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Looper's Delight
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I have to agree to disagree with Mark Sottilaro's contention that looping festivals are only for loopers and not for audiences. I do see your point and I think there is an element of what you say that is true, however, in point of fact, you have, factually, been to very few of the festivals that I"ve personally produced. I know because I"ve invited you to come several times, unsuccessfully. So, at least with these festivals, you haven't been witness to the tremendous growth in both musical and artistic sophistication that has occurred at a very regular pace in at least the Y2K Series (and the many, many festivals I've played at in Europe, the UK, Japan and Mexico). I've seen some astonishing and beautiful performances at many of these festivals....................performances that would have wowed any discerning audience. I'm sorry that you seemed to have largely eschewed attending them because you've missed a lot of growth in the community. At the same time, I am perhaps the only person actively producing looping festivals who is very aggressively into putting complete 'newbies' on to stage in the early hours of the festivals.....................sometimes, musicians who have never even performed EVER in a live setting. I've done this very self consciously, and from the standpoint of an audience, I can be acused of 'watering down' the overall high level of the entire performance at the festivals. I've done it, however, very self consciously, because I believe that there is room in the world for communal support.............there is room for rank beginners to play on the same day (if not the same time) as complete professionals. I've been very proud of this policy and I think that the incredibly supportive and communal spirit of our larger community sets it apart from any musical movement in popular music, since the San Francisco Psychedelic movement of the late sixties. One of the things I brag about to journalists or even to really accomplished live loopers when trying to entice them to either cover or come to the festival is the fact that some of the world's best live loopers are in the audience cheering on the 'newbie's at 12 noon. One of the things I love to brag about is the fact that frequently, one of those newbies puts on such an interesting or original or provocative show that the 'oldbies' are blown away and inspired..........................I think of Lindsey Walker's quirky singer songwriter set last year. I was totally inspired by it. That said and done, I completely understand why other live looping producers have chosen not to use this approach. Looked at from one perspective, it can be seen as 'diluting' the professionalism of the festival to do it. But noone can sit through 30 hours of live looping artists and one unusual aspect of the festival is that everyone plays for only 30 minutes, so the whole thing can be a smorgasborg of styles and techniques......................you find someone uninteresting so you gravitate outside and have a fascinating conversation with a very sophisticated live looper from another country that turns you on and makes the artistry grow and get better. So Mark, I'd specifically love to invite you to not only come and perform this year, so we can see how you've grown as a live looping artist, but so that you can see what's grown in the ensuing years....................a lot has, I assure you. We'd be better as a community for your performance, involvement and support.