2nd Sunday Loop show/"community"

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

I wanted to send out a public, list-inclusive “thank you” to everyone who 
were involved and present at last week’s “Second Sunday Live Looping” show 
in Santa Cruz.

First of all, to Rick Walker, who through his own tenacity and connections 
has made such a unique event possible.

To Dan Soltzberg who put together a very eclectic  and unique lineup of 
artists, and whose first production in Santa Cruz can be considered a 
success.  Thanks.  It was really an honor to be part of it.

And to Matt Davignon and Amar & Samba who provided some wonderful, 
beautiful 
and diverse music that evening.

And, while I have the bandwidth, perhaps I will re-open the debate of 
community within this little community of ours.  While at the “second 
Sunday” show, I was able to really ponder the significance of this “spirit 
of community”.

There is some debate here on the list as to whether the concept, or even 
the 
term, of “live looping” is appropriate or even necessary.  There is also 
debate as to whether looping is an art-form in itself, a musical 
sub-genre, 
a technique, a means of production or an end product in its own right.

It struck me, while listening to the diversity of musical expression at 
the 
Second Sunday show, that the debates over these things are quite null.  
Regardless of what we call it, we do have a “community” of musicians who 
use 
the techniques of looping as a motis operandi for their musical ventures.  
And, as such, we, the loopers, loopographers, or loopists, give support 
and 
credence to each of our efforts.

The show this past Sunday featured a wide array of diverse musics.  I 
certainly performed what might be called the most “accessible”, or the 
least 
“experimental” of the music on the bill (this is a deliberate choice for 
me 
as I make my living doing this, and for me to gig regularly my music must 
have at least some semblance of traditional form and melody).  But all of 
the performers were quite supportive of each other (not merely 
glad-handing 
and giving the mutual back slapping stuff).  We were, and are, genuinely 
interested and excited about what each artist is doing. Despite the 
diverse 
and divergent musical styles, we all do share a common trait, which is the 
use of looping in a live musical forum.

There is much historical precedence for “art movements” to be started by 
the 
artists involved simply as a way of giving support, credence, and exposure 
to a new form or tendency within the artistic discipline.  Now, I don’t 
want 
to go so far as to call looping a new “movement”, or genre of music 
(although there are those on this list which certainly do extol the merits 
thereof), but, the fact is, looping, and the multi-faceted uses of audio 
loops, have permeated all forms of  the recording industry in such a way 
they are now “mainstream techniques”.  The use of loops in a live 
situation 
is still a fairly uncharted course, which makes what many of do so 
exciting 
and fresh and new.

The very existence of this list does, in some way, define us as a 
“community”.   And, while quite a few of us are uncomfortable with the 
“live 
looping” moniker (perhaps seeing it as self-indulgent, or perhaps 
self-limiting), if creating a label for what we do, and therefore making 
possible “looping festivals” or  multi-act shows of artists who 
use/feature 
looping can bring forth greater  promotion of  the tools and techniques we 
use; can give greater exposure to artists whose work will certainly fall 
far 
outside the mainstream (and whose prospects of “good” gigs becomes more 
and 
more limited), is this such a bad thing?
(and, in case you hadn’t noticed, it seems that what we do is creating 
some 
sort of notice as there are several new, or re-vamped, performance based 
loopers hitting the market.  And while many of these might be deficient of 
many of the features some of us more experienced loopists might crave, the 
fact they are being produced can be viewed as evidence that what we do is 
being noticed, and the act ,or art, of looping is creeping its way into 
all 
aspects of performance-oriented music.).

So again I would like to thank Rick and Bill Walker, Dan Soltzberg 
(ghost7), 
Matt Davignon, and Amar & Samba…along with any and all of you who support 
shows such as “Second Sundays Looping Series”, and any other of the 
“looping 
festivals” and other one-off loop-based shows.  For  those of you lucky 
enough to be close to Santa Cruz (“the looping capital of the world”) , go 
to next month’s Second Sunday show (which, I believe, should be on  June 
12)….or better yet…play at one!

Max