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On 6/26/05, Doug Cox <dougcox@pdq.net> wrote:
>
> - I've become a much better player AND looper by using looping within
> a band context. (gratuitous introspective comment)
Yes, I can see how Doug's statement could mean about a 5.5 billion things, depending on what one means by "better" and "playing". You gotta love the subjectivity and cultural relativity of semantics! :)
Intuitively speaking, and inserting some of my own connotation into those terms, Doug's statement would ring true for me in one context and false in another. I wouldn't be surprised if this were the case for others as well, but who knows….I'd say that looping in a band context (historically) made me a better player rhythmically and technically. Shortly before I went solo, I played in a trio called "Tougher Cupcakes" (bass, drums, guitar), the same guys I'd been playing jazz fusion and traditional jazz with for the last several years. We decided to do the whole John Scofield "Uberjam" thing before ending our musical relationship...but what that really meant was a freakin' high maintenance technical nightmare for me....I hardly ever had fun when we played in our rehearsal studio or the few gigs we played because I was constantly worrying about my setup, looping my parts at the right time (the drummer and bass player were playing along to grooves that I would lay down), what parts to loop at the right time, pressing buttons on my Boss Loopstation and Dr. Sample for sound effects, etc. We rehearsed for nine months and played a few fairly significant gigs, and then I called it off. People really liked us and wanted us back, but I would have rather slit my wrists. That project sucked all the creative juice right out of me.
From a creative standpoint, and speaking for myself here (not making any categorical, quasi-objective/factual statements about anyone else's experiences), I find the opposite of Doug's statement to be true, but perhaps being an only child and learning how to be independent and self-sufficient solo has something to do with that. The "human static" of being in a band sometimes gets to me, but usually when the composition and performance parameters are too structured and start taking over the creative spirit, like that band where I was doing all the looping, programming, and controlling of everything. My band Hume's Fork was a different matter. We did spontaneous group improvisation, and that was probably closest thing to metaphysical astroplaning (outer body experience….no LSD involved) I'll ever experience. That made me a better player from a creative/social interactive standpoint. I learned to listen to three other players at the same time and react to them as if in a four-way conversation. In that case, I found my experience to be closer to that of a jazz combo setting, but with none of the traditional jazz genre performance or form requirements and restrictions.
What I would really like to do now to push my looping experience is find some other players locally who have EDPs and try syncing up with them....no chance in hell....to my knowledge, I am the only person in Boise, population of 200K, that has one and is playing out. Too bad. I hear of people doing that in a group setting, and I feel like I'm really missing out. It's not that I don't play with people where they loop independent, non-rhythmic parts with me with their own looping gear, but I would think the context where a whole group is contributing to the same EDP loop framework would be interesting and fulfilling...sort of fun, requiring some patience, a lot more listening, more non-verbal communication, etc. I could see that making me a better "creative" looper/player, but not being a programmer, pedal pusher, and tempo keeper.
BTW, I decided to share the only recordings I have of that trio, Tougher Cupcakes, where I am doing some basic rhythm part looping...from our first live show, recorded by a Sony Minidisk set on front of the stage. I'm using a Boomerang to lay down all the main rhythm parts. Basically, I was replacing a second guitarist that didn't work out in the band last minute. I'm almost embarrassed to share these, as this was my rudimentary, neophyte days of looping, nothing special. Oh, and I included a bunch of sample videos packed into one .wmv file from the show as well, all here:
http://www.box.net/public/khartung/folders/15532.html
Sorry about the quality of the video….tiny Cannon Elf camera….
Cheers,
Kris
****************************************************************************************
Krispen Hartung
Improvisational / Avant-Garde Looping Guitarist
http://www.krispenhartung.com
info@krispenhartung.com / 208-724-5603
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-----Original Message-----
From: Bill Edmondson [mailto:edmondson5@comcast.net]
Sent: Sunday, June 26, 2005 10:04 PM
To: Loopers-Delight@loopers-delight.com
Subject: RE: Doug's gratuitous introspective comment
Please describe your approach. Are you referring to playing with a live drummer? Is the band playing to a click? Syncing via MIDI? Do you restart the loop to keep it in sync with the band, ... ?
-----Original Message-----
From: Joey [mailto:tentaclejoe@gmail.com]
Sent: Sunday, June 26, 2005 11:07 PM
To: Loopers-Delight@loopers-delight.com
Subject: Re: Doug's gratuitous introspective comment
On 6/26/05, Doug Cox <dougcox@pdq.net> wrote:
>
> - I've become a much better player AND looper by using looping within
> a band context. (gratuitous introspective comment)
>
>
Same here. I am not sure what type of band context you are referring to but I have found that looping within a conventional band type structure has made my looping more tasteful. Sort of when I figured out that holding one note longer than playing 3 notes lets the music breathe :)