Re: Keeping your sets interesting

["Stephen Goodman" <spgoodman@earthlight.net>]

My big quandary at times is why anyone would want to watch me play!   Presently I overcome this with the videoworks, but in a live setting I think I’d want to have the video as well.  I am probably wrong but I suspect an audience is interested in seeing you play when [a] they’re interested in what you’re doing to get that sound; [b] you’re a known performer with a songlist people know already, or expect; [c] they’re friends.   I would like to treat the audience like they’re friends, of course.  You can’t have everything, so I just want all the gubbins to work so I can make the music, and let the rest take care of itself.  Adding video on top of it makes it more visually interesting, without a doubt.

 

I did a very small experiment once at a house in Pasadena, utilizing the old Psychedelic Screen Saver because it was nicely responsive to sound, and configurably so.  A friend brought a projector to hook up to my graphics output.  But he didn’t bring the damned manual, and so it couldn’t be set up to use my output.  I had brought the 21” monitor along – what a shlep that one was! – and ended up outputting through that.  The folks in the room were rapt.  I was relieved but surprised.

 

I don’t think I’d want to try to run video off a laptop while it’s doing the sound processing, though.  I’d bring a DVD for playing through a projector.  I would suspect that a lot of festivals don’t have such a thing set up, or do they?

 

From: Gareth Whittock

Sent: Tuesday, February 28, 2012 7:17 PM

To: loopers-delight@loopers-delight.com

Subject: RE: Keeping your sets interesting

 

Thousands of people every week dance to DJ's. They're more interested in the sound than the spectacle of someone on stage and frankly, so am I. 

If someone is wringing a passionate performance out of their instrument, that can be cool. I was lucky enough to see a wonderful performance from a sitar player in the back room of a clothes shop in Glastonbury last year. The guy spent about 5 minutes tuning his instrument then we all drifted into the most wonderful reverie. At the end he just smiled..

No showbiz razzmatazz just a shared musical journey. Equally I've thoroughly enjoyed DJ sets that just worked in that moment..

It's about the music isn't it? however it is presented..

Gareth Whittock, sound artist: garethwhittock.co.uk

> Date: Tue, 28 Feb 2012 11:34:04 -0500
> To: Loopers-Delight@loopers-delight.com
> From: emile@foryourhead.com
> Subject: Re: Keeping your sets interesting
>
> Work with other musicians -- preferably some who play acoustic instruments.
>
> At 10:40 PM -0800 2/27/12, kay'lon rushing wrote:
> >My whole live loop setup is labtop midi based. No live acustic
> >instruments partially due to my DAW's inability accept audio input.
> >I make live looping- based electronic music, at least try lol. I
> >feel as though my stuff will get boring mighty fast during a
> >performance. I get quite bored during sessions sometimes. Any tips
> >to keep it fresh?
>
>
> --
> "I rang a silent bell ..." -- Robert Hunter
> "... cast your dancing spell my way, I promise to go under it" -- Bob Dylan
>
> My photography can be viewed at
> http://www.flickr.com/photos/22231918@N06/collections/72157603627170351/
>
> My videos can be viewed at http://www.youtube.com/Tobenfeld
>
>
>