There are many venues in Second Life © catering to
audiences who appreciate live music. One such is Rainbow Amphitheatre, operated
by Bibbi. Having been to a few live shows there, I had the opportunity to
interview Bibbi on Rainbow Amphitheatre and the live music scene.
SLE: How did you come
about with the idea of building a concert venue?
Bibbi: I used to host at
The Colour Factory, and we had the sim go out from underneath us. After
rebuilding, the venue manager had conflicts with RL so we dropped back to just
doing spontaneous gigs. I wanted someplace to go and thought a long time about
it before finally decided to do my own. I opened at the end of March.
SLE: What is your
goal as a venue owner in SL?
Bibbi: My
goal was to have a small venue with select performers. I try to concentrate on
instrumentalists but also the spoken word. I try to keep singers to one morning
a week.
SLE:
Who designed the place for you?
Bibbi: Me. I designed and built it.
SLE: Do you have a
weekly schedule of performers?
Bibbi: Not a rigid
schedule. If I don't have someone for a specific day, I don't fret about it.
SLE:
But the audience finds you?
Bibbi: I publish each one
in events, and many musicians have their own fan groups. There are also a
number of groups that deal with live music. I do notices there. I pretty much
only am open on Tuesday through Thursday and only at 3am.
SLE: Whom would you
consider the best acts on SL at the moment? Can you attract these?
Bibbi: I think I have some
of them already. Some are not so much in line with my concept.
SLE: What type of acts
fit your concept? If you have some favorites I would like you to name these.
Bibbi: I have a few
singers. I prefer ones who are self-accompanied like Phoenix J, but I have a
couple of great track singers. That is, they have background instrumentals or
even backup vocals. Bono Fouroux is an awesome guitarist. Michi Renoir composes
and plays electronica. Mark Seery plays here too. Russell Eponym opened for me
in March. He's strictly acoustical. He does poetry readings when he performs
here. There are some I've taked to who would like to play here, it's just a
matter of available times.
Others
who have played at Rainbow include Mar Biddle, Thera D, Eth Tedeshi, and Paris
Obscur . Bibbi says she is very pleased with all of the performers, so far. She
brings the acts simply by talking to them, and the word seems to spread. “Also, I go to a lot of performances and get
to hear people and learn who I like. I also have some friends whose judgment I
trust. They will give me ideas.”
SLE: Do they work on
tips or do you have to pay? Or, does it work the other way around (you getting
a cut)?
Bibbi: They play for tips,
but I also share the venue tips with them. Some musicians have a set minimum.
Because I'm small, I can't really pay those minimums.
SLE: How about the
audience. What kind of people come to shows?
Bibbi: Great people, almost
all of them. Of course each musician has fans, so there are some differences
from performance to performance, but there are also a lot of people who check
what's playing any given time and pick the one they like best. I have some
people I consider friends who come often. There are regulars. And some of them
are ones who used to come to The Colour Factory. That warms my heart. To be
honest, there are many people I see at a variety of venues. It's always amazing
to see them here.
SLE : Comparing to
other similar venues, how do you think you're doing? Honest assessment?
Bibbi: You should
understand that very few venues make much money, so that isn't a measure. I
feel that with the kind of performers I have here, that's my measure of success.Compared
to other venues: There are some with radically different concepts, so no real
comparisons. But compared to smaller places, I think some are doing better, and
better from a standpoint of the number of acts they book. But I also see many
venues go away after shorter or longer periods of time. So honestly, I'd put
Rainbow Amphitheatre in the middle. Anyone who starts a venue with the idea of
getting rich will be disappointed. If you do it for the love of it, you can
honestly say it's successful as long as you run it. One other measure of
success for me, and this is the most important, the performers tell me they
enjoy playing here.
SLE: What would you
like Linden Lab to do to help the music scene in SL?
Bibbi: As to LL helping?
I'm not sure what they can do. The concept behind SL is the residents create
the content. So I think it's up to the performers and the venue owners. That
being said, we all know that there are things that don't go right. LL could do
a better job of testing, I think. But there is one thing that's not specific to
the music scene. There are a lot of griefers. They could do a better job of
dealing with them.
SLE: Do you face
limitations with regard to capacity and stream listening abilities? Lag?
Bibbi: I've had it pretty
good here. Not much lag and the streams usually work very well.
SLE: Are you able to
implement security measures?
Bibbi: I have only had to
eject and ban one person in 4 months. That's been sufficient for me so far.
Other venues haven't been so lucky.
SLE: What further
plans do you have for Rainbow Amphitheatre?
Bibbi: I want to do more
readings. I've been talking with a poet. Also I've discussed a specific topic
for a reading with someone. Too soon to
reveal but that's what I'm working on in addition to keeping my eye out for
other performers who would fit.
SLE: Anything else
you might want to add?
Bibbi: A couple things. One
is my gratitude to Whisper Ampan. I learned a lot from her at The Colour
Factory. The other is that I'm also grateful to the land owners here. They
wanted me to locate here because of the setting and it just works so well
After a concert at Rainbow Amphitheatre, I asked
guitarist Bono Foureux about how he likes playing at Rainbow Amphitheatre. He
said he liked the audience interaction and being able to bring joy to the
people by his music there, and that Bibbi is a great venue owner. “That lady is
great… and I love to play there. I told her when I feel good I can play better
and it works for me there like that.” Singer Phoenix J echoed similar
sentiments: “Bibbi is hardworking and
warm and passionate about music. Her venue is a lovely
intimate place to hang for listeners and musicians alike. I love being here and
cannot thank her enough for inviting me to be a part of this.”
I really have become to appreciate the SL live music
scene lately, and to a great part thanks to Bibbi and Rainbow Amphitheatre. I
encourage everyone to pay a visit!
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