on the backporch with tom, dt, and mix culture......

["Joseph Buck" <josephbuck@hotmail.com>]

Tom, DT, Kim et allah-

Thank you so much for again providing the reason why I am on this list.  
Really revolutionary stuff that makes me thing about the nature of music 
and how it is (and can be) made. 
All thoughts here are quick and whilst at work so apologies for any 
incompleteness and confusion. I reckon I'll start with your comments 
Tom-


>Virtually no one that works here (Gibson)has heard of you, or Fripp, 
>or DJ Spooky, or any non-mainstream (whatever that means) artist, 
>based on my informal poll. That is not to say that we have ignorant, 
>uninformed dullards walking around here, merely that their realm of 
>experience lays comfortably upon the bed of the familiar names and 
>faces we all know and love. What Artist Relations person would walk 
>into a Marketing meeting with a Polytown CD and actually convince the 
>group that this was the future and that Slash and Ace and Joe and 
>Jimmy and B.B were passe, or at least only part of the picture? It 
>does not happen.

Here, I think is a real problem.  How to address it? Less Marketing and 
Business majors in AR and more musicians who have a real knowledge of 
the consumer perhaps? 

>Your suggestion of giving clinics is wonderful. Who can do them? I 
>have been to/given many clinics that are basically a hot >player 
burning through a few tunes and taking Q & A afterwards. This >is fine, 
for what it is. The direct interface of fans to heroes is >rare enough. 
However,a clinic on Looping is akin to teaching a new >language and 
asking for your audience to look at the technology from >a very 
different angle than they may be used to. 

Although fine, I do not think this is the the best and only way to get 
the product sold into the hands of the musician.  Another approach is a 
more symposia based dialogue between the users of similar media 
(samplers, sequencers) in their work. Load up the joint with 
turntablists, electonica mavens,keyboardists, drummers, lofi destructors 
and perhaps if the input they give is listened to, bango another market 
is opened up!  

>How do we do it so it works? A guitar can be seen as merely a 
>triggering device for the true instrument, the Loop. 

For the future, I think the approach is on what sounds are there at the 
end of the day and not the worship of tools. 


and now on to dt's stuff:


>1) for the purpose of discussion, i gotta state that methinks there's 
>nothing intrinsically "wrong" w/"droney guitar loop" music, as >there's 
nothing intrinsically "wrong" w/not being attached to pushing >"the 
forefront" of *any* kinda music nor technology, as there's >nothing 
intrinsically "wrong" w/the lack of desire and/or *ability* >to push 
that "forefront", as there's nothing intrinsically "wrong" >w/boredom

Respectfully DT (and ya knows I loves ya,) that I think that musicians 
need to take a tip from the wider art world.  I encourage and respect 
artists (i.e. Miles) who do explorations to whatever area they like to 
send us reports back from there.  I even do not have a problem if they 
even then stay within that eddy that they have created for their entire 
career (say like Rauschenberg), but I do start to get jumpy when someone 
from the get go forsakes the development (or further development) of 
their own voice and builds a condo own someone else's claim....
 
>i listen to whatever music has the power to transform my day,
>which is sometimes independent of my often virulent "need for *the 
>new* ya know, like:
>..........the i.s. picklz.....

here here! q-bert and the fellas are amazing! glad you like. more people 
should listen to em...

>....khol nayak...

you crack me up. you still listen to that tape?

>toshiba librettos!

que?

>(probably from one of my kids, who's deep inside nyc's trip-hop & 
>battle scenes.)

wow! elijah makes tapes?


>4) while i'm not sufficiently aware of the kinds of creative design 
>demands that the dance scene presents you w/as challenging, i feel 
>compelled (for some probably egoistic horrid reason) to outline some 
>of *my* frustrations

I think it boils down to that seemingly elusive dream of intuitive 
electronica. I don't want or need a million damn options tacked on in 
bank after bank of whatsits. Give me a process where it would learn from 
me and branch as I do...
 
>this *is* my endorsement of the deep,deep EDP w/Loop 5.0., (but *not* 
>of the user's manual!) 

ah my other elusive dream for electronica. user's manuals that are 
equally intuitive...

>so, what do the more socially acceptable instruments have, that 
>loopers lack? among other things: a physical/visceral/visual 
>"interface"; footpedals & front panels just don't cut it.
>there remains ample reason to allow for the inclusion of some type of 
>external controls attached to a looping instrument in order to >provide 
the player (!and their audience!) w/ some physical >correlation between 
what is *played/manipulated* by the player & what >is *heard* by 
all......
>..........(as a sidenote: witness roland's promising inclusion of a 
>coupla dimension light-beams, as configurable controllers, on 2 of 
>their new products aimed at the dance marketplace)!

May I just take this time to credit Don Buchla for coming up with the 
first working versions of all of the above....
Still looking for a Buchla Thunder. Don't think he is making them 
anymore....


selam,

Joseph Buck

______________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com