HAIRY: I was born and raised in Atlantic Canada, where I still reside today.
SANDY:How long have you been playing music?
HAIRY: I started playing at the age of 15, which would make it 20 years now.
SANDY:Let's start spending some words about SL :how did you discover SL? what brought you inworld?
HAIRY: I was made aware of SL via Rolling Stone Magazine, whom had an article about the emerging trend of live online performances, focusing on Frog and Jaycat, two RL and SL performers who were doing shows at SL's oldest live club, The Lily Pad Lounge (now closed).
SANDY:Did you ever think to use your real name for what you usually do in Second Life?
HAIRY: People who know me, my friends, know the real me and who I am, as we speak in SL and outside of it as well. I promote my music in SL, so there is no hiding your real self if you are an artist of any type. It is not possible to effectively promote your RL works if you are hiding behind an avatar. That only works if you keep all of the content strictly digital, and have no intentions of performing in RL in front of a live audience.
SANDY:Can you describe your experience in SL:what did you like to do when you were not playing?did you like to go to live music events or to art exibits?
HAIRY:When I am not performing live I enjoy DJing a lot and spending time with some close friends hanging out and acting silly. I enjoy taking photography and doing digital editing, and that alone keeps me busy with people looking for quality shots. I would love to say I do more in SL, but RL work and rehearsals do not afford me the time to do so.
SANDY:What has influenced you to get your to where you are today musically?
HAIRY: Oddly enough, everything! As a young musician there were not only the mainstream artists in the music industry, but people in my hometown that had a major impact ... lit a fire under my ass so to speak. Seeing great musicians perform sparks the want to practice and learn more, more chords, more voicings and more styles. Growing up I listened to everything from Elvis to Megadeth and everything in between. To draw from one style of music would lead to a very narrow and shallow view of music as a whole, which leads to a very limited repertoire of influences to let your creativity flow through. To pick any groups or musicians that have influenced me would take a long time, but a short list would include Stevie Ray Vaughan, Primus, the Grateful Dead, Megadeth ... god, the list could go on and on. I also produce and engineer recording sessions at our studio, so my influences go far beyond the actual performers. Producers like Butch Vig, Dr. Dre and the Neptunes, as well as mastering engineers such as Bob Ludwig have influenced the way I approach tones and music production and assembly.
SANDY:Do you think SL could be a valid showcase for your RL works?
HAIRY:It already has. Web traffic to the websites have gone up, I have sold a few MP3's as well as just getting the music heard. The best part of SL is if someone doesnt like your music, odds are they will tell you, unlike in RL where they are too shy to say anything. Sitting behind a keyboard empowers people to speak their mind, and that is usually a good thing.
SANDY:How would you describe your style?
HAIRY: A little bit of everything all at once :)
SANDY:Which are the sources of your inspiration?
HAIRY: Music. Music inspires. Music is life.
SANDY: you have just released your last CD:in which is it different from your previous ones?
HAIRY: Each and every release grows and encompasses all of the best from the past, with what has been learned to the point where the CD is released. To not grow musically would be to stagnate or even regress into the same old style and songwriting, which would grow tiring not only to your audience, but to yourself.
http://www.myspace.com/soapstonetribe
http://www.raant.ca
http://www.myspace.com/raant
SANDY:Do you use other kind of digital promotions?
HAIRY: At this time, only our websites, Second Life and Facebook.
SANDY:Where do you see yourself a year from now:will Second Life still exist?
HAIRY: Second Life will exist until such a time when LLabs locks down the user experience to a point in which other virtual worlds take over and support the customer and its needs. As far as myself, I will be performing in both worlds still, and hopefully a little better each day.
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