[
Date Prev][
Date Next] [
Thread Prev][
Thread Next]
[
Date Index][
Thread Index][
Author Index]
Playing at Home v. Playing Live
A member asked me what the difference is between my home playing and my live playing, and the answer warrants a new thread.
Its been my impression that the majority of members on this list play "experimental" or "ambient" music. I really enjoy and appreciate it, too. Sometimes there is nothing better than flipping through the list listening to mp3s you guys have posted. Even so, my friends sometimes refer to these styles as artsy fartsy, over their head, weird and/or boring (no offense).
I'm also a big fan of standard folk tunes. And admittedly, I can't seem to outgrow popular song structure. I write songs on my guitar in my rental house just like the dude next door, with verses, choruses, lyrics, and I use chords! ;) My loops are not very complex, I've got a beat, a rhythm guitar, some back up vocals, and a few layers here and there. I originally started looping because I got sick of trying to put a decent band together and decided to be the whole band. Now I play popular bars and clubs around town, and they like to hear "songs" that people can sing and dance to. Boy, that sentence sure made me seem like a sell out. But read on:
Each song I've written has been composed in a very flexible way. I can pick up my acoustic and perform without ever plugging in, but I also leave a place in every song when I loop it to take it to places that are experimental or ambient. I have the dynamic of performing one song dry, and the next looped into outer space. Anyway, so I see the music I make as a transitional vehicle. From the popular mundane, to what I like to think of the fine wines of music, the experimental, and etc. You can take people who don't listen to ambient music to places they wouldn't normally go by tricking them into thinking they are listening to a popular song they could hear on the radio. I give Budweiser drinkers a sip of Merlot, (that's you guys).
When I'm playing at home, its more entertaining to me, the loops are much longer and layers much deeper, effects much more dynamic. I'm experimenting. But during a performance I tone it down, I sing catchy tunes so that they like me, and throw in a few weird, noisy, ambient phrases to pique their interest, and so I have a good time too.
David
