Interview with DJ Fritter/Applebloom

By Bixyl Shuftan

Among the people at KVXN radio is DJ Fritter, whom in Second Life goes by Applebloom (JeanetteDJennet Resident), and also goes by Hakura the Pup. I recently had a chance to interview her. We met at the KVXN building in Purfection Estates. She was in a light brown anthro canine avatar, in jeans and a white shirt with a cowboy hat. After sitting down at a table, and her adjusting herself so she didn't look like she was "cut in twine by the table," we started.

I asked her how she first found out about Second Life. She scratched her head, "Oh geez, that was along time ago. My SO Thistleblossom, who is deceased in real-life, was on here first and I was looking over his shoulder one day and watching him and he asked me if I would like to make a character and join him. So I did and I've been here ever since. That was like back in, oh God, early 2011."

Of where her names come from, she responded, "Hakura The Pup is my real-life fursona name and what I go by on KVXN. But Applebloom is because of my love for My Little Pony. I'm also a hardcore Brony and because of THAT name over one our KVXN Vixen Radio on Discord, Nydia started calling me 'Fritter' because of the Apple part, so on our server I'm known as DJ Fritter. Ya know, Apple 'Fritter'? *shrugs* She has a weird since of humor, that one. but I still love'er." She chuckled. Asking about her account name having to do with FurryMuck, she went, "OH GAWDS! FurryMuck .... I haven't heard that name in ages. Actually no, t came from another Mu** which was called 'Altered Realities.' I'm not even sure if it's still around. I was what was known as a wizz there."

And how did her first days go? She explained, "I had a lot of fun running around with Thistle going from place to place. There was this one dance club that we would both frequent a lot to go dancing. He was a donkey and I was a pony at the time and he was also a brony. We even made our own club called 'Hoof Beatz' but it was short lived. That's actually where I first got my start as a Second Life DJ."

I went ahead and asked Applebloom what experience she had with music before coming to Second Life. She answered, "Well, actually I was back in the 80's a real-life DJ at a Country & Western Danceclub in San Francisco, California that was for mostly GLBT called 'The Rawhide 2.' Not sure if you can actually put that name in here, but that's where I originally got my start DJing in real-life. There I was a DJ because I used CDs and LPs. But on KVXN, I'm what we call a broadcaster. There's a little difference. I don't 'jockey' discs, I broadcast mp3 files with the radio broadcasting program I use."

And what did she do after her first club closed? "Honed my chosen craft *ear waggles*. I started DJing on SL full time at several venues that don't exist any longer. Funny how quickly some clubs come and go so quickly. One was a Country and Western venue which I was used to because of my prior real-life experience. So I knew my Country and Western music. After that was a place called 'Dragons and Rose's which let me go back to my roots with music I grew up listening to back in Fort Worth, Texas where I grew up called KFJZ 1270 AM. They played alot of pop and classic rock, which I play now for my show on KVXN. Back then, FM was just starting to happen. Am I dating myself by admitting that? *rubs the back of her head with a paw*"

And what brought her to KVXN? She answered, "I remember when KVXN was still just a Second Life station and I DJ'ed at The Happy Vixen which is where KVXN has it's origins. It was started by someone named Nydia (Tungsten), yes the same one who gave me my 'Fritter' moniker on Discord. Anyway, I DJ'ed there for awhile, kinda with KVXN as a SL station. And then I became part of something called 'The Dragon and Raccoon Epic Fail Show' if you recall that, and had a lot of fun with them. So when JB no longer could do the days he once did I sorta stepped in for a short time and thus started "The Dragon and Pony Show" which lasted only a short time because of real-life issues, but I stayed on at Club EFS which stood for Epic Fail Show, of course. During my time there JB really liked what he heard with my show that I would do there, so when KVXN became a REAL internet station, he asked me if I would like to have my own spot there, so here I am."

I asked about her show "The Doghouse," and asked if it was from her persona name "Hakura The Pup?" She answered the show was for "Two hours, actually, Monday and Friday 4pm to 6pm Eastern Time (1 to 3PM SL time. Gratuitous plug *toothy grin*. But yeah, my show is called 'The Doghouse' and it does indeed come from my real-life Fursona, Hakura." And what were the show's most interesting moments? Her response was, "*phews* Oh boy, uhm, I suppose when the staff starts heckling me on Discord on our server page. Nothing much has happened as of yet because 'The Doghouse' is still trying to find it's footing, as it were. Footing? Pawing? *chuckles* I am in the VARY early stages of getting some things lined up, but I'm not at liberty to say what that is just yet. Folks will just hafta tune in to find out when it occurs, IF I can get it lined up and OK'd."

So what does Applebloom do in Second Life when not playing music? "Hang out with my close friends like Snowy, Nikkita and a few others," she answered, "But my second passion  on SL is drag racing, which not to toot my own horn, am quite good at. I've got enough trophies to fill this entire studio. I've been doing that for a number of years. I even have a '69 Pro Mod Mustang that is sponsored by KVXN Vixen Radio as well as a split window '66 Corvette done up in a sharp My Little Pony motif that I call 'The Friendship Vette' because like the show's title says, 'Friendship is Magic.'" But how she does race has changed as time has gone by, "Not so much oval racing anymore, which I did with a group called 'Rubbin' is Racin'." I just drag race now. Not really a lot of oval racing left on SL. There's a LOT of drag strips, though." She does say it's not a proverbial "drag," "*chuckles* Not really, but the only trouble I have is I find it really hard to run fast wearing high heel shoes. *grin* Get it? DRAG racing??!?"

After some more chuckles, I asked about her future plans. Her answer was, "I plan on staying here with KVXN. I really like the people/furs here and I know with time and a little tweakling 'The Doghouse' can become a good and hopefully popular show for the station. I have alot of fun doing it and it's the music I grew up listening to."

When asked if she had any anything else to add, "Yeah, yes there is. *earperks* STEPH, Heidi and anyone else at Palm Beach Dragway who might read this, I'm gunnin' fer ya'. I'm gunna win that monthly trophy one of these days. FEAR THE PAWS!!! *giggles*"

Afterwards, Applebloom would show me a picture on the wall of her in her fursuit of Hakura the Pup in real life. She would also show me her two racecars.

For more on DJ Fritter/Applebloom, tune in KVXN Radio on Monday and Friday from 1 to 3PM SL time.

Bixyl Shuftan

What's New With The Dragon Crew

By Bixyl Shuftan

Second Life has no shortage of DJs. But few are teams whose personality interactions are great entertainment for their listeners. And even fewer have the appearance of a dragon. The combination makes the Dragon Crew a unique musical team in Second Life entertainment. Made up of DJ Geekil, whom has been DJing in SL for years in his dragon avatar, his partner JB Raccoon, whom while not being in the virtual world nearly as long had quickly emerged as a talented music player, and LS Raccoon, whom sometimes acts as the hostess for the two men, the "Epic Failure Show" or "Dragon and Raccoon Show" as they've often called themselves has entertained many crowds. Interviewed by the Newser in December 2017, recently they requested to meet up to talk a little about a few things that have changed since then.

Among the recent changes is that due to real life, JB can't quite take part as often as he used to. "I do not participate on Tuesdays or Wednesdays because of my health," he told me. Geerkyl scoffed at the explanation, "That's the excuse he's using." So the Dragon Crew has taken on a new co-DJ for Geerkil, "I have a replacement staff member for Tuesdays and Wednesdays." The new member of the crew is Applebloom (JeanetteDJennet Resident), whom is almost always in a pony avatar. "So when I say hay is for horses," the dragon mused, "Applebloom will agree."

So how did the little pony end up part of the Dragon Crew? Meeting up with the two at the Happy Vixen beach club, the dragon answered, "I sat on her, and she liked it," Geerkil chuckled, "NOT!" Applebloom responded with a "Hrumph!" I asked about a rumor I heard that if he did that again, she'd use "pony magic" to give him the most girly cutie mark she could think of on his behind. Geerkil answered, "She did offer a mark I would never ewver forget, every time I sat down again." "Dern right," the pony grinned, "I may be small but my kick is mighty." "Plus the fact she wears steel shoes," the dragon remarked, "which is a little bit troublesome."

Applebloom then told, "Well to be truthful about it, I first saw ol' Geer here a little before we had that Halloween event (at the Happy Vixen) and I looked at him and JB Raccoon wondering just what the hell they were playing, especially at the Halloween event. Well, not too long after that I had a talk and introduced myself to Geerkil and told him I'd love to do what he does and maybe be on his show one day but that my mic was broken. And he told me when I got my mic fixed. Well a few days ago I finally got a new one and got in touch (with) JB here at The Vixen, and he told me to hide and we'd 'surprise the sausage.'"

"So I hid down on the second level and when (Geerkil) came, we shocked him because he couldn't figure out who the 'guest' was until he saw me. Both he and JB liked my style and easygoing nature and how well I worked with them during that show that both he and JB had the idea of asking me to take JB's spot on Tuesday and Wednesday because JB had to ease back on his workload. So here I am,.now a full fledged member of The Dragon Crew." The little pony smiled.

The conversation went to Discord chat, JB making a recording which would get sent to me. "You can be like the rest of the news media and report fake news, saying we play great music instead of the truth," Geerkil chuckled. When I responded by asking him what were their greatest epic failures were, he answered "Too many to mention." He joked that the recording being made of the conversation would glitch and become "white noise."

Geerkil occasionally gets teased by his colleagues and friends who occasionally call him "sausage." The joke goes back months ago when at a show, the subject of cooking sausages for a meal came up, and he ended up saying "I love sucking sausages." It wasn't until after he spoke it that he realized it could be taken as innuendo, and those who heard gleefully chuckled. The joke has stuck around since, "You never sausage a dragon."

Geerkil sometimes pokes a little fun at Applebloom's screen name, JeanetteDJennet Resident. "This is the name that ne-ver ends," the dragon teasingly sung, "It goes on and on my friends." When I asked her where the name came from, she answered it was from, "a MUCK that me and my late hubby were on. I was a little donkey named Jeanette, so when we came here instead of having it jeanettethejennet I shortened it by two letters to jeanettedjennet. I was a Wizz on that MUCK in fact, we both were. His name was Skunx, a skunk that could shapeshift." The detail she most remembers about their time on the MUCK was their home area Oah Hill Ranch, "It was HUGE with like close to 30 seperate rooms. If you've ever been on a MUCK then you know you have to descibe it, put all the door and exits on and descibe THOSE. Very involved. ...took me several months to build it." Being a MUCK, places had to have a lot of detail, "especially if you wanted to link it up with the rest of the MUCK."

When Geerkil and Applebloom co-DJ together, their routine is called "The Dragon and Pony Show." Geers commented that the order was because D is before P in the alphabet. They're played at a number of clubs in the past year, the dragon commenting, "we left a few ... one because they had some internal issues, then they wanted us back, but when we asked for our (positions) back, we never got them. ... that was the one with stickers, I like stickers." JB ang Geerkil mentioned a few more, one they left because, "we weren't funny enough," another because the manager "was a (dirty word) (dirty word)," and another, Dancing With Angels, closed because the owner had health issues, "That was sad." They are still performing at the Funhouse, at the Heart of Gold club, Club Cutlass "from time to time," the Happy Vixen Beach Club, Zeta Valley, and the Gathering Oak. Geerkil also performs at Lost Farm Crystal Cavern, though JB won't set foot in there. There's also "Club EFS." "There's probably one or two more that we've forgotten ..."

Club EFS is the Dragon Crew's own and new club, located at at Nox Arcana high above the PlayaCar sim at (52/128/2251). While EFS is short for "Epic Failure Show," only the initials are used as there are others who perform there, "but we wanted to keep the reference to us." As of the writing of this article, there are two other DJs who perform there, DJ Squeaks (Brandi Streusel), Benji, who Geerkil grumbles "thinks the raccoon is more important than the dragon," and "The Floof." "Awesome!" Geerkil cheered in response at the third, "We have 'The Orange Floof.' ... Got a really cute avatar, I really like it." JB called it an orange husky avatar.

The steel and brick club is dragon-themed with lots of wings, dragon statues, a couple smaller dragons flying overhead, and the dance floor being a hellish-looking set of iron bars over flames. Geerkil joked, "it has a nice little grill over top of a lava bath so we can pre-cook our guests so that later on in the show we can eat them." He would later comment, "Hey, I'm a dragon. Everything else looks like food to me." The grill does have a purplish mist over it, so perhaps it's magic that keeps the flames from burning the feet on the dance floor.

Of LS (Little Spirit) Raccoon, Geerkil remarked, "We put her in her own special office, where she can be on the phone." JBstated she was recently given a desk as a gift by a friend. ... valued at $200." Geerkyl grumbled, "No one sends me no ****ing desks." JB mused, "At least now I know where those teeth marks came from." Geerkil would later call LS an enthusiastic hostess, even when there was hardly anyone else in the club they were at, "she continues to do her performance." "She treats it as if we have a club full of guests," JB added. But they sometimes had other hostesses, such as Kitacella at the Happy Vixen, "Kit's good."

As before, some of Geerkil's humor is a bit low, "I admit my sense of humor is quite warped." Seeing LS's anthro dragon avatar, Geerkil remarked "Boobies." He would then say he used the word because of all the terms for that part of a woman's anatomy, that's the one he gets in the least trouble for using. Of their performance at the Gathering Oak, Geerkil called it, "The home of the Fabulous F*rting Fairy Furry Forest Flatulent-Filled Forest where they f*rt fragrant flatulent ..." He would later say, "I find f*rts hilariously funny." He did say though he has been blamed for a few windbreaking noises that he never made.

One occasional personality is DJ Tech. "Tech gets on occasionally, so he's a special guest." JB commented, "Tech primarily does get a brief appearance on the show with us." Geerkil then remarked "usually to tell me to shut the f**k up or something." JB chuckled, "Or (call you a) dumb a**ed dragon." The dragon muttered, "That's another famous phrase." Little Spirit giggled, "That's why we call him D.A.D." Someone joked, "That gives 'Who's your daddy?' a whole new meaning." That resulted in chuckles from everyone but Geerkil.

Sometimes Geerkil wears a hard hat. When asked to explain how it started, he explained that on occasion someone's been dropping anvils on him, "I decided to take some precautions." JB joked the weather has sometimes been "partially cloudy with a chance of anvils." When asked if there have been sightings of a coyote chasing a roadrunner, JB answered, "Well, the anvils do say 'ACME' on them, so it's possible (chuckle)." I then asked if Geerkil was wearing a hard hat, was someone else going to wear a sailor suit, a third a police uniform, and a fourth a biker. Geerkil blurted, "Oh no no! We are NOT going 'Village People!'" "Oh God no!" JB exclaimed, "No waaaay!"

Of the antics at the show, Geerkil rmarked, "I am not the instigator, but I do tend to promote that at times. ... (chuckle) I have a loyal crew." JB mentioned one incident at the Gathering Oak in which someone made something happen to Erik, who then looked right at Geerkil. The dragon chuckled, "I have this guilty look about me. I'm just doing my job, and darned if every time Erik ****ed, he'd watch me like a hawk. ... I'm laughing my (butt) off. It was so funny, and I'm the only innocent one in the whole group. All I did was make the suggestion, and it makes things happen (laughter)." They also mentioned a few jokes they played when people nearby go Away From Keyboard. "You do not want to be idle around us for very long," Geerkl commented.

The Dragon Crew now has a Facebook page at ( https://www.facebook.com/DragonandRaccoonEFS/ ). They also have a Patreon page. "There's not much on there for perks right now," JB explained, "We don't have the money right now to offer anything significant." "I think or first perk is going to be a coffee mug with the Dragon and Raccoon logo on it," Geerkil spoke. "Once we have a new logo design," JB added.

Geerkil refers to their collection of older and more obscure music as Warehouse 13, "Lost and forgotten tunes."

JB Raccoon pointed out his avatar, which he calls a "huskcoon," has changed a little since the interview a year ago, "he even has a pair of glasses to match the ones I'm going to wear in real life. JB had previously used an Aventity blue husky. He would go on to say as time has gone on, he's become a bit more social. While he had no problems interacting with people on-air, he preferred to keep his avatar a bit distance from others. "Someone would move to the DJ booth, I'd move away. ... I'd move somewhere else just to get away from them. I don't do that anymore. I haven't done it in several months." He gives some credit for this to Akea Gromet, "I think he was the first ... to get behind the DJ booth, and me not move." JB would take a picture of him, which remains at the Happy Vixen as Akea passed away several months later.

During the interview, one friend of theirs on and off of Second Life, known here as Lord Equis, made a few comments over the voice chat. He also appeared at the club to say hello.

Of their ideas for the future, one they're considering is recording their off-the-air conversations. "A lot of the funniest stuff we do is off the air," Geerkil explained,

After a bit more than an hour, the Dragon Crew and I went our separate ways. Geerkil and Applebloom's "Dragon and Pony Show" can be encountered at the Happy Vixen at Purrfection Estates (236, 219, 24) on Tuesdays at 4PM SL time. The "Dragon and Raccoon Show" is on Thursdays at 6PM SL time. And as mentioned before, there's their Club EFS at PlayaCar (52/128/2251) .

Bixyl Shuftan