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Looper's Delight
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> > >Oh no! My "Mini" rig now takes longer to set up than my full rig! > >So this has been my problem. I always think of the scene in The >Matrix where they're in the "loading construct" and Neo says, "Guns. >Lot's of GUNS." I want LOTS OF GUNS when I play. I have a certain >sound I want to create, and it's hard for me to not want to schlep >my entire studio out with me each time I play. So much so that I'm >kind of thinking I may totally stop playing live for a while. This >is something I keep wrestling with. I don't get much money for >playing live. I have a hard time monitoring what's going on, which >makes improvisation hard. It takes almost as much time in break >down moving and set up as I usually play, and it's all awkward and >heavy to move. Add on to that the fact that I often feel tethered >to my gear, so that after my part (in a "festival type" of show) I >feel like I've got to load up my car and then go. > >I guess this this is all coming from my last gig at Ascension 3 in >SF. (http://www.redbullascension.com/) It was a great gig, but I >always feel like the shear effort of all of it just isn't worth it. >I get more good feedback from posting stuff here. I get more good >jams going here in my living room. > >I think all of this would be different if I was part of a band and I >had other people totally responsible for their part of the deal. >Like a bass player (the Stick player I was playing with got a >boyfriend and has not touched her instrument since) and >percussionist/DJ type. If there are any of you out there in the SF >area, send me an email and maybe we can get together. > Mark, man, I feel your pain, mostly in my lower back :-) The majority of my gigging lately has been with an avant jazz/funk sextet, in which I play bass. Originally, I was just taking my bass, cords and amp, no effects, no loopers, nada. Was really digging the minimalist approach. Then, I was thinking, "ya know, synth bass'd sound cool on a few tunes", so I added the Nord Lead, of course, it sounds kinda dry, so I added a DL-4. Of course, this means I add a keyboard stand, and a mixer, an extension cord to get AC to the front of the stage, and on and on. Plus, our turntable guy has started bringing in sampled loops in his Dr. Sample, and the drummer needs a headphone mix for that, so I bring a boss mixer for that, and I'm thinking, "hey, if the drummers got headphones, I can send him loops from bass and keys", so I start to bring the Boomerang, and now I'm thinking some sequenced bass on the MicroModular or (soon to arrive ) Evolver would be cool, so I could solo on keys over a bass line. Yadda yadda yadda. I do about 3-4 looping gigs a year, with the Rhodes/MC303/Repeater/JamMan, etc setup I mentioned a few days ago, one of which was the Portland Loopfest. For as much gear as it is, it's pretty mobile, I'm contemplating replacing the Rhodes with a Nord Electro, but can't afford it at the moment . I don't make much money from these gigs, but they always seem well received, and that makes it worthwhile for me. I'm doing another one in a little over a week, with the same sax player and turntablist as the loopfest, and really looking forward to it. Maybe because where I am, there isn't an abundance of live electronic music, the shows I do are seen as pretty unusual, and get a good response. My wife often asks why I bother with these gigs, why not just record. I dunno, I thrive on the interaction, both with other players and with the audience. Something about going in front of people adds an edge to everything. I went for a 4 year period of not playing any gigs, about 10 years ago. I was almost 30, and figured it was time for me to "grow up" and get on with my life, like most of the other musicians I was playing with at the time. I was miserable and neurotic for most of that period. My wife suggested I start playing out again, and I started being happy again. And, BTW, if I were in the bay area, I'd join your band in a heartbeat!