Wednesday, March 11, 2009

New Directions

Wow, it's been over a month since my last post. For those who don't know, I lost the bass player in my band a few months ago and I have not been playing out at all. The other day my partner Frank and I auditioned a bass player who had all the chops we could ask for. Unfortunately, after the audition Frank and I were both in a strange mood. As we talked about it, we realized we just don't want to play that music anymore. We felt the stuff we'd written is in many ways too restrictive and formulaic. We want something that's different from anything we've done and which offers us a new challenge. We have decided to try performing as a duo using real time digital loops. I'm using the drumset, Chapman Stick, and percussion with two loopers ( a Headrush and a Jam Man) and Frank is using two loopers as well, one with his Brian Moore Midi guitar and the other with his seven string. So far the music is very ambient. However, I think that with practice we will find the way to establish an interesting structure by switching loops on and off while creating grooves and solo sections. It's definitely a challenge but I think that's going to make it all the more rewarding.

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