Re: What got ya to where you are...

[Dpcoffin@aol.com]

Briefly...when I learned to play a few John Fahey-ish Travis-picking licks 
in
the hazy daze of '67, I was immediately struck by the hypnotic qualities 
of an
endlessly rolling fingerpicking figure; there being no discernable 
difference
between "practicing" and "playing" in those days, I spent a lot of time
listening to repetitous patterns. Wasn't much of a leap to notice that a 
chord
sequence would sound better if it could be arranged to knit back seamlessly
into its starting pattern...in fact, that seemed to be one of the keys to 
the
Fahey message--along with his astounding moodiness. From then on, repeating
(or nearly, or partially, repeating) cycles have been the first things I 
tend
to notice in all kinds of music, and gear that lends itself to repeats
(sequencers, drum machines, tape loops, etc. has always perked my
interest...and such stuff is incredibly prevelant! I'm actually surprised 
to
read that so many folks here hadn't (apparently) been similarly struck with
the loopy-ness of almost all music until encountering an avowed "Looper." 
Of
course, maybe I'm structurally challenged and can't twig anything more 
complex
than "Oh, yes, here's that theme/beat again...!"
dpc