Re: the perils of live looping (addition question)

[Andre LaFosse <altruist@altruistmusic.com>]

Hi Aaron,

> I have a related question regarding how to "reset" the
> audiences expectations. I have only played out a few
> times at an open mic night, and my looping went ok (as
> far as not making any horrible mistakes) but it didn't
> get much of a response besides puzzlement and all
> questions after where gear related. So I'm wondering
> if any of you set up your performances in some way. -
> like a 5 min. solo full of sweep picking just to let
> people know you can rock out if you want? ; )

Without knowing more about what you specifically played, it's hard for
me personally to answer your question.  But, here are a few things I'd
suggest thinking about:

-- What TYPE of music were you playing?  Ambient soundscapes?  Looped
funk chords with burning solos on top?  Avante-garde noise improvs?  IDM
glitch fests?  

-- Do you think that whatever you were playing would have been musically
noteworthy, or have held up to listening, if there WASN'T a live looping
aspect to it?  In other words, say a blind person was at your open mic
gig and didn't know you were doing your thing in real-time.  Would the
music have been enough, on its own terms, to have warranted a strong
audience reaction?

-- Along the same lines, do you think there was some essence or aspect
to whatever you played that would give the audience something to latch
onto? 

-- One reason I personally have been trying tooth and nail to steer away
from effects-laden, ambient-styled loop work is because I've found that
it hard to capture and hold a live audience with that approach.  Now,
for a lot of ambient musicians, that's exactly the point -- to NOT
necessarily demand their focused listening, and to function as a
background environmental aspect just as much as a foreground element. 
For me personally, though, I want to be able to grab and hold a
listener, and I've found that it's hard to do that with the
ambient/ebowed/droney/rubato/soundscapey angle.

As an aside, and a general request, I would LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE
LOVE LOVE IT to DEATH if there were more specific commentary and
criticism of specific musical works on this list.  It's hard to discuss
this sort of question without hearing the music in question, and I think
talking about specific techniques would help a lot of people start
tapping into the more sophisticated possibilities of their loopers. 
Andre says, "Please post and critique specific musical work on Looper's 
Delight!"

Hope this helps,

--Andre LaFosse
http://www.altruistmusic.com