SecondLife Singer/Songwriter Showcase
The TOM 2.0 FILES
Tom 2.0 is a newcomer to the world of music here in Second Life. He performs a wide mix of songs, ranging from the oldies of the 50's and 60's (like Elvis and the Beatles) up through the modern pop music of today (Katy Perry, Bruno Mars and Matchbox Twenty to name a few). Country music, 80's hair bands, folk songs, and even some original tunes are usually on the menu as well for this gracious guitar guy.
Tom plays at various places around the SL Grid, but can be found weekly at The Ragged Edge on Mondays at 6 PM SLT and Sundays at 4PM SLT at the Kickin Club. You can also find him anywhere a karaoke stage is set up, singing his heart out. Tom's also been known to indulge adoring fans with private concerts over voice chat from time to time.
Q&A
1. Why are you a singer/songwriter? Songwriting is both a release and an exercise for me. At times, it helps me deal with feelings or emotions, allowing an outlet for those things. When dealing with a difficult emotion or going through a difficult time, writing a song is a kind of release, allowing me to move forward after the song has been completed. Other times, I simply want to try to write a song in a particular style. Sometimes it fails, other times it succeeds. Either way, it's a learning experience.
2. What is your musical background? Do you have a musical family or did you just fall into songwriting all on your own? I have played trumpet since I was in the fourth grade, having private lessons as well as band classes. Before that, I remember having a Lowry organ in our home and spending hours messing around on it, learning how to read the easy organ books and playing songs. My sister played it as well, and later clarinet, but I was the only one who really moved forward on a music based track, eventually becoming a band and general music teacher in elementary and junior high schools.
3. What sorts of things have you done to improve your songwriting? The only thing I really do is to write more and more. Listening to other songwriters sometimes gives me ideas but just continually trying to write a song is what helps me get better. I feel each song helps me improve, whether the song itself is a good one or not.
4. Have you written any songs in the last 12 months? What are you working on now and where do you feel your music is headed? I have written just a few songs in the last year. As with just about all my songs, they deal with love found or lost. I've tried to think of other things to write about, but at this point, love seems to be the easiest subject to pull from.
5. And finally, what advice would you give anyone looking to follow a similar path to yours? Write, write, and then write some more. It doesn't really matter if your song becomes the next number 1 Grammy winning song of all time or not. Every song leads you to the next; it's a process.
