Meet RoseDrop Rust aka Dan Linn

RoseDrop Rust

Last night I attended a performance of RoseDrop Rust at the Hummingbird Café [slurl] then was invited to attend an unpublicized performance at Club Egret [slurl] which I could not refuse. Not only did I thoroughly enjoy RoseDrop’s performance, but the invitation was extended by the beautiful redheaded Live Music Producer and Wicked Karma Live! Stream Manager Circe Broom. How could an admitted Redhead lover pass up such an opportunity?

RoseDrop Rust aka Dan Linn, grew up in Portland Oregon. Where his Mother taught him to play the ukulele, and his father installed frets on a Hawaiian steel guitar to become Dan’s first Guitar. His father sold records and managed a band, while Dan took Classical Piano lessons for eight years.

Dan began his career playing open mikes with his brother, and later played by himself at coffee houses singing protest songs. Began playing restaurant gigs in 1970, then move to San Francisco and played the Coffee Gallery and other folk clubs until moving back to Portland to play a string of taverns. Forming The Dan Linn Trio, a group earned a reputation for interesting arrangements of eclectic song selections, toured Canadian hotel lounges where he lost an eye to a jealous boyfriend. Dan also did disco gigs, and a stint of country western show tunes with Skip Kurts and the New Pioneers touring New Mexico, Arizona, and Colorado.

Moving back to Portland Dan worked with his own band Shaky Louie, Lew Jones, the Defenders and then on to 20 consecutive years as a co-producer with the John Lennon Memorial Society’s John Lennon Memorial Canned Food Concert and lead singer of the featured band.

Eventually Dan begin experimenting with podcasting in the summer of 2005, his first official podcast was recorded 9/11/2005. The show is RoseDrop Media Circus, and it is recorded every Sunday night at the Rose and Raindrop Tavern at SE Grand Ave. and Washington St. in Portland, Oregon. Dan maintains the collection of podcast shows on his site… http://www.rosedropmedia.com/ Please take the time to check out his site. Like his performances in Second Life I think you will spend your time enjoyable.

After Last night’s performance RoseDrop Rust sat down to an interview…

WeirdHarold Cave: How would you personally describe your musical style?

RoseDrop Rust: I generally say it is eclectic. I become obsessed with songs. I have played everything from show tunes, to jazz standards, folk, classic Rock, top forty disco, singer songwriter oddballica….. I think style is subservient to the song and the lyric.

WeirdHarold Cave: Can you give me a rundown of your real life musical career?

RoseDrop Rust: I started playing coffee houses in High school in the 60s, after getting into musical theater early. I played in Portland, and for a while in San Francisco. I can back to Portland in the mid seventies to play Taverns, started Trio, The Dan Linn Trio, known for interesting arrangements. We toured Canada doing small hotel lounges.

WeirdHarold Cave: I noticed you attempt to interact with the crowd at your performance… even to the point of trying to take a phone call… care to comment?

RoseDrop Rust: You know, there is something special about an SL audience. It is so forgiving of faults, it wants you to do well, and it encourages good performance. The people seem to understand what has become increasing evident to me, and that is that music and art in general are functions of community. The SL community is at a point of celebrating its artists for their contributions and not necessarily their subjective quality. You can see this in many emerging alternate and sub culture communities….. I believe it is the friendship of SL residents that brings people to my shows initially. I love having any audience and the SL audience is a dream for me!

I should add here that Rosedrop had said a mouthful and summed up more in that answer than I hoped to get out of the whole interview.

WeirdHarold Cave: What brought you to SL, and what do you get out of it?

RoseDrop Rust: I came to promote my pod cast. What I have received has been so much more than I expected. I get to play music for friends, which has been a pattern of my life, but I have found out so much about the imaginations of people. Different relationships I had never imagined… Different lifestyles I hadn’t encountered, ever!

WeirdHarold Cave: I have visited your site, Rose Drop Media Circus, and am intrigued with what I found. Care to comment on your site and tell us more about the RoseDrop Media Circus?

RoseDrop Rust: It has been a labor of love that has returned ten fold. I have recordings of wonderful artists that are unavailable anywhere else. It’s like having a window on a time in my town that can never be recreated! Wonderful performances from people who are hidden away and repressed but full of heart and beauty, I think one should just listen with a thought to the clarity of the moment.

RoseDrop Rust: It is common for performers to forget to acknowledge those who are most instrumental in their success. Believe me, I hope that doesn’t happen when one of my podcast performers break into wide recognition…..

RoseDrop Rust: I was introduced to SL by Spin Martin, aka Eric Rice. My first performance was at the 3rd birthday celebration. I barely remember who helped me…. It was…… Gosh…… It was a birthday celebration Linden helper….. You know that dream that musicians have? You can’t find the stage……? You are not sure of the words…?.. And you have no pants? That’s what my first show was like.

RoseDrop Rust: Now, I want to be sure that you know, that without a few key people, this SL performance experience couldn’t have come to me. Circe Broom here has been a tremendous inspiration to me. Just how she sweats blood for the love of music and artists for what appears to be… to be nothing but aggravation…..

Just as RoseDrop Rust speaks of Circe Bloom, Dan puts so very much into his performances. I sometime get tired of saying… This performer is worth the time to hear, but in this case I will be happy to shout it from the mountain top! Not only does he pour out his soul, but he actually cares about the crowd and tries to meet and thank each person that will stick around long enough after a performance. Not only a extremely talented artist, but a sincere, and very nice guy!