com/2012/05/12/max-kleene-entertainment-to-the-max/

by Traci Nubalo


She’s gorgeous; she’s intelligent; she has a great personality; and she’s not afraid to roll up her virtual sleeves to get the job done.

She is arguably the most influential and powerful woman in the highly-competitive and notoriously-tough Second Life live music industry.

Sher Salmson and I go back a long way in Second Life music. I can remember - clear as a bell - the day she took over the reigns as manager for AcousticEnergy Nitely. In fact, in one of the several articles I published about AE I reminisced that back in those days, Sher did everything possible to promote her client short of selling his recordings from the trunk of her car. Now he’s a bona fide SL music star, and her SpiritFire Entertainment group has become the gold standard for effective, ethical music management inworld.


I recently shared an extended “off record” chat with Sher, something we seem to do every few months. Without violating our confidentiality, I can tell you that one general topic kept coming up over and over in our discussion: standards. SpiritFire Entertainment has become a market leader by adhering to a high level of professional standards, and by requiring that every artist on her growing roster live up to those same standards.

On her agency website, Salmson comments: “We take great pride in being reliable, dependable, knowledgeable, professional, courteous and responsive to the needs of our artists and clients.” To me, this says it all. Without those qualities we invite a free-for-all atmosphere - an environment that is not good for anyone involved.

I spoke with Sher about SpiritFire and her astounding path to success.

Traci Nubalo: Sher, I know that you and your team operate your SL business on a principle of higher standards. Can you tell us about that?

Sher Salmson: Our "team" - SpiritFire Entertainment - has systematically and methodically worked towards setting standards and holding to them. It is a process, and it is based on what most would call an "old-fashioned" theory: hard work, long hours, and mutual respect.

TN: How do you account for this astounding level of professional growth?

SS: Traci, I am a professional in RL and I saw no reason for that not to carry over to SL. I think anything worth doing should be done with one's whole heart and my heart is melded with music and with the beautiful artists who so freely share their souls with us. Anything I am passionate about gets my 100%. Also, I have been a venue owner, a musician, and now a manager so now I have a perspective of sorts from different angles.

Sher (who had an online Christian ministry before the music career) has used this diverse background to grow SpiritFire into one of the top agencies in SL. From those early days with AE as her only client Sher has built the company into a virtual juggernaut, providing the very best managerial services to a catalog of a “who’s who?” of some of the best performers in SL including AE (of course), Alex Mays, Allister Westland, David Csiszer, Edward Kyomoon, Harper Messmer, Louis Volare, and Quantamis Navarathna. Her artists speak very highly of her, and so do the many venue owners that SpiritFire provides with performers.

One of the cool new projects she is developing is called SpiritFire Music Isle, a base of operations sim shaped like a guitar. Each artist on her great roster will have his/her own listening station in a beautiful, quiet setting. There’s also a main stage where her established artists can play as feature act, and newer acts can hone their craft. “It’s all about MUSIC”, she informs me. “It’ll be a musical home for our established artists and a place where we can assist artists who are new to the SL music community.” She went on to discuss the team aspect of her organization.

SS: There are seven of us who work behind the scenes and each one is committed to the standards we discussed. I will tell you that it makes me so proud of the team. I notice that consistently - without fail - when it's showtime they launch into action.

TN: So what's next for you Sher? You are at the top of your game. Where do you go from here?

SS: Traci, the short answer is "moving forward." I'm never satisfied with the "status quo". Several of our artists have new CD's coming out and this excites me to no end. One thing I really love is to witness and enjoy an artist as they spread their wings and take their music to a whole new level of creativity.

TN: It can be a thing of beauty.

SS: Yes, and it makes me smile just to think about it. I tell people that I have the best job in SL. I get to listen to some of the best music in SL on a daily basis!

In a virtual industry where some artists don’t even bother to tune their instrument before playing, observing any one of the acts that Sher manages can be like a breath of fresh air. The artists are trained to do the things that will represent themselves and their agency professionally. They arrive on time; they seem to always have kind words for the musician who is leaving the stage to make room for them. They also learn that they - the artist - also represent that venue, so you will frequently hear them asking their fans to please support the house by being generous to it. I’ve been told by club owners that when they book an act from SpiritFire they can relax, knowing that the show will go well for all concerned.

Sher Salmson has worked long and hard to land in such an advantageous position in the SL live music industry. And the same standards of professionalism that got her and her team to the top will keep them there.

It’s great to see the good guys winning the race!

by Traci Nubalo


I arrived early at the studio. My friend and co-worker Netera Landar has a talk show - “The Netera Landar Chat” - on Metaverse TV and she had loaned me her living room set for this interview. I was anticipating finally meeting FrankLee Anatra, who I had admired musically for some time now.

When he tp-ed in our time together began with us sharing an unexpected laugh. It turns out that Netera’s set utilizes furniture designed and made by Franklee and his SL partner Winter Thorn. Chuckling, he took a seat on one of the sofas and demonstrated the guitar-player anims they had built into the units. Too funny!

When I first heard Anatra perform I was immediately attracted to that voice of his. It’s clear as a bell with great intonation and quite a few different possible tonal colorations. And when it’s needed, he artfully adds a gruff little vocal edge underneath.

This is by far not the singing of a noob; his is a pro voice all the way. The quality, the timbre and the overall execution brand him as a seasoned, veteran performer. As I watched Franklee ply his trade in his debut performance at the exciting new 50’s Rock and Roll sim I made a note to ask him about his musical background. But first he had to finish nailing yet another Second Life audience to the wall.

He powered into “Hey Soul Sister” from Train, not only doing the song justice but simultaneously claiming it as his own style-wise. And in a surprisingly-successful move, he shifted gears again. “Let’s do some Beatles by way of Joe Cocker,” he quipped as he slipped into the opening strains of the well-known-and-loved “She Came In Through The Bathroom Window” - much to the delight of an audience that he had captured five minutes into his set.

I’ve since learned from hanging out at Franklee’s gigs that such a wide chronological and sylistic difference is not only commonplace for him, but expected. He employs one of the largest song lists I’ve ever seen: more than 225 great covers spanning several decades.

He took up the guitar as a bored 18-year-old army recruit stationed overseas. Upon returning home to Southern California he joined a doo-wop group called Slick City, the members of which would be his off-and-on bandmates until this day. They were heavy on covers and tight harmony vocals. “I played rhythm guitar. All four of us sang lead and harmonies depending on who brought the song. I can't stress enough how much I love harmonizing”, Anatra passionately reveals.

Apparently he loves it so much that he’s introduced the DigiTech Vocalist Live 3 Harmonizer into his tech setup. This enhances his lead vocals, which sit in the mix beside the clean, clear tones he’s getting from the Martin OMC-1E acoustic 6-string guitar that he loves so much. He uses a 1986-vintage AKG C535EB microphone for the vocals. He runs both guitar and vocals through the harmonizer to a 6-channel USB board and then to his laptop for streaming into SL.

Franklee has “turned the key” on the function of the harmonizer, in my opinion. He understands the equipment as well as he understands the music - another pro quality. He’s figured out that the most natural-sounding use of this item for today’s singer/songwriter is to drop it on the lead vocals with the lightest of touch. This prevents the resulting harmonies from suffering with that dreadfully-robotic sound that is heard far too often in contemporary pop music.


Once the “tech talk” ended, I learned that Franklee arrived in Second Life in 2007, and began gigging live in ‘08 at the urging of Thorn. Together they own and operate an inworld store called {what next} which designs and builds furniture for the SL market. Winter, attractive and funloving, is a mainstay at Franklee’s live gigs, and she plays a significant creative role in his craft. “The more current songs on my list are thanks to Winter, mostly," he mentions in a way that somehow allows me to almost see the loving smile on his face. "She has found music for me from some of the most amazing artists of today. I gravitate toward story lyrics, but melodies are what really stick in my mind. I don't care what genre name is tacked to a song; if it grabs me I don't judge it.”

Back at 50’s Rock and Roll the joint is jumping and Franklee treats the crowd to a gorgeous, harmony-heavy ballad “My Valentine”, from Paul McCartney’s most recent album Kisses on the Bottom. Whereas Sir Paul relies on Clapton’s superlative guitar work for color, Anatra puts the vocal harmonizer back in play, creating a gorgeous bouquet of stacked vocals. Then he gets the crowd up and dancing again when he launches into an original tune he calls “Me I Kinda Like It”, in which he salutes his doo-wop roots with a guitar-and-vocal piece that’s contemporary in its own right. He had the Live 3 warmed up at this point, and used it very artfully in a lovely reading of “Because”, from the Dave Clark Five.

I give this guy the highest marks on several levels: his is a wonderfully-sweet singing voice and he accentuates it with a clear, expressive guitar style. Add in that killer, multi-decade song list and some excellent originals, and he’s ready to take any SL venue by storm.

I can’t suggest strongly enough that if you are that rare SL music fan who has not seen Anatra perform live, head on out to his very next show. He’s filling top Second Life music rooms night after night, with his loyal and active fan group The Dreamers in tow. I asked Franklee to give them a shout out.

“I consider The Dreamers to be the biggest blessing when it comes to my singing. And I couldn’t have done it all without the help of my manager (and Number One Dreamer) Jbird Melodie. The people I've met don't even realize how much they affect my life and my love for music. It has nothing to do with lindens and everything to do with the Dreamers' hearts and ears. To know that there is someone out there I can brighten the day for, or make laugh, or have sing along with me is something I have always felt lucky to have.”

We - FrankLee Anatra’s fans - are the lucky ones.