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Vale Paul Nowles
I once said of Paul Nowles “ this man has a voice that is just made for rock, its raspy, its gruff, its cigarettes washed down with whiskey rough....it just nails the description of what I imagine someone to be who has lived the rocker life for a long time.” and if you have been to one of his shows you will know exactly what I mean.
I first met Paul when I blogged him for Droppin The Stream, my live music blog early last year and we have since gone on to become good friends. He is humble, he is kind, and he was a more than a little embarrassed that I would want to interview him for FOCUS Magazine as he is not man to blow his own trumpet so to speak.
Harlow: Paul, can you tell us who your musical influences were as you were growing up and how
they have shaped you as a musician?
Paul: I can honestly say that I have had many influences for my love music and not the usual
suspects. I think most people would list their favorite artists... and I will..lol. But the people who influenced my love of music are the people in my everyday life that really fueled my love of music. In Junior highschool, I was about 12 or 13, I had joined the school choir. I used to hang out in the choir room in between classes and talked a lot with our music teacher, Mr D. Don' t ask for the full name cause the years have blurred a bit...lol He was an awesome teacher and someone who took inspiring his students to follow their interest in music seriously. He was a true educator. One day he played a record for me. It was one of those educational records but the subject was just left of the normal stuff... it was an instructional record on how music is created in the recording studio... and was actually done with multiple tracks using the recording session of Aerosmith - Dream On - with direct single tracks from the original studio recording. How the multiple tracks were mixed to create amazing blend of a band's performance.
That was a moment that blew my mind from a technical and artistic standpoint, a whole world and a to create opened up right at that moment. These days anyone with a computer, with multitrack recording software, can do this this in their bedroom, but back then it was the venue of the major record companies and the real musicians and performers. It inspired me to dream bigger.
Thank you Mr D., you inspired me.
And thank you Todd Rundgren for showing the world that you could record in your own home studio and create magic, he was the first, and at the time, it made headlines. A major shout to Peter Frampton for the first LIVE multitrack recording that blew everyone away (Frampton, comes alive). I actually friended him on Facebook, he has no idea who I am, but he is the
coolest:) And, of course, the Beatles, who without them, would be a sad world, indeed. Watch the movie 'Yesterday '; and you will know what I mean.
My sister Liisa, My cousin Jack, and my cousin Scott who influeneced the bands I listened to over the years, well before my time. I have heard more music that happened before i was even born, thanks to them. Yes, Liisa I still have your Grand Funk Railroad and Steely Dan records that I absconded, stashed somewhere..lol But then at the age of 11, my parents asked me what wanted for my birthday, I told them, a record, Queen - a Night at the Opera. They had no idea. I played the hell out of that record...Freddie really
spoke to me, I can't sing his songs, few can give it justice ( there are those in SL that can ).
I prefer to take the David Bowie parts...lol. The movie "Bohemian Rhapsody" is bittersweet and I have watched it like 60 times. John Cafferty, "Eddie and the Cruisers" fits the need to connect with a history of music, a fictional band, but rooted in a real performer music. The "golden age" of rock music. With sax...
And of course, Michael Stanley, who passed in March, 2021, Cleveland's hometown beloved son. I was in a high school band,
"Evolution", when we did a couple of his songs, I realised that the "Bruce Springsteen" style of vocals fit my voice in comfort, that is my "range". Since his passing, I want to keep his music alive and relevant. I perform a tribute show of all MSB music in SL.
And my wife, Cheyanne, who has been my inspiration and muse, who even after hearing 20,000 shows over 12 years, is still right there by my side, through good times and bad times, and still influences the songs I sing ( aka Jersey Girl)... She still complains that I don't sing every song she suggests... lol
Harlow: At what age did you realize that you had this gift and that you could sing and how did you get started in the industry?
Paul: You are too kind. I am just a guy that loves to sing. I am honored when people come to see me. I have "off" nights, where I cringe at listening to the recording playback. And yes I do record my shows for quality control if you will. I listen to them, and I try to improve... that is what a performer does if they want to give the best performance they can, we are our own worst critics...
I have been singing since the day I was born, no lie, a gift, no, a calling yes. I have been a performer since as long as I can remember. In kindergarten, on the playground, I was singing the words to BJ Thomas - Raindrops keep falling on
my head, a teacher overheard and was so impressed that I knew all the words, rather than picking my nose, that she had me do a tour of all the other kindergarten classes. Giving away my age there...lol
In Secondlife, I had a venue under a "starter" avatar, I recall a bunch of people standing around the campfire, and someone said, lets sing, so I played a song and sang, and got berated on why I was not singing in SL... & "Paul Nowles" was born" a few weeks later... Got a gig at McCoy's Island and I was a Secondlife singer.
Harlow: Do you still perform (whispers) "you know out there in that other world"
Paul: Other than the usual karoake bars, not so much. And the pandemic killed a lot of that. I have lived the life playing in biker bars, and at a young age. "Cigarettes and Whiskey"; is a very spot on description of my style and my voice. Been singing a long time now both RL and SL. I was in a band RL, "Magnum Steele" with guys twice my age singing and playing rhythm guitar, and
playing in bars before I was "legal"... I learned a lot from them, and I am grateful for the "Almost Famous" experiences I have had. I am grateful for friends like Mike "Rudy" Pavlik who allowed me to sing in his home recording studio with amazing musicians like Billy Letterlee, a guitarist and songwriter who was just phenomenal. Recently, I tried the Facebook live streaming scene, just not for me, I gotta wear sunglasses...lol. Gotta hide my ugly mug :) SL is the best place for people like me, best practice a live singer could ask for... I hope to start singing in RL again, but right now, carrying a PA system is just beyond my coping... lol
Harlow: We all have a story of how we came to be in SL, how did you come to be in here and how long were you in here before you found the live music scene?
Paul: Oh that's easy... I'm a geek:) OMNI magazine had ads for Secondlife back in 2016 , and being the virtual reality geek that I am, I had to check it out. Despite the learning curve, I kept deleting the floor to my skybox..lol, I liked it and I stayed. And then I heard my first DJ and wondered if anyone performed live? I found a few shows and was curious on how they were streaming, it was a big secret back then. But I eventually found a friend who explained streaming to me. Bones Writer. I honestly believe that we
learn from our friends, as I did. I used winamp at first and eventually found BUTT (broadcast using this tool). Now I use an Ipod touch with the "iCast" app...
Harlow: SL is such a creative place you can do or be anyone or anything that you want. What do you
enjoy doing in SL when you aren't performing?
Paul: Going to shows hearing and supporting my fellow performers. Mostly my friends I have known for these long years. I don't get out often, but when I can I come to see the people who have touched my life. Don't ask for specific names, the list is too long and I don't want to leave anyone out. I also have friends who are the most talented artists, like Roy Mildor who designed my latest avatar for me - a photographer and artist extraordinaire. My wife, Chey, is the creative one. She creates things like furniture, clothes, and homes that are awesome. I live so much better in SL than I should because of her) I am more on the technical side, I like creating things outside of SL. At one point I was tying to create a replacement for SL events. The geek in me. I had a website that gathered all performers google calendars into one listing, could be searched and bookmarked, and specific to each users preferences so they could get listings that only applied to their favorite artists in SL, so they could
follow their favorites. It was a monumental task, but let me tell you, I had a pulse on all shows going on in SL. I could search for "Jimmy T"; and see all shows during a day that he was playing - all straight from his advertised calendar...but time and effort.. was just too much...
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Harlow: How has SL changed over the years for you and I guess this also leads on to my next question:
Paul: I learned patience. I learned to accept who I am. I learned to be me as an avatar. I learned to accept people at how they saw themselves. Many people say it's a game, but really it is an extension of who you feel you are inside. I went from " this is not real life" to this being an extension of my real life. SL has it's ups and downs but once it's in your blood, you can't shake it.
Harlow: You met your beautiful wife Cheyanne in SL and are also now a RL couple. You told me briefly about your SL wedding and what a party it was. Can you share that with us?
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Paul: I met my love Chey when I was trying to get a gig at "The Blues Warehouse".. her venue... she was dancing and her avatar was gorgeous, the venue was filled with some of the coolest avatars I've seen... and then I decided to flirt, she was wearing these tight ass pants, they were gold, and my opening line was "Baby, you rocking them pants..." ... :) and then my manager at the time walked up and said, "oh I see you met the Venue Owner" ... she hired me, and we grew to be friends and then eventually more... by the time we decided to get married it was going to be a huge affair. Between the two of us, her being a successful venue owner, and me being a performer, we had an invite list of over 700 people. We trimmed the list to match the 100 avie limit
on a sim, and hired a wedding venue. People still streamed in during the ceremony, and eventually we nearly crashed the sim. For the reception after, a lovely friend, Clarissa Pasterelli offered her place as an alternative to the wedding venue and we moved it there. Clarissa owned a succesful streaming Company with three sims joined together so now the count was up to 300 people (100 per sim) and the floor show of entertainers was amazing. A lot of todays most awesome artists were part of the Blues Warehouse family. Friends like Jimmyt, Keeba, Kevin Blue Oh, ZDiva, The Blues Preacher, Hammer FLA, Spike, PMann Sands, Avant (Baz) Garde Frequency just to name a few, performed like 3 songs each and the music streamed for hours. It was magic. I think more deals were cut that day between performers and venues off to the side of the wedding. A true Rock and Roll
wedding...There is a video that is still circulating on Youtube, and various other video sites, of our nuptials with a soundtrack from the Blues Preacher with his original "If I told you (that I loved you)" hud. It has been 12 years together in SL and RL and shows no sign of fading, we are truly committed to each other and our little dog Jersey is the child we never had. Jersey, is our daughter, and she is a fierce, playful 10 pound terror, ( Maltese and Yorkie mix) that we love and cherish together. We are a family. And yes, in RL Chey has my ring on her finger.
Harlow: You have also have a Michael Stanley Tribute Band, where you perform at RockStar Island, can you tell me how that came about.
Paul: The world became a little sadder in March 2021, when we lost Michael Stanley, Cleveland's hometown beloved son. My all time, personal favorite hero and inspiration. Over 50 years of entertaining and performing, a musician, a band (MSB), TV and radio personality, here in the midwest. He would sell out Blossom Music Center everytime the band played there and made it to perform on American Bandstand and Solid Gold, Was a regular act at the famous Agora Ballroom. There are so many accomplishments I can't list them all. Always caring about his fans and his friends, he wrote a touching farewell letter to
everyone as featured in Varietyhttps://variety.com/2021/music/news/michael-stanley-dead-cleveland-rocker-band-he-cant-love- you-1234923391/ Check him out at michaelstanley.com and linelevelmusic.com as well as many youtube and Vevo
videos (professional and fan created). I have been covering Michael Stanley Band songs since Junior High, and tried to sound like him as much as I could to his rich deep voice, with his inflections, mannerisms, and raw energy. I have a few friends who have said I do sound like him, if in spirit. The world has 1000's of Elvis impersonators, I am the first Michael Stanley impersonator in Second Life. Look in events for Rock Star Island for our show. A tribute to a great man.
Harlow: There are so many amazing and talented musicians in here and as a blogger I am so honored that I get to write about you all. Have you forged some life long friendships in here with other musicians and do you find that you all tend to support one another or is it each for their own kind of thing?
Paul: I won't list them all cause it would just go on and on and I truly don't want to leave anyone out by mistake. We do all support each other, with few exceptions. My Brother Wolfie Moonshadow, who is just like my cousin that I grew up with, who has been my friend through thick and thin. My Brother Winter, who has a heart and a talent like no other. He gives so much to Secondlife music and his friends. His benefit work with TAO shows how much he cares about the world.
Mr. JimmyT has been a true friend since I met him in SecondLife. Talented beyond all belief. Always encouraging and inspirational. SRV4U Conacher, The Blues Preacher, I've known him for 12 years in Second Life, and have learned
so much from him, from a technical standpoint and performance. He and Wilma (his guitar) create the the most Funktastic music both in Real Life and in Secondlife. My little sis, Keeba Tammas, sweet little lady with a voice that could sell out a stadium. And a sweet soul. See, this is what I mean, this could be a really long interview article..lol. I am just getting started on
all the fabulous souls I have met in SecondLife.
Harlow: In closing - What do you think of the live music scene in SL and is there anything you would change if you could and also what advice would you give someone wanting to or just starting out?
Paul: Record and listen back to your shows, Be honest with yourself and see where you can improve, and don, t believe your own hype. Fame and popularity in Second Life are fleeting so always try to be who you are and do it because you love performing. Second life is the best place to become a performer and to learn what you can do without constraints.
And Always, "Rock on"
As we wrapped up and Paul said took his leave after once again thanking me for the interview, I was reminded of the lyrics of a Tim McGraw song, Humble and Kind
“When the dreams you’re dreamin’ come to you
When the work you put in is realised
Let yourself feel pride
But always stay humble and kind”
Paul Nowles, you my friend are a true gentleman of rock n roll.
Paul, you will be sadly missed by many, myself included. My love and thoughts are with Cheyanne. Your love for each other will live on forever