Here at BandWidth, we like to consider ourselves visionaries... or at least that's what we tell people who call us space cadets.

But I'd like to open up a rift in the space-time continuum and look into the future of bands. One aspect is something I've been seeing recently in my escapades as a performer in the virtual world of Second Life, which is a virtual band!

In these cases, you have people who are in remote locations, but use various types of chained audio streaming software to perform together. One example is an act literally called Virtual Live Band (VLB), which is made up of five people on three continents that still manage to perform in real time for audiences. Pretty interesting stuff, eh?

As time goes by, you might be able to hook up and do gigs and musical collaborations with people who share your tastes and interests and goals, no matter whether you live in a big city or a tine place in the middle of nowhere.

What are your thoughts on this and other visions of the Band of the Future?

Seems interesting. In spite of the fact that I've made my livlihood through computer networking for over a decade, I really wasn't up to date on this kind of collaboaration. Recently I've seen some postings where people all over the world did segments and they were put together for a song.

I live in a small town, and such things would be of interest just on a personal level. For a muso who makes their living playing, some form of compensation structure must also come into being for virtual bands to succeed.

At least it is one more way to get something other than the load of junk that the big networks and Hollywood seem to be putting out.

These forums themselves are a help in finding out about what is going on.

Wouldn't it be nice to not be limited to the folks in your small town in terms of who you'd like to collaborate with musically?

And, believe it or not, there are ways that these virtual bands are indeed being compensated, but that's a longer topic that I can't get into at the moment.