RE: Loopstock 2004: another eyewitness account

["max valentino" <ekstasis1@hotmail.com>]

I have been meaning to chime in on this for over a week now....
It was so great to have a day to hang and listen to some incredbily 
creative 
souls.
And, there were some "interesting" events; namely the "loopers vs. the 
cowboys and the jukebox: which unfortunately was coming to a head just as 
I 
was starting my set, and the vibe kinda threw me. Stan and Rick both have 
made some very kind comments about my playing and I thank you both very 
much.

Hans had mentioned to me when I first arrived at Loopstck that morning 
that 
he really wanted to get a lot of "collaboration" going on, and the lack of 
a 
schedule certainly achieved that.  Perhaps a stroke of genius?  At one 
point 
we had all of the participants on stage in a glorious demonstation of 
controlled loop-mayhem.  Yes it was tricky to find your space (and often 
that involved not playing at all...but listening to what the others were 
doing was just as fun!)


Here's my run down:
Satnatarium: My God! What a quantum leap Stan has made with his music and 
looping! Certaily, there were all the hall marks of a Stanatarium 
performance (the surf-guitar quotes and generous doses of tremolo...as 
well 
as the sheer volume!). Yet Stan showed a lot of growth; displaying an 
array 
of guitar tones and textures from ambient drones (complete with random 
speeding up and slowing down of the loops) to Neil Young-ish 
distorto-rage...and everything in between. This coupled with some very 
nice 
arrangements of lopps and song-type structures.  I think everyone was 
quite 
impressed with Stan's opening set. Ending with a duet of "Love 
Rollercoaster" with the human beat box Rick Walker was so very cool....

David Giovachinni: a "newbie" brought to us by Jon Wagner, showed some 
incredile musicality on "toy" instruments; his playing of a kid's toy 
pocket 
trumpet was outstandning, and his loping on a laptop with Abelton Live 
really demonstrated some new approaches.  The duet set with Jon and David 
was fantastic...with the voice of William Burroughs sitting in as a guest. 
 
Jon, as always, was simply incredible.  No drum set this time, just a lot 
of 
"do-dads" from which he coaxed the most wonderous rhythmical loops and 
shadings...I always love playing with Jon.

Michael Klobuchar: dude, you never cease to amaze me!  Some really 
incredbile loops and sounds...and as I was postioned on stage right next 
to 
you, I kept stopping to listen to these seriously manicical sounds that 
were 
popping ot of your gtr and Boomerrang.

Bernard Wagner, who came al lthe way from Switzerland to attend Loopstck, 
did a short set solo and then, humbly asked some of to join him on stage.  
What a gas....  I especially enjoyed improvising with Bernard, and his 
"low-tech" octaver bass sounds created quite a low end rumble as he and I 
mimiced each others bass-lines! I t was great to meet you, and I hope to 
see 
you again (Y2K4?). Bernard sat in with just about everyone, and kept 
adding 
really cool little bits to everything.  Iwas quite impressed.

Then there were those fabulous Walker Brothers....Bill really put on a 
dazzling show.  Eschewing his usual "mission control" setup for two DL4s, 
he 
nonetheless demonstrated, and quite masterfully, the use of 
half-time/double-time loops, the illusion of syncing machines which are 
"un-sync-able" and a deep and powerful musical sense.  I was quite floored 
by Bill's set..and a bit intimidated at going on after him!

Rick Walker again showed us how much fun a looping performance can be.  
Playing a variety of found objects and kids' toys, his set was at once 
both 
fun and profound, and it reminded me tjhat often we become so rapt with 
the 
technology and isssues therein, that we, or at least I, sometimes forget 
that music is fun. He amazed, dazzled and made us laugh. I have come to 
expect this of Rick, yet, everytime I see/hear him play, by the end of the 
set I feel happier than I did before. There is a certain joy and beauty 
the 
man projects.

And finally, Hans...who put the whole thing together, and in sme twisted 
stroke of genius made it more than just a "looping event".  This was the 
first festival like this where the focus, for the most part, was 
interaction 
between the particapants, and a musical dialogue created via loops. That 
alone is somewhat noteworthy......as was his handling of the "cowboy 
incident" Thanks Hans!
Hans' own set featured some rather cool human beat box sounds, looped of 
course,and then sliced and diced in a really cool and unique way (another 
technique I need to steal!) and some seriously DEEP dub-style bass lines 
which shook the house.

All in all...a splendid time was had by all...and it was again to see Kim 
Flint in attendence. And for all those  who didn't make it...the next time 
someone post a "gig spam" about a looping event, and you are anywhere near 
the venue, go to it!  Get and support each other (and, as Rick pointed 
out) 
the bonus is the variety of tricks, techniques and inspirations which you 
will come away with.

Thanks to all who were there....great seeing, hearing and playing with you 
all again!

Max