The Pharmacy

 

By Netera Landar

“All you Hotsy-totsy dolls, and rollin'-in-money gents, get your sweet little selves over to Pet’s Pharmacy”

The Pharmacy is the cat’s meow!

The exterior of The Pharmacy appears to be an average business. Go through the passage and you'll know differently.

Creating a Speakeasy in a virtual world dominated by oldies, blues, classic rock, jazz, and heavy metal venues requires extensive research.

That’s exactly what Pet Pinklady and her team did.

Pet owned a rock-and-blues club before The Pharmacy. When someone suggested creating a venue that captured the vibe of a speakeasy, she thought that was a great idea. Pet closed her club and opened The Pharmacy during COVID, when everyone was homebound and needed something uplifting.

“I did a lot of research on speakeasies and found that a lot of them were in basements. If you glance at my building, you think you’re looking at a drugstore. You have to go through a secret passageway, like you had to sneak in during the 1920s. The entire venue is decorated in that era’s style. It was so much fun,” said Pet as she sat with me at the venue’s bar. She’s wearing a silky pink gown, a white stole, and a long strand of pearls. In her hand, a swirl of smoke rises from her cigarette holder.

Pet said that she wasn’t familiar with swing music until she opened The Pharmacy. Through DJ Suzie, who spends hours every week finding appropriate music, and Thomas Crown, she learned about the genre. Suzie, who is the club’s DJ on Saturdays, plays revival swing, which isn’t the original records. They are more of a modern-day swing. Loren is Tuesday’s DJ. He prefers original swing music and throws in electro-swing.

Asked if it was challenging to find period-specific furniture, drapery, and décor, Pet replied that she learned many of the speakeasies had black-and-red interiors. When she first opened The Pharmacy on the July 4thweekend of 2020, she had a red-and-black design, but she decided to change it to black-and-gold. 

There are two different builds. The exterior presents a pharmacy that actually masks a second building, accessible only through a wall portal. Click the arrow, and your avatar crawls through the wall and enters the club. Pet purchased the build from Marketplace, took it apart, and retextured everything.

The elegant interior of the speakeasy is inviting.

“I probably shopped for months. It was a labor of love. Everything you see here, I purchased separately. It was challenging, but when I was done, I was really pleased with how authentic it was,” she admitted. 

It took her a long time to find the right dances to pair with the music, but she did.

Attendance gradually grew as her regulars from her previous club started attending the shows. Then, in October 2020, Angela from Focus Magazine wrote an article that increased attendance. Pet promotes her venue through Events, Facebook, and word of mouth, which play a significant role in attracting attention to the club.

As for the hosts, she has three regular and one substitute. Arella Soren and Laurianya rotate on Saturday. Eve Thornhill works on Tuesday, and Piper Waterfalls is the substitute. Piper is also the social media manager. She posts events on Facebook.

Asked what brings the venue’s regulars back week after week, Pet replied, “The feeling of belonging to a family.” That was another reason she opened the venue.

“We talk a lot in chat about what’s happening in everyone’s lives,” she said. “People tell me that they don’t get the same feeling in other clubs. Top it off with good music. That always brings people back.”

Netera 

 

Tiki Grove Resort Welcomes Singers From Around The World

 

By Netera Landar

It’s half an hour before the open mic comes to life at Tiki Grove Resort. Dancing cheek-to-cheek are singer Gabriel225 Greymoon and his lovely lady, Chrys. Gabriel is singing before the audience arrives. He’s been performing in Second Life since 2012. You’ll find him at venues, open mics, and at concerts. He takes a few steps towards the stage. Minutes later, he’s singing “Your Everything” by Barry White. He’s wearing a stylish black jacket, white shirt, and black pants. Greymoon owns La Tangueria, an Argentine tango venue.

 

Next in the queue is CeliMarie Orman in a shimmering gold mini dress. She’s singing Sting’s “Every Breath You Take,”

while the Tiki’s owner, Sarge Darkwyr (SgtPinback Darkwyr), plays the guitar and greets his guests. 

 

Ananspaz wears a sweet, strapless pink dress. She’s singing in Portuguese. The audience cheers her on. 

 

After Betty, from the Philippines, sings, Leo Emmanuel, from Argentina, performs. He has a sexy voice and style, garbed in a long coat, matching pants, and a comfortable tan sweater.

The entrance to the venue before the show began.

I return a day later to interview Darkwyr when he isn’t juggling his responsibilities as a venue owner. The tropical setting is calming, and no one is dancing on the large aquarium dance floor. As we sit at a bistro table, his poodle jumps up, excited to be with her dad.

Years ago, Darkwyr managed the ~O~ Lounge on the open sim grid Encore Escape. Clearly, there’s a connection. He goes by the name Cowboy Bob on other grids. 

“Canipanic, who owned the ~O~ Lounge in Second Life, recently retired and closed it,” he explains. “He had a venue set up that no one used. I found it and wanted to put it to good use. I started doing an open mic in Encore Escape about six or seven years ago. Canni approved. We had a lot of people who came there.”

Then Encore Escape’s grid closed. Darkwyr said the lounge was moved to a Canadian grid, but it wasn’t the same. When that grid closed, Darkwyr decided to ease back into Second Life. Diesel Muircastle, a friend of his, showed him his sim. 

“I asked if I could do an open mic there, at the Hog’s Breath. We were there for a year and a half, and everything was going great. When the land changed ownership, we were nudged off. He moved and went with the name Tuscan’s Island, and I had Tiki Resort there. Then we moved to Zenith Island, and I’d say we’ve been here for five years,” said Darkwyr.

Tiki Grove Resort is located on an eighth of a sim. There’s a smaller stage on the other side for more intimate performances. Urban Harvey and CTM Underwood modified the venue. CTM built the aquarium, and Urban helped with everything.

“It took three weeks to build, reconfigure, to change colors, make the railing, and purchase the furniture,” recalled Darkwyr. “The open mic items on the stage came from Urban, as well as the logo and big banner. He was instrumental in decorating and redesigning. The basic club was bought on Marketplace.”

The open mic queue helps organize the event

The open mic events are on Wednesdays, from 6 to 9 p.m. There have been times when the event has gone longer. Participants can sing one or two songs when it’s their turn. Many attempt to sing in English, or they can sing in the language they are most comfortable with.

Asked what’s involved in running this type of event, Darkwyr said, “Lots of patience. We are an open mic location. You do not have to be a professional performer. It’s for anyone to come here and express themselves. I supply the club stream, which can only be used at the club. They can also use their own stream.”

Darkwyr said that the open mic participants tend to be from overseas. 

“We’ve been dealing with them for quite some time. We treat them with respect, help them with their streams, and help them solve problems when they sing. Catdanc can help them more because she’s a singer. We’re both encouragers.”

There are also individual singers on stage on Tuesdays, on alternating weeks: Southcity Genesis and Star-Menna, and Wayne Rhodell sings every week.

As with any venue, click the tip jar to support the open mic. If you need a DJ for your special event, call on Sarge. Not only does he know the popular songs of several eras, he’s also a great entertainer.

Netera Landar

Early Christmas Shopping at Dench Designs

 

By Gemma Cleanslate

 

Thanks dench 005

Can you believe another year has passed since we saw turkeys and Santas? Well, it is time again to go shopping for decorations for your regions and your homes, and gifts of course. I have started collecting landmarks for places I like to shop and recommend. Before we get into trees I had a notice today that one of my favorites, always first place to write about has not only Christmas Shop open but has added a Thanksgiving shop too so I took a run over. This is Dench Designs.

There are great Thanksgiving tables ready for dinner and some lovely fireplaces with the holiday décor.

If you would like to honor the Pilgrims by adding them they are waiting for you. Some cute smaller décor is available and I love the Happy Thanksgiving banner for the outside of your home. Go Look! ( Good Prices too)

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Rookery/238/21/21

After that visit I set out to check out the wonderful Christmas store that is always set up at on the Rookery with great bargains and items for everyone. When landing you will see all sorts of outside scenes. I always look for the Skating Santas and other figures on the ice. Stop in the little cottage in the corner before you dive in the huge shop.

Inside the shop all sorts of scenes await. The first floor is loaded with different déco.

 

The second floor is great for those looking for bargains. That is where you will find the gifts and gifts for non members and members. I recommend joining this group for all the benefits , like gifts and discounts on everything in the regular store and special setups too. I checked out the Bar and had a glass of wine with Santa. Need a band for decoration? Look there. Animesh greeters, dancers, are everywhere.

I love the wearable dancing companions . They have a wonderful AO that works for any kind of music. You can try the dances by just hopping on the demonstration dancers. Try them. The bargain corner always has little items you would love to get for 5L . Look all around for more big bargains on the walls. I love those little elves, gnomes and the mice that sing by the outdoor Lantern. Check them out along with the myriad of items on both floors. Get going on your early shopping. This month goes quickly and we need to be ready by December 1!.

 

https://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Rookery/25/36/222

Gemma Cleanslate