Re: DON'T GO, ANDRE

[<stanitarium@earthlink.net>]

in the ghetto words of <rodney king>: "cant we all j j jjust ggget along ?
also in the words of ken kesey or tiny tim or somebody:
"you are what you is"-or "you are what you do", something like that.
like when i'm sittin on the shitter, i'm a crapper(?)
when i'm waitin tables, i'm a waiter...
when i'm playin guitar, i'm a guitarer(not a very good one, but i have my
fun).
when i step on that loop box, i'm a looper
s
an when i'm dumpster divin...

> here here.. :)
> 
> Andre, I'd hate to see you go.. as well, I am a bit confused as to the
> motivation...
> it seemed to me that you asked great question and we had a flameless
> discussion
> about it.. hehe... so, at the risk of opening a can of worms, can you 
>clarify?
> 
> peace
> -cpr
> 
>> -- Original Message --
>> From: "loop.pool" <looppool@cruzio.com>
>> To: "LOOPERS DELIGHT (posting)" <Loopers-Delight@loopers-delight.com>
>> Subject: DON'T GO, ANDRE
>> Date: Mon, 5 Apr 2004 14:39:30 -0700
>> Reply-To: Loopers-Delight@loopers-delight.com
>> 
>> 
>> A letter to Andre LaFosse:
>> 
>> you just wrote:
>> 
>> 
>>> It actually has something to do with a quote which I learned from Rick
>>> Walker, ironically enough:
>>> "There is no us and them; there is only us."
>>> So when I hear about - for instance - somebody using a DL4 to loop 
>under
>>> a solo, who is "not a looper per se," it raises questions for me.  It
>>> makes me wonder where the distinction between the "them" of this
>>> DL4-touting singer-songwriter is made, to differentiate him from "us."
>>> It makes me wonder what the common defining traits are of the 500-odd
>>> people who are on this list, reading this thread right now, that would
>>> imbue them with a "true looper" designation, that's missing from our
>>> Line 6-soloing emmisary of the "them" delegation.
>> 
>> I find it sad, Andre, that your mind is so made up about these matters
> that
>> you wouldn't even read the response letter I sent to this list
>> as soon as I read your last post. My response posted before this 
>response
>> did.  I'll quote myself briefly but you can refer to the whole letter if
>> you'd like ( WHAT's A LIVE LOOPER, ANYWAY?).
>> 
>> r. writing:
>> 
>> "I typed that rather hastily, 'Dre.   I should have said that he doesn't
>> CONSIDER himself a 'live looper', which would distinguish
>> him, in that sense, from someone who actively thinks of themselves as 
>live
>> loopers, like myself or Matthias Grob or Per Boysen
>> or, perhaps, you.............It's a hair split of course and, as with 
>all
>> categorizations, intrinsically
>> innacurate and made merely to make the point that live
>> looping techniques have insuated themselves into the live performances
> of
>> lots of musicians who, five years ago, wouldn't have used them."
>> 
>> 
>> My intent with that post was actually to say that I was excited that a
> more
>> mainstream pop artist has been influenced by all the energy that 
>everyone
>> has put in here at Loopers Delight.   I had no intention of being 'Us 
>and
>> Them' about it.  I was clumsy with my rhetoric so I'm sorry you missed
> that
>> intent.
>> 
>> Being a human being I am very, very far from perfect; very far from 
>living
>> up the ideals that I try to live up to.  I'll be the first to admit it,
> but
>> this is historically clear:
>> 
>> I have tried extremely hard in the last five years of my life since 
>joining
>> this list and becoming enamored with the concept of a live looping 
>community
>> to be as all inclusive as I could possibly be.    Everyone who knows me,
>> including you, my friend,  knows this to be true. At the risk of boring
>> people with details,   I've gone so far as to invite every single person
>> in
>> our community and even rectuited young and  middle aged talented 
>musicians
>> who have never even used live looping to be our 'newbies' at looping
>> festivals.   I donated my own looping devices to these artists in an 
>attempt
>> to turn them on to the techniques that I've grown to love in live
>> performance.   I've produced festivals of Found and Invented Sound,
>> Live Digital Video Animation, Voice and Electronics.  I've hosted 
>Festivals
>> for Emerging Electronica in my region..........played acoustic music at
>> Singer Songwriter Showcases; fought for the rights of Street Musicians
> in
>> my
>> town...........argued with the mayor and city council to try to keep 
>Arts
>> Funding from being eliminated in my community.......donated countless 
>hours
>> trying to support the establishement of three music venues in this area
> that
>> would be open to ALL MUSICIANS and artists and all without every paying
>> myself a single red cent.      I did it, selfishly, so that I would have
>> a
>> community that I could belong to.  I did it altruistically so that 
>others
>> would feel better about being artists with some sense of emotional 
>support
>> for what they do in a culture that practically spits on the concept.
>> 
>> To accuse me of being devisive in this community ("Us and Them")  is
>> complete and utter bullshit and after everything I have said and done in
>> print and action to support your own personal career it really hurts me,
>> personally that you would say it..............especially in public.
>> 
>> In many many conversations with you in person and in print over the 
>years,
>> you have consistently refused to participate because you have been
>> uncomfortable with the category or the attempt at community building in
> the
>> so called Live Looping Community.   Because you are so intelligent and
>> creative and innovative and such an important artist in my mind,  that
> has
>> always been painful to me, but I have grown to accept it. however.
>> 
>> you also wrote:
>>> It makes me wonder a lot of things - like why serious, intelligent,
>>> critical discussion, which can take into account the 40 or 50 years of
>>> historical precedent for the subject of the discussion list, always
>>> seems to make a bunch of everyone's collective undergarments in a forum
>>> made up principally of adult, middle-aged men.
>> 
>> This sounds a little ageist to me, my friend, and smacks of the same 'us
>> and
>> them' mentality that you are accusing me of.     I can only sit back and
>> chuckle, patronizingly, as I realize that in a mere ten years you'll be
> one
>> of those middle aged men.  I've gotten my panties in a bunch a few times
>> myself (because I know I'm a drama queen at times..........lol) but it
> has
>> almost always been when I sensed strong injustice,divisiveness or 
>meanness
>> in people's posts.
>> 
>>> For the time being, I don't want to be a negative vibe merchant -
>>> especially to the people whose work and music I've spent innumerable
>>> hours trying to be supportive and enlightening about over the course
> of
>>> eight and a half years.  So as wise man once said, "My work here is 
>done.
>> Now, I must go."
>>> Perhaps I'll poke my head back in at some point.  In the meantime, 
>those
>>> who want to know how to track me down.
>> 
>> I'm so sorry that your personal feelings of not belonging and being 
>excluded
>> and not being recognized and not be supported financially by this 
>community
>> have led you to this.
>> 
>> You are one of our brightest stars and, potentially, one of our most
>> inpspiring ones as well.   You have the capacity with your intelligence,
>> your articulateness and your brilliant command of your instrument to 
>guide,
>> instruct, inspire and , even more importantly
>> to nurture the people at this list.   This is a gift my 
>friend.............
>> a gift that I wish you would not throw away because you are feeling
>> alienated presently.
>> 
>> Don't go, Andre.    This little community would be the worse if you did.
>> 
>> yours,   Rick
>> 
> 
>