Re: Before We Looped

[Rick Walker <looppool@cruzio.com>]

Daniel Thomas wrote:

Speaking of early looping ventures Rick, et al... check out this audio 
clip  of the band improvising at
Kuumbwa in 1993.  This is 4 guys with Jammen (Jampersons?) linked via midi 
clock.
This recording predates the even the 3rd Wave performances at Mobo Sushi.
I believe this to be the very first live-looping performance ever given in 
Santa Cruz.


There are a few reasons why I'm skeptical about the dating of this 
recording, Daniel
(though I might be mistaken) and wonder if it is perhaps mislabeled.

Here's why I don't think the timeline is accurate:

1) to my knowledge, the Paradis Loop Delay which became the Oberheim 
Echoplex and
eventually, the Gibson Echoplex wasn't released to the general public 
until '94 and the Lexicon Jamman in '95.
Bill, Gary and I were aware of the Jamman before it was released and , 
to my best recollection, bought
them the very first week they were available at Union Grove.  I don't 
remember the Jamman existing
as early as '93 (loop historians,  is this accurate?).      I could be 
wrong.

2) Gary, Bill and I also remember very clearly that Mobo was the first 
time we played in public
with synchronized looping.  We've talked about it.

3)  I absolutely know that I looped with Bill and Gary before I ever 
looped with
you.   We honestly thought we were inventing the wheel (I knew very 
little about
the history of looping dating back to Terry Riley in the 60's at that 
time) so it's burned in my conciousness, that time.
I couldn't believe someone would actually hire us and pay us to learn 
'on the job', as it were.

4)  Lastly,  the band existed from '89 until 2001 or 2002 and, to my 
recollection,  the tunes 'Curry Gumbo'
and 'Virtual World' were later tunes in our career.   I think they were 
written at or after the Japanese tour which
I think was in '95 (help me here, Daniel, Gary and Bill).

Still,  I don't always have the best memory for dates so I yield to 
yours, Bill's and Gary's collective
memories about this.

I'll look around for the video footage of this, however to see if we can 
corroborate your theory.

and.............Thanks for everything.     You are really fucking 
wonderful and my life is so much better because
I met you at Union Grove Music one day and we took a shine to each other.

I hope we get to loop together sometime in the future.

love, Rick