Disappointed in Hollywood (was: so cal gig spam--Review of Performance) Longer than I would like

["Gary Lehmann" <relayonemanband@cts.com>]

Thanks for your replies.  I appreciate these sorts of responses; they are
certainly as thoughtful as my pained initial posting.  Sorry if I did not
make my position clear.  I will try to be brief and still give more
information.
I have not specialized in avant-garde "music".  It's swell--I understand
about modern music having run out of innovations due to all the "good" 
stuff
having already been used.  I am positive, however, that I can recognize art
which transcends.  Like many have said, there's only two kinds of music;
good music and the other kind.

The first act was a fellow hunkered over what appeared to be an old style
answering machine which used cassette tapes.  And he was playing back
multiple loops of various prepared sounds, and he was slowing it down, and
he was speeding it up, and he was hunkering down, and it was simultaneously
boring and disconcerting.  It could hardly be considered music and it was
not what I would consider performance.

Next up was a woman with dreadlocks in a wedding dress, and she entered
while pretending to play guitar along to a prerecorded performance.  I play
guitar and so does she--she mimed real good--but it wasn't live.  She then
played a few songs on various instruments, including a Casiotone (I'm
guessing) and a distortion-laden dulcimer (an instrumental which invoked 
the
Close Encounters theme) and sang.  Closer to my liking, but still sort of
amateur night quality.  Guess this was an informal avante-garde evening.
Still no looping, although she did use echo on her voice.

At this point I will point out that I was there to see people using the
technology I have come to take for granted, to investigate what my place in
the scene can be.  I can play a lot of different "styles", and if someone
needed me to avoid the obvious, I can do that.  But my tastes run toward 
the
more consonant, and so unbeknownst to me, I had just viewed the closest
performance to my liking without knowing it.

So then on comes the headliner.  The woman who sang with Steuart is the 
orga
nizer of the three Sunday night performances, so he was accompanying her.  
I
have been in the role of accompanist a few times, so I can appreciate his
situation.  He supported her with what she desired, while she sang in a
foreign language thru various toys and/or rattled toys; generated noise, in
general (I think this is an accurate description--I'm certain it was her
intent), so his role was that of companion noisemaker.  She made me think 
of
Yoko Ono.

I would have killed for Cecil Taylor or Ornette Coleman at this point.  
Eric
Dolphy would have been a joy.  Just somebody playing SOMETHING that
resembled a passionate performance to stir emotions other than dismay at
being swindled out of time and money that is at a premium as I am trying to
relocate after 20 years of playing music for a living in San Diego.  Now,
check it out, people.  The fact that I have been a "commercial" musician,
that is, one who plays recognizable music for the enjoyment of the barely
listening, means that I have a certain sensibility.  Perhaps something of a
caveat was in order in Steuart's posting, something like, "This is an
evening of cutting edge, avante-garde performance art."  That was the
description on the flyers on the table.

I am sure that many who hear my attempts to use the music tools/toys I have
accumulated could have a similar reaction to my performance.  That's why I
am judicious in their incorporation.  My work is probably way too mundane
for the
people in that room.  I just try to do what I think is appropriate.  I am
truly sorry if I went where I should not have, i.e. Hollywood Knitting
Factory.  But I want this technology, and let me be specific--I want the 
use
of delays creating accumulated sound "painting"--to be better understood 
and
more accepted.  It is important to me.  I  went looking for that.  What I
found made me upset to have been misled, if not defrauded.  This did not
seem to be a looping performance.  If I posted gig spam and someone came to
see me, I would feel obligated to feature looping.

Thanks again for your time.  I am grateful that there is some discussion of
this and not just a reaction to my rudeness.  You guys are a bunch of swell
fellows.
Gary

----- Original Message -----
From: "Saybolt" <JWSaybolt@hotmail.com>
To: <Loopers-Delight@loopers-delight.com>
Sent: Monday, January 15, 2001 2:52 AM
Subject: Re: so cal gig spam--Review of Performance


> So it appears that Steuart Lied big, Stephen was the Good man in being
> supportive, and Gary thought the show to be Lehm, man.   Fascinating.
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Gary Lehmann <relayonemanband@cts.com>
> To: <Loopers-Delight@loopers-delight.com>
> Sent: Sunday, January 14, 2001 11:55 PM
> Subject: Re: so cal gig spam--Review of Performance
>
> bla bla bla I hated it etc.