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I wanted to send out a public, list-inclusive ?thank you? to everyone who
were involved and present at last week?s ?Second Sunday Live Looping? show
in Santa Cruz.
First of all, to Rick Walker, who through his own tenacity and connections
has made such a unique event possible.
To Dan Soltzberg who put together a very eclectic and unique lineup of
artists, and whose first production in Santa Cruz can be considered a
success. Thanks. It was really an honor to be part of it.
And to Matt Davignon and Amar & Samba who provided some wonderful, beautiful
and diverse music that evening.
And, while I have the bandwidth, perhaps I will re-open the debate of
community within this little community of ours. While at the ?second
Sunday? show, I was able to really ponder the significance of this ?spirit
of community?.
There is some debate here on the list as to whether the concept, or even the
term, of ?live looping? is appropriate or even necessary. There is also
debate as to whether looping is an art-form in itself, a musical sub-genre,
a technique, a means of production or an end product in its own right.
It struck me, while listening to the diversity of musical expression at the
Second Sunday show, that the debates over these things are quite null.
Regardless of what we call it, we do have a ?community? of musicians who use
the techniques of looping as a motis operandi for their musical ventures.
And, as such, we, the loopers, loopographers, or loopists, give support and
credence to each of our efforts.
The show this past Sunday featured a wide array of diverse musics. I
certainly performed what might be called the most ?accessible?, or the least
?experimental? of the music on the bill (this is a deliberate choice for me
as I make my living doing this, and for me to gig regularly my music must
have at least some semblance of traditional form and melody). But all of
the performers were quite supportive of each other (not merely glad-handing
and giving the mutual back slapping stuff). We were, and are, genuinely
interested and excited about what each artist is doing. Despite the diverse
and divergent musical styles, we all do share a common trait, which is the
use of looping in a live musical forum.
There is much historical precedence for ?art movements? to be started by the
artists involved simply as a way of giving support, credence, and exposure
to a new form or tendency within the artistic discipline. Now, I don?t want
to go so far as to call looping a new ?movement?, or genre of music
(although there are those on this list which certainly do extol the merits
thereof), but, the fact is, looping, and the multi-faceted uses of audio
loops, have permeated all forms of the recording industry in such a way
they are now ?mainstream techniques?. The use of loops in a live situation
is still a fairly uncharted course, which makes what many of do so exciting
and fresh and new.
The very existence of this list does, in some way, define us as a
?community?. And, while quite a few of us are uncomfortable with the ?live
looping? moniker (perhaps seeing it as self-indulgent, or perhaps
self-limiting), if creating a label for what we do, and therefore making
possible ?looping festivals? or multi-act shows of artists who use/feature
looping can bring forth greater promotion of the tools and techniques we
use; can give greater exposure to artists whose work will certainly fall far
outside the mainstream (and whose prospects of ?good? gigs becomes more and
more limited), is this such a bad thing?
(and, in case you hadn?t noticed, it seems that what we do is creating some
sort of notice as there are several new, or re-vamped, performance based
loopers hitting the market. And while many of these might be deficient of
many of the features some of us more experienced loopists might crave, the
fact they are being produced can be viewed as evidence that what we do is
being noticed, and the act ,or art, of looping is creeping its way into all
aspects of performance-oriented music.).
So again I would like to thank Rick and Bill Walker, Dan Soltzberg (ghost7),
Matt Davignon, and Amar & Samba?along with any and all of you who support
shows such as ?Second Sundays Looping Series?, and any other of the ?looping
festivals? and other one-off loop-based shows. For those of you lucky
enough to be close to Santa Cruz (?the looping capital of the world?) , go
to next month?s Second Sunday show (which, I believe, should be on June
12)?.or better yet?play at one!
Max