Public Relation Company Vice President and Live Performer

    
Photograph property of Chris Shigas                                  Second Life pic by Weirdharold

Chris Shigas aka Shiger (she-ger) Seattle in Second Life, a Vice President for a public relations agency in Raleigh, North Carolina, performs an acoustic rock with a mix of alternative and blues. Chris certainly has a different sound than the majority of performers I have heard in Second Life.

Chris began listening to Elvis recording as a young child, but at about eight he discovered Kiss and became a card carrying member of the Kiss army. By age nine Chris managed to attend a concert of the Kiss Dynasty album tour, which had all the original Kiss members intact. One could say Chris was doing some serious Rockin and a Rollin from an early age.

In the early 90’s, while a student at the University of Georgia in Athens, Chris played bass guitar for a hard rock band called Squalor Motel. With the success of the homegrown bands like REM and the B-52, the southern venue showed a lot of promise, and Squalor Motel had a lot of fun touring the south from Atlanta to Virginia. Unlike many who peek into the music world, Chris had made an early decision to get a “real job” once he graduated.

Chris played a lot of cover song sets at local clubs and sports bars, but wanting to spend more time at home began gravitating toward the acoustic guitar after the birth of his child.

I rediscovered my love for music when the grunge scene grew in
Seattle. The early 90’s are still my favorite years for music and
that’s why the last name of my Second Life avatar is Seattle. The
grunge scene influenced my songwriting and you won’t hear a lot of
songs about partying, like the songs from the big hair bands in the 80’s.
I write about meaningful events in my life, both the bad and the good.

I also love the theatrics of bands like Kiss, Ozzy and Pink Floyd. I
try to incorporate some of that into my Second Life stage show. I even
have a Shiger Seattle blimp in-world because it is so cool that Pink
Floyd toured with a blimp.

Second Life has given me the opportunity to really focus on my
original music. I don’t want to go back to playing cover songs anymore.

Chris came into Second Life because he read

You could make money playing a video game and it
intrigued me. I arrived in the game and opened a string of rock concert
t-shirt shops called Seattle Shirt Company. A little later, I stumbled
upon a JueL Resistance show at the Living Room and was floored. Her
music seemed so real and vulnerable that it added a human dimension to
this cold virtual world. She inspired me to begin streaming concerts
in Second Life.

Chris owns the Seattle Shirt Company t-shirt shops, and performs every weekend at various clubs and concert halls in Second Life. He is also opening a virtual office for his real life public relations firm, focusing on bringing corporate clients into Second Life, where Live Music will be a large part of the marketing strategy. The first client his firm is bringing in world is a non-profit called the Global Water Foundation. Second Life keeps Chris pretty busy.

Chris enjoys performing in Second Life because:

It is family friendly since I don’t have to spend late hours
performing in a smelly, smoky bar. Most RL club performances have
me loading in equipment at 8pm and I don’t get home until 3am. Now
I can perform anytime I want and I never have to leave the house or
load any equipment. You should see how fast I can tear down my SL
stage set up! It’s also great to get all of the positive feedback that I have
been getting from the live music listeners in the game. It is very inspiring.

It is critical that the live music performers interact with the audience. It’s
part of the experience that breathes life into the SL world. I think most
of us agree that this is the first generation platform of some future way to
communicate and interact with people around the world.

Chris, what do you think is a fair way to tip performers in Second Life?

I think people should tip whatever they want when they like what they
hear. For indie (independent) artists, it’s about the music and not the money.
I was thrilled when a newbie gave me $5L. I knew she must not of had
much and it made her tip even more meaningful.

There is no doubt Chris is playing a different beat than most of the Second Life Live musicians I have heard, but his entertainment value is worth hearing. Having been compared to an unplugged Nirvana and Neil Young, I would say he is in great company. If your tendencies are a little more rock than folk or country, take the time to give Chris a listen. You will enjoy the time you spend with him.

You can check out a taste of Chris’s music at his MySpace site.

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