With all my attempts to keep this site MORE CURRENT, I’ve been slacking and well….now I’m not, not today anyway.

 So here is a bit of an update…A few months before Thanksgiving, my grandmother became quite ill and I spent a week or so visiting and doing what I could to help my folks out with her needs, as she had gone to live with my parents during her final days. She also was dx with Lymphoma Cancer a very aggressive form of it and it took her very quick. She passed on ChristmaS eve….she sure knew how to leave this planet in Style and is now smiling in a world where she can be with her Love, my Papa Jule. She went very peacefully in her sleep.

 After that I’ve lost two other friends, in the music world and have been faced with that whole ‘we’re not getting any younger’ thing that happens at a certain age. A wonderful Journey life is, but as we hit our mid life, we certainly become more aware that we don’t live forever, and sometimes the things we did when we were younger, have a funny way of catching up with us as we reach mid life…..a lot if it is quite lovely and a much needed challenge, and some of it, is rather overwhelming when we find we must let go of so much in order to be happier.

 I saw this saying that made me laugh and it also struck me as SO TRUE.     “I am going thru a lot of changes right now, and if you don’t hear from me….You’re one of them” ….. I’ve let go of quite a few ‘toxic’ people in my life.  When I was younger,  I guess it never bothered me much to have toxic people around, because I also have so many wonderful Nourishing friends as well. Often when we are younger, we live with the ‘better to have a few toxic people than no one at all’ kind of thinking……..Now there is NO way I can handle that type of person in my life…..so slowly I have come to accept that life without these people, is sooooo much more free, so much more open…and of course, it has made a wonderful space in my soul, for some very special people that have ‘moved into my heart’…..I believe everything is for a reason…and I certainly don’t have to know what it is, but I do know and am witness to every day in my life, that the reasons are always good.  So 2012 is the year of ‘My way or the freeway’ and I prefer the back roads, the quieter paths, the space to move around at my own free will instead of being  burdened down by toxic personalities.   Granted, people come and go our WHOLE Lives, and rightfully so, all with good reason.  I spend my time feeling out the universe and trust that all my needs will always be met, and have found this to be very true…..and all I’ve asked for, I have been presented with…..of course not quite how I expected, but I LOVE the challenge of Mother Nature, the Challenge life presents us to change, to grow, to expand our comfort zone, to feel out things we’re not familiar with, because to stay in the same world without exploring things that can cause a lil Growing pains….is no life for me…..I expect to be challenged with radical ways to only broaden and strengthen my own world.   .          .  Having Lost the people in my life that have greatly impacted my own life, is not waste of time, it has been a sweet blessing to have known the people they were, here on this earth…and their soul, remains in tact with the Web of the Universe……and for those I have chosen to no longer include in my daily life, they have their own challenges too and my  best hope is for them to find a sweet peace within and to also expand and challenge themselves to always be strong and compassionate, to listen to what the world says.   When we spend ALL our tiime focusing on ourselves …we forget what the Wind sounds like, when it touches the leaves and plays with the grass, when the rain hits the ground and nourishes all we have planted in our lives……  L i f e is quite full of magic, when you take the time to listen to it.

 I’m finally getting back into Second Life and doing Live Shows again, but the grid is KiLLiNG my experience with all kinds of lag and other issues. From listening to others involved in SL, this seems to be an issue that I”m certain wiill resolve itself soon….and prob. come back from time to time.    The LiViNG RooM #13 is now merging with MOONACY where the SongWriters Sessions will grab hold of the grid in a few weeks……aka “Naked AcoustiC Sessions’ and we’ll be scouting out the artists of Original and Live Music…along with IndieSpectruM Radio….. I”m looking forward to yet another Wonderful Adventure in  Music.

The songwriting did a major BLOW out in a short period of time, meaning something snapped in my head and I wrote quite a few new songs while learning some mind bending changes in chords, rhythm, and song writing tips from some very close friends as well as one of my fav. musicians from Back in the day  ”Willey Wisely” he had Much to offer in songwriting and again, it was a challenge that I had already been grabbing onto that just seemed to finally make sense to me.  Moving FOrward is my plan, not just for 2012 but for Life…it’s been in motion for years and I love how things just come together, when the time is right.

MUCH Peace to ALL of you and thanks for your patience with my Slow Brew of getting back into the swing of things…….May your new year be CHALLENGING in a Mind Blowing and Strengthening way

The world has certainly throw some crazy punches! Between music, the sleeping and now wide awake muse and the constant and new changes in the Kittens….funny to call them kittens when they are practically the size of a regular house cat. They are 8 months old and btween 7 and 10 pounds each……both polydactyls with a unique walk, especi

ally 7, with his 7 claws on each front paw….he walks like a Lion Cat would….Luci, she has 6 on each paw…very easy going and gentle cat…Until recently…now she’s gone into heat….yeah at 8 months old, she finally hit that crazy cycle and she’s VERY VOCAL about this..of course 7 is almost worse,being he is the whiner cat, Whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy Whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy is what he sound like, but suddenly this past day or two, a new sound, from both 7 and Luci….very new sounds, howls on a low surreal layer of sound….rather confusing for them both I think.  7 hardly knows what to do with himself and finds himself seriously attracted to Everything Luci does, then they’re both back in Kitten mode, playing and sleeping…..It completely fascinates me, every single new sound is just fascinating, they all mean something different…not to mention they’re never ending curiosity at every single thing they approach, usually good, sometimes…well sometimes curtains get shredded….

On another page…..Music has taken a mind of it’s own as of late. Springtime hit and my creative muse woke up  and went pretty wild for a period of time. She must be napping again…heavy, because now it’s more of a numbness that took over….as far as songwriting goes. She’ll awaken again…Spring keeps easing back and forth here and winter just REFUSES to let go….it’s almost 60 F one day and then 30 the next, snowing one day, thunderstorms and warm air again…then a snowstorm dumps out of nowhere….very Bipolar like this time of year is … I’ve taken a new interest in Alternative Tuning of my guitar. I really couldn’t tell you a thing about it,, as often goes, it just works and I like it and I”m not quite sure How it works, or even why, I just like it.  Working on a new song IndigO Road! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksDs6kO0pQs just something different. I find it unusually odd to video tape a song, with nothing happening….and well, I’m certainly not great at that sort of thing….But I thought I’d use my own art and photographs to match the lyrics of the song……and to fit, best i could to what the song translates….the lyrics are even in the video!!! Was fun to do for me, absolutely a nice little pool of creative fun to splash around in! Go check it out.

On another page…..how many pages is this so far?  The  Living Room #13 was moved, quite suddenly and is now located at House of Flames Performing Arts COmplex.  http://slurl.com/secondlife/House%20of%20Flames/186/151/1576 …that will take you rght there in Second life…and as you know…..this web page has the URL and Play button for my live stream, an y time I do a ‘virtual’ performance….real Life shows are rarely broadcast live..Too busy performing

Since about 2005 I’ve been on a long journey, to prove to people that YES SECOND LIFE does have Great Music…and it seems these days, with all the different viewers and new users it just keeps getting harder and harder to find.  I received a notice from a popular group about a meeting in Second Life, with some of the Lindens possibly showing up….I received the notice several times, because they stressed HOW IMPORTANT THIS WAS…I arrived (after several hard core crashes) about 20 min after the time it started. There were several people standing around…and after several minutes they finally said “Meetings over, we’re in skype”…which means ??? The meeting is in skype and why wasn’t that announced, OR the person is in skype and just Too Busy to let me know…as a participant and interested musician….eventualy the person (not a linden) said “With someone else”……which makes me think WHY Was this message SO important to get out, if the meeting didn’t last more than….20 min? TOPS!   and the person that sent the Numerous messages, was no where in site. The One Linden that was there, didn’t seem to notice anyone else coming in, and the group messages showed a couple Messages of IT HAS STARTED BUT NO ONE IS HERE…….

That’s only ONE of the things we like to discuss in Second Life. THe meeting was to be about EVENTS Listings etc….music, diff tracks on music….must not have been that important.  And Music…ONCE in awhile I get a nice advantage to be able to listen to different music from different countries around the world.  Although I must say it is Most difficult … considering the current MESS that Live Music Events is, there are so many categories in one file….hardly efficient… yet it is how I check out music…since I have no intention of following EVERY Musician I like, there aren’t enough groups for that NOR do I want the spam…SO I use live MUSIC events, that’s what it’s for!  There are also several MASSIVE groups out there, Independent Musicians and Live Music Enthusiasts, both have been around almost as long as Live Music has been around. I was there when Live Music Just started..back in 2005.  THere were about a half dozen or so of us at the time……  Now, to find a Live MUSICIAN..is almost impossible.   Sooooo I’ve heard the 14 yr old on Karoke, I’ve heard the bathroom singers, the happy singers, those that NEVER play in Real life, those that do both, those that think they can sound just like Celine Dion, those that do country, folk, blues, humor .. i’ve heard it ALL, I truly have…..and my ears favor that one instrument and that one voice, but I LOVE some of what i’ve heard w ith backing tracks…and DJ’S!!! I know a fantastic dj who plays guitar as well as tells us the story behind various songs and styles, he is  brilliant!!! ( Christopher Lung aka Chriscloud loon in SL )…..

…So about 6 years ago (i took one year off) I started Naked AcoustiC Sessions, which is a showcase for Original Musicians…a very relaxed atmosphere where a songwriter/musician can experiment with their new material, tell the audience the story behind it, share some insight….even some Question and Answer moments are embedded in the conversation and music.  Some musicians do a cover or two because of the importance to the song….as it represents the story at hand…..And lately I’ve been looking into other aspects of Naked Acoustic…Naked COmedy, Naked Poetry, Naked Art….etc….giving US the audience and insight into the Mind of these talented souls….

I do this for a few reasons….Because I LOVE THE ARTISTS that perform at Living Room #13 for the Naked AcoustiC Sessions, and I love the vibe, the good ‘juju’ they bring, the melting pot of fans flowing from one musicians to another, the community that happens…. I don’t have dance balls, I don’t have games or exploders, because Naked Acoustics isn’t about anything BUT the Musician…and that is it. It’s not about the venue (although the venue completely focuses on music and art) it’s not about what kind of clothes people wear, or how many prims they wanna lag around with them, it’s NOT about managers or hosts..it IS about the musician. In fact, managers and hosts are encouraged to ONLY shout the artist out ONCE in the beginnng and ONCE in the end….for an hour set…..it’s just respect for the chat and the ambience that the Living Room #13 has always prided itself in.   Forcing Midnight is your best viewing experience…. Living ROom #13 Many of the Musicians that perform at Living Room have approached me to perform there, and almost every musician has asked to come back! Each week, someone new is added to the rotation, and there are 30 min sets and one hour sets….Some weeks we have a Large number of Fantastic Performers and some weeks we have a minimum of 4….My favorite part is, exposing different artists, to other artists, and to attract new fans to each various artist that steps up on that stage. It goes well, the feedback is wonderful and I continue to look forward to sharing my passion in music with other music lovers!!!  You can peek at the updates and musicians on FacebOok  http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_189287457767333 The Naked AcoustiC Sessions updates on this page often!!!

If you would like to donate to my project, which requires a generous amount of donations for the production of my upcoming CD as well as the maintenance involved in keeping this site running, my stream, broadcasts, guitar maintenance and fees that come along with the stream rental and music update….You can do that on the EVENTS 2 Page…..This site is undergoing changes and soon the Donation button which is used for CD sales as well as art…and of course simply because of your support will be better located.

Again, word of mouth is free, and the more you tell people what you hear and like about my passions of music and art, the bigger the web we live in, gets….So thank you!!!!!!!

ART is here…and I will continue to add to it!

http://suzenjuel.com/organic-style-art-for-sale-100-usd-shipping-included-original-art/

I have been flying by the seat of my pants for the past few weeks just preparing for the House of Flames van to pull in my driveway…which it did, on Saturday! Along with several friends that I’ve met all through the awesome gift of music that we all share. Steve Kimmel, Steve Crooks and Robin Hill-Sheridan all showed up, along with Debe Wise, from House of Flames.

Debe was here about 5pm in the Giant House of Flames van, which certainly seemed to attract the neighbors attention, more than once I saw their faces pressed up against their windows. Debe came in and I introduced her to my nieces,  brother in law, husband etc….and of course, my little zoo of furry critters. Debe doesn’t like rats much…didn’t take long to discover this.  She had her camera in hand and started taking photos of my studio all the while telling me how very much it reminded her of the Virtual Living Room #13… we talked a lot, went through some of the things that’ll take place, on Jan. 25th when she does the live video cast…WHICH I am ONLY Beginning to get nervous about!!! I know it’ll be fine, I just stress more about  ’will the wide screen make me look um…wide?’….’what if my cat jumps up my leg and starts his little singing rampage he goes on from time to time?’….what if the internet crashes, what if we can’t all fit in my studio, who’s coming..what will we eat…will people in second life BE THERE? will anyone Watch? What if no one watches….what if no one shows up…..’ and the list…goes on   … and on….   and on…and I remind myself that 90% of what one worries about NEVER HAPPENS….that’s why meeting up with everyone on Saturday made this whole experience much more relaxing.   On Top of THIS normal stress…my voice is pretty much gone…another worry..this one being the 10% that DOES happen…the high top range of my voice sounds like a cracked up canadian goose…..I’m good and rhaspy with my original songs and hopefully won’t Crack or Wobble when I perform this evening….I already have my remedy in a hot steamy mug with lots of local natural honey in it, mmmmmmm.

House of Flames will be running the live media feed as well as Wirecast! This will be broadcast into the Virtual Living Room #13 … those in attendance at the Virtual LR #13 will be able to see the live Media Stream, which will  be broadcasting my live concert in my home studio…because This is How it Works, this is what I do, this is how I do it….and that’s what the point of Debe’s study is…Virtual Musicians in the real world….

You can read more here

A Study by Debe Wise (Flameheart SoL in SL) will be wrapping up it’s final phase at Living ROom #13.  I’ve been a part of this study for a couple years and it’s all about Musicians in SL using the web, and media and SL vs their real life….In my case, I’m a musician in both worlds…

Feel free to show up early, the entire show will be broadcast Live from my Home Studio in Minneapolis, into SL so Anyone, anywhere can watch….something I rarely do, and am truly looking forward to!

Debe Wise has a PHd at the University of Colorado and is finishing her 200 page dissertion to present…featuring virtual artists and their real lives……..

http://suzenjuel.com for more information on calendar etc…..

FOR THOSE Watching OUTSIDE of second life

Copy and paste this URL for Broadcast…check your time zones

Open a browser window and enter this url:

rtsp://video.slserver.com:8130/live.sdp

Deb took some video of Saturdays jam with the Steves… JueLink

I’m still in process of finishing my CD and also working on some unique styles of a few originals I’ve done, with Boris Van Luger, and again it’s turning out to be a really incredible trip through these large vast spaces, that bring our music into the same room…you can check out some of Boris Van Luger’s work on his YouTube page. Little projects like this, are always good for the soul of my inner muse and with so much going on right now, my inner muse is quite busy!

Living Room #13 has kicked off again for the 5th year of Naked Acoustic Sessions! I have a great line up for Jan. 26th and for all my Euro Fans, it starts EARLY in the day and the first musician is a french musician…one of the first to ever play at Living Room…One of my favorite things to do, when I have some moments to just transport around the grid…is check out who is new on the scene, and often go to hear some of the favorites that I rarely get a chance to hear!

Please join the links above and around this page and share with someone today! It’s going to be a VERY LONG day for this chica here, woke up Very Early… If you are not In Second Life it’s free to join…

Last but not least, check out Steve Parry one of those Soul SOothing songwriters that simply quiets my soul when I listen… I’m honored to know his music and his personality through small chats about music and will be working on some sketches for him once this week settles back to normal…I’ll keep you posted on this, and other little projects that come along and tickle my starving artist soul!  Speaking of Steve, he also recommended staring an art page, and WHY I haven’t is strange enough, usually I think of those things. So I did!!! JueL ToneS … Now I must go forth and stir the soul inside, play with the kittens, create some food and stay relaxed If you see me wandering around with a starry look in my eye…feel free to startle me out of it!!!

ONE LAST THING!!!

1000 Avatars! Do check out Gracie’s place in SL and her 1000 avatars! I was thrilled to have been asked to be a part and spent a couple hours at her place several weeks back while she took photos of several people around me…when it came my time, I did what I’m best known for from  back in the day…Naked Musician Style!!!