SecondLife Singer/Songwriter Showcase
PREVIEW.
Showcase 6, October 5 2013
SL’s “Originals Cafe” will have three more amazingly talented singer-songwriters to entertain you: TerryLynn Melody, Shannon Oherlihy and Joe Paravane.
Songwriters don’t get much better than these three so for a night of musical splendor under the stars at SL’s very beautiful “Originals Cafe” please come along and bring your friends. You will be so glad you did!
Joe Paravane, aka Joe Rizzo, has been playing guitar for several years, starting out when he picked up the instrument in high school. Currently he plays in RL with This Old Band, a rhythm and blues trio, and runs a recording studio in the San Francisco Bay area. Joe performs his numerous original songs with a great finger-picking style that mixes a contemporary style with folk-rock and blues undertones. Joe will be showcasing his singer-songwriting craft for us at Originals Cafe” on October 5th.
Shannon Oherlihy, aka Shannon McMahon, is a singer/songwriter from Stratford, CT who writes her songs under the banner of “contemporary folk music” but really her vocals along with heart-felt lyrics, filled with human experience, combine to transcend that description. We are so happy that “Originals Cafe” will have the pleasure of Shannon performing for us on October 5th.
TerryLynn Melody is a singer/songwriter who has been featured on National Public Radio, Clear Channel Radio, and Fox Television. Her original songs combine influences of folk, country, rock and blues. She always connects deeply with her lyrics – a quality that sadly seems to be lacking in the music industry these days. TerryLynn will be performing at “Originals Cafe” on October 5th.
See you there! From the OC Scribe
SHOW REVIEW.
An mp3 sample of each performers performance appears on their individual pages.
Joe Paravane
Joe came to “Originals Cafe” tonight with his bag overflowing with wonderful original compositions. He was also in the mood to tell us a bit about how each song came to be and the influences surrounding them. This aspect is always appreciated, especially by fellow singer-songwriters, and a few were actually present for Joe’s set and listened intently.
I guess I would describe Joe’s music as being largely influenced by the blues with all it’s sub genres and most were on offer tonight. Joe is a skilled finger-picking style guitarist and not half bad on the bottle neck slide and harmonica as well. All three instruments were used throughout his hour set giving it a nice blend so as to change the mood and arrangement from song to song.
He began his set with a very bluesy song called “Mountain Woman” which immediately showcased his wonderful guitar talents. Next was a song he wrote in Northern California called “In Harmony” in which he used bottle neck slide for the first of a few songs throughout his set. He followed that with a corker of a song called “What Do You Know” which most fans refer to as “The Train Song” as its theme has a bit to do with trains. This was the first of a few songs in which he also played the harmonica to outstanding effect. His next original was one of the stand out songs of his set. I think the song maybe called “Happy” but I’m not 100% sure on that. The song possessed a very circular sounding, almost merry-go-round structure and rhythm which blended perfectly with lyrics like “Your smile makes me happy”. A very child-like innocence surrounded this wonderful song. A slight departure in sound was next with an almost 60’s folk style arrangement of his song called “I Like The Way You Make Me Feel”. This great tune, with lots of wonderful finger picking, wouldn’t have been out of place on a Peter, Paul and Mary album!
Another change in direction found the next song, “Melted Snow” one of the night’s highlights because of its echoed, almost lead guitar runs, giving it a very eerie feel unlike any of his other originals. The lyrics also conjured up a landscape where people carried” buckets of water and melted snow” - great song! The harmonica was back for the next, jaunty song, “Give Me Something Good” which also had exceptional guitar picking throughout. It’s lyrics were a strong look on society, at one point noting “The rich get richer and the poor stay poor” - Indeed. Joe delighted us next with a brand new song called “Spread Joy” and it definitely lived up to it’s name. A slower styled song about staying positive and optimistic. Back to the heart of the blues next with the song “Tangled in The Barbed Wire”. Influenced largely by the Mississippi blues style of guitar playing it also featured some great harmonica. “Rise Up” was the last song of his impressive set. This song once again featured some of that echoey lead guitar and it sounded almost reggae at times.. something I could easily hear Bob Marley singing especially with lyrics like “War against fear in our life”.
And that brought an end to a great hour of Joe’s original songs. So if you like your folk and blues mixed together with great lyrics and guitar playing than you will have a great time at a Joe Paravane gig! Thanks Joe, for sharing your skills with us tonight at “Originals Cafe”.
Shannon Oherlihy
Shannon has been a regular SL and RL performer for a number of years and this experience shines through in all her performances so it was a treat to see her on the bill at “Originals Cafe” tonight.
Drawing from her musical surroundings of her youth, Shannon is probably what you would call a “folkie” at heart and her own compositions blend in effortlessly with the styles of the singer-songwriters of the 60’s and 70’s with many of her songs sounding as good as those of Joan Baez, Judy Collins, Nanci Griffith or even Joni Mitchell. It has to be said that Shannon possesses an incredible voice that immediately draws you into her songs. It’s a voice that connects straight from her heart and soul direct to the listener. It’s warm and welcoming. Shannon also has a knack of writing great lyrics too that always tell a story that’s worth telling.
Tonight Shannon began her set with an ode to her stolen guitar - “Lost in Montreal”. Next was a brand new song called “Wishing on Planes” which at first had me puzzled until Shannon explained how sometimes you think you are wishing on a star but it turns out to just be a plane. Fascinating concept for a song which is destined to become one of her very best. She followed that new one with what I feel is her very best song called “Anyway”. A love song about saying those three little words, perhaps when you really shouldn’t. Heartfelt, emotional and a truly incredible song. What is possibly her most requested song was up next. “Emotional Vampire” is more uptempo than a lot of her other songs and has actually been covered by a few people in SL over the years. It’s a tale about certain types of people that lurk in the depths of Second Life that can make life very difficult. Shannon followed this with a beautiful song about unrequited love called “You Never Wanted Me” - one of the night’s highlights. One of her best story songs was next. “40 Years On” was written for and about a Vietnam veteran and his sad story. A song that really pulls at the heart strings. Shannon then continued with another sad love song called “Wheels” which has a great arrangement and some very nice guitar - “I see your wheels roll on down the road and that’s all I have left of you”. Another very heartfelt and even soul searching song followed in the shape of “The Test”. This song is about the suffering of many throughout the world today and ponders the question if god is actually just testing us. Towards the end of her set Shannon sang a very introspective song which is one of her very best. “Standing Still” contains some wonderful lyrics like “The battle lines not yet won.. it reminds me of my failures”. Quite a deep song. Shannon’s final song was called “The Long Road” and it was a beautiful song written for her sister when she was going through a hard time.
Shannon’s set was indeed a journey of emotional story telling from the hands of a very gifted singer-songwriter and it was a pleasure to have her here at “Originals Cafe” tonight entertaining us with a showcase of her own songs.
TerryLynn Melody
TerryLynn does what all good singer-songwriters do - she follows her passion and its very obvious when you hear her songs. They are deep, introspective and no doubt cathartic or as TerryLynn herself says “My songs are just confessions” and tonight we were privileged to be taken into her confessional to listen to an hour of her “musical sins”.
The first horse out of the gate was her song called “Here Comes Trouble” which is a SL based song warning us about certain types of people in SL (Seems to be a popular subject for songs these days!). It contained this memorable lyric - “It takes nerves to handle these curves”. At this point I must make mention that many of TerryLynn’s song titles are best guesses as she didn’t tell us the song’s names very often so I apologise if I have gotten them wrong. The next song was “I Fear The End is Near” and it was inspired by hearing a song about a train. “The Light of The Moon” was next which TerryLynn tells us was inspired from listening to a Jeff Buckley interview and is basically about why some women drink. Slow and bluesy, almost like a folk song. One of the best of the night. Not sure of the next songs title but it was a good one about those people who just have to tell you how to live your life. A song about being on the merry-go-round of life and love followed and was possibly called “Once Around Again”. Another highlight with some insightful lyrics. Now, the next song was really different and was a standout of her set. “Peeling The Onion” began as pure poetry with the guitar used as a soundscape before picking up the pace and becoming a “song”. It contained some very deep and at times, dark, lyrics like “plant your seeds of pain and joy”. A wonderful composition. “When I Lost You” was a sad love song about a broken heart “buried with desires”. Lovely. Another interesting song came up next and it was a song written as if it were an impressionistic painting! “Strokes on The Canvas” began as a writing assignment and is basically a love song with lots of wonderful non-typical lyrics. A great song. Next up was a tale about not wanting to be the girl locked in the tower and was called “Puppet No More”. TerryLynn’s final song of the night was another love song called “All Because of You” and I guess it summed up in part why she writes her wonderful songs.
A great way to bring the night at “Originals Cafe” to a close. Thank you TerryLynn for taking us into your “confessional” and we’ll be coming back for more!
Thanks also to the other superb singer-songwriters, Shannon and Joe, for giving us another delightful night of original music. Don’t forget that there will be more great singer-songwriters next month so keep checking back at the webpage and on facebook to see who will be gracing the “Originals Cafe” stage next time. This has been the OC Scribe bidding you all a fond adieu.
