Meeting Through Music by Mae Vanistok

Mae Vanistok had a winding real life broadcast background that let her naturally to it in SL.

Mom ordering and getting the best speakers shipped from over seas and listening loudly to her favorite music… my brother being in a band and playing Jimi Hendrix… all played a part in my love for music as I grew up. Playing 45’s on the old record player, singing in bed before sleep with my two sisters, music was all around me, always.

I “settled” into rock with my friends, until one day, on AOL Internet, I wandered into a chat room called “I love music.” I started listening to the radio station and became friends with all the DJ’s. I thought, this is the most positive thing I found, to date, on line. I called into the radio station nightly so.. all the DJ’s and listeners knew me well. Plus, I made good friends that have led to real life meets for almost two decades.

I was well taken care of in this new found family of music. One DJ friend traveled miles to my home, and set up my computer to do my first show. Then we did a show together, and already had a following before I even got on air. He introduced me to worlds of new music to bless my ears and soul. We broke records with requests and listeners. I found my “passion.” I learned quickly— that I was part of bringing something joyous to the listeners: “music” I have in my heart, countless stories of love, friendship, laughter, all around music.

The Friday night blues DJ caught my ear the most, so I worked with him for almost a decade. Slowly, through him, I began to learn the voices/styles/ instruments and music of the Blues. This touches me the most. It captures me, each note thrills me.

I was asked to work other radio stations. But, I never felt the “home” feeling I had with my first station. I did get this same feeling the first time I set foot set in Fogbound! At the time, I came there for a womens’ Blues set every other week. I knew that I had found the place I would seek to DJ. But, I didn’t apply until I was ready and all set up—to be honest, I was scared. Even though people had told me—for over a decade—that I was the best DJ ever—I didn’t see it at all.

I just strive to create sets that have a flow (that’s my thing)— I don’t “spin” tunes.” Yet, I couldn’t see what they saw, heck—I still don’t! Yet, I feel our bond—the bond of Blues music.

Fogbound opens up WORLDS of new music to me. My heart is enriched by people from all over the world. I have a personal journey to hunt down Blues that comes with accents too. Heck— ‘even the Blues lives in Russia’ (that’s a line from a song, btw).

Enjoyment and friendship are bound together by love of music. People who share this love are some of the best in the world. Several have saved my life in ways unseen. And I learn from each and every one.

There are no color/age/gender, boundaries, or end, with the music. Last year, I went to a Buddy Guy concert in real life, and I have never seen so many different types of people of all ages/races etc.— this thrill came out of being a DJ.

Working as a DJ lifts my heart in ways nothing else has ever done. I am a better person through my journey in music. In real life, I am now disabled, so the joy of being able to do something I love, from home, is super great. In touching others through music—listening to their stories, finding that I have made their days better— I have surely learned not just more about the Blues, I have learned more about love, people, and myself.

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Read viewpoints from other Fogbound DJs:

• Bob Corrigible “Only Passion Pays”

• Cadence Carolina “The Old in the New”

• Joe Dude “Two Sides of Music”

• Larai Dreamcatcher “Featured Focus”

• Axle Wharton “Finding Self”

“Out of the Fog: Blues DJs of Fogbound Define Relevance,” overview edited by Eleanor Medier

Also profiled in Sim Street Journal #5, Fogbound owner Yanik Lytton, “Clearing the Fog.”

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PLEASE SEE THE IN-WORLD SPONSORS FOR SIM STREET JOURNAL #11

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