Shadowjack, Electro-Grunge! Performer

SL picture done by Nibbler Sleestak photo property of Shane Edward Semler

Second Life pictures furnished by Nibbler Sleestak (click thumbnail to view full sized)

I attended a live performance Shadowjack gave at the club 4th Tower of Inverness (opens Second Life), and I have to admit Coldwave Industrial, Doom/Stoner Metal, Trip-Hop, Shoegazer, Ambient, Techno is not my personal preference, Yet I have to also admit that I was intrigued with the performance. Even as an older man (54) and not really “into” his type of music; I can give Shadowjack a big thumb up on his performance and style. Actually I am impressed at what he is able to accomplish, and if you have an open mind to music; I highly recommend at least one of his performances,

I IMed Shadowjack ,asking if I could email him a questionnaire which he agreed to… providing I didn’t sale him out to another spammer list. I usually ask to mail a basic questionnaire which gives me a place to mine out important facts and flavor of an artist. Pour over that information and go back to the email if necessary to get to more relevant personal “stuff” to help get a better understanding of the “person”. I am not usually wanting to simply do an interview style write up, but occasionally someone expresses his/her self so well it would be a shame to change even a word. Shadowjack fits that category! I truly like his style.

The following is a copy of the questions and answers, even when my questions were not phrased quite right, I don’t think I would be able to bring him and his music any better than he does.

1. Is there a real life picture of you that I can publish (of course
with the statement that the picture is your property used with
permission? I took a couple of your Avatar during this performance.
Would like to publish a side by side real with avie.

Sure, I’ve included a few. All of the SL snapshots should be credited
to Nibbler Sleestak.

2. Would you mind giving me your real name and may I publish it?

Shane Edward Semler. Publish away. I also have a personal blog and art
gallery: http://shanesemler.com

3. would you care to share your musical background? i.e…. what age
you got started, family involvement, maybe even a little family
background?

My family is not a musical family. I got into music seriously at first
in high school theatre, then later in college when I joined my first
band. Other than some vocal coaching and a few electric bass lessons,
everything I know is self taught.

4. Events which led to your musical interest.

I have always had music running through my head, even when i was a
child. But if there is any one event it would have to have been when a
friend in college showed me a simple 4-track cassette recorder and we
recorded a few songs on it. I was hooked from then on.

5. How about events you have played in Real life?

I was in a band in college that was fun for a while. We had one live
performance. Then I was in another band that never made it out of the
basement. Then I produced the first album for the Industrial Metal
outfit Chaotica (Turbocharger, 1999) and then shortly after joined as
the live bass player. We made quite a splash in our little piece of
the Midwest playing a number of shows all over Fort Wayne, IN. We were
even in talks with Marylin Manson’s short lived record label,
Posthuman. Unfortunately, that fell apart. Dan Bush, the vocalist and
main songwriter, has carried on and has put out a new album recently.
It’s quite good. I tried to talk him into playing in SL but I don’t
think he’s interested. Anyway, me and my brother put together a
project called The Dark Aeons and we recorded two albums and released
them independently. I think we might have sold one or two. It was very
disappointing. Especially because the first album, Nocturne Serenata,
I believe, is the best thing I ever worked on. We may play a few songs
together in the near future in SL.

6. How would you personally describe your musical style?

My music used to be squarely in Coldwave Industrial but my newer stuff
is now falling somewhere between Doom/Gothic Metal and Trip-Hop. I was
calling it Electro-Doom but someone at one of my shows called it
(without any prompting from me) Electro-Grunge! I think both fit. See
the answer to the next question from more on this.

7. Influences (not bands but concepts) that have shaped your music.
(Ok, maybe some groups or individuals are needed to understand the
shaping.)

It would be best to name a few of the genres I’m most influenced by:
Coldwave Industrial, Doom/Stoner Metal, Trip-Hop, Shoegazer, Ambient,
Techno as well as movie and video game soundtracks.All of these things bubble
up in my tunes. But as for concepts, I’d have to say I try to capture
a feeling. Not an emotion or a physical thing - more like deja vu. The
feeling you get when recalling a distant memory. Like the memory of
the scent of flowers that were in your grandmothers front yard or the
wall in the basement where you first got stoned or an image from a
forgotten dream. My music is the attempt to recreate things that
aren’t tangible. Very often, this has little to do with the lyrics.

8. Places where fans can purchase your music?

Nowhere, not songs or albums at least, I do have a project I created
specifically for SL called Shadowbox. It is a device avatars can wear
or rez and listen to short musical/atmospheric ambient loops. That
would be the only place they can purchase any kind of music from me at
the moment. They can listen to and download some tracks for free from
http://shadowjack.dmusic.com and http://myspace.com/shadowjack

9. How do you earn a living in the real world?

I use to be a graphic designer. Now though, the only money I make is
from playing music and selling a line of shoes I created in SL. I
paint and you can see my work at my personal website. Unfortunately, I
don’t exhibit in any galleries. I’m perfectly willing to sell any of
my drawings or paintings though.

10. What brought you to Second Life, and how did you get into Second
Life? (give you a chance to give credit to those who have helped you)

I’ve been in SL since April of last year. I can’t remember where I first
heard of SL but it might have been oneof those news items Linden Lab
is so good at getting written up. Anyway, I tried it for acouple hours
and was confused and I thought the graphics were pitifuland I quickly
hated it. I deleted it off my computer and forgot aboutit. Then a few
days later I was listening to This Week in Tech andthey had Robert Scoble
on there and he was talking about it and it sounded alot more interesting
than what I had encountered so I though maybe I didn’t give it a proper
chance. I ended up going back, did a bit more exploring. Then I started
building stuff and got hooked. Being able to create things and having the
option to sell them (for real money) is probably one of the coolest aspects
of SL. You can’t do that in World of Warcraft.

11. In what ways do you participate in Second Life?

I’m not sure what this question is about. Perhaps it’s a question
about the sorts of activities I’m involved in. When I’m not chatting
with friends or exploring SL, I’m usually at my home building or
playing music at various clubs. I guess I’m a content creator more
than anything. I’m not really involved in any of the various
subcultures in SL. I don’t role-play in SL. By that I mean, I’m not a
vampire, furry, Gorean or BDSM enthusiast. The person I am in SL is
the same person you’d meet in real life, except perhaps a bit less
scruffy. I suppose you could say I’m “gothy” simply by default
because my music tends to be dark and moody. I have friends and fans
who are into cyberpunk, goth, vampires and that sort of thing. My
music tends to appeal to people who are into that stuff.

12. What are the benefits you personally receive out of performing
live inside Second Life?

I love performing live in front of an audience. I haven’t been in a
live band or done any live theatre in many years and I miss it. SL
gave me the opportunity to get a bit of that back. I’ve made a lot of
great friends. People I trust and I love as much as any real life
friend. For example, Devon Molinari, the owner of the club 4th Tower
of Inverness and Circe Broom the owner of Luxor have both been
incredibly supportive and I count them both as good friends. And there
are more wonderful people than I have space to list here.

On the more practical side, I’m able to make money from tips. I have
some very enthusiastic and loyal fans and they helped me alot when my
computer broke down last year. Their tips and contributions allowed me
to get a new computer put together and I am very grateful for that.

13. How important do you think interaction, performer to fans, is in Second Life?

Did you mean “performer interaction?” Otherwise, that question doesn’t
make sense. I’ll answer it as “performer interaction.” I think it’s
very important. I’m not face to face so I have to do other things to
acknowledge and interact with the audience. It’s part of the
entertainment. People want that connection. I try to respond to things
people type in chat and I thank people for tips. I comment on the
venue, make observations about the area - whatever it takes to try to
get some sort of feedback going. It really helps people get the sense
that they are at a live performance and not just passively listening
to another audio stream.

14. Can you give me a fair way you think you should be tipped in Second Life?

Playing in SL is a bit like a high tech version of a street musician.
Or you could look at it as “shareware” music. If you like it, pay for
it. If you don’t, you don’t have to. You’re basically being asked to
pay what you think the music is worth. At the moment, $300 Linden
dollars roughly equals $1 USD. People need to ask themselves, for
example, how much they would pay for a cover charge at a club to hear
a band in the real world - and adjust their tips accordingly.

All of you Shadowjack fans that are being directed to view this during a Shadowjack show might would like to leave a comment in the comment section which would help encourage others to attend his performances…

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