Monday, June 28, 2010

The History Of Idle Rogue - Part Four

The Yeonghuengdo sim, and particularly the sim's manager, Dave Koi, were very good to us. From building my first landmark giver, to covering my ass when connection issues prevented me from getting live musicians sorted, Dave was always available and always helpful. And every time I cried "I need more prims!", somehow, he found them for me. We loved the rolling hills of Yeo, and I thought I would never leave them.

In March 2010 we staged a major production - Bowie Bravin vs The Beautiful Freaks (see the video here). Working with singer and lyricist Bowie Bravin over several months, we put together a stunning show that featured dance interpretations by The Beautiful Freaks on a purpose-built exploding stage by Slappy Doobie. The show, while not financially successful, was beautifully done and extremely popular. And it became obvious that The Beautiful Freaks could draw an audience - if we had the capacity. Yeo, with its' limit of 40 avatars, could hold us back.

Serendipitously, Slappy Doobie completed the acquisition of one half of the Viva La Glam sim, and began to consolidate her two holdings - DecoRetropia and Digital Vixens - onto one sim. The natural focus would be burlesque ... and Idle Rogue's main source of income and attention was burlesque. Within days of Slappy taking up her Viva La Glam holding, the other half became vacant, and the decision to move Idle Rogue was an easy one.

On the 21st of May, 2010, Idle Rogue took its' place on the home of virtual burlesque, and the future began.

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

All Things In Passing

In March 2010, The Beautiful Freaks collaborated with vocalist Bowie Bravin to present a two hour dance spectacular interpreting Bowie's music.
This video is FuzonAcid's(Ormand Lionheart) video of the show. Enjoy ... and keep an eye out for the touring version of the show Bowie Bravin vs The Beautiful Freaks

Loreen Aldrin at Idle Rogue - Supergirl

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

The Follow at Idle Rogue


Thanks to the extraordinary generosity of the Idle Rogues, we will be presenting The Follow live on July 2 at 4am, following JordanReyne Deezul at 3am.

The Follow are a three piece outfit presenting original tracks and they have a mass of loyal fans worldwide. They are getting up very early to meet some Australians, so make sure you save that date!

Sunday, June 20, 2010

The History Of Idle Rogue Part Three

The Beautiful Freaks Burlesque Circus was born in September of 2009.

I loved my work in traditional burlesque, but increasingly I wanted to work with non-traditional musical genres. I am a rock chick, and it occurred to me that people might enjoy a show that combined the growing skills of the Virtual Burlesque team with a modern, dark carnival ethic. I had visions of presenting an "arena" type show on the Idle Rogue stage, but in acquiring the extra prims necessary, I acquired a little more physical space. Searching for props at (*chanimations, we found the Circus tent, and everything simply fell into place.

The team of Beautiful Freaks included some of Idle Rogue's staunchest supporters - the incredibly talented Slappy Doobie and her partner, Ellie Criss, Jewellah Magic, Tilly Theas, Katherine Burkett, Madb Muircastle, Knowledge Tomorrow, Else Barnard and Sabina Pinion have all given their total love and support from the very first day. In the months since then, Madison Pinelli, Flidais Etchegaray, oOTWITCH JigsawOo, Alexis Direwytch, Purple Direwytch, Budley Stoanes, Endo Devin, Zabet Weatherwax and Boo Eberhardt have brought their creative talents to the ring.

The Beautiful Freaks Burlesque Circus now runs every friday at 7pm, and draws a solid audience every week. They saved Idle Rogue, injecting it with new blood and a fresh purpose. Their presence on Idle Rogue draws some of Second Life's most interesting avatars to us, and across the months, the Beautiful Freaks have grown into a loose, loving, crazy family, whose home is Idle Rogue.

Idle Rogue - Beautiful Freaks Circus (exterior)

The History Of Idle Rogue Part Two

The Idle Rogues

Taking the lessons learned from Idle Rogue Live, yop commenced the build of the Idle Rogue best known to Second Life. We wanted a stage adequate for any kind of performance. We wanted a big roomy dancefloor. We wanted it to look unlike any other venue.

Yopilax Jigsaw is a gifted content creator. He took the words I typed and drew forth the building I wanted, and Idle Rogue commenced hosting regular live performances. Artists who have performed there include FacelessAPe Mefusula, AMforte Clarity, Starflower Orbit, JimmyT49 Dukes, LANCE Rembrandt, EAR Oh, Gabryel Nyoki, Bowie Bravin, Shane Kirschner, Armin Finesmith, Strummer Vultee, Loreen Aldrin, Deep Sky Traveler, JordanReyne Deezul and the great Kiplan Carlyle.

In July of 2009, First Life took some storms, and as a result, the course of Idle Rogue changed in subtle ways. Yop left Second Life, and his influence on the buildings grew fainter. Idle Rogue was no longer able to afford the fees required by live performers, so the weekly gigs dwindled down. Kiplan Carlyle imploded, and in the aftermath of that, kloose Fretwerk arrived. DJs took the place of live music to a large extent. And The Beautiful Freaks arrived to save the day.

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

The story of Idle Rogue - Part One

Postcard from Second Life.
It began because I fancied I would be a builder. It began because my then SLove, yopilax Jigsaw was a builder, and it began because my FL friend Knowledge Tomorrow lived on a wtf sim named Yeongheungdo. We moved into Yeo in November of 2008.

Idle Rogue was named for yop, whose rogue tendencies are well known on many forums. The name came, and it stuck. At first it was a pavilion amongst the trees, a place for us to hang out, build and listen to music.

And then I saw JimmyT49 Dukes play the blues in Second Life. At that time, yop was finding the time he spent in SL was taking a toll on his FL, and he began to spend less time inworld. I needed a project, so I put in a platform to stage party. I watched JimmyT49 do his thing on another sim and thought (as so many of us do) "I wanna host live performers!".

Our "opening" gig was a 12 hour music festival. Kahless Unplugged and I scoured the grid for the artists we considered truly talented, and yop and I collaboratively built a stage and rigging. I had no idea how to set a stream, booked artists didn't show up or showed up at the wrong time, the stage disappeared from under Digby Smalls' feet ... but I was hooked. Naive ... and totally hooked.

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Welcome to Idle Rogue

Snapshot_1361

So much happens at Idle Rogue. And the Idle Rogues are so loyal. It's more than time we had a blog of our own. I am hoping it will be more than just me posting to it, though no doubt I will have to crack the whip to prise a post out of anyone (even myself). Welcome to Idle Rogue. If you've not been, come by. Or stay tuned for the stories and the personalities that make it what it is.