Scott Fritz of KRCW: Live radio recording
by Larry Crane
Years ago a friend of mine sent me a cassete with a live broadcast of the Go-Betweens, Downey Mildew and Glass Eye that he recorded off the radio from KCRW (public radio 89.9FM) in Santa...
articles
by Larry Crane
Jon Brion Does Everything: A long talk with one of LA's best session players, producers, & composers
by Larry Crane
Jon Brion is well known as a session musician, record producer, solo artist and now, with the work he did for Magnolia, a scorer of films. In his world, all of this is equally important and...
Bob Weston: Recording Sebadoh, Polvo and more
by Larry Crane
We get a lot of requests for future interview subjects and Bob Weston has easily been one of the most mentioned. Bob is known for his spacious, natural-sounding recording style and being a member of...
Wharton Tiers: Recording Sonic Youth and more
by Larry Crane, Hillary Johnson
Wharton Tiers has run Fun City studios out of his Manhattan basement since 1981. He's recorded some of the finest records by Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr., Helmet, Unrest and many more. It's an...
Robyn Hitchcock: Songs, not sounds
by Larry Crane
Robyn Hitchcock has long been one of my favorite artists, whether it's the spastic psychedelia of his former group The Soft Boys or one of his many solo records, there's always great songs with...
Illyah Kuryakin: Apartment life and new sounds
by Larry Crane
In his tiny apartment in New York, Dean Wilson, aka Illyah Kuryahkin, has created some of the strangest and coolest music we've heard in years. His first album, Count No Count, was recorded on a...
Grant Showbiz: From The Fall to The Smiths to Billy Bragg with Mood Swings thrown in.
by Larry Crane
Grant Showbiz. His name pops up on records by The Fall, The Smiths, Billy Bragg, Alternative TV, Mood Swings and more. The name alone conjures up some flamboyant character, which he is! He got his...
Steve Malkmus: of Pavement
by Larry Crane
Pavement. The band that sets many an indie rock heart aflutter. Well, they no longer exist now, having performed their last show in London last fall. We chatted extensively with Pavement's "leader"...
Gary Young: Pavement's Drummer & Engineer
by Larry Crane
Gary Young was the flamboyant original drummer for Pavement. He was also the engineer for all their recordings up through the Watery, Domestic CD. He still resides in Stockton, California, and runs...
Macha: Ethno-indie rock & field recordings
by Larry Crane
Macha are a different band. Their use of Indonesian and other "ethnic" instrumentation within the format of what you would call a "rock" band is rather unique. The instruments add a texture not...
Trusty Tune Shop: A Grandma run studio!
by Larry Crane
We hear about a lot of great studios here at Tape Op but not very many are run by 75 year old grandmothers. Elsie Childers runs her Trusty Tuneshop studio on her farm in Nebo, Kentucky. The big...
Joe Chiccarelli: Top LA producer secrets!
by Larry Crane, Craig Smith
In the recording world Joe Chiccarelli is very well known. He got his big firÌ break engineering Frank Zappa's Sheik Yerbouti, which turned out to be a big seller, and now he's respected for...