Re: why do we loop?

[paul <phaslem@wightman.ca>]

An interesting question.........

I started looping for two reasons, 1st, because, as a solo performer I 
wanted a bigger sound, 2nd, I could imagine some real interesting 
possibilities with new directions that I could go with the music that I 
was 
writing. I've been looping for nearly 3 yrs now and am definitely hooked. 
It's opened up creative possibilities that have me staying up half the 
night playing music.

I spent 10 yrs playing for a living, everything from busking, to concerts, 
to festivals, to malls. I got tired of the road, tired of having to play 
what people want to hear, ( as a hammered dulcimer performer, if I had to 
play Greensleeves one more time I'd have to kill someone!!!!!) So I went 
out and dusted off my plumbers licence and went back to the day job. Only 
now it, (the day job) didn't frustrate me because it gave me the freedom 
to 
play whatever I wanted and to turn down gigs that wouldn't give me the 
freedom to play what I wanted. I still do some gigs and have rediscovered 
the joy and excitement of sharing the music with an audience. Performing 
for me, is part of the process of creating, somehow the whole process 
doesn't feel complete without a listener. It doesn't matter if that's my 
wife listening in from the next room, a handful of people at a garden 
party 
or a thousand in a field at a major festival..... we're sharing a creative 
moment, it's a different sort of loop.

Paul Haslem

looping hammered dulcimer and guitar in Ontario, Canada




At 08:46 PM 10/4/2005, you wrote:

>I plan on coming to see some of the performances this weekend in Santa 
>Cruz (I live just over the hill in Santa Clara).  I'm excited to be able 
>to see what others are doing with looping in person.  After looking at 
>the 
>list of performers and seeing many familiar names from this mailing list, 
>I got to wondering...
>
>Are there other people on this list besides myself into creating/playing 
>with loops who don't perform in public?  If so, what do you get from 
>it...in other words, why do we loop?  I guess this question applies to 
>any 
>type of artistic or creative activity that doesn't have public 
>performance 
>as it's primary purpose.  It's like if a loop is running in the forest 
>and 
>no one is there to hear it does it really make any sound?
>Dennis
>