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Re: Making a spectacle of yourself



am 15.10.2002 8:16 Uhr schrieb Goddess unter thefates@earthlink.net:

> I think the audience is a very important part of a performance.  <smile>
> Personally, I address the audience all the time when playing, in speech,
> in mannerism, in physical stance, in visual aspects of the performance
> itself, and the music itself as well.  The audience matters in all of it.
> -just like I, and the music matter in all of it.  <smile>  The audience 
>is
> cool, and if you treat them that way, they and you, contribute to
> eachother.  It all goes together to make a wonderful performance.  -just 
>my
> thoughts...  
> 
> Smiles,
> 
> CQ
> 
> At 08:56 PM 10/14/02 +0100, you wrote:
>> Max ("max valentino" ekstasis1@hotmail.com) wrote:
>> 
>> 
>>> It interests me how others here are using their loopersŠ. especially
> those who
>> might be working within an ensemble.  If you are working within the
>> structures of ³traditional² song forms, how does that work?
>> 
>> Iıve been using loopers in three settings recently, ranging from
>> ambient/avant/improv to French tradtional music. The ambient band
>> (www.big-hair.co.uk) features fretless bass, theremin and trombone and 
>is
>> essentially structured improvisation using loops now and again with 
>various
>> boxes and long long delays. By contrast, I play fretless bass in a five
>> piece band (www.pauljamesmusic.com)  (drums, keyboards/accordion, 
>samples,
>> sax/bagpipes) which plays real songs. The role of the looper is to 
>provide
>> digital voodoo to complement bagpipes and accordion playing. I also use
>> atempo loops and very long delays with a pitch shifter/Ebow to play
>> melodies/harmonies which sound like nothing else you would usually 
>encounter
>> in folk music. Works well.  We get gigs.
>> 
>> 
>> 
>>> The other interesting aspect of this thread is of the nature of
> performance.
>>> Especially with solo loopers, there is a tendency towards 
>³shoe-gazing².
>>> We might have so much going on with our feet and hands that any 
>performance
>>> (read: entertainment) aspect is simply impractical.  I did not make it 
>to
>>> the recent Womenıs LoopFest, but from what I hear, there were several
>>> performers who added a visual spectacle to some very impressive looping
>> techniques.
>> 
>>> This is important as what we do as musicians is directly tied to our
> ability
>>> and need to communicate on some level with people who are not 
>musicians.
>>> People who do not play are always fascinated by our alchemical 
>abilities to
>>> conjure up sounds, which relate to them on various intellectual and
> visceral
>>> levels.  Yet, attention spans do not last that long.  The
>>> visual/entertainment aspect of our work is a great aid in our ability 
>to
>> communicate.
>> 
>> Good point. I play the knobs on the DL4 and frankly it is desperately
>> non-visual (keeps me happy, though). By contrast, Big Hair involves 
>three
>> visual instruments ­ a bass guitar, the sliding of a trombone and the 
>arm
>> waving involved in theremin playing. Also, my musical partner has long 
>been
>> a theatre performer too. This means that we are able to shape 
>performance
>> and harness his stage presence as well as his trombone/theremin skills.
>> 
>> If youıre asking people to pay to see you, then I think you have a duty 
>to
>> give them something back ­ it may be that the music you do is so 
>fantastic
>> that the visual side is not relevant. On the other hand, there are 
>positive
>> benefits for performer and audience if you spend time thinking about 
>these
>> things. For example, Big Hair performed at an experimental music fest  
>where
>> the audience had been faced with serious electronic improvisers for two 
>days
>> solid, most of whom could have been playing in their bedroom for all the
>> notice they took of the two hundred people watching. We came on and 
>spoke
>> to, and looked at the audience ­ they responded very positively. In 
>fact,
>> the audience reaction made us play better. A positive feedback loop (no 
>pun
>> intended). 
>> 
>> One side effect of modifying the sound of a bass with all this gear is 
>that
>> the audience doesnıt realise  what is making the sound ­ it could be a
>> keyboard. Generally, they donıt care and Iım sure this is right. To me, 
>this
>> underlines the point that it is the music which is most important, not 
>the
>> technology. The old punk rocker in me starts to get very suspicious 
>when the
>> gear itself becomes the reason to play.
>> 
>> v
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
> 
> 
> ---
> 
> "The only things I really think are important, are love, and eachother.
> -Then, anything is possible..."
> 
> http://home.earthlink.net/~thefates
> 
> Please visit The Guitar Cafe.
> 
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/the-guitar-cafe
> 
> 
After five years of  playing the same 60, simple folktunes/songs with just
my good, old doublebass (and still finding new approach in a  very detailed
way of looking),I now come the point to have the freedom to really work on
my performance. What i want to sayis this: The more complex the music your
playing and the techniques you are using, the longer it will take to become
a good musician and performer in the same time. For me the consequence will
be trying to simplify my setup, my music. I believe this way I´ll naturally
find an more audience-friendly way to perform my looping.
CW