SET TIMES AT Y2K9 was: Y2K9 INTERNATIONAL LIVE LOOPING FESTIVAL:Santa Cruz Scheduleof Performances

[Rick Walker <looppool@cruzio.com>]

FRO DIDDLY asked:

"i have never attended a y2k but a question i have is that i noticed 
almost every time sot is 30min- with no extra time dedicated to 
changeovers....in years past, how long do the performers usually get to 
play? as i would imagine 10-20min of that 30min block having to be 
dedicated to setup/tear down-
or do you backline gear some how? or multiple stages?"

You really should come see the festival (and perform at it next year at 
Y2K-X which will be the tenth anniversary of
us doing big looping festivals in Santa Cruz)

Now for your question:

Each artist has 30 minutes to play.       Here's how we pull that 
miraculous feat off:


We have two stages, side by side that both use the same board which is 
in between the two stages
with no backline gear.

While someone performs in real time at the stage next to them, every 
artist has 20 minutes to set up ,
completely silently,  aided by the engineer and headphones.

This means each artist has to have a festival setup:   something simple 
and easy to put up and that sends out, usually,  a stereo
feed to the board (which is right next to where you are playing).

I introduce the acts for 20-30 seconds and each act has about 29 minutes 
and 30 seconds to perform.

Then each artist has exactly 10 minutes maximum to completely silently 
evacuate the stage.

While the stage one artist performs,   the stage two artist sets up 
before and breaks down afterwards.

Amazingly,  we have been on schedule with up to 55 artists over two 12 
hour day/nights for every single
festival.

It shouldn't work but all artists are on the same page and are all 
respectful and helpful.

It's a system that I've become very, very proud of and it allows us to 
have as large and inclusive a festival as ever.