The Battle of Chemotherapy

The next stop in my War on Uterine Cancer was chemotherapy. I didn't know what to expect and that is a little scary. I remember being on the phone the night before with a friend having a bit of anxiety and being a bit hyper from the steroids I had to take.

My first 4 hour date with chemo.

I didn't sleep at all that night and the next day was dragging ass. It turned out to not be awful. I was in a room sitting in a comfy chair with other chemo patients. The nurse gave me a warmed blanket and pillows. I brought my lap top with because 4 hours is a long time with nothing to do.

The chemo meds in my drip were Carboplatin, Taxotere and an anti-nausea that I don't recall the name of right now. Then 24 hours after I was done with chemo I had to give myself a shot of Neulasta. That was the part I was concerned about, giving myself a shot. The first time I had my neighbor help me because she was used to giving herself shots of insulin. The Neulasta can cause bone pain so I had to take Claritin starting the day of chemo and for 4-5 days after.

I had to do 6 rounds of chemo, one every three weeks. The side effects were not easy to deal with but by far not as bad as I expected or had heard about from others. I did lose my hair but I will discuss that in my next post.

The biggest side effect for me was the tiredness. It was like this bone weariness that no matter how much sleep I got, wasn't able to get away from for about a week.

The first 2 days after a round of chemo I was ok because I was also given oral steroids to take and wow those gave me some energy. I took 4 pills the day before chemo and 4 the day after. I was also given anti-nausea meds ondansetron 8mg and prochlorperazine 10mg. Those pills were amazing at keeping me from vomiting. I was still feeling queezy here and there and the doc gave me another anti-nausea to take that was fast acting if it came on suddenly.

After the first 2 days, then I noticed things starting to happen. My body felt like it was walking through mud and then after about 5 day it got easier and was like walking through water. By day 7 I was only walking through sand. I was still tired but not as to the bone tired.

As a single mother of 3, I still had things to get done. It was time to get kids back in school for the year and there was no one to help with that as I have no close family. So I just sucked it up, no matter how bad I felt and went and bought new shoes, clothes, school supplies etc.. I also was having diarrhea so before I went anywhere I made sure I was taking some Imodium AD just to make it through the trip and always brought water or a sports drink with me.

So this isn't the end of my chemotherapy info but I will discuss losing my hair and other side effects in the next post.

The First Battle: Hysterectomy

Since I started my adventure with Uterine (Endometrial) Cancer, I have tried to keep a positive attitude. I have been posting on Facebook but I wanted to write something a bit more here.

After my OB/Gyn told me that I have cancer, I didn't panic or cry or get very upset. My first reaction was more of one of "time to rally the troops and win another battle". I never once considered that I might die, that was just not a thought I was willing to embrace. I was ready to fight and win.

I had to have a complete hysterectomy which was performed by my Gyn Oncologist, Dr. Byler Dann, at St. Francis Medical. She used the da Vinci Robot which is minimally invasive. I only ended up with 5 small incisions that were each one inch long. 

After surgery I was a little sore but minimal pain, this was a Friday. I didn't even bother with pain killers. I took ibuprofen 800mg and was up and moving the night of surgery. I was moving slower and had just a little pain when moving from sitting down to standing but nothing unbearable. However, by 9 pm after my 1:30 pm surgery, I had the IV out and put on my own clothes and makeup and was ready to go home the next morning.

I never wanted it to stop me. While I had to slow down, I refused to stop. No time for a pitty party, no need to fuss, just keep moving forward. 

My daughter, Sam, was around to help me with carrying laundry up and down stairs but I still did the laundry myself. On Monday I needed to get out of the house and decided to drive to the store. I was careful while I was there and used one of the electric wheelchairs so I wouldn't overdue it but it felt great to be out and about. I felt strong, I felt like I was winning this first battle.

Come back next week for post 2 and more of my journey.

Bumps In The Road

I would never want to be the type of person who just gets handed things because of affluent parents.

My brother and I were raised by my grandparents since we were very little. My grandfather was a mechanic

Mine was grey but this is a '77 Sunbird.

and my grandmother was a homemaker. We were not rich at all. Most times we were on a very tight budget. Every weekend I remember going to yard sales and flea markets with them. We would take trips to Missouri  now and then to visit my grandfather's family. I never, and still have not, been to Disneyland. I didn't get a new car when I was 16. I got a 1977 Pontiac Sunbird that wasn't shiny but reliably and safely got me around. I worked and paid for my own gas and part of the car. I wouldn't go back and change a thing.

I've been through a lot in my life. Some major ups and downs... struggles and joys. I've had to work and fight for everything and often I think I should write a book about it all. I don't want to go into details now about it all but my close friends know some of it. Maybe someday I will write a book, who knows. However, now I am 38 ...39 is closing in fast... and I have cancer.

The big C ... I was surprised to say the least. However, I don't feel like I am going to die. I have no dread, no sadness, no fear. I just cannot wait to start feeling better. For the past little over a year I have been feeling fatigued after only a little activity, muscle weakness and aches, occasionally I have been overly emotional and sometimes unable to focus on tasks due to severe anemia the cancer was causing. It is uterine cancer and was causing irregular monthly cycles. Not too bad at first, an extra cycle here and there that I blew off as stress related. Then it got worse and I would only go a few days to a week between cycles. That is when the doctors had me start with tests and I was diagnosed. Even from the diagnosis date, I was only relieved to know what was wrong and that it could be treated.

Two and a half weeks ago I had a complete hysterectomy. It was done with the DaVinci Robot and my healing as been very quick. I wonder if the doctor makes "pew, pew, pew" noises when doing the surgery with the robot. "Commander, we have the Death Uterus in our sites, permission to fire lasers" Pew Pew Pew! I have been up and about since the night of surgery and while I was moving slower and was sore around the middle, I felt good.

Since surgery I was informed that they staged the cancer at a 3 and I will need chemo and then radiation. The doctor said I would lose my hair. So I cut 10 inches off to donate. Chemo will be starting in about 3 weeks once I am completely healed from surgery. I will totally rock a blue or pink wig!

People have messaged me to say how my positive attitude is inspiring but this is just me really. I've fought my way through my life, so really there is no other way I know how to be. I wish I could explain how to take a bad situation and look at the positive side and not be constantly depressed. If I knew how to explain it, I would happily for all the people out there who are depressed and feel like they are being pulled under. Don't get me wrong, I have a bad day now and then. It's allowed. Terrible stuff happens and we are allowed to feel bad about it, the key for me is that I allow myself to feel bad for a moment, an hour, a day and then I get over it. Something inside me says "F this cancer, you totally will get through this and be stronger after".

Maybe in having to fight and work hard for everything, I don't see limits only possibilities. I appreciate things because I've worked for them. I wouldn't go back and change any of the good or bad things I have been through because those things have taught me so much. My experiences have added to the story of my life. It's like the Train song "These bruises make for better conversation"

The Lost Art of Manners

It has come to my attention lately that the art of having manners seems to be somewhat lacking with a lot of people. Simple common courtesy seems to be overlooked more and more.

It's annoying at best when someone is late. You schedule a time to meet up with a friend for coffee, lunch, a shopping trip and you sit there waiting... and waiting...and waiting.

The person shows up about 30 minutes late with a "Sorry I'm late." and no more being said. You give a polite response of how it's not a big deal and continue on with whatever activity you planned. While inside you are irritated that your friend could not even bother with a call or a text to let you know they were running behind, stuck in traffic or otherwise detained.

People are late sometimes, it is inevitable. If this is the only time they are ever late, then it is definitely forgivable, annoying but forgivable. However, common courtesy should have told them to try to reach you in someway and let you know they will be late.

In a business situation, being late for a meeting can have bigger consequences than just annoying a friend. If you are late for a meeting, the person you are to be meeting with might move on and that can cost you dearly depending on the reason for the meeting. This goes for online as well as offline situations.

If you MUST be late... call, text, message... let them know somehow that you respect their time enough to let them know you are tied up and how late you are going to be. You might still miss the opportunity to meet with whomever are you meeting but at least that person will know you consider their time valuable. This shows you are a professional and might get the meeting rescheduled for you instead of a missed opportunity.

Quality Vs. Quantity: Performing In Second Life

Something I’ve noticed about myself when considering going to a concert in Second Life is that I look at who is playing at a certain time, say 7 pm slt/pdt, and if there is a performer that I enjoy but performs multiple shows a day many days a week, I will pass over their show for someone who does not play as much. I will basically say to myself “Oh X will have more shows tomorrow or later tonight, I will maybe catch them then.”

I’ve known performers in SL that are doing multiple shows a day, sometimes with only an hour between shows. I really feel like they are doing a disservice to both their career and the venues that are booking them. Second Life.

Playing multiple shows close together will affect your potential draw. People will have more possible times where they can come see you, so instead of having one really well attended show, you end up with several less attended. The exception for this in SL is if you put 6 hours between your shows, which will be targeting different time zones. If you have a show at 5pm, 7pm and 9pm, you are essentially targeting the same basic audience but if you have a 2pm show and 8pm show, there are different people on for each time period.

As a venue owner and longtime venue manager, I have also seen how overbooking negatively impacts the venue. The owner pays for a performer to come play, often the venue has stores or something that helps them generate income to pay for the performers. If you are losing draw because you are booking a lot of shows close together, you devalue yourself to the venue since your draw suffers and consequently, the venue traffic. Then venue owners will be less likely to rebook you and even want to pay less because you are not bringing in the traffic to justify  paying the full price. There are venues who book and pay for shows for the love of music and do not have an expectation of draw. However, since many venues have stores that pay rent - as their main source of revenue - they will simply will not pay performers if traffic is not repeatedly maintained.

Potentially, in performing fewer shows, you can actually generate more money. You can charge a little more per show and expect higher attendance. This means better tips for you and better donations to a happier venue (who is more likely to have you back).

Also, by performing less, you can help reduce the 6pm to 8pm slt “event congestion”. On any given day there could be 50+ concerts happening at 7pm slt. Having so many possible concerts at one time also can hurt attendance. If you eliminate a few shows a week during those “prime times” it can help the community over all.

Help Seth Regan Produce His New CD "Left of Center"

Seth Regan, known in Second Life as "Mankind Tracer", has just launched a new Indiegogo campaign. The goal of this campaign is to help raise some of the funds needed to get into the studio to record, produce and get the word out about his next album, "Left of Center".

If you don't know who Seth is, he has been performing in Second Life since November 2006 and is considered by many to be SL's top rock artist. He has been asked to headline major Linden Labs Second Life events like the Second Life Birthdays, Winter Fest, Burning Man (now Burn2) and other significant launches. He has also been awarded some of Second Life's most prestigious awards such as, most recently a Lifetime Achievement Award from "Best of SL Magazine".

With your help, he will be able to professionally record and produce his next original album "Left of Center". This campaign on Indiegogo makes it possible for family, friends and fans from all over the world to help Seth to achieve this goal. As many of you know from either knowing me or reading my blog, Seth is my very best friend and business partner. So this is extra important to me and I appreciate any help you can give.

Depending on what “Level” you donate at, there are some cool and unique perks that you'll receive by helping Seth get this album recorded and produced. Some include Free Music and Limited Edition T-Shirts, while others offer a Live Concert in Second Life or Facebook... even at your home!

Jump on over to Indiegogo and read all the details and how you can help out one of Second Life's own in reaching his goals to share his original music with Second Life and the world.

View the Campaign Here

Seth Regan Official Website

Seth Regan on YouTube

Music and Social Media

There was a Facebook discussion started today about music and social media. That discussion inspired this blog post, so thank you Rapture.

As someone who successfully manages independent musicians, social media has been a huge help. It is social media that is changing the face of the music scene as we know it.

I remember when I was a kid reading about music in magazines and seeing shows and interviews on television. Back then, if you wanted to see independent musicians perform, you had to go to your local club or bar and if you are like me who lives in a small town, your choices were very limited.


Now, because of social media, independent musicians have so many other ways to get heard and get their music to people they otherwise might not be able to with out a "big break".  The ways of clamoring for the attention of an A&R rep from a big name music company are changing tremendously.

The face of the music industry is changing and I am excited about it. The world is at our fingertips and musicians now need to consider all their options for promoting their music.

Anyone can have a website these days. A musicians website is like their business card. However it offers more than a business card.It should have the details of the musician's musical career on it, such as, their biography, pictures, samples of their music, contact info for fans and for business, links to all their social media and any other info you would want people to see.

Social media is more socially interactive and about building relationships with your fans. Places like Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and others are ways to reach out to fans and share your life and important news. So, which social media outlets do you use?

Social media changes and new things come out and become popular. So, I say to take some time and see which ones appeal most to you. If you feel like keeping up with it all spreads you too thin, then choose the few that you think the majority of your fan base uses the most. Not everyone is on all social media, so it is important to have several places for fans to connect with you. Take a look at the various ways each social media site connects you to your fans. If you don't do the research, you could be missing out on something great. It pays to stay informed.

"Using Social Networking has become a mainstay in my music career. With millions of people from all over the world on these websites, it changes the model of "grass roots" and provides a great set of power tools for indie artists to reach new fans and get them talking about your music." - Seth Regan

Also, this is where your management can help and I've seen some "managers" take a back seat in this role. Managers are supposed to do more than just book your shows and send a few notices around. They should be an important part of your business, the business of your music. There is nothing wrong with your manager posting on your fan page about your upcoming shows, new song releases or any business aspect of your music. They can also search for groups with in social media to post your info to in order to expand your reach. Your management is there to help your career, utilize them.

Blogs are another way to build a relationship with your fans. If you have more to say than a post on Facebook or Twitter allows on a certain topic, blog it. Maybe you have had an experience that you want to share about a gig or an instrument or anything you think your fans might like to read.

There are so many options now for indie musicians, it's up to manager and artist to work together and find out which direction is best for them.

Cocktails Anyone?

I found this great mesh cocktail dress from Gizza Creations and had to share it with everyone. The outfit came with the dress, the fur and the stockings. I added shoes, clutch and jewelry, so I am ready for a night out in Second Life!

Gizza is also participating in the "Where Is The Concert? Hunt 2" and you can find more info about it HERE.

Second Life Supports Seth Regan / Mankind Tracer

("Paper Cup" is Seth Regan's Original Song entered into the Contest)

For 6 years straight, Seth has been entertaining us, raising money for our charities, creating fun SL events and much more. WE HAVE THE POWER to show our appreciation for all he has contributed to SL! I know we would all like to see one of our own succeed.

The way it works is very simple. The more increase in fans he receives on his Social Profiles from now until December 23, the higher up he will move in the contest. In order to support him, take just a few minutes to “Like” Seth on Facebook, “Follow” him on Twitter, MySpace and SoundCloud, and “Subscribe” to his YouTube channel.

Take just a few minutes to support Seth's Social Profiles

FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com/sethreganmusic

YOUTUBE: http://www.youtube.com/user/sgregan

TWITTER: http://www.twitter.com/sethreganmusic

MYSPACE: http://www.myspace.com/sethregan

SOUNDCLOUD: http://www.soundcloud.com/sethreganmusic

You can find out more about the contest here: http://songwriter.whooznxt.com/

Curvy Avatar In A Skinny Virtual World

My Avatar - Kalli Birman in SL

In Second Life we can choose to be whatever we wish to be. Well, I just want to be me. There are times I like to dress up as a mermaid, fairy or elf but that is usually just for a day or for an event.

I think one of the things that attracts people to SL is that they CAN be whatever they want. Be a human, be a robot, a dragon, skinny, fat, tiny or anything else you can imagine.

Working in Second Life is a full time job for me. It is how I make my living and have decided that the best thing I can be is myself. Often people will create an avie that is more an idealized version of themselves or what they wish they could be.

However, just like in real life, the fashion industry leans more towards skinny avatars and as you can see in the pictures here, my avatar is a bit more curvy. Which is 100% my choice. No one forced me to raise those sliders. However, it does make shopping hard sometimes.

I cannot wear 99% of mesh clothing because even the biggest "Standard Size" is too small for me. So, I have to rely on clothes made with system layers and prims or sculpties until the mesh deformer becomes standard in the viewer. I accept that as a limitation of having a more realistic shape.

I have gotten really good at adjusting prims and sculpts, one by one, to fit my avatar and still make the clothing look like the designer intended.

Size Scripts are the big the problem for me. Sizing scripts often only increases or decreases the entire prim or sculpt or each individual prim by a percent. They do not move individual pieces up or down or shift the angle. Just increase or decrease size. That doesn't work for me.

Photo by Spartin Parx

I have hips and a butt. My avie is very proportionate but increasing prim parts overall just makes them bigger where I might only need a little stretch in the hips or across the chest.

Many of the designers in Second Life have gone to only using size scripts and taking away the modify rights. That makes it so I cannot shop in their store and I LOVE to shop in SL. I have found a few designers who are willing to send me things with modify rights but that is the exception not the rule.

I completely understand not wanting your designs messed up or textures changed or other things that can happen when people have mod rights. However, it does leave out some SLers that do want a more curvy shape. I am not suggesting you change the actual design but please give us modify rights.

I like being a curvy avatar and feeling more like the real me. I'm an independent fierce woman and I think my shape is sexy and I receive a lot of compliments from both men and women. Beauty is subjective, each person has their own ideas on what beautiful is to them. So people should feel free to have the avie shape they find most appealing and not concern yourself with what other people may think.

I wouldn't even mind paying a little more to have modify rights. I just want to be able to try to make clothes work for my avatar. So please designers, consider leaving mod rights, even if you keep using size scripts for those who like them. It's like by not allowing me to modify to fit, you are telling me that you don't want my money or that because I choose to have curves that I don't matter. Please take my money!

Musicians and Venues Working Together

In an effort to assist live music venues, many of which pay for their overhead out of their own pockets to provide live entertainment, Seth Regan (Mankind Tracer in SL) and I have recently started offering venues something which we believe to be a reasonable solution.

The first idea Seth had was to only have one tip jar for venue and musician. Since the majority of audiences tip the artists considerably more than the venues, Seth offered to automatically split the tips he receives with the venue and remove the venue tip jar completely. This could work to the venues benefit in several ways.

The first benefit of splitting the tips, using only Seth's tip jar, is that at a concert with 60 people or more in attendance (Seth's average draw) it can get very laggy. This way, people only have to find one tip jar.

Another benefit is that there will be less "tip that, tip this" in local chat. This allows people to socialize more with less interruption.

During the week, we approached the venue, Ground Zero, owned by our friends Thea and GMetal, about this idea. They were both very open to trying a something new. We decided to try it out that coming Saturday.

After the concert, we all got together on Skype, discussed the outcome and worked out the numbers. We found that the venue saw a 33% increase in tips. Also, Thea and GMetal reported that several people expressed to them how they enjoyed the lack of "tip reminders" in local chat and it was a much more fun and relaxed show with greater audience interaction.

With this success, Seth and I didn't want to rest on our laurels, so we decided to revisit something we had discussed in the past: Sponsorship.

We then approached long time live music venue owner Liz Harley at Key West, where Seth's next show was scheduled. We asked if she was open to the idea of not only having paying sponsors to reduce the cost she pays Seth as a booking fee, but to also try the tip split as well. After informing her of the success at Ground Zero, Liz was very receptive to trying a new approach.

Seth and I got to work and found three sponsors for that show.

I'm happy to say that this show was also a success! The venue made good tips from the split. Further, the reduced booking fee kept money in her pocket. Liz was very pleased at the outcome, as were the sponsors and the idea of having sponsors was well received by the people attending the show.

We have decided to continue on with this model of splitting tips and getting businesses to sponsor Seth's shows. We are also continuing our brainstorming to try to come up with new ways to help the venues reduce their out of pocket expenses.

While this model may or may not work for every venue and performer, I felt it was worth mentioning to perhaps encourage more ideas but also to just inform that there are different ways to do things.

If you own a business (SL or RL) and would like to discuss sponsoring Seth's shows, please contact me by email brandy@sethregan.com or message in Second Life (Kalli Birman).

Know Your Venue's Limits!!!

Mankind Tracer / Seth Regan performing at Club Graffiti

As a venue owner and manager I know how many people can be on the sim where my venues are located. However, many new and old venue owners do not understand this and as someone who does know and has worked in the Second Life land industry with Solace Beach Estates for over 3 years now, I feel the need to get the information out there.

There are several different types of land options in SL, including, Mainland, Private Full Prims Sims and Homesteads.

Each type of land has different limits.

Homesteads:

A homestead sim holds the smallest number of people at 20 and there are also less prims available to use. While this may be a great option for a home, it makes a poor option for a venue. Unless it will be just you and a handful of friends, you are going to want land with a higher limit.

Mainland:

Second Life mainland is the huge original continent that SL started with. Mainland is divided into regions that are all connected. Mainland can hold 40 avatars per region. This option can be acceptable for a small club or venue that plans on booking performers with a more limited draw. Keep in mind, mainland can be very laggy and often you cannot get the region restarted on demand. Also, there is no covenant that states what sort of build can be placed on mainland, so you could buy a parcel of land and the next day have a giant toilet rezzed next to your club.

Private Full Prim Sims:

Often a private full prim sim is the best option for a venue. These sims can hold up to 100 avatars but you would need to check with the person you rent from to see what number they have set. Also, if you rent from a "land baron" you can, often times, have sim restarts scheduled to help with any script lag issues. There is also sometimes a covenant that will keep people from putting up eyesores next to your club.

If you are not sure what the land is that you are looking at, check the region/estate menu and it will tell you what sort and what the avatar limit is (called "agent limit").

When shopping for land please keep in mind the avatar limit. If you want to book popular musicians that have a higher audience draw you need to consider a parcel on privately owned full prim sim. Musicians like Mankind/Seth, The Follow, Max Kleene and others normally will bring in more than 40 people. When you limit yourself to a mainland parcel you limit not only the audience size but also potential venue and musician tips as well. Ask yourself would you book Bon Jovi at the corner pub?

Something else to consider when renting land is parcel size. Even if you rent land on a sim that can hold 100 avatars, you need to think about stuffing all those avatars into a building for the concert. Make sure your land will be big enough to have a venue that will comfortably house 60-70 avatars and not feel like you are packed in a sardine can.

Commitments, Contracts and Cancelling

In my last post "Do You REALLY Want To Manage A Musician in SL?" I touched on the topic of commitment in the last paragraph. Today I want to further expand upon that subject and what commitment means for musicians, managers, venues and anyone working in Second Life.

Managers:

If you want to manage a musician or venue, you are accepting a big responsibility. One that needs to be taken seriously as a very real commitment. Your musician or venue is counting on you to be prepared and on time.

Ultimately it is up to you and the venue or musician to negotiate terms of employment, such as, your role and all it encompasses. YES, I said employment!! It is a real job in a virtual world, if you are willing to work for  an hourly rate in SL, that a job. If you commit to a position, you need to take it as seriously as you would a real life job. If you would go to your real life job with a head ache or tummy ache then you need to log on to SL and do your job. There will be times when you need to cancel or cannot do something for legitimate reasons. A night out with the girls or going shopping is not a legitimate reason if you have a made a commitment to work in SL at that time.

Musicians:

As the manager of a musician and a venue owner and manager, I have certain expectations of musicians. My first expectation is simply to show up. Be there for the date and time booked and be there 15 minutes early to set up or ready to set up when the musician before you is done. When I hire a musician, that is a contract between me and them for a service for whatever pay is negotiated. Just like in real life you are accountable to the terms and conditions of the contract. If you MUST cancel because of an RL gig or illness, give as much lead time as possible. Try to never cancel last minute if it cannot be helped and have your manager do it directly or you do it yourself. NEVER play the telephone game. I do not accept the excuse "I asked Ms X to let you know" It is not Ms X's job to let someone know you are cancelling. Should you have to cancel with less than 48 hours before the show, then do the right thing and offer a replacement booking at a discounted rate of at least 20% or more. If you fail to show up at all, with a legitimate reason, then offer a free booking. However, if you consistently cancel shows or fail to show up, you will start having trouble finding places to book you. Live up to your commitments.

I also believe that if a venue needs to cancel with less than 48 hours notice they should be willing to pay the performer 50% of the fee from the booking because the musician has lost the hour they have committed to and may not be able to find a replacement gig or if they do they may have to reduce their fee for a last minute booking.

Anyone else conducting business or working in SL:

When you make a commitment in Second Life, it is as good as making a commitment in real life. If you agree to a service, it is a contract with someone. Stores are responsible to the people they do business with. I don't care if SL is just your hobby, if you are willing to exchange goods or services for payment, then you are a business person. Give your customers a way to get in touch with you. Note card, email, IM or some form of communication is very important when you have a customer base. These are simple basic ideas but all too often in Second Life business is not taken seriously. Also, when entering into an agreement with another business, you are taking on yet another sort of commitment. If you are not willing to put in the time and commit to the business, should you really be doing business in SL?

Final Thought:

If you want to do business in Second Life you must be prepared to put in the time to make it work. Musicians, venues, managers, businesses, hosts and anyone else who is trading a product or service really needs to understand that people are relying on you to do what is right and live up to an ethical standard.

Second Life Manager? Booking Agent? Publicist?

For those of you who don't know by my previous blogs or because you know me personally, one of the things I do in Second Life is Musician Management. Currently I am managing the most recognized rock musician in SL, Mankind Tracer (Seth Regan in RL). Before I managed Mankind, I managed other well known musicians in Second Life.

In my four years in Second Life, I have come to find that not all "managers" are created equal. There are a lot of Musician Managers in SL that are not really managers, they are Booking Agents or Publicist/PR people. Booking Agents and Publicists are very important in the career of the musician as well but they are not managers.

There are many sorts of managers for real life musicians, Artist/Band Manager, Business Manager, Tour Manager, etc. Many times for smaller musicians/bands in RL, one person takes on all these roles, just like in Second Life. However, I think the title of "manager" is not always accurate in some cases in Second Life.

Lets take a look at the possible Second Life positions:

The Manager:

The Artist Manager needs to help direct the career of the artist and research the various people in Second Life such as booking agents, publicists, photographers, machinamists/video directors, stylists/designers, graphic artists and how they play into the artist career plan. The more contacts you have the better equipped you are for the manager job. In managing the career of the musicians they may also help with song selections, sound and give feedback on shows.Unlike in RL, the manager also In SL the manager often assumes the role of the other sort of managers that I have listed. Making sure the artist gets paid and their expenses are covered, checking that the venues have done their parts by listing, promoting and setting up performance space and other details of the show.

The Booking Agent:

The booking agent role is different than what a manager does. The booking agent will work with the artist to agree on dates and times available for performances, how much to charge for bookings and how negotiable that fee is, what the goals are for the "tour" and contact promoters ad venues to pitch the musician and book the performances. They also arrange the contracts regarding fees, equipment (ie the venue must provide a stage) and the rider or terms of the contract. They must have great  communication skills to sell the talent and develop contacts, as well as, communicating with the artist as to when shows are and if anything needs to or has changed with the scheduled shows. In Second Life this role is often taken on by the manager as well or the musician does their own booking.

The Publicist (PR Person):

A Publicist handles the publicity and press needs of the artist in SL. Publicity helps get people to the shows in Second Life. A publicist must be able to get an artist's name out there in as many ways as possible and consistently research new ways to promote.  Sending group notices to as many places as possible including: SL groups, Facebook, Twitter, Second Friends, bloggers or any other avenue they can find. In second life this role can also be done by the "assistant" or "host" and also could fall on the manager. Again this person's communication skills and professionalism are critical because they are the public face of the performer.

It is immensely important for musicians to consider what their needs are for their careers and what people they will need to work with to make their career plan happen. You can have someone who takes the role of Manager and another person for Booking Agent and Publicist or you can find one person who can do it all. Often I have seen in Second Life that the person being titled manager is not really managing but maybe just doing the job of a Booking Agent or Publicist. Some are just Booking Agents or just Publicists. It can de difficult to find someone in Second Life that can take on all roles and do them well and all these roles are very critical to a musician's career. Sometimes you might find that you don't need a Manager or Booking Agent because you are comfortable handling those aspects on your own. Maybe you just need a host that can do notices and work the crowd. Ultimately, it us up to the artist to figure out what they need in the way of representation and I encourage all performers to sit down with their current staff and sort out what is needed and what works for you and the goals you have set.

If you are interested in performing in Second Life, just email me and I can help connect you or point you in the right direction. brandy@maltasmanagement.com

Seth Regan "Underground" CD Release

Cover Art for "Underground" Created by Seth Regan

Seth Regan, known in SL as Mankind Tracer, will be releasing his fourth CD this weekend with an exclusive event in Second Life. With this newest CD, Regan gifts us with a cathartic landscape.  Song themes include falling down in life and getting back up to dust off and try again and the help that we can get from other people when we let go of our pride and reach out.

Emile Sands-Stratten, venue owner, stated, "Seth's latest effort, 'Underground', takes us on a musical journey as deep as the name promises."

Ground Zero Owner, Theadee, comments "Seth Regan is a talented performer and songwriter.  He writes about themes that I can relate and connect to, especially in songs like 'Do It Again' and 'Underground.' The music that goes with his lyrics is equally amazing and I keep wanting to hear more!"

Seth remains Second Life's most well known "rock star." In the five-and-a-half years that he has been performing live in SL, he has self released 3 CD's and shared them with the SL community. More than that, he released them first into SL.  "Underground" will be Seth's fourth self release into Second Life. Seth has said, "Much of the lyrics and music are incredibly personal to me, I didn't want to hold back on this album." He went on to say "…and as the listeners are in the songs, I just hope they can understand these things that have happened in my own life influencing me and relate on a deeper level."

Previous CD releases include "Beyond the Shade" and Depth of Shadows." They are full of Seth's insightful original music featuring haunting melodies and recognizable vocal performances that pull the listener closer to his meaningful lyrics. Seth's most popular and requested song, "Inside Your Dreams," is a moving ballad played in rotation on many SL radio stations. "Stream of Sound", Seth's third release, contains acoustic version of twelve covers and 4 originals. All recordings for "Stream of Sound"  were voted on and chosen to appear on the album by SL residents.

The Release Party for "Underground" is set for Sunday, April 1, 2012, at 2:00 p.m. SLT at http://slurl.com/secondlife/Good%20Day%20Sunshine/207/79/22 , a location exemplifying the theme of the album, its music, and artwork. Devoted to every aspect of the album's creation, Seth let us know, "I really enjoyed every aspect of bringing this project to fruition."


For more information, promo requests or to set up an interview please contact:

Brandy Maltas/ Kalli Birman in SL
Mankind Tracer Manager
Email - brandy@sethregan.com

Finding The RIGHT One In SL or RL

Last night I posted this on Facebook:

A friend and I were talking about the subject of dating tonight and he said to me...

"So you dream big, and won't let yourself be side tracked by anything or anyone that is not going to advance your dream"

My response to that was "I'm very driven and I want to be with someone who wants to be part of my dream"

The more I think about it... the more I am sure that is accurate... if the person we are with is the right person, they will share in our hopes and dreams and help us work towards achieving them!

I felt the need to expand upon this because it really has stirred something inside me... I guess it stirred up some anger. There are always going to be compromises in relationships, where to eat, what movie to watch, what car to purchase, but not your life's dreams and goals!

I work full time in Second Life as my career, therefore, 95% of the time I spend in SL is for work purposes. That being said, I also have wonderful friends in Second Life that I could just not do with out. The friends I speak to the most are the friends I also work with like Seth Regan (known in SL as Mankind Tracer), my best friend, who is my business partner and the musician I manage. Often times we will be talking about work or music and also life, kids, books etc. The friends I don't work with, I just am not able to keep up with as much, but I know most understand that while I may be logged into SL, it is not for recreation and when I have a moment here or there, I do message them or join them at a concert. They also know that they can message me because I have mad multitasking skills and can chat in IM with them while I have 4 or 5 IMs going. Response time might be a little slower but that is just how it is.

For the people who do not understand, I only offer you this.... if I had a tradition job, would you be upset if I couldn't talk often while I was at work?

My Second Life is far from typical and I don't expect everyone to “get it” but I do expect to be respected.

If someone wants to be part of my life in a dating capacity, I want them to be proud of the fact that I am driven and goal oriented. If they do not share my goals, I expect them to be supportive in the very least and understand that this is who I am and what I do. Just as I would be supportive of their career and help them any way possible. We should all expect this because if the person we are dating cannot be supportive or helpful in achieving our goals, who will be????

Sometimes you have to face facts that you and the person you are dating want different things and that is okay. I would rather know early on that the paths chosen for life do not match and be able to be friends than frustrate each other trying to make things work. I know I sure don't need the stress of that in my life.

I know people who are so in a hurry to find love that they lose sight of the fact that they need to find the RIGHT person to love. Love is not a race and you will not die from being alone. Take your time and let the right person find you. Cultivate healthy friendships that can give you companionship. This goes for Second Life and real life. I also, firmly believe that the very best relationships have great friendship as the foundation, so take time to get to know someone and find out if you even want the same things in life.

In Second Life we have the opportunity to meet and interact with people from all over which is great, however, those people also have a chance to hide behind an avatar and put their “best face forward”. It is even more important to get to know someone you are dating very well in SL. I encourage everyone to use voice or even webcam and Google search their name and before you meet in real life spend the money to do a back ground check. You can never be too cautious!

I guess what this all boils down to is, that if the person is the RIGHT person, SL or RL, they will be supportive of your dreams and want to be part of them, not try to derail them. Sometimes dreams and goals will change as you change and that is fine but your significant other should still be supportive and flexible.

Managing A Musician in Second Life

I've been managing musicians in Second Life for three years now and I love it! In the past I have managed the music career of Craig Lyons, Guitar Zane and others. Currently, I am managing Mankind Tracer/Seth Regan in real life.

With every musician I have managed, I take it seriously. To me it's no different than a real life job with real commitments and by taking on the management of a musician, they are putting their career into your hands. Second Life offers musicians a global audience that they may never have had in RL. It is a chance to get their name out there and develop their very real fan base and even sell some CDs.

If you want to manage a musician, or currently do, you MUST keep in mind that this is a business. You are in the business of promoting, booking and creative development. Also, I cannot express enough, you are a reflection on the musician you manage and they are a reflection on you. So act professionally.

What do I mean by act professionally? Well, to start with, be kind, to everyone. Be nice to newbies, venue owners, fans, hosts, other managers, musicians....everyone. Even when someone is not being really nice to you, be nice back. Kill them with kindness. There will be times when you might have a disagreement with someone, that is bound to happen eventually, just remember to not lose your temper and keep a professional attitude.

Dress to impress! Think about the shows you have booked and even visit the venue before hand to see what is appropriate for that venue. Don't wear jeans to a ballroom and don't wear a ball gown on the beach. As a musician manager, you have some flexibility because you can dress "rock & roll" or to a theme but keep in mind that it is still unprofessional to have your butt cheeks hanging out or cleavage spilling out all over the place. In Second Life I believe that we have become a bit desensitized to blatant sexuality but as a professional you do need to dress the part. When in doubt go conservative.

Communication is key! You NEED to be able to communicate effectively with many people, such as, the musician, venue owners, hosts, fans, media and others. Make sure you have good communication skills! You can schedule times to sit down to meet with your musician to discuss upcoming gigs if they are very busy in RL or you can just make a point to communicate daily with pertinent information. This is very important to a successful working relationship. Also, communication with venues is super important. If your musician needs to cancel or reschedule or is running late you HAVE to let the venue know or you might not get your musician booked there again.

"When considering a manager to handle your music career, it is imperative that you find someone you communicate well with and understands your vision of what you want for your music career. They need to understand that this is a job that you are counting on them to perform professionally and that you are putting your name, your brand and your trust into their hands."- Mankind Tracer/Seth Regan

These are just some basics of musician management, I do offer one on one training for managers. Right now, I am not taking on new talent in SL, however, if you need a little help with creative development or mentoring you are free to email me. If interested please email me with links to music, your name and the sort of assistance you are looking for:  brandy@maltasmanagement.com

Can I Make Money Performing In Second Life?

Mankind Tracer/Seth Regan @ The Rose Theatre

I was looking at the stats on my blog and it tells me where the traffic comes from. One thing I noticed was was a key word search about "do live musicians get paid in Second Life". I thought this would make for a good blog post.

The truthful answer to that question is... it depends on a lot of factors.

If you are just coming in to perform to have fun and not worried about money, then this post is not about you.

There are musicians who make money in Second Life (SL)... should you quit your day job and start performing exclusively in SL? ... no, absolutely not. If you are a talented musician, and I will emphasis IF, then you could make some supplemental income by performing in Second Life and expand your fan base to a global audience.

There are some key questions you should ask yourself before considering performing in Second Life as a money making venture:

• Are you talented?

Be realistic, do not listen to your mother, she will likely love anything you do and do not listen to your close friends because they will not always be the most honest either. 

• How much money do you expect to spend and make in SL performing?

There are some costs to getting started performing in SL. You will need clothes, skin, hair, an instrument or hand mic of you don't play an instrument. You will need to rent a stream to broadcast your performance. You will need real life equipment like a good performance grade mic, a mixer and a monitor or headset to be able to hear yourself. 

When you are first starting out performing in SL, you will likely need to play at some tips only venues until you build up a fan base. Just like in real life, no one will pay you unless you can bring an audience with you. So plan to make only tips for the first several months.

• How much time do you plan on spending just learning the ropes?

When you are new to SL you will need to learn things like where to get a tip jar, how to get dressed, how to adjust your equipment, how to create landmarks, how to talk to people locally and privately. If you are lucky you can find a friend or a mentor that will give you a crash course in these things and other basics.

• Do you need management in SL?

Unless you plan to put in hours of leg work getting to know the various ways of promoting yourself with in SL and networking with venue owners, then you need a manager who already knows people and how to promote you. You need someone you can trust with your reputation and someone who is willing to commit to developing your SL career.

What this all boils down to is expect to invest in a Second Life music career like you would a real life music career. There is time and money to consider and if you do and are talented then you can make some supplemental income. Second Life is not a game, it is a 3D social network and you can use it to help build a fan base globally and help sell some CDs as long as you are realistic about it.

If you are interested in performing in Second Life and need some guidance, please feel free to email me. When you email, please include you tube links so I can get a feel for your music, a phone number or skype name and any other info you wish to include: brandy@maltasmanagement.com

Second Life Business Basics: Promotional Videos

Today's post is about promotional videos or as some call them machinima. As part of your promotions you should consider having a professional video made of your store, land, performance or event. Why you ask? This is another thing you can post to your social media to link to outside of blog posts and flat ads.

If you are a performer it is a great way to showcase yourself in the best possible light performing your best songs. You can include a link to your video in your booking information to give venues and idea of your style and skill before they are able to get to a concert.

If you are a clothing store or land sales business, a video featuring your product or land is a great promotional tool. You can post it to Facebook, Second Friends, Twitter and so on. It is another medium to showcase what you have to offer.

One of the great machinamists that my business partner, Seth Regan, and I have had the privileged to work with is Kaya Angel, owner of The Rose Theatre. He has produced top quality videos for The Rose Theatre, featuring wonderful performers and even worked with Seth and did a Second Life video for his song "Inside Your Dreams". Take a look at his work HERE

Quality is KEY!!! Make sure if you are going to invest in a video that it is the best possible quality and be prepared to pay for that quality. Your friend who knows how to film in SL volunteering to shoot a video, while very kind of them, may not produce the best video for your branding. You also want to make sure the person you hire knows how to make the "audio" track of the video to be the best possible quality. Be careful what is put out there because you want it to reflect you in a positive light.

Second Life Business Basics: Promotions

People work hard to create things in Second Life...clothing, venues, land, music and so much more. They put their time and effort into these things and then don't do a whole lot to promote it. That just doesn't make sense to me.Why create something and not give it some exposure and promotion?

I understand that creating things takes a lot of time but finding time to promote is so important. With SL businesses, artists and content creators, there are many avenues to promote yourself.

For musicians and venues, there are a lot of event based groups that you and or your manager can join to send notices for your shows. Social media is also a great outlet to get the word out about your shows. There is even Second Friends, a social media website created just for SL residents, which is totally free to join, create a group and post events. Also, look at things like Facebook, Twitter and Google+ because there are tons of SLers on them. There are resources out there, you just need to start using them. Also, I cannot stress enough to venue owners, POST YOUR EVENTS IN SL EVENTS... and make sure you use the musician's name in the listing. People looking in the events want to know which musician is playing and when... unless you are a place like The Rose Theatre with a big built in audience that knows The Rose always employs quality entertainment, then Bob Avatar doesn't care about " John Doe's Music Shack", they want to know who is playing there. Try posting the description like (Musician's Name ) @ John Doe's Music Shack

Content creators also have groups in SL they can join to send things to bloggers for review or to send notices to about new releases and sales. Again just like with musicians and venues, social media is a great outlet. Business can join Second Friends as well and create groups, you cannot post things for sale in the blogs, but you can post whatever you want on your page and to your group. You can also utilize SL Events because there is a commercial category.


Seth also has posted blogs with marketing and business suggestions, you can check out his blog HERE

This is just a few simple basic things you can and should do to promote yourself and what you create. If you need further help with promotion, marketing, website design, or the many other services that the Tracer|Birman Agency has to offer please email Seth or I at info@tracerbirman.com