Happy Anniversary Savoy

On March 17, 2008, I stepped foot for the first time in The Savoy. I was in my tartan ball gown for Irish day and then attended the end of a gig put on by Crighton. He was heading directly to Savoy, which was not officially open, to do a jazz set. Oh the good ole days when Crighton would DJ three and four gigs back-to-back. It was this day that I met Jenda and Bill, the owners of Savoy and felt honored to be a part of something so wonderful. A couple weeks later a grand opening was held and I made sure I attended it.

The grand opening was a spectacular. All the DJs played, as well as some live talent. I wasn't there for the entire day, but I got enough of a taste to know The Savoy would be there for the long haul. About a month later, it was announced that The Savoy was moving. It didn't take long for the move to take place and soon the new open was greeted on Marco Island. With the fantastic club on the ground and a quaint skybox above, Savoy is diverse in its presentation.

One year ago, I was honored to not only attend the first anniversary celebration, but I was a hostess for some of the DJs. I have continued to be a hostess for Savoy (something I said I would never do). I love every moment spent there. the DJs are amazingly talented and the patrons (barring the infrequent griefer running about nekkid) are beyond compare. Last week Savoy celebrated its second anniversary. While I was unable to attend due to Passover, my heart was there celebrating the best jazz and blues club in Second Life.

If you have a chance to stop by, you will not be disappointed. Marco Island is well worth the time to roam about, relax and hang out. Congratulations Crighton Johin and The Savoy.

One Year!!

Monday was the one year anniversary of the grand opening of the Savoy Jazz Club. One year ago, Bill Mondegreen and I had a dream of opening a "real" jazz club in SL. Bill built the club and really did most of the early work, along with Jenda, who put together staff and organized us some. We started off with four regular gigs and a few live acts now and then, including Joaquin Gustav and Anakin Gallacher. As time went by, we added some blues to the mix, and I picked up another night, as well.

Our events had attendance that went up and down. Sometimes I would spin for five people and the next week would bring 15. Judging from experience, I knew that we needed to remain consistent though, and just stay the course we had set. Our philosophy was that the Savoy was to be about the music, and not just any music, but jazz and blues. I've only asked two things of the DJs that have come to work at The Savoy: play blues and jazz (but allow yourself some freedom within those genres,) and to play the music they love. Okay, I lied. There was a third "suggestion," and that was to have fun. My philosophy has been, that if we play the music we love, our passion will show through and like minded people will find us. I'm happy to say, that has happened.

Monday was a resounding success and a whole lot of fun, at least for me. Our events started at noon and ran til Hy finally ran out of gas somewhere close to 11pm. The only sad notes for me was that Bill was out of town and could not attend, and I could not make contact with Chi in time to set her a time to sing.

I'm pressed for time right now, so I can't get into details, but suffice it to say, all the DJ's had inspired playlists, and the crowd certainly echoed that. Nina Brandenburg sang at 7pm and, well, she is our songbird. I have to admit, I was very partial to her setlist that night, because it was all jazz! Her performance was superb, as usual.

I am just so honored to be working with these amazing individuals and hope that we can keep doing this for a long, long time. Thank you all, Savoy patrons and my fellow DJ's, hosts and musicians alike. Let's keep the music alive!