The Navy’s SinginCountry Commander James Holland

Photograph property of James Holland                  Second Life picture by Weirdharold

Performing as James Holland, aka in Second Life as SinginCountry Commander; James is on active duty in the U.S. Navy as an electronics specialist. Maintaining a Navy career has not stopped James’s drive to perform his country, with classic rock influences. One might say James serves his country in more ways than one.

James’s biggest influences on his music were his Grandpa, old style country, and his Mom, classic rock; along with an uncle who was into harder rock. Growing up, James’s friends all liked 80’s pop and rock, but a lot of his influences came from the rise of country in the late 80’s and early 90’s. James states, “I grew up with music, its part of me.”

Growing up in Texas, James sang for choirs and churches, but loved country and southern rock music. Upon completing college James entered the United States Navy, but his love of music never slowed down. At twenty six, James’s wife bought him a guitar and almost immediately he began writing his own music. Six years later, which brings us close to this date, those songs and some of the best musicians from northwest California have came together into a CD called “Guitar’s, Good Friends, and a Fifth of Tequila”(can be added to your collection at CD Baby); providing James a chance to play in Virginia, Florida, Texas, California, and Canada. Not to mention playing to the rest of the world through Second Life performances.

I asked James what events he has played in real life, and he responded, “I have played many coffee shops and bars, heck even a few street corners. My biggest events were county fairs, those are a blast.”

A small local paper called James’s attention to Second Life, and logging in he started looking for music. Along the path to live performing James ran across Starberrylande Escape who took him under her wing and helped him to get up to speed in Second Life. The Tropics Casino and The Old Salts Pub were the first places to give James a chance to perform, and his performances have grown from there.

Asking James about his participation in Second Life, he says:

Music, music, mixed with a little music, and outside of music, I have made some really cool friends. Interaction with the fans is critical in Second Life. In a real life show the crowd feeds off your energy and body language, and I feed off theirs. In Second Life, I work twice as hard to be sure to try to individually connect with everyone because they only have the energy I push through the microphone.

Finally I asked James, What is a fair way to tip you at your Second Life performances? His response:

Ah, this subject is a hotly debated one. Let me start with this: I appreciate all tips; it shows you liked what I am doing. Now that being said, some seem of the opinion that musicians should play for the love, and if they get paid or tipped that’s a bonus. I have to admit, I work hard for what I do, yes I love the music, but this is a business too. Second Life is such a fantastic new way to spread the word about my music and form a fan base. Their support is what allows me to keep doing what I love to do. So, guess the short answer is people should tip (a) what they can afford and (b) what they feel the performance was worth. With the exchange rate, heck a tip of 200 lindens is like putting 70 cents in the tip hat, not bad for an hour worth of entertainment.

If you like country, I can highly recommend SinginCountry Commander’s performances to you. Just don’t expect pure country, as James mixes a special blend of classic rock in with his country to provide a special treat for your enjoyment.

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