San Francisco Band Hits the Metaverse

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Free-Press-Release.com) May 3, 2007 -- U-2, Duran-Duran, Suzanne Vega, San Francisco blues/funk band, Tony Perez & Second Hand Smoke. What do these bands have in common? All of them have discovered a new medium called Second Life as a way for musicians to bring their live shows to audiences all over the world.

Second Life (www.SecondLife.com), if you haven�t already heard, is a booming virtual universe populated by hundreds of thousands of people (as 3D avatars) from around the world engaging in business, commerce, games and entertainment. Many large organizations from IBM to Major League Baseball recognize Second Life�s importance and are staking their claim in the Metaverse.
When a band has a widespread audience like U-2, streaming a show simultaneously into Second Life may be more of a novelty than a way to expand their fan base. But for a small local act like Second Hand Smoke (http://www.myspace.com/tonyperezandsecondhandsmoke), it�s an incredible way to bring their music to audiences that may never have the opportunity to travel to North Beach�s Saloon to hear their monthly gig.

Mojo Business Ventures (www.MojoBusinessVentures.come), a local Bay Area 3D content creation company, has teamed with Angela Sabino of Mediaculture (www.Mediaculture.ch), a Swiss music promotion company, to bring Second Hand Smoke�s May 19th show into the Virtual World. Joseph Knight, an architect and game designer who includes lead design duties on SimCity 4 in his resume, has faithfully recreated virtual replicas of the famous blues venue and of the band (photo attached), and will produce the show.
The show can be heard in person on May 19th, 2007 at 4:30pm PDT at The Saloon in North Beach (1232 Grant Street) and in Second Life at the virtual Saloon. (Registration and Software Required)