Citadel’s Rejyna and The Looptober Tour

Warning: Live Loops Ahead (One of Rejyna’s Looptober Tour pun posters – http://facebook.com/rejynamusic)

Did you know that Looptober is the month that follows Stomptember?

If you didn’t know that already, Rejyna is hoping to get you up to speed with her Looptober Mini-Tour and promo campaign.  Her poster series combines witty wordplay with images that are intended to imbed the word ‘loop’  with pun-infused imagery like street signs, loop straws, Hot Wheels loop tracks and a well-known cereal brand.  (Look in the ‘Photos’ section at http://facebook.com/rejynamusic)

How does the member of a progressive metal/folk rock band migrate to the world of solo live looping?  “Accidentally…“ Following gentle urging from family and eclectic venue owners, Rejyna has re-discovered her solo-performing persona through the i/o of a looper, effects and a vocal harmonizer.

Ironically, Rejyna was surprised to discover there was a new home for her multi-genre style of music.  “When I first started using the looper and harmonizer in my solo acoustic set, I had no idea there was a whole movement centered around live looping.  I was simply trying to make playing solo more fun by adding vocal harmonies and lead guitar parts overtop of the basic chords in my repertoire.  Although I had seen or heard about other artists using loopers, I was only exposed to the ambient, improv, noise and freeform loopists.” 

Contrary to what Rejyna and others may think, the live looping movement is not focused on a particular style of music.  In the ‘about’ section from Rick Walker’s (a veteran live looping artist and promoter) Y2K Loopfest website, it says: “To this day, in that community, there is no style or genre of music associated with the movement. The only thing that links thousands of emerging live looping artists is a strong and supportive sense of community and a love for the concept of looping live in public.”   As one can tell by the ‘archives’ links on Rick’s site, the art of live looping is not a ‘new’ thing:  “The annual Y2K International Live Looping Festival, was begun in 2001 by Rick Walker, himself a found sound/live looping artist. It is the first international live looping festival and longest running one in history.” (http://y2kloopfest.com/about/)

Let’s back up a bit for those who don’t know what ‘live looping’ means. Live looping involves the use of a device (there are many types from several MI manufacturers) that allows a performer to record musical sections in front of the audience and then replay that piece while adding other sound and effect layers to it.  It may involve footpedals (stompboxes), computers, conventional and non-conventional instruments (trash can lids, wood saws, etc.), voice, silence and noise – stacked, layered, stripped, reversed, time-shifted.  Anything goes EXCEPT that the use of anything pre-recorded is not allowed.  This isn’t karaoke…

Being a loop newbie, Rejyna was surprised by the invitation to perform with the other live loopers.  “While I admire those artists tremendously, I did not consider that my song-based approach to looping would fit into their niche. See, I use a looper to build organized musical pieces on stage, and while bridge sections in my songs do allow for freeform experimentation, I was nonetheless surprised, anxious and quite honored to be invited.” 

Resisting her apprehension about fitting in, Rejyna accepted.  “I told myself, they wouldn’t have invited me if they didn’t think my style would fit – so, I accepted invitations to live looping events in Portland, Seattle, Danville and Santa Cruz.  I hope they like what I’m planning to exhibit…  I’m calling this my ‘Looptober’ tour” and while my main goal is to share my songs, my guilty pleasure in all of this is that I will get to be inspired by the best-of-the-best in the looping community.  I am certain that the music I release in the future will benefit immensely from the things I witness from the other artists on this mini-tour.

If you are familiar with the style of music that Citadel puts out, you’ll be surprised to hear how Rejyna takes those songs into the solo realm.  Her set features a few Citadel songs re-done looper-style mixed in with her new compositions.  She will be promoting her CD Solo Sojourn Live and is planning to release a DVD/Blu-Ray disc of the Looptober tour in December.

If you’re in or near one of these cities in Looptober, make sure to attend, unless you don’t mind behind left out of the loop:

Oct. 11^th – J&M Café, Seattle, WA (https://www.facebook.com/events/381359998620826/)

Oct. 13^th – Analog Café, Portland, OR (http://www.facebook.com/events/352601574838095/)

Oct. 16^th – Meenar Music, Danville, CA (https://www.facebook.com/events/432590403522293/)

Oct. 18-20^th, Y2K13 Loopfest, Santa Cruz, CA
(http://y2kloopfest.com/about/)

You can check out Rejyna’s music and videos by simply spelling her first name correctly in your search engine – she’s on CDBaby, iTunes, Amazon, ReverbNation, YouTube, SoundCloud, Facebook, Twitter – and her personal website reveals that music is only one of the mediums she calls her playground – http://rejyna.com

Maybe one of the next blog entries will give us a clue as to how all this solo indulgence has affected the upcoming Citadel CD…ahem?!?

Loop Straws make beverages taste better, so the same must apply to looped music? (One of Rejyna’s Looptober Tour pun posters – http://facebook.com/rejynamusic)

3 Songsmiths: Mark, Joe and Rejyna

Mark See, Joe Rollin Porter and Rejyna are bringing their songs to Java Central. You’ll get a good mix of guitar-based music styles while you enjoy excellent baked goods, exquisite java beverages and smoothies, and the family-friendly atmosphere of Java Central Cafe in Uptown Westerville.

Support the Independent Artists and the Venues!
Show starts at 7:00 p.m. – All Ages – No Cover – Bring the family!
Java Central, 20 S State St Ste B, Westerville, Ohio

Mark See

Mark See is a singer, songwriter, guitarist that has played around Columbus for many years.  His style is a mix of rock, pop, blues, and country with a few jazz chords thrown in to mix things up.  He has played primarily in his own band Creatures Of Habit, but has a history of sitting in with other bands for extended times.  He has one full length CD called Creatures Of Habit and a four song EP called Trinkets.  He is currently at work on his next CD, tentatively called Nickles And Dimes and feels that this will be his best work yet!  You can find and contact Mark on Facebook and MySpace at http://myspace.com/creaturesofhabitmarksee

 

Joe Rollin Porter’s fingerstyle acoustic guitar playing and vocals transcend genre and style, viscerally connecting with music lovers of widely diverging tastes.  His live performance can bring a room full of loud distracted drinkers to a hushed silence, hanging on every note.  The music primarily consists of Joe’s own arrangements of traditional American folk songs, with a dose of early rural blues and an occasional dash of Celtic flavor as well.  The end product is truly unique. 

Joe Rollin Porter

Joe does not attempt to “authentically” replicate old-time music. Nor does he try to modernize the old songs to make them appeal to contemporary commercial tastes.  Rather, after years of absorbing and internalizing traditional folk music, the songs flow out as natural self-expression.  The result is an individual artistic statement that injects new life and energy into the folk tradition, keeping the heritage alive and growing.

If you don’t care about any of that, but you like great fingerstyle guitar playing, or simply enjoy high quality entertainment, Joe provides that too.  Find out more about Joe at http://joerollinporter.com/ – http://cdbaby.com/cd/jrporter

 

 

Rejyna

Rejyna is a composer and performer who has played in several bands, including her own band, Citadel, which has released several CD’s that mix rock, progressive, folk and metal.  Citadel formed in Ohio after being chosen for the first QFM Hometown album.  The band ventured to Los Angeles and continued to perform and release albums, co-producing the first progressive rock festival: ProgFest.  In additon to music, Rejyna is also active in film, video and literature.  She has worked on the restoration of many films including Star Wars, James Bond, and several Disney animated features.

As a solo musician, Rejyna uses her acoustic guitar with various pieces of technology that enable her to present the sound of several players on stage.  She doesn’t use pre-recorded backing tracks – instead, she uses loopers and vocal harmonizers to weave intricate songs in real-time.  Creating layered sonic acoustic rock music in front of live audiences, Rejyna’s songs can be soft and tranquil, loud and fast or a mix of all these elements.  Her song structure ranges from simple to complex.  Rejyna cites several influences including Jethro Tull, Rush, Al DiMeola, Yes, Kansas, Shadowfax, Seals and Crofts, Poco, Gentle Giant, Dave Mason, Dan Fogelberg, CSNY, Ambrosia…

Rejyna recently recorded a live show and released it on CD, featuring acoustic versions of several songs from the Citadel repertoire alongside previously unreleased original material.  She is currently performing in and around the central Ohio area and plans to release another solo CD after finishing her work on the upcoming Citadel CD.  You can find Rejyna in several places online: Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, LinkedIn, ReverbNation – and her personal website is http://rejyna.com , and her music is at http://cdbaby.com/cd/rejyna  as well as on iTunes, eMusic, Amazon, Napster and many other online retailers.