Archive of the former Yahoo!Groups mailing list: MOTM

Markk writes:
>>I know myself, I'd be doing it for the fun of playing... I miss playing
live.<<

An acoustic musician actually plays an instrument. However, self running synth
drones and computer sequences aren't exactly playing.  Studio multitrack
synthesis really doesn't lend itself to realtime stage performance very well.

I think there are a lot of good reasons to continue with concerts of EM -- remember, in the old days of EM (art music) , a concert often consisted of going into a hall and listening to a bunch of pieces on tape.

Even if the performer (even on a modular) tries to mimic a piece which is documented on CD, it is quite likely that there will be notable differences. The piece would probably change (grow?) over the period of a tour. And maybe these experiences of the changing piece would lead to new pieces. Also, the performer will have a greater degree of control over the listening experience than when I put a CD on in my living room (dynamics are just the more obvious example).

Amongst the audience in such performances there is often a real sense of camaraderie -- like, "you actually like this stuff too!!??" With music like Robert Rich's, I imagine it is great for him to interact with the audience since those who would come to a show would be his greatest fans. For audience members it is great to have that kind of personal interaction with other audience members as well (and even more for those who talk to the performer).

When Carl Stone performs live he only uses a computer and "modifies" files live in real time -- I know his performances of pieces vary greatly from the recordings of those pieces. While they may have the same arc and "movements" the actual sound of the piece is very different.

I'm looking forward to seeing Rich when he gets to So Cal since my interest has been aroused at the way he uses the modular as a mature live instrument. I want to see him turning the knobs in real time in a performance setting. I've gone on record several times in the early days of this list as wanting to have a very distinct controller area separate from the modules. I believed that the chance to grab the wrong knob during performance/recording greatly outweighed the inconvienience/cost of having a few "controller" knobs which could be patched for specific purposes. I want to see him prove me wrong.

And that large MOTM that Rich hauls around has got to be easier and lighter than a B-3 or a Mellotron.

JB