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At 05:49 PM 2/20/2005, Gary Lehmann wrote: >Now that the traffic has died down, time to clutter your mailbox again 8) >with a poll of the looping string players: how many sit and how many >stand? Interesting, I always meant to comment about this after these various loop festivals. Having watched many looper guitarists perform, I really, really think many of you need to learn to play standing up. Guitarists sitting down almost always look very lame. They have less stage presence, less energy, and less connection with the audience than guitarists standing up. Especially if you sit in a crappy looking chair instead of a stool, and do the big flappy-foot, legs-spread style of toe tapping. ugh. The only two people I've seen pull it off sitting down were Matthias Grob and Steve Lawson, and I think it is because they are both very tall, have good posture, and have the stage experience to engage the audience anyway. There are only three contexts where I think guitarists look ok sitting during a performance: a) big band jazz (at the end of the sax line), b) classical (with a stool), and c) when they have some apparent physical hardship (like being a 97 year old blind blues player). Yes, I know. It is hard to tap the buttons while standing. But if Andre LaFosse can do his thing standing up, you can learn to do it too. He taps buttons a thousand times more often than you. Practice standing up, and you will be fine. Oh, and while we are at it: The ugly rack of gear. I'm really tired of being in the audience and watching a performance by the back of an ugly rack of gear. You have a big tangle of ugly cables all spilling out, and your head barely poking up over the top. Most of your racks do not have good stage presence. Move the rack somewhere to the side or behind you. Buy some interesting cloth to put over it. Let the audience see you. Let them see you push the buttons and turn the knobs. Let them see the blinky lights instead of the back. Hide the cables. It will really really help. kim ______________________________________________________________________ Kim Flint | Looper's Delight kflint@loopers-delight.com | http://www.loopers-delight.com