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Throwing Us for a Loop BRITISH FRETLESS-BASS phenom Steve Lawson once described Santa Cruz as the "looping capital of the universe," which is quite a compliment considering how big a deal the whole movement has become. For years, acts like Keller Williams and our own looping guru Rick Walker have been promoting and developing the medium, which allows solo artists to loop vocal and instrumental samples in real time and then layer them in a continuing loop, thus enabling them to create a symphony of themselves. Walker--whose first solo live looping CD, Translucent Dayglo Green Plastic, incorporates such tragically ignored instruments as clitoral vibrators and drinking straws--has organized the largest gathering of live loopers ever for the Y2K2 Loopfest, a two-day extravaganza of 43 looping artists from all over the country. They'll be looping their heads off for two days straight at the Cayuga Vault on July 13 and 14, beginning at 12:30pm on Saturday. The event will also feature lectures and panel discussions on the history and future of looping, along with demonstrations of state-of-the-art looping hard/software. All of the artists/panelists will perform for free, and all proceeds will benefit the Cayuga Vault. These Boots Were Made for Spinning Somehow, the organizers of the weekly dance party FLOW at the 418 Project have roped internationally renowned DJ Doc Martin into performing here. Maybe the Mystery Spot emitted some magnetic blip that temporarily stunned the veteran West Coast house DJ into forgetting that he's a freaking superstar, for crying out loud--we're talking about one of those jet-setting DJs that have regular bimonthly gigs in L.A. and New York and then gig around Europe to pass the time in-between. He spins at the 418 Project on Wednesday, July 17, 9pm-2am. For more info, call 831.425.3316, or stop by Streetlight Records for tickets. Right next door on Friday, July 12, Time Spent Driving will be playing an intimate all-ages show at the Drop-In Center on Front Street. The Casket Lottery, Rocky Votolato and Benton Falls will also play for a mere $5 donation. --Mike Connor As Good As Cash Apparently, that radio jerk Imus actually has a redeeming quality; i.e., he made some comment on the radio last week about the Flatlanders' new album being the best thing since indoor plumbing and seriously offered $10,000 to any country station that would put it into rotation. At least one station, I'm told, has taken him up on it. Just a couple of days later, on Saturday, the band was at the Rio, and damn if the show wasn't more than worth its weight in shock-jock payola. The crowd was going nuts by the end, calling them out for two encores--and it wasn't because of their matching Three Amigos outfits, let me tell you. They played most of the new album, and covers of Terry Allen's "Gimme a Ride To Heaven, Boy" and Townes Van Zandt's "White Freightliner Blues" simply smoked. Kinda freaky how Joe Ely is starting to look like '70s-era Johnny Cash, though, red bandana and all. Butch Hancock, who is coincidentally starting to sound like Cash, told some crazy-ass story about a song that came to him in a dream that featured Jimmie Dale Gilmore singing it on a reel-to-reel tape player being operated by a dwarf. Cool. You'd think they would have then actually played the song, but apparently they do things a little differently in Texas. --Steve Palopoli [ Santa Cruz Week | Metroactive Central | Archives ]