SurfWatch Interviews Kantbe Thursday

photos by Leanne Mordue

SurfWatch recently forced Managing Editor, Kantbe Thursday, to actually sit down for a minute and
leave the witness protection program to share a little about herself.

SurfWatch (SW):  What are some of the surf/beach activities you have been involved with and are currently involved with?
Kantbe Thursday (KT):  Gosh, this is a tough one.

Due to Desi (Desirae Beaumont), I got involved with Reef Riders and West of Ireland, home of the Reef Riders. One of the really unique things about being a Reef Rider, at least to be a Pro Rider, you had to spend some time volunteering at West of Ireland in support of their charity work. I was trained on how to do security, and Desi and Bobbi (Laval) taught me how to help manage the beaches.

One of my proudest achievements was with Desi. After she and Bobbi decided they had to give up the Bounty sim, Desi wanted to continue with some form of a live music venue. Desi found a friend who would provide a location, so Desi and I created Surfside Hideaway. Some of you may have heard about one of the first regular acts we had... some surfer chicka named Tauri Tigerpaw.  The connections at Surfside also turned out to be helpful when West of Ireland had to shut down and I made a video saying goodbye to Neart.  Except for the intro music, the other songs were provided by Celtic live music performers who had performed at Surfside. Desi still works her tail off at Surfside Hideaway, which now may be the longest running live music venue in SL.




I was the drummer for the SL "DJ" band, SLavE Girls. We were a different kind of tribute band in that rather than focusing on a particular band, we did music done by a variety of female artists. SLavE Girls was a crazy fun group to have the honor with which to have been affiliated. For quite a while, we were also the warm up band for Tauri Tigerpaw's shows at Surfside Hideaway.

Now, I help manage the Chi, Bundy Reef, and Bluff Cove surfing sims.  Mostly, I just pick up empty beer bottles and things people leave on the beach.

I'm also currently a "managing" editor for the SurfWatch blog, and do the SurfWatch Report for the website and inworld distribution of surfing sims in SL.

And I'm always looking for an opportunity to have some time with my partner of over 9 years, Tanya Palianta.

SW:  What are some of your favorite things to do in SL?
KT:  Exploring when I have time. There are so many really wonderfully designed sims all over the grid. I enjoy dance/chatting with Tan. Lately, I've really been enjoying some of the newer Latin dancing animations that are available.

SW:  What do you want people to know about you?
KT:  Hmm... my first thought, probably as a result of thinking back over times with Desi is....  I didn't do it!

I like meeting people. I like talking with people. But, I'm horrible at keeping in touch with friends.

SW:  You and Tan have been together forever!  How did you guys meet?

KT:  We met at Surfside Hideaway. I was still working there to help Desi mostly with booking details, calendaring, notices, that back room sort of b’niz stuff. I’d attend as many shows as I could and help with the hosting. SLavE Girls was the only act we booked that wasn’t truly a live musician, but a “DJ” band. They were weekly regulars for quite some time. I always enjoyed how SLavE Girls would make their entrance by all of them arriving at the club’s landing point and then walking to the stage together. For me, Tan was the quiet, mysterious (and some what intimidating) one and the one I was most curious about.

Slave Girls 2012:  Kantbe Thursday, Tanya Palianta, 2qt1bstr8 Bailey, Anibrm Jung provided by Kantbe Thursday

After I left Surfside Hideaway and before I joined the SLavE Girls band, I very seriously considered leaving SL. I wasn’t enjoying meeting people, yet I’m very much a people person. Ani (Anibrm Jung), one of the two founders of SLavE Girls, suggested I reach out to Tan. She thought Tan and I might enjoy each other's company. We did, so there ya go…

SW:  You’re heavily involved with the surfing world - do you still find time to surf?  If so, elaborate on where you like to surf, the board and wave you're most comfortable with right now, etc.  

KT:  I don’t have much inworld time to surf these days. I’ve also been having a hardware issue with my computer for a while that causes spurious, temporary lockups in SL. Even just walking can result in a client side lockup but I’m still moving inworld. I’ve nearly broken my nose several times as a result of walking into walls.

I like surfing on fluffs, so I tend to surf on Chi and Bluff Cove more than other places. That also has some bearing on which board I use since only a couple will work with fluffies. My favorite is the C-3. I have both longboard and shortboard versions. Sometimes it’s more relaxing to chill on the fluffs on a longboard, I think.

SW:  I know you manage some of the more popular beach sims.  What are some of the more interesting things you've found that people have left on the beach?

KT:  This one’s easy! When I was helping at Bundoran Reef as a Reef Rider, I found a set up a guy left at the bottom of the ocean. He had a fairly elaborate adult bed with flowers on the sea bed and schools of colorful fish swimming around.

On more than one occasion, I've found couples who had rezzed a platform in the sky and were, let's say, enjoying themselves in a mostly horizontal way. If they wouldn't respond to my IM's, they would sometimes find themselves sky diving without a parachute.

I usually find things where it looks as if there had been an impromptu party on the beach. One time I found, believe it or not, some used condoms near a residence. It turned out the guy’s neighbor was playing a practical joke.

Slave Girls 2013 provided by Kantbe Thursday

SW:  Slave Girls was one of the funnest acts to hang out at on the grid!  Are there any plans to do a reunion tour?

KT:  No, we talk about it every once in a while, but each of us have had so many changes in RL and our inworld availability, it’s probably not too likely. It sure was a fun time with all of them, though. We had an all band members at the same time inworld interview for a magazine once that was such a hoot. I’m sure the interviewer was wondering what in the world she had gotten herself into.

OHBoi magazine interview 2012 provided by Kantbe Thursday

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