Norris Shepherd’s Blog

Posted By Norris on July 25, 2011

There is going to be a Jam in Montreal this weekend including 20 musicians who play in SL as well as another 30 or so friends and fans. Some of the musicians include Max Kleene, Montian Gilruth, Funky Freddy Republic, Shannon Oherlihy, Taunter Goodnight, Moi, and many others.

I am VERY EXCITED for this weekend. Trying hard to get practiced with my guitar, cajone, and bass, but time is flying by.

Here is the finalised lineup, complete with in-world LM’s and the stream info. Feel free to listen in, and pass the word on.

Montreal Musicians Meetup MMMv2.0 Streaming Schedule SATURDAY JULY 30TH

All shows will be one hour in length and hosted by the musicians listed. The LM for the venue as well as the stream address are included just in case the sim fills up and you wish to listen on Winamp etc.
MANY THANKS! to the stream provider THE STREAM TEAM for donating several 1000 listener streams to the Meetup and to the VENUES for their continued support to this event and the vibrant musical community in Second Life.

Sat, July 30th — 7:00am SLT MORNING JAM ON TOAST AND TESTING THE SYSTEM
Venue: Nitida Ridge

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Nitida/239/102/228
stream url: http://TheStreamteam2.serverroom.us:8866

Sat, July 30th — 8:00am SLT MORNING JAM ON TOAST
Venue: Nitida Ridge

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Nitida/239/102/228
stream url: http://TheStreamteam2.serverroom.us:8866

Sat, July 30th — 9:00am SLT GANDALF MORNINGTON
Venue: Tranquil Commons

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Tranquil/182/28/26
stream url: http://TheStreamteam2.serverroom.us:8866

Sat, July 30th — 10:00am SLT STRATUS MACTAVISH
Venue: Tranquil Commons

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Tranquil/182/28/26
stream url: http://TheStreamteam2.serverroom.us:8866

Sat, July 30th — 11:00am SLT MONTREALER MOODY
Venue: Heron Island Performance Space HIPS

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Heron%20Island/4/253/21
stream url: http://TheStreamteam2.serverroom.us:8866

Sat, July 30th — 12:00pm SLT WYTCHWHISPER SADOFSKY
Venue: Heron Island Performance Space HIPS

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Heron%20Island/4/253/21
stream url: http://TheStreamteam2.serverroom.us:8866

Sat, July 30th — 1:00pm SLT MONTIAN GILRUTH
Venue: Rocky Shores

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Cascadia/185/218/23
stream url: http://TheStreamteam2.serverroom.us:8866

Sat, July 30th — 4;00pm SLT SHANNON OHERLIHY
Venue: Nitida Ridge

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Nitida/239/102/228
stream url: http://TheStreamteam2.serverroom.us:8866

Sat, July 30th — 5:00pm SLT EPONINE DENCH
Venue: Nitida Ridge

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Nitida/239/102/228
stream url: http://TheStreamteam2.serverroom.us:8866

Sat, July 30th — 6:00pm SLT MAXIMILLION KLEENE
Venue: Key West Resort

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Key%20West%20Island/70/69/24
stream url: http://TheStreamteam2.serverroom.us:8866

Sat, July 30th — 7:00pm SLT WREN HARTUNIAN
Venue: Key West Resort

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Key%20West%20Island/70/69/24
stream url: http://TheStreamteam2.serverroom.us:8866

Sat, July 30th — 8:00pm SLT FUNKYFREDDY REPUBLIC
Venue: Gwampa’s DanceKamp

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Gwampa%20Castle/242/245/21
stream url: http://TheStreamteam2.serverroom.us:8866

Sat, July 30th — 9:00pm SLT TAMRA SANDS
Venue: Gwampa’s DanceKamp

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Gwampa%20Castle/242/245/21
stream url: http://TheStreamteam2.serverroom.us:8866

Montreal Musicians Meetup MMMv2.0 Streaming Schedule SUNDAY JULY 31st

All shows will be one hour in length and hosted by the musicians listed. The LM for the venue as well as the stream address are included just in case the sim fills up and you wish to listen on Winamp or ITunes etc.
MANY THANKS! to the stream provider THE STREAM TEAM for donating several 1000 listener streams to the Meetup and to the VENUES for their continued support of this event and the vibrant musical community in Second Life.

Sun, July 31th — 7:00am SLT ROUND TABLE DISCUSSION ” COMMUNITY AND THE IMPACT OF OTHER PLATFORMS ON SL”
Venue: Molaskey’s Pub

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Wichi/90/230/22
stream url: http://TheStreamteam2.serverroom.us:8866

Sun, July 31th — 8:00am SLT MORNING JAM ON TOAST
Venue: Nitida Ridge

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Nitida/239/102/228
stream url: http://TheStreamteam2.serverroom.us:8866

Sun, July 31th — 9:00am SLT MORNING JAM ON TOAST
Venue: Nitida Ridge

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Nitida/239/102/228
stream url: http://TheStreamteam2.serverroom.us:8866

Sun, July 31th — 10:00am SLT MONTI’S GOSPEL HOUR
Venue: Molaskey’s Pub

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Wichi/90/230/22
stream url: http://TheStreamteam2.serverroom.us:8866

Sun, July 31th — 11:00am SLT JELLYJELLYJELLY BENELLI
Venue: Molaskey’s Pub

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Wichi/90/230/22
stream url: http://TheStreamteam2.serverroom.us:8866

Sun, July 31th — 12:00pm SLT KATYDID SOMETHING
Venue: Prim Economy Music Park

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Alora%20Bay/159/148/22
stream url: http://TheStreamteam2.serverroom.us:8866

Sun, July 31th — 1:00pm SLT SLIM SHAKEY
Venue: Prim Economy Music Park

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Alora%20Bay/159/148/22
stream url: http://TheStreamteam2.serverroom.us:8866

Sun, July 31th — 4;00pm SLT JASE BRANNER
Venue: Warung Beats

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Xtream%20Hotspot/11/12/24
stream url: http://TheStreamteam2.serverroom.us:8866

Sun, July 31th — 5:00pm SLT FRANCOIS BEAUMONT
Venue: Warung Beats

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Xtream%20Hotspot/11/12/24
stream url: http://TheStreamteam2.serverroom.us:8866

Sun, July 31th — 6:00pm SLT LYNDON HEART
Venue: Warung Beats

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Xtream%20Hotspot/11/12/24
stream url: http://TheStreamteam2.serverroom.us:8866

Sun, July 31th — 7:00pm SLT NORRIS SHEPHERD
Venue: Sterling Vineyards Music Park

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Sterling%20Vineyard/53/8/28
stream url: http://TheStreamteam2.serverroom.us:8866

Sun, July 31th — 8:00pm FINAL JAM
Venue: Sterling Vineyards Music Park

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Sterling%20Vineyard/53/8/28
stream url: http://TheStreamteam2.serverroom.us:8866

Category: Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
Tags: Funky Freddy Republic, Max Kleene, MMM 2.0, Montian Gilruth, Montreal Musicians Meetup, Shannon Oherlihy

Posted By Norris on December 19, 2010

**warning** if mention of bodily functions, and hospital activities make you queasy.. you may want to stop reading here. **

So twitter and facebook falls very short in conveying details.  To try and prevent a few friends from worrying, and typing the same thing to my online friends over and over again… i just figured i type out todays events here.

Went out last night to a friends place, had a bit of rum (seriously.. not a lot..) and a beer, and some chili.  Stayed up late laughing and playing guitar though.. got home 3:30 or so.

Woke up this morning, felt fine.  had a bit of water, the old a.m. #1, then back for a nap.  Woke up a few hours, feeling a rapid need to get to washroom for #2.

As i’m getting there, really don’t feel well at all, queasy, cold sweats, the works.  Take a seat, then..

..

..wake up face down on the floor with the boss banging on the door.  Blood pouring from my face, and a very large gap in the front of my mouth.

An ambulance ride later, my nose re-set, stitches on my top lip and inside of bottom lip, blood tests, and the other vital tests, and i’m back home feeling allright.  Dentist this week or next.

Strange thing is that i felt fine.. until the urge for #2 reapears.. then very queasy, need a cold towel on my head, light headed, etc.  happened 3 times at the hospital.  Then after, fine.

After ruling everything else out, doctor figures it might be a virus, or food poisoning or something.

So for now .. i’ve had to cancel a few more shows, and will mend.

Haven’t called my buddy yet to see how everyone else fared with the chili.

So no worries, i’m ok, and will try singing with new teeth soon.

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Posted By Norris on September 8, 2010

The get together in PEI is shaping up to be a nice little gathering of friends and a few musos. Confirmed so far on the musicians side are:

Max Kleene
Dale Katscher
Norris Shepherd

Still waiting to hear back on another couple of musicians, but it will probably be the three of us, with possibly some local friends showing up.

Other than musos, there will probably be another 7 or 8 folks making the trek. We’ve had a couple cancellations, and there’s still a few ‘maybe’s’ out there.

I’m really excited about the folks coming up. I’ve met most of them before, and everyone is top notch folks!!

Sound gear is booked, a few lights are booked, rooms are booked,… everything is close to being lined up.

Just a note that it’s NOT TOO LATE if you are considering coming to PEI.  Just let me know, and you can still take part in the weekend.

If you can’t make it, we will also be streaming audio in-world and possibly video as well.  So far we are booked at Sterling Vineyards (time not set), Key West (Saturday Sept 25th, 4pm – 6pm SLT, and Warung Beats (Sunday Sept 26th, 6pm to 7pm SLT)

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Posted By Norris on April 30, 2010

BRIEFLY:

What:

A meet up of musicians and friends.

Why:

To make music, listen to music, laugh, hang out, meet and get to know new people, catch up with old friends.

Where:

Just outside Cavendish in Prince Edward Island, Canada

When:

Sept 24th, 2010 to Sept 27th,

Who:

Mostly people who have met and interact through the live music scene in SL.

Confirmed musicians as of writing (April 30, 2010)

Max Kleene
Norris Shepherd

How:

Get here however you can…(more info below)

Costs:

a) SL meetup/Jam costs : $161 US/Can
b) Your Room: from $92 to $115 per day (single/double occupancy)
b) Everything else:
Travel, flights, and everything else…

MORE DETAILED INFO:

What:

A meet up of musicians and friends.

Friday Sept 24th: Arrival and getting settled. Will probably be informal music making and hanging out.

Saturday Sept 25th: ‘pass the mic’ type day, with a more formal show to be streamed that night.

Sunday Sept 26th: more pass the mic type music, and maybe an excursion to see some of prince Edward island depending on what folks want to do. Lobster supper at night.

Why:

To make music, listen to music, laugh, hang out, meet and get to know new people, catch up with old friends.

For the musicians this will not be a weekend that will make you famous, sell albums, make any money, and probably won’t increase your fan base. It will be fun though.

For listeners, this isn’t the Rolling Stones on tour, nor is Jason Mraz live or Radiohead’s latest offering. But there will be some very talented musicians, making great music and having fun.

Where:

Just outside Cavendish in Prince Edward Island, Canada

The hotel is the Cavendish Clarion Gateway resort. http://www.cavendishclarion.com/index.html
Although ‘resort’ is in the name, it is more of a motel. As far as I could find it’s a 3 star facility. I’ll post some pictures here: It looks like an awesome place to get together and have some fun, but if you need 5 start resorts… well this is a 3 star motel.

When:

Sept 24th, 2010 to Sept 27th,

Who:

Mostly people who have met and interact through SL. We want it to be cozy and informal. We will run it if it is just 5 of us, but we are aiming for around 30 people. We will cap it at a maximum of 40 to 45 people.

The musicians taking part will probably vary in styles, age, and experience. There won’t be a full drum kit or massive bass amp, but there will hopefully be a cojone (drum box), or djembe as well as a bass available if anyone wants to use them.
Confirmed musicians as of writing (April 30, 2010)
Max Kleene
Norris Shepherd
We are going to avoid using any fully instrumented pre-recorded tracks during the weekend. If a singer who uses backing tracks wants to attend, the best bet would be to check with some of the other musicians to see if they are able to accompany them on songs that they know.

How:

Travel:

Get here however you can… the address of the resort is 6596 Route 13,
Mayfield, Prince Edward Island, C0A 1N0, Canada …. so pull up Google maps and get directions if you need to drive.

Flying:

There are 3 airports within a 3 hour drive. There is a shuttle service from Halifax to PEI, at this point I am still not sure about Moncton to PEI.

We will going to work together to get people from these airports to the site. It will require information on your fights and arrival times, and a bit of coordinating and patience from everyone. 

Airports in order of proximity:
Charlottetown (25-30 min drive) Airport code: YYG
Moncton (2hr drive) Airport code: YQM
Halifax (3hr drive) Airport code: YHZ

Airports in order of probable cost (cheapest to most expensive)
Halifax (3hr drive) Airport code: YHZ
Moncton (2hr drive) Airport code: YQM
Charlottetown (25-30 min drive) Airport code: YYG

Costs:

Basically 3 major costs: a) SL meetup/jam costs b) Your Room c) everything else

**NOTE: All costs are listed in Canadian Dollars. As the Canadian and US dollars are at par right now, the cost is approximately the same in US$. You can get a conversion here if you’d like. http://finance.yahoo.com/currency-converter/#from=USD;to=CAD;amt=100

a) SL meetup/Jam costs :
Current Price $161 ($140 + tax) ** see notes at bottom
Includes:
- conference room rental
- Saturday brunch
- Saturday supper
- Sunday brunch
- Sunday Lobster supper
- Sound equipment rental and few stage lights
- All the music and vibes dispersed over the weekend.
** If we book 12 rooms, the price will decrease to $127 per person (conference room would be free)
*** If you do not wish to take part in the lobster supper, you can remove $34 from your cost.

b) Your Room:

$92/day ($80+taxes) — Rooms on 2nd and 3rd floors with 2 doubles. Single or double occupancy.

$103.50/day (90$+taxes) – Standard room with 2 queen beds, or Room with 2 queens and Twin on 3rd floor. Single or Double occupancy.

$115/day ($100+taxes) – Rooms with Kitchenettes. Single or Double occupancy

There are also a few cottages. I haven’t received the cost of renting those yet.

b) Everything else:

Travel, flights, and everything else…

Food:

Saturday (Brunch and Supper – buffet style) and Sunday (Brunch Buffet and Lobster Supper) are included. If you need any extra munchies or snacks, that’s up to you.

Airport Shuttle:

Shuttle to/from the airport. This is something we are looking into, but Renee has looked into it somewhat and the costs don’t appear to be unreasonable.

Alcohol:

The location isn’t licensed, and they will allow us to bring and consume our own alcohol on site. We’ll make one or more beer/liquor store runs as required… always conscious of the fact that the liquor stores are CLOSED on Sundays on PEI. We will need to stock up on white wine for the lobster supper on Saturday.

Tolls:

If you plan on renting a car, driving off the island costs you 42.50$. That’s right, it’s free to get on, but they don’t want you to leave.

Other Activities:

PEI is an awesome spot with lots to do.

It is to note that a lot of the seasonal ‘touristy’ type businesses will probably be closed. Summer is a bee hive of people and activity in this area, but the fall is much more quiet. In the fall we get better rates, and won’t be bothering anyone.
If your primary purpose is the music and friends, you are all set.
If your primary purpose is to experience all the tourist type activities in PEI, you might want to double check that these activities will be available at this time of the year.

Golf: There are many quality courses on the island. You can check some of them out here if that’s your thing. Many of them are within 15 minutes of where we are staying. You can get more info here. http://www.golfpei.ca/

Curling. I promised some people that I would try to take them curling. I’m not a curler, so I’m not sure when the ice gets put into the curling rinks in PEI. But we will check, and try to get to a curling rink in Charlottetown or Crapaud is possible.

Beaches. Lots of gorgeous ones.. but not the time of year for sunbathing. 

Lots of other stuff. You can check here if you’d like. http://www.tourismpei.com/index.php3

But as I mentioned, mostly it will be a weekend about hanging out and making music. As for any activities, I personally won’t be organizing any outings (except for an attempt at curling – if the rinks are open. But feel free to line up anything you’d like to.

ALLRIGHT >>>> I WANT IN>>>> WHAT DO I DO?

Send a note card to Norris Shepherd with:
- your name
- email address
- If you are looking for a roommate.
- To book your room, you will need to call the motel directly and I can give you that information/phone number later.

The cost (as of April 30th) is 160$ (US or Canadian)
First come first served, so people who have paid have confirmed their spots.
Options;
Lindens > You can transfer L 44500 to me, with a note card.
Paypal > Send me an IM and I’ll give you an account to send it to.

Musicians:

Same info/rates apply for all musicians, but please contact me for more information.  Send an IM to Norris Shepherd.

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Posted By Norris on April 27, 2010

French Acadian + Heartbreak + easy access to recording technology + lack of vocal training + Emminem influence = GBB Jessica’s Song.

(hit the play button)

I heard this song years ago, and I kind of didn’t want to post it, feeling that the dude might want it buried. But I found his youTube channel, so I’m sure he still wants it heard.

Enjoy

Category: Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
Tags: GBB, Jessica's Song.

Posted By Norris on April 7, 2010

Last week after a show I received an IM from LoserrDotCom Sitoko asking for a bit of info about myself so he could add some information to his web page about me. Dutifully i forwarded the stuff, then checked out his web page.

At first I have to say i was a bit dubious to be included on a site called Loserr.com. Is he calling me a loser?

After checking the list of SL musos that he had included, I felt very honored to be included in the list.

LoserrDotCom’s favorite SL male musicians

I would have to say that I disagree on some of his thoughts on what a loser is though. I think ‘the little guy’, or ‘underdog’, or ‘oppressed’ are not synonymous with loser. Maybe i should just go find a place to add that to his page somewhere.

Maybe there’s a song in that somewhere.

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Posted By Norris on March 21, 2010

I think i promised someone curling videos once. I think it was Luka, Renee, or Horizzon or maybe all three. lol.

Here are a few.. well actually only one on the ice and a pre/post vid.

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Posted By Norris on March 21, 2010

Everything is still pretty much ‘learn as you go’, but I’m thinking a good way is to focus on a few songs at a time. So for now, I’m focusing on 3-4 songs at a time. I’ve got the scratch tracks down for these, and have added acoustic guitar and bass to them.

For those who don’t know what a ’scratch track’ is, let me elaborate… for those who don’t care, please skip this paragraph. It’s basically a template of the song that will be thrown out in the end. So recording to a click track (which acts as a metronome…so that i don’t speed up or slow down during the songs) I record a rough track with guitar and singing. Then i uses this as a ‘key’ to add better sounding guitar tracks, a better sounding vocal tracks, bass, drums, etc.

So I’ve got the acoustic guitar, bass tracks down and have started working on the drum tracks. This is slow going, and so far I’ve tried to consult with many rhythmically knowledgable people. It should get easier for the next batch of songs though. I had hoped to hire an external company to produce the drum tracks, but i think the cost would just be too much. More on costs at a later point. lol.

Slow progress still, but much better than no progress.

And on a non related note.. here are some curling videos. Great way to get an aching back.

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Posted By Norris on February 13, 2010

So I’ve been re-focused on working on writing and recording music the past week.

I think I’ve said before one of the hardest things about it is just breaking the inertia of ‘not’ doing it. Not recording is very easy.

If you are reading this, I’ve met you through music. And because of you I now have the confidence and desire to write and record stuff. If I hadn’t started playing music online, my guitar would probably still be in the closet with the strings rusting, where it sat for a decade.

So I’m off to the man-cave now. Wish me luck. Will keep you informed. Thanks for the help.

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Posted By Norris on February 9, 2010

Here’s a video on a cherished Canadian institution and a few truly national words. Medium Double Double and timbits.

Category: Uncategorized | 4 Comments »
Tags: Knob Idol