Interview with Winston Ackland

By Fritter Enzyme



I first came across Winston Ackland when someone posted the Post-Fact video on Facebook.  I have gone to many of this performances in Second Life.  He is a real life musician of over 20 years, having his music featured in two movies, “Lithuim” from Marley and Me.  “Psycho Killer" in Oliver Stone’s Savages.  He plays music from “the old days,” as he puts it, with an acoustic guitar. He adds in his own interesting composition to the mix from time to time.  I’m walking home is one of my favorites from him.  I had the pleasure to chat with him the other day about music, art and Second Life itself. 

Fritter Enzyme, "I was going to ask why you always end with the little fishies song, but you kind of got into that today, someone you used to dedicate it to."

Winston Ackland,"Yes, to my partner, Sesi. She and I did a lot together in Second Life in the past. And, it's true, she was swallowed whole by a pack of hungry alts.  Tried ending shows with some other song, but it didn't feel right, so fishies."

Fritter Enzyme, "How old were you when you began preforming in real-life?"

Winston Ackland, "I know that i got interested in it when I saw the Beatles on Ed Sullivan. I took piano lessons and my father eventually bought me a guitar. I started playing music for people as soon as I could get through a song."

Fritter Enzyme, "In Post-Fact you mention the north woods, did you grow up in the north?"

Winston Ackland, "Ummm. Relatively north.  That song is actually about Sarah Palin, the American political crackpot."

Fritter Enzyme, "Tell me about the source for 'I'm Walking Home.' ”

Winston Ackland, "Have you heard of the RPM challenge?  Their thing is to write and record an album's worth of songs (at least 10 songs or 35 minutes of material) during the month of February.  It’s like the national novel writing thing.  I’m walking home was from the first of the two of those that I did.  I was working at a place and felt that I was not long for that place, so this song came out.  When I first started playing it inworld, there was someone in the audience who had just lost her job *that very day*.

Fritter Enzyme, "How long have you been making art? I went to the gallery and saw it yesterday."

Winston Ackland, "Thank you for going to see that!  I made those images with blender, which is a very powerful, free 3d modeling program.  I wanted to make sculpties for inworld.  In fact, Sesi and I used to have a store called little boxes.  It took me a very, very long time to just get bad at blender.  At some point, however, I had a eureka moment, and it got easier.  What do they say? It takes 10,000 hours of working with something to really master it."

Fritter Enzyme, "When it becomes like a language I hear anything is liquid in thought."

Winston Ackland, "Liquid in thought, good way to put it.  It’s like singing a song remembering the words rather than reading them off a page.  Two different parts of your brain at work.  You make deeper associations with the words when you sing them from memory."

Fritter Enzyme, "Live music has taken over quite a bit in Second Life."

Winston Ackland, "There is an awful lot of it, isn't there?  I’ve been to a few live mixed DJ sets.  I find those fascinating.  They do it a lot of good, I know there must be other places too."

Fritter Enzyme, "I have always loved animation, hence my love for Second Life."

Winston Ackland, "I love Second Life.  I’ve learned so much being here."

Fritter Enzyme, "Nothing else like it."

Winston Ackland, "I’m going to go have some dinner. Take good care, Fritter (smile)."

Fritter Enzyme



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