The SL Enquirer: ChicagoBluesman2022

Image was taken by Cathy Kærann

With the holidays out the way, and things settling down both in real life and on the grid I’m glad to be back to exploring and meeting new and interesting people. It is one of the exciting things about Second Life. On any given day you never know what you may come across or who you might spark up a conversation with. While out and about I thought I’d browse the event list and check out a concert. I noticed another performer in the crowd showing his support. I find that to be very respectful and supportive. It shows me that not everyone is focused on their own thing and people do support each other rather than compete. It's a beautiful thing.

After the show, I met up with ChicagoBluesman, a professional instrumentalist from Chile that is relatively new to the music scene in SL and we got to talking. I was impressed by what he shared and his passion for Blues.

Interview with ChicagoBluesman

Lanai: Hi Chicago, It’s a pleasure to meet you. You’ve only been in Second Life for only 4 months. How did you discover this virtual world?

ChicagoBluesman: I came to Second life because of one of those things about algorithms, I was studying some courses on the metaverse and NFTs for Marketing at the Linkedin academy, then Instagram showed me John Rocky's profile, he was teaching how to start doing shows in second life, from that point one thing led to another and here I am.

Lanai: Word of mouth and viral advertising with social media is a powerful thing! Where are you from and what inspired you to pursue a career in music?

ChicagoBluesman: I’m currently living on an island in South America. When I used to live in Chile nobody played blues harmonica in my town, we were under a military government where listening to some type of music was kind of forbidden. We didn't have access to get good albums, sometimes a friend got some CDs because his mother used to be a flight attendant in the '80s.

Lanai: That must have been an amazing music experience for you being introduced to new sounds that way. Your name makes it obvious that your genre is Blues. Of all the different music out there, what gravitates you to this particular genre?

ChicagoBluesman: The first song I listened to was Sweet sixteen from BB king, never forget that. It was an old tape that a friend of mine lent me, that type wasn’t in very good condition to be honest, even like that it got my full attention but I didn’t know the name of that style of music.

Lanai: B.B. King defines the blues! Did you know with its classic rhythm and storytelling, studies showed Blues music eases tension and anxiety and also improves memory, learning, and intellectual development? An instrumentalist is pretty rare in Second Life, You play the rhythm without singing and this makes you unique in the SL music scene. What type of instruments do you play and what artists inspire what you perform?

ChicagoBluesman: The first instrument I played was the flute when I was at school, then I started playing the accordion and studied Latin rhythms like cuecas and folkloric things from my country. After a while I sold the accordion and bought a tube amp to connect the harmonica and sound more electrified, it was here that the fun began. These days I am being sponsored by a Chinese harmonica brand called Kongsheng, I started to work with them this year.

Lanai: That’s a great opportunity to expand your music! Aside from covering many of your favorite songs, Do you write your own music?

ChicagoBluesman: I have composed some songs but most of my time was spent working as a session musician, I have already recorded music for movies, reality shows, pop singers, jazz musicians, and all types of styles.

Lanai: Very impressive! In 2001 and again in 2011 you opened for Eric Clapton, tell me a little about how that happened and what that experience was like. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRS67-UQAGw)

ChicagoBluesman: There is a somewhat funny anecdote that happened in 2001, we opened the Eric Clapton show on October 4 at the national stadium in Chile, and at that time I was working at the same time for an airline called Copa Airlines, serving passengers traveling to Panama. I remember that a few days before I had to ask my boss for permission to let me open the show for Eric Clapton, at first nobody believed me. I remember that after the show I had to return to the airport because I had to work. My smile that night lasted throughout the shift.

In 2011 we opened again for the Clapton show together with one of the best-known blues bands in Chile "La Rata Bluesera" and Miguel Botafogo from Argentina. Clapton was very receptive to us and we were able to chat briefly.

Lanai: That’s very exciting being that Eric Clapton is among the greatest and most influential guitar players in rock history. Giving you some major bragging rights in the real world! How often do you perform in Second Life?

ChicagoBluesman: It depends, sometimes I play from 4 to 5 times during the week, I'm still trying to get more good gigs in some venues but I received a lot of invitations to play for free and I'm not interested in doing that unless is for a charity event.

Lanai: Very Understandable. Not everything should be given away for free. I can see you performing for weddings and at high-end venues in SL. Your sound is lounge-worthy, we even joked it makes good elevator music the other night. It sets a nice background tone for people to enjoy while engaged in good conversation or just relaxing and enjoying the atmosphere. Since you have experience performing in front of crowds in real life and now in Second Life, Do you feel the same rush of adrenaline?

ChicagoBluesman: I must confess that it has been very different but I have been getting used to it, a good exercise was having attended several shows of my fellow musicians to see how they perform during the 1-hour show, but yes, there is always a bit of nerves, you never know what's going to happen lol

Lanai: I think every great artist gets nervous before or during a show. If they didn’t, they are not striving to get better. Do you have a calendar with your performance dates so our readers know how to find you?

ChicagoBluesman: sure, here is a link

https://calendar.google.com/calendar/u/1/r/month?cid=Y2hpY2Fnb2JsdWVzbWFuMjJAZ21haWwuY29t

Lanai: Thank you for the link drop. How can venues book you for performances?

ChicagoBluesman: They can contact me directly or contact my manager Carmen Cardone who has done a fantastic job helping me here at Second Life.

Lanai: I love that you gave her some props for a job well done. SL Music managers don’t get enough recognition for what they do. Without them, musicians would be overwhelmed by having to do all the behind-the-scenes communication and marketing stuff they do. Kudos to Carmen! It was a pleasure getting to know you Chicago. Thank you for sharing your talent with us in Second Life. and I hope to see you continuing to move and groove across the grid. Is there anything else you would like to share with our readers?

ChicagoBluesman: Thank you Lanai, I appreciate this, this is all new to me so I’m gonna try to spread the blues harmonica everywhere in Second Life. My message to the readers is If you go to my show invite your friends and have fun :)