Oh My, It’s AAi <)))

BY STAFF WRITER JELLIE ARROWMINT

Note: Jellie is the assistant manager of AAi, and I encouraged her to write about the club. I’m a big fan of it too and thought it would be cool to have her perspective.
–Shauna Skye, Editor

L-R Graz Firecaster, Mericat Ireland, jellie Arrowmint & Thomas Thaler

Open since May 2009, AAi is described as an alternative indie club. I describe it as my favourite little club–but I would, I’m biased!

Why do I hold AAi Club in such high regard? Just over seven months ago I stumbled across it as a newbie, and not only was I made to feel welcome but I was given clothes, hair and landmarks to freebie locations.

AAi is making a name for itself in the Mod world, but we play anything from dance, to rock ‘n’ roll, to punk, and the aforementioned indie; variety is the spice of life, as they say.

This little club recently expanded purely because we were running out of dance floor space. I asked Mericat Ireland, one of the co-owners, why she was intent on keeping the club almost exactly the same: ‘Cus we wanted it to feel just the way it always did. If it’s not broke, don’t fix it we thought.’

Many people remark about how friendly and welcoming we are. I think there’s nothing worse than arriving at a club and feeling ignored, whether this is intentional or not. So feel assured you will be, and are welcome here. Also, don’t forget to check out the 116 dances Meri and Thom have kindly put together for us. Click on the word ‘Dance’ on your right, above the radio, and boogie the night/day away.

If you venture up the tube, that’s behind you when you land, you will come across the highly addictive game of Greedy! I recently spent about four hours doing nothing but attempting to win a single round. I failed but had immense fun doing so. Why not have a go yourself? And while you’re there pick up some freebies courtesy of Ms. Ireland.

If you wanna chill, how about relaxing in the quiet area upstairs? We want you to feel at home here and offer you the choice of making this place just that.

So . . . we have Kimberley Sixpence and Edensky Cortes who play Mod, Annie Anton who plays Aussie rock, dance and more, Taliesin Llanfair who treats us with Indie, Vali Rau who plays punk, and Monthy Parx who delights us with live music. But what’s new in the world of my much-loved club?

We’ve recently hired more DJs to add to our 20+ strong team of regulars and 10+ DJs that do impromptu sets. If you like the club and fancy spinning some tunes yourself, why not contact one of us and we’ll have a chat; have a look at the ‘web’ tab in either my profile, or that of Thomas Thaler, Mericat Ireland or Graz Firecaster if you fancy playing a particular slot (or you just want to check when there’s someone playing).

Part of AAi’s success has been down to straying from the regular indie set and leaving the DJs with a wider choice of music for themselves and you to enjoy. Want to make a request? Just IM the DJ and they will see what they can do.

Now, here’s one of my favourite bits about this here write-up, the results of me asking Meri, Thom and Graz a little bit about themselves and how they initially got involved in this establishment:

MERICAT IRELAND:

Well . . . I got into the indie club scene by meeting Thom at Alt7 at 6 days old and then him taking me to Popscene (I managed Pop for a while and it was a great grounding for opening this place). I love making clothes and am opening a shop soon; I’ve had one before, selling only corsets.

In my spare time I love shopping and finding hiding places for all the shoes boxes so Thom doesn’t find ‘em. I’m also kind to kittens and love shiny things. What I’d most like in the future is world peace, and a pony.

THOMAS THALER:

I have limited time on Second Life, restricted purely to evenings and weekends, and when I’m here I enjoy the Indie club scene.

I love music and enjoy DJ-ing but I also like to get out and enjoy the many wonders Second Life has to offer, these include but are not limited to ‘Extreme’ sports, newbie watching and carrying Meri’s shopping bags, as well as the occasional trip to the darker side.

GRAZ FIRECASTER:

I discovered AAi by accident and was drawn to the friendly nature of the place and diversity of music played. After making it my home for a while Meri asked me if I’d like to manage it. Obviously I said no and turned to run but she rugby tackled me to the floor and I’ve been here ever since.

My real-life and Second Life revolve around music, musicians, bands and clubs so having worked as a club promoter in real-life I leapt at the chance to do the same here.

I have a very wide range of musical tastes but particularly love Punk Rock , Blues and Rock N Roll, which is what I play at my weekly club night (Jukebox Fury – Wednesday 1-3pm SLT). What I’d most like in the future is Katy Perry, and a pony.

Now, for your reading pleasure (and to satisfy the nosy part of me) I asked Meri a few more questions:

How long has the club been open? It’s been open since May 2009.

When you created AAi, were there many indie clubs in SL? Oh it varied, probably 12.

How much do you love jellie? A very lot.

Do you have any other changes planned for AAi? No, just to keep going is our mission statement.

So why not venture into this little hip and happenin’ joint if you haven’t done so before, and if you have, expect a warm greeting once again. Oh, and don’t mind Colin the Camel he’s very quiet but no bother (PS. You’re not seeing things, he does move!)

Visit Inworld: AAI