Some Kind of Wonderful

Two long-time friends explore how music shapes their relationship

“The life I love is making music with my friends.” - Willie Nelson

They call each other Raspy and Lexi - the guitar-playing koala and the dimpled songstress with a voice that breathes emotion. The two friends first met some eleven years ago at a concert in the virtual world of Second Life. “I’m not sure of the exact date,” says Lexus. “It was roughly 11 years, 8 months, 1 day, 14 hours, 56 mins ago - give or take a few minutes.”

According to Rasp, their connection was immediate and apparent to them both. “I think you instantly bond with some people when you meet them. I've had that happen a few times in my life. I met someone and the friendship was just there. After hearing Lexus play we started chit-chatting. Once she realized I wasn't a stalker, we "got" each other. We may not always keep in close touch, but we both know if we ever need to talk, the other will be there.”

Lexus agrees though she has a slightly different version of how events unfolded. “I believe Raspy was at my very first show in Second Life. I hadn’t picked up the guitar since I taught myself some Oasis songs about 10 years before. I’d never even written a song!  I was super nervous and could only play 12 songs (badly). So, because I didn’t have a lot to play, I had to talk a lot between songs. After that show, Raspy started coming to shows regularly. I didn’t find out he was a performer for a few months, but when I did I stayed up until 4:00 am to catch his show. Once I heard him sing, the rest was history.”

Whichever version of their history you prefer, the thing that is immediately apparent when listening to Raspy and Lexi perform is they share a goofy sense of humor (check out minute 39:00 where underwear makes an unexpected appearance) and a variety of tastes in everything from music to food. “We both have eclectic tastes in music,” says Lexus, “and we both like blueberries and lychee jelly.  We are great at cards (he is better than me). We like a lot of the same TV shows and movies. We generally just gel very well.”

Today’s show centered around the theme of, “Music and Friends.” Each song in the set was chosen to express something about the importance of having people in your life who see and will be there for you. I’m going to stop typing now so you can enjoy the music, corny jokes, and hoots and howls of these two incredibly talented musicians. They will be returning to do an encore soon, so stay tuned. Hugs!