Andre LaFosse responds to Rick Walker responds to Mark Sottilaro

[Andre LaFosse <altruist@earthlink.net>]

Folks,

"Rick Walker/Loop.pooL" wrote:

> Because  a lot of people in this community are really striving to be
> innovative musically (including the wonderful Andre La Fosse who wants
> absolutely nothing to do with the live looping movement) we have to rely 
>on
> festivals, grants and unusual gigs to get our asses out there. 

Allow me to offer my own opinion as to what I do and don't want.

If I can get a decent amount of time to do my thing as a solo looping
artist, cool.  If I can get the same amount of load-in, soundcheck, and
tear-down time that I would get in a dive bar, wonderful.  If I can get
my music across to a new audience, awesome.  If I can stand some chance
of seeing some of the money people are paying in order to attend the gig
I'm playing, hallelujiah!

My experience, after having attended and performed at over half a dozen
"looping gigs" in the last couple of years, is this:

1) I have never played as well at a "looping gig" as I have in regular
venues like rock clubs or coffee shops (which is where my best solo
shows have consistently happened, even when sandwiched between several
other acts on the bill the same night)

2) I have never had as much time to play my Echoplex-intensive music at
a "looping gig" as I have had at a "regular" gig

3) The tendency at every single "looping gig" I've seen or played at is
towards sticking as many different artists on the bill as is humanly
possible, and/or emphasizing duo and trio jamming over individual
performance slots.  This leads to the first two factors I've mentioned 
already.

As you yourself are fond of saying, Rick, that's really OK.  It seems
like that's all a fundamental part of what you want to do.  It's your
brainchild, and you deserve to lead your community in whatever way you
see fit. 

It's telling that you claim to find it impossible to do your thing in a
conventional performance outlet, having to "rely on festivals, grants
and unusual gigs."  Whereas I have found it consistently difficult to do
my thing well in any gig explicitly defined as a "live looping event."  

Fortunately for us both, you don't need to play regular places in order
to get your music heard.  And I definitely don't need to play a looping
festival in order to get a gig.  Different strokes for different
folks...  and different promotional strategies for different musicians
with very, very little in common other than the presence of long delay
units in their rigs.

So no, Rick, contrary to your statement, I don't refuse to have anything
to do with the "live looping movement."  (Particularly since I still
don't understand exactly what that is in the first place!)  

If someone can offer me a gig with the same basic length/set-up/pay
terms that I can get at a dive bar on the Sunset Strip, then I'd be
happy to seriously consider it, regardless of what they call themselves.

But if those terms are more than live looping as a movement can
accommodate, then clearly it's the wrong place for me to be.

--Andre LaFosse
The Echoplex Analysis Pages:
http://www.altruistmusic.com/EDP