FIRST LOOPING MEMORIES

["Rick Walker \(loop.pool\)" <GLOBAL@cruzio.com>]

Some one mentioned this to me the other day and it got me to reminiscing
about my history of looping.  I said that I had been looping for 9 years 
and
he said, "no way, man, I remember you using a digital delay to make a loop
in Union Grove Music in the early eighties".  It jogged my memory and I
started thinking about it:

For a quick historical note, my group TAO ELECTRICAL did a performance at
the old Art Center in Santa Cruz '81 or '82 with three tube Echoplexes with
the record heads removed and, one by one, left the stage at intermission
with the loops running (slightly out of syn). It was at an avante garde 
show
with Henry Kaiser. We thought we were so clever.........ha ha.

  We weren't nearly the first but I've been looping since then.  Michael
Haumesser (Not Michael, the brilliant electro/acoustic musician from Rhode
Island) was my inspiration.  He's the first person I ever saw who made
cassette loops and altered his echoplex.  He was also the first person I
ever saw play prepared guitar.  I steal from his creativity to this very 
day
;-)

I also remember starting a performance when one of the very first digital
delay machines came out (must have been '82 or '83) where the 'loop' was
sped up so fast that the phrase I had entered was just an abstract rhythmic
sound that I used as the 'bed' of the piece.   I slowed it down (very
slowly) at the end of the piece to reveal the phrase "It doesn't mean a
fucking thing".
I remember I thought I was so clever.........ha ha

How about a FIRST LOOOPING MEMORIES THREAD?   Either your first experience
or the first time you saw someone looping in a way that changed your life.
NOT A COMPETITION...............AN HOMAGE............anyone up for it?

yours, Rick Walker (aka, Loop.pooL)