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Looper's Delight
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On Saturday, October 12, 2002, at 03:42 PM, Andre LaFosse wrote: > Yo Mark, > > Ya said: > >> While I LOVE the things Amy X and Brian Kenny Fresno do with their >> loopers (Brian's a JamMan guy) I always get the feeling that they're >> just trying to get away with not having to deal with not having a >> band, >> you know? > > That's not my take on either of those two at all. The only way I could > see Amy doing her thing with "a band" would be if her band was half a > dozen or more clones of herself, all singing together and starting or > stopping on a dime. And that in itself wouldn't take her own > post-modernist/sample-based theatrical performative element into > consideration (i.e. very visibly beating on her drumKAT controller > while > different EDP things leap out), which is such a big part of her > "thing." I was not cutting Amy's thing down, I love her act, I just said I don't think it's for me. You never know though... So yeah... I like her music a lot, and I never said her method was not valid in any way. I was not making a judgment call as to whether or not constructing a performance the way she does has any merit. I'm actually toying with the idea myself, but I'm not sure... that sounds like work! >> Sure, the >> looper helps her do her show more easily, > > See my last comment above - I really don't perceive her thing as being > a > "replacement" for a hypothetical band of multiple Amy Neubergs (which > is > what she'd need to play her stuff sans EDP). It strikes me as being a > very direct use of the EDP on its own terms, frequently to musical ends > that COULDN'T be acheived without it. I disagree. I've seen people do music like Amy's and Brian's in a band setup. Nothing she did was impossible without the EDP... unless she did backwards stuff, which I can't recall now. I'm not discounting the fact that it being her over and over didn't give the music a twist, but was it essential to the song? Maybe, but I don't think so. I'd love to see her with a little band doing those pieces. I think it would be equally as interesting. > Third perspective: might one say that playing along to sequences and > drum machines would be at least as much of a "band substitute" as > layering numerous vocal overdubs? > >> but is that what loopers are >> about? Not for me, I think. > > But for her, apparently so, yes? Yes! Of course, or I would have said, "For jerks." ;) > > How incredibly boring would it be if people automatically assumed that > looping was supposed to be used for a specific musical style or > approach? > > Oh wait... that's pretty much the way it is anyway! ;) Is it? At the SLO and Santa Cruz loopfests, I saw an a bunch of different approaches and devices. Each act had it's own personality IMO. I cringed when someone (I won't mention them to protect the guilty) said, "... I can't spent too much time in there (S.C), so much of this looping is so generic..." I didn't totally dig all the acts either... who could? But I didn't hear much that I would have labeled "generic." > To me it seems to be the difference between >> making soup from a receipe or going to a market, buying what seems >> good >> and then making it up from scratch. >> Sure, you'll come up with stuff >> that's not so edible sometimes, but you learn with time. > > Could it be that the "learning with time" angle is another way of > describing a person coming up with their own recipie, which they then > draw upon in their work? Well, yes, I'm sure themes do develop in inprov and can be useful in a set piece, but I'm less interested in that and more in that magic when it "comes from thin air." That said, I love a lot of pop music. > >> Maybe this >> not so interesting for the audience, but it's a hell of a lot more >> interesting to me as a musician, and to be honest, with the money I >> made doing more pop structured music, I'm in this for fun now. > > This does raise the question: why DO you take your music in front of an > audience, if getting what you do across to them isn't much of a > priority > in comparison to your own enjoyment - which you say is paramount in > your > concerns, and could certainly be done on your own? Mainly to get blowjobs from groupies. No, seriously, I gig live because I'm hesitent to join a gym, the contracts, the high fees... Just lug your gear around! Now I kick sand in all the geeks faces at the beach! > Hmmmm... OK, you got me... I actually do want the love and recognision of my fellow humans. There I said it. I'm crying out for attention. I want to be liked and admired. I want to inspire others, like musicians have inspired me. It took 35 years, but when a woman said, "Oooo you've got an eBow" (Yeah, that's right KIM!) and I married that woman as fast as I could! It took me 23 years of playing before I finally slept with a fan. Man, I must suck! Do you like me Andre? Please like me because I like you. I want to be liked. I don't mean to be evil... I just can't help it. > > All in good humor - but serious interest and intent... I find no humor in your words and challenge you! Pistols at sunrise! Mark Sottilaro