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Looper's Delight
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Hi Rick, I am definately interested in helping and performing in a looping event when ever I am needed. I have been refining my act and getting it polished up.
I am doing a few sets with the Mystic Family Circus in Feb. in San Diego. There will be fire jugglers and dancers, ariel acrobats, you name it...Burning Man energy ....
Love to You, Narendra AKA Papa Dave
good talking with you at the coffee shop.
>I recently wrote a letter to a fellow respected looping musician asking
>him if there was a chance of setting up a looping festival in the city >that he lives in. This is part of the letter I recieved back from him >in reply (which also generously shared contact and club information in >his city): > >He wrote: > >"........Well, as far as 'my city' being "happening"...I'd say there's >about fifty >musicians who work together in various loose-knit configurations and >attend >each other's shows (in groups of a half-dozen or so). There's no >audience >beyond that........ > .I'm not really interested in setting up a mini-festival. I >dealt with that >.....where I used to live and it was a massive pain in the ass for >very little return. The public doesn't really care how you make >interesting >sounds, unless perhaps it's something exotic and fashionable such as the > >Theremin--they just want to hear something interesting......." > >I've heard this sentiment echoed frequently in the larger looping >community and >this is what I wrote in reply: > > I hear what you say about looping and looping festivals. It is >virtually the same here. >We've only had 50-100 people per show for 4 looping shows. To be >frank, though, I couldn't care less about popularity. I care about the >quality of the work and the nurturing of young artists in a culture that >undervalues their unique contributions (a nurturance that I wasn't lucky >enough to have growing up.....although my parents are pretty >hip and supportive now). > > Because of the festivals that I put on (and had considerable help >with, I must say), 35 artists performed and 28 of them had never >performed in public or never even considered that anyone would want to >hear what they were doing in a live context. I am proud to say, a year >and a half later, that there are now 8-10 really serious >electronica/looping musicians in this area who are putting out >sophisticated recordings/interacting with each other and doing live gigs >and dozens more who are trying to get started. There was NO scene two >years ago. Hell, I only started these modest little shows because I was >lonely and a totally turned on/newbie/fanatic for electronic/looping >music and wanted a little community of people to talk to and gig with. > > Consequently, as well, the local music stores are starting to carry >a lot hipper gear than they used to and young musicians are starting to >get into this field much at a much younger age than their older >counterparts. Electronic influences are noticeably seeping into >traditional Celtic shows/Local cable access television/local >commercials/folk recordings, etc. Now, granted, a lot of this just >reflects what has been happening in the maintstream culture as well, but >believe me, not much of it had reached sleepy Santa Cruz two years ago >(with the exception of DJ/Rave culture and even that was fairly tame). > > My point is that community and energy are more powerful, culturally >speaking than pure monetarily driven commercialism. I've been involved, >since it's inception 22 years ago, with the so called 'world beat' >movement. No band has EVER been commercially successful >in the genre (or at least not mega successful). It doesn't matter. We >changed the face of music in this country with our efforts. You cannot >see a movie without hearing an ethnic >fusionist aesthetic at work; almost every current pop record has >influences of world music >in them. I've been fortunate enough to tour the world, make records >with incredible musicians and make my living because of that >'non-commercial' movement. > > At the heighth of the San Francisco sound in the late sixties when >the Jefferson Airplane >were on the cover of LIFE magazine (signalling, at that time, the >'arrival' of a new culture) >there were only about 15 bands in San Francisco that were playing the >Fillmore Auditorium >and the Avalon Ballroom on a rotating nightly basis......all communally >oriented; all sharing and rotating their billing status from night to >night. The average attendance at those venues was only somewhere >between 125-250 people a night. > My point? Energy, Community and Creativity is what changes >our culture for the better. Somebody once said that artists are the >antennae of a >culture, picking up and/or creating the emerging trends before the sweep > >over the culture. I agree. > > This is why I am interested in promoting Looping Culture as such: >not for the money >(I made none doing these shows) but because now we have a more >creative/fired up community in Santa Cruz. Interestingly enough, >several of us have been getting local paying gigs and lucrative >corporate gigs (because the entertainment companies that book the lavish >corporate parties as tax writeoffs are sick to death of 70's cover >bands and are looking for something new and refreshing: that's us!). > > What I have found, in my admittedly limited 'newbie' concious, is >that creating a >'festival' kicks up interest in the community, excites the press and >radio people who are >bored with 'music as usual', and creates a specifically community >oriented atmosphere which is nurturing to future musical developements. >By having three (or more) artist on a bill you will insure that you will >not make money but you will be able to 'sell' the idea of the event to >the community at large. With such a concept you can sometimes talk a >local church or community center into hosting the event for free or for >a much lower rental fee. You can pool your respective P.A. equipment >to save costs. You can approach local music stores/radio stations and >even corporations for sponsorship to allay costs. In general, you can >create a scene, cause a commotion, make a 'mess' of 'life as usual'. >It's hard work and there are very few economic rewards but you would be >suprised at the ripple effect it can have. > >I say: 'Go for it!' > >Thanks for hearing my 'rant'. yours, in creativity and looping, >Rick Walker (Loop.pooL) > > > > > >