The RAILS in SL Gig Diary - Entry #5 Show Date: Jan. 25, 2009

On Sunday we performed at the re-opening party for Krakov Letov’s pub called The Notes Shack.  It’s a comfortable place with a warm relaxed atmosphere.  Also in the line-up were Artel Brando and Peregrine Singh, both playing unique original music, and Cerealistic Noland adding a live component to her turn at the dj decks.  All in all, the event was a friendly good time.

The casual pub atmosphere called for a cozy cardigan, and Jeremy found that his choice from Emery Clothing fit the bill nicely.  With it he wore a vee-neck sweater and a pair of red pants (which are made for women but fit Jeremy just fine).    His most important accessory of the day was his Les Paul guitar, made by Krakov Letov himself.  Not only is he a personable pub owner, he is also a master craftsman!

I decided to wear my new shrug cardigan from Stitch-by-Stitch.  The vintage inspired applique flowers added just the right touch of colour to the mod looking jumper which I selected to wear with it.  This dress is one of my favourites and it was given away for free at The HUB.  You can’t go wrong with that!   To finish off the ensemble I went with my cherry wedge shoes, which are very comfortable for dancing

(To see the credits, please continue reading.)

(more…)

The RAILS in SL Gig Diary - Entry #4 Show Date: Jan. 21, 2009

Humpday was upon us and we needed a coordinated outfit for our regular Wednesday gig at The Bushy Beard Pub.  Hmmm, what was new and exciting in our wardrobes?  Well, Chops had won some pink shoes from the Lucky Chair at Studio M’z  …  And there began our Fuschia Fun.

The RAILS Band 01 21 2009

These shoes, taken right out of the box, are extremely cute.  Not only are they bright pink, they have a detailed ribbon trim around the sole and adorable little coloured beads dangling from the laces.  Yes, very cute, but Chops was not one to wear anything with the word adorable in the description!  So I tucked in the laces and darkened the ribbon and the pink shade a tad, and voila, shoes fit for a man were born.

Chops’ outfit was completed with a fuschia shirt, a sweater vest (which is actually a cardigan from MIA with the sleeves shortened), some woolen trousers and a cool looking belt.  The belt was a find from right out of the Library files, called The Gamer Guy belt.   It had a thing that you hold to play video games hanging from it, that Chops wanted to take off, so he tp’d over to a sandbox to do the alteration.  We won’t go into detail about the encounter he had while at the sandbox, but let’s just say that, as do the ladies, the men have their fair share of untoward advances to deal with in SL!!

Jeremy’s contribution to the pink pool was his pirate sweater from *No Mercy*, creatively called the Arrrrr-Gyle sweater.  It’s a short sleeved sweater so he added his nifty ’sleeves filler’, made by Ben Vanguard of SLmen, on the shirt layer.  This is a handy item to wear to avoid that unnatural too tight sleeve look that you get with a jacket.  They literally fill the sleeves, but work equally well as sleeves on their own.

My dress was a find from LoveFashion, originally in a gold shade, but tinted pink to match today’s colour theme.  I am one who quite likes the system skirt in SL.  Yes, they add dimension to the booty, but hey, nothing wrong with a bit of curviness in that department I say!  This little dress was easy-peasy with only two pieces and the addition of an undershirt.  I have to say that this undershirt is probably the most worn item in my closet.  It is a vee-necked, low backed, Henley which comes on all 3 layers, plus the underpants for tucking in.  I bought it from LaLa FooFoo, in the white version so it could be dyed to any shade needed.  I was so pleased to find this little number that I renamed it my yeahh shirt, making it simple to find in my inventory and describing how I felt when I finally came upon such a useful basic garment.

My outfit was accessorized by an opal choker from Shiny Things.  The creator, Fallingwater Cellardoor, is an unquestionable genius in shoe design but I also find I treasure her jewelery pieces.  My stockings are the dotty version from Sheer and my nice, chunky heeled and bow adorned, platform pumps are from Unique Needs.

(To see the credits, please continue reading.)

(more…)

The RAILS in SL Gig Diary - Entry #3 Show Date: Jan. 14, 2009

After 3 weeks away, we finally had Chops Baxton back at his drum kit for our weekly set at The Bushy Beard Pub.  Chops is an awesomely wicked drummer but also quite humerous at the mic, so it’s always a pleasure when he can join Jeremy & me in SL.

The Rails Band 01 14 09

Our look for this show was inspired by the Olive dress, called ‘Martini’s for Two’ from Lemania Indigo Designs, which I bought last week.  It was made extra special by the inclusion of two different flavours of martini in the file! I changed it up a bit by adding a bow from another Lemania dress and a tee-shirt underneath the originally sleeveless garment. You could say that ‘Olive this dress!’

And so the martini theme called for swanky dress on the guys.

Jeremy wore his green jacket, part of the very first purchased outfit he owned in SL, bought because he also owns a shiny green suit in RL.

Having been created more than 2 1/2 years ago, (a life time in SL), this suit is a bit simple in design, with no attachments, so I had to whip up some buttons for him. A feature of this jacket that I quite like in men’s jackets is that the bottom is on the skirt layer.  This helps to eliminate the dreaded ‘jacket stuck to bum’ look.  A more sophisticated way to avoid this phenomema with jackets is a prim attachment, but those often come off when Jeremy attaches his guitar.  And seriously, he looks at me strangely after a show when I’m after him to re-attach his bum flap!

On Chops are 2 of the 3 pieces in a Savvy Avvy suit, generously included in a Christmas hunt they had at the store, and which also includes the option of a long sleeved blazer.  To quote Chops in regards to this suit ..’man, my ass looks good in these pants’!  His dapper look was further enhanced by the Tesla hat (at Freebie at their main store) rakishly perched on his head.

Note the amplifier in the photo .. this is a replica of an early 60s Ampeg amp. made in SL by the fine folks at Stevo’s Music.  Jeremy plays this same amplifier in RL so we were happy to find that someone had gone to the effort to make one in SL.

(To see the credits, please continue reading.)

(more…)

The RAILS in SL Gig Diary - Entry #2 Show Date: Jan. 10, 2009

We were invited to perform at a Winter Carnival on Saturday, January 10, by Mellifera Szondi.  We were happy to agree because (1) Mellifera is a real sweetie (2) Her partner, the awesome musician Zaphod Theas, was also on the bill and (3) it was a winter carnival and hey, coming from Canada in January, we know how to ‘do winter’!

The Rails Band in SL 01 10 09

First things we needed to get out of the closets were our parkas.  Jeremy wore his navy coat that we won from the AOHARU Lucky Chair in the fall.  He has a very similar one in real life, and counts on it for the warmth factor!

Also on Jeremy is a nice cozy sweater from A.Y.Y.  We got it in their candy cane hunt, which, when I popped in yesterday was still on.  His hat & scarf were a Christmas gift from AuMa, which has a HUD allowing for texture change.  I modified the style of the hat a bit and removed some of the buttons on the side.  I also took off the ‘back tail’ of the scarf so it wouldn’t look weird poking through the hood.

Wow, as I write this I notice that Jeremy had a really inexpensive outfit on.  In fact it was all gifts, as the jeans were in the anniversary pack given out by the stylish guys at SL Men as in the fall, and the boots were a group gift from J’s.  Our gratitude goes out to the SL designers whose generous gifts allow us to dress creatively and ‘in theme’, on a budget.

And onto Lolly …

My jacket is a favourite because it is 100% prim attachments, so allows for maximum layering.  And a prim jacket allows you to take it off without tons of fussing with your outfit underneath.  One point to make about this feature though is that I have to wear a shirt with black sleeves underneath because they show through at the elbow joints.  But the coolest part of this jacket is that there is an imbedded animation … when you click the hood, my arm raises and I pull my hood up or down.

My skin is an excellent one for winter … all rosy-cheeked goodness, from a friend and wonderful artist, MiaSnow Myriam.

My Mohair dress was purchased from Truth at the sale they had last spring before they changed their store around.  At the time I remember acknowledging that I was buying a winter dress just on the cusp of summertime.  My thoughts lead to wondering if I would still be in SL when it became cold enough to wear the woolly garment.  Indeed, we are still here and very happy to be so!

(To see the credits, please continue reading.)

(more…)

The RAILS in SL Gig Diary - Entry #1 Show Date:  Jan. 7, 2009

To recap the purpose of this blog … I am Lolly Gladstone, a member of The Rails Band.  We are a rl indie band of three from Toronto, who play original rock music with a gothy-punk edge.  For the past 2 years we have taken our act to Second Life.  Drummer, Chops Baxton, plays here with us usually once a week.  For our other shows, Jeremy Barracuda and I perform with the aid of our trusty vintage drum machine.

Prior to beginning this blog, I kept a spreadsheet to keep track of what we had worn for each show.  This made it easier to get our avitars dressed quickly but more importantly it helped ensure that we did not wear the same outfits too often!  But as they say, ‘a picture paints a thousand words’, so I shall ditch the spreadsheet and begin taking photos.

And so the year 2009 began with a show at The Bushy Beard Pub.  The lovely (self titled) Bushy Landlady, Zeeblebob Voss, has been a beloved supporter of our band since we first began performing in Second Life.  Last August, when Chops agreed to join us here once a week, Zeeb offered us a residency at her popular venue, allowing us a regular show on Wednesdays at 1 pm slt.  Unfortunately the weather here in Toronto was horrid this first Wednesday of the year, with a massive snow storm, so Chops was unable to make it.

The Rails Band in SL 01 07 09

This look began with Jeremy’s outfit.  Over Christmas I was waiting for my chance to win a prize by sitting in Santa’s lap at Apple May Designs.  The letter J came up and the prize was an outfit featuring a great furry sleeved jacket.  I thought ‘hmmm, it is for a woman but maybe I can make it work for Jer’.  In fact, what came to mind was a real life outfit worn by a glam Toronto musician I’d once seen wearing a similar jacket.  So I teleported Jeremy in and he sat on old Saint Nick’s lap and won the outfit.  The jacket part that came with it was way too tight, so I took the opportunity to spend some Linden’s at a favoured shop of ours called A.Y.Y.  (more will be told about this great place in future posts).  I bought the silver open leather jacket and tinted it to match, lowering the collar so the Apple May one would fit properly.

(To see the credits, please continue reading.)

(more…)