This past weekend Joe Rut and I - the two members of the guitar noisefest we call Lumper/Splitter played the Y2K6 ‘Loopfestival’ down in Santa Cruz, CA. I tend to categorize music in terms of composition and genre rather than by the tools used to make it, but sometimes a little community comes together around such an idea and that is okay. In this case, it is the technique of ‘looping’ - using some kind of recording device to play back or mutate something just played - that is celebrated. The benefits of fostering community and hearing some very creative music aside, these events can be a bit geeky with software programmers trying out their looping creations on the unsuspecting who might be expecting music…
Joe and I, being guitar based and tone conscious, always bring amps to play through at such events (rather than direct into a PA) and last year were chided for being ‘a bit loud.’ Of course, we did the same thing this year and managed a good set. The performer after us was a guitarist and software programmer and so I made haste to leave, having to get to a 2nd gig at the Palais Ideal experimental music festival hours away in Chico, CA.
Just then, two 2×15 cabinets with Sunn 100 watt heads on top rolled in with Jim Thomas from The Mermen nor far behind. It turned out that Jim was only there to help his friend ‘Stanosaur’ but I decided to stay anyway. Sure glad I did because what ‘Stanosaur’ unleashed upon a 20×20 room of unsuspecting loopers was nothing short of awesome.
Two 10 minute feedback/loop/drone pieces - like a short version Lou Reed’s ‘Metal Machine Music‘ for low end frequencies - literally shook the walls and sent people scrambling for the earplug jar that Stan set out. The second piece was augmented by a smoke machine that blasted a collumn of smoke upwards from behind his amps and into the ceiling fans before floating back down of top of the ‘crowd.’ A bunch of us went batshit, but the organizers were stunned and didn’t know what to do except spread the rumor that the ‘police are here and this is jeopardizing the whole festival’…
When on a roadtrip there must be at least one rule. On this trip, it has to do with my personal savior, the Ipod, which also died and was resurrected.