why do we loop?

[Dennis Montgomery <morpheus@speakeasy.net>]

I plan on coming to see some of the performances this weekend in Santa 
Cruz (I live just over the hill in Santa Clara).  I'm excited to be able 
to see what others are doing with looping in person.  After looking at 
the list of performers and seeing many familiar names from this mailing 
list, I got to wondering...

Are there other people on this list besides myself into creating/playing 
with loops who don't perform in public?  If so, what do you get from 
it...in other words, why do we loop?  I guess this question applies to 
any type of artistic or creative activity that doesn't have public 
performance as it's primary purpose.  It's like if a loop is running in 
the forest and no one is there to hear it does it really make any sound? 

Dennis