re: Emulation

["RICK WALKER" <looppool@cruzio.com>]

Mark wrote:

"I disagree.  Most people don't play music to be unique.  They play to
entertain.  They play to express or evoke emotion. "


I agree with you, Mark,  but I also think most people who play music don't 
make much of an impact outside
of the realm that you mention.

As an artist,  I think it is natural to try and make a mark...........to 
try 
to be unique.
If you strive for greatness you run the huge risk of failing,  but if you 
don't strive for it,  you can't be truly great.

I know that with live looping as an example,   I have the technique, the 
equipment and the ability to go
out and play entertaining modern electronic dance music that would be 
vastly 
more successful in terms of
album sales and paying gigs,  but in my own personal artistic life,  I just
would rather try to be unique (even if it makes me obscure or even unheard 
of).


I agree with you that the  bulk of musicians do emulate their heroes which 
is fine,   but you have to have the heroes to inspire to begin with.

If someone didn't strive to be unique and artistic..........to try to 
blaze 
new ground,  then who would the bulk of musicians
emulate?

What happens because of the marketing of music and the general 
idiosyncracies of a lot of trail blazing artists
is that for every 100 really unique players there are (I think of people 
like Andre,  Bill,   etc.) 1 of them makes it to the mainstream
consciousness.    In this day and age with the way the music business is 
evolving,  I seriously doubt that Hendrix would become as
popular as he was, if he were just starting out.    Dylan,  certainly , 
would not have gotten a multi-record deal that allowed him
to grow into the amazing artist he became in the 60's.     He would have 
gotten a one record deal with an Indie label and then he would have
sunk like a stone...................far the worse for us all,  I"m afraid.

But then again,  if you just completely eschew the paradigm of the music 
business today,  there is something very spiritually gratifying
to be committed to art with a capital "A".

I think it's incredibly important that someone like Van Gogh kept painting 
even though he was unsuccessful.
(and by the way,  I would never in a million years compare myself to any 
great or famous artist, but I believe that if some people
don't strive for more than just entertaining then we won't have great art.

If it takes thousands of us to fail so that a handful change the world of 
music....................it's all worth it in my book.

That being said and done, Mark,   I don't care what your motivation is for 
playing,  I just really dig what you do, so please keep doing it.

yours,  Rick