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sweet diatribe jessie. sorry for the late response folks! been bombarded lately... i am a fan first. a fan in the gut/ear before i ever 'saw' a show before. my 1st was who's next, boston #1, elo's double live. at 9 i was hooked hard. they were these big black round disks that rolled out of this designed sleeve that was usually pretty sweet... those were the daze... then i went and 'saw' blue oyster cult live. i require as a fan to be effected. as a listener as a watcher. i also require some kind of innovation. when i saw the alan parsons tour a few years back i left at half time. it was identical to the record they broke rules 20 years before. i was disappointed. i had the awesome privilege of seeing the fine cara Q last saturday at the sweet rockin coffee house here in denver. what a great show. i was intrigued beyond my normal, "well that's neat" just to watch her perform let alone hear her. ive been around the block a few times at 36 and have never heard some of the sounds that she commandeered. somewhat like what André recently posted from his new disk. cq takes it somewhere new for me. it left me wanting more (need to get a cd from you grrrl!) cq played for 30 minutes with a solid and diverse set. because of her sight limitations she does not move much. she does not need to though, she is very talented and sexy and interesting none the less. what a crazy style! dangerous music!! YES! the fuck face to me simply represents honesty as a player. if you and i are having sex at some point i want to see/feel/smell you sweat no matter how proficient you might be as a technical lover. same goes with music. break a sweat, break a string break a rule or two while your at it. i believe in educating the audience. i cant please them all nor do i want to. people are quick to judge what is new even if they strive to want something different. new has to make its way in until it is a bit more familiar for most music lovers. they usually do come around though. the essence of looping is not unlike life to me. it is the same thing over and over and up to me to make it interesting, challenging and innovative and fun or not. i do do this for a living and have for 12 some years steady and even though i cant please them all i still want most of them! snork! jimmy george http://www.jimmygeorgearts.com ----- Original Message ----- From: Jesse Ray Lucas <jlucas@neoprimitive.net> To: <Loopers-Delight@loopers-delight.com> Sent: Monday, March 17, 2003 1:38 AM Subject: "Dragging Instruments Around" meets "laptop live"... > So, here's an idea, folks: Hook up your laptop screen to a projector are > project what you are seeing -- or, at the very least, get some kind of audio > visualizer program and project the output of that on a big screen behind > you. If you intend to connect with the widest possible audience, you >must > include some kind of visual element in your performance. Tim Reynolds > projects slides behind himself when he plays. > > And stand up. How much energy can you be putting into your performance > if you're sitting down? I know I would rather sit down and play all the > time, and I probably play better sitting down (because I always practice > sitting down), but you will get over more often if you stand up. Ah, the > harsh realities of presenting to the public. > > > ***DANGER***: HERE FOLLOWS AN EXTENSIVE RANT ABOUT JOE AVERAGE'S PERCEPTION > OF MUSIC. > > It seems to me that most people who aren't musicians don't actually > *listen* to music. They *watch* music. If music is on at home or in the > car, they are usually not aware of anything other than the words. If the > music is such that it asserts itself into the forefront of the environment, > demanding attention, (e.g. Meshuggah, Squarepusher, or basically anything > with above-average musical density in any respect [harmonically, > rhythmically, melodically]) the average joe or joan will feel uneasy > (translates into "dislike"). The negative effects of higher-than-normal > compositional density seem to be circumventable by adding plenty of humor > (e.g. Frank Zappa), or at the very least lots of very easily understandable > lyrics presented in familiar melodic patterns (e.g. Dave Matthews). But, in > general, the whole idea of music without words doesn't make sense to the > vast majority of people who grow up on MTV and commercial radio. > > I see this all the time when I play an opening instrumental set with >a > jazz quartet, then a singer joins us for the second set. All of a sudden > people look up and start to pay attention because there is someone >singing > words. The minute she sits down and we play an instrumental, eyes are back > to the beer glasses and soup bowls and the talking resumes. And it's not > because the singers I play with are really great and we suck. No words = no > music. It's just the way some [the majority?] people are. > > I guess it comes down to giving people something that they can relate > to. People can relate to someone singing, because everyone has tried it at > some point. People can relate to someone who looks like they're working > really hard (the "fuck face" as Jimmy George put it -- hahahahah), >because > most people have worked hard at something before. Most people can't relate > to John Coltrane's playing on Interstellar Space, because it doesn't > obviously relate to tonal music, which is the extent of most people's > experience of music. Most people can't relate to a guy standing there with > a laptop "making" music, because, if anything, maybe they've picked up a > guitar, or banged on a drum one or twice in their lives, so this is how they > understand music is made (hence the benefit of dragging around and >playing a > bunch of instruments). Only someone who knows something about what is > involved in the creation of music on a computer will be interested in what's > happening. But, as we only see the plastic shell of the laptop and not the > screen there's not really much point to getting really interested, >because > you will never get the pay off. > > But, it all depends on who your target audience is. Music geeks have a > higher tolerance for musical density, and lack of "show." Just like > authors, when reading, have a higher tolerance for literary references >and > focus on character development, rather than plot development and action. > > -J > > > > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Mark Sottilaro" <sine@zerocrossing.net> > To: <Loopers-Delight@loopers-delight.com> > Sent: Sunday, March 16, 2003 9:47 PM > Subject: Re: Dragging Instruments Around > > > > Another aspect of the Laptop is the performance issue. BORING. I once > > went to a big new music fest and my wife and I walked out when a guy > > sat down with a laptop and began to produce what seemed like slightly > > edgy techno. (IDM). We looked at each other and said, "Would it > > matter if that was all coming from the CD player in is Laptop?" The > > answer was: NO. > > > > Look at Hans. That wall of gear is part of the show. So fun to watch > > him tame COLUSSUS: THE FORBIN PROJECT. Coupled with a sequence of > > wardrobe changes that would make Cher jealous, you've got one hell of a > > show... even if all his gear fails! (Sorry to rub it in Hans, I love > > you and your music!) > > > > However, I feel that often I'm not that far away from the laptop guy. > > At the ascension show we were in the dark in a corner. I'm positive > > that most people weren't aware the music was live. Didn't really > > matter on some level. A lot of people were there and seemed to be > > having fun. We were the "ambient" reception music, so that's OK. BUT: > > What if I had recorded a really killer set in Digital Performer the > > night before, burned it to discs and showed up with a DJ setup. One of > > those Pioneer CD players an iBook and a mixer. Would there have been > > any difference? I'm not sure I think so. Should I become a DJ of my > > own music? I think people are doing this. Anyone here doing this? > > Could be a good way to go for this type of event. (where dancing and > > socializing are the focus) When it's more of a show (like Loopstock) > > then you go for performance mode. What do people think? > > > > I saw Bjork live where she had someone who looked like he was > > "performing" ProTools while she sung. OK, there was a string orchestra > > too. Anyway, it worked for me. > > > > Mark Sottilaro > > > > On Sunday, March 16, 2003, at 01:41 AM, Rick Walker/Loop.pooL wrote: > > > > > > I'm still not completely sold on buying a laptop. > > > > > > >