LOOPING PERCUSSIONISTS abound

["Rick Walker/Loop.pooL" <GLOBAL@cruzio.com>]

Hi Paul,

Per your request to hear from looping percussionists, I just wanted to let
you know that we have definite plans (without a specified date yet) to do
the 1st PERCUSSION LIVE LOOPING FESTIVAL in the Fall in Northern 
California.

Already, we have JON WAGNER, WALLY SHNALLE,ANDRE CUSTODIO, Electronic
Magazines' own GINO ROBAIR, STEVE RICE,TIMOTHY CROWE, STEVE
ROBERTSON,myself, possibly the innovative jazz/electronica drummer, SCOTT
AMENDOLA),and perhaps some others onboard to do this event.  This is an
incredible lineup of very, very accomplished and creative percussionists 
and
I'm really excited about the prospects.

We'll definitely mount the show in Santa Cruz (possibly as a one day 
adjunct
to the
Y2K3 LOOPFEST) and perhaps San Jose and San Francisco, depending on how 
much
energy I have for promotion after my summer tour is over.

Jon, Wally and I are the ones organizing it.   There will probably not be
any amount of money associated with the festival (as we live in the
incredibly
economically depressed Silicon Valley and environs climate) but this might
be
an incredible excuse for you to come visit us for the first time in 
Northern
California.

If you do come,  I will house and feed you (in your own private room),
transport you and make you the headline artist at this event.  That's a
promise!!!

In answer to your question about pure percussive loopers,   Timothy Crowe,
Jon Wagner and Steve Rice have all been doing pure percussion or drumset
looping gigs although Jon and Steve have recently added some keyboards, 
bass
and wind instruments to their respective mixes.

Also, everything I do in my live looping shows is informed by my percussive
mentality.   I use mostly middleeastern and indian styled finger techniques
when playing my found sound pieces.  I have become extremely enamored of
string and wind instruments in the last few years as well, but even those I
tend to play with a percussive mentality(lots of ostinato patterns, dude).

With all the talk about using feedback, I actually love 100% feedback loops
in my work...........stacking and layering, muting and retriggering them as
a way
of creating 'terrace dynamics' instead of fading things in an out ('slope
dynamics).

Also, fyi,  I just did a tour with Andre LaFosse and Steve Lawson where
I only played trapset (in the trio work) with my right hand and foot and
while using my left hand and foot to do all the recording, triggering and
real time DSP processing (with those amazing Electrix processing boxes, the
MoFX and the Filter Factory).

I even used the EDP footpedals up high as ersatz 'drum pads'
which I used to trigger backwards-forward, double time-half time, muting 
and
also to retrigger loops in a rhythmic fashion).

Some really cool effects can be had by using the right hand on the 
retrigger
(next loop) button and the left hand on either the mute or half time double
time retriggering.     Playing simple syncopative combinations (like a
traditional paradiddles or variation) can result in some really cool
rhythmic effects that I then capture with my REPEATER using my left foot,
while still having my right foot free to play kick drum or other foot
controlled events.  Very cool.

By the way, remind me when I see you  to show you this series of double
stroke balancing exercises that I came up with for this technique---they
rock!!!

I really had fun doing this and am just starting to get the hang of an
rhythmic approach to this style of looping.  It also rekindled my love
affair with the
trapset (which I've played all my life) after a three year hiatus (except
for recording albums for people.

Loop on.................Percussively yours,  Rick Walker