We interviewed Mike Campbell for issue #150, right around the time he and his band, The Dirty Knobs released their second LP, External Combustion. A year on, the band has released a new collection of music, Vagabonds, Virgins and Misfits. The Dirty Knobs consists of Campbell, guitarist Chris Holt, bassist Lance Morrison, and drummer Matt Laug. Much of the album was co-produced by longtime Tom Petty studio collaborator, George Drakoulias.
Check out the video for "Dare to Dream" (feat. Graham Nash)
Subconscious Auditory Effects (SAE) is a term I have cobbled together to encapsulate a broad range of phenomena in this barely-studied field of inquiry. An SAE is any measurable effect on a person caused by a sound, or change in sound, that is...
Tape Op contributor Allen Farmelo sent us this thoughtful piece on why the mag doesn't feature many "negative" reviews. Makes sense to me. I imagine anyone out there wanting us to write reviews ripping apart gear all the time still might come up...
by John Baccigaluppi
It may not be obvious, but as this magazine’s graphic designer, the recently passed Vaughan Oliver was a major influence on the look of Tape Op Magazine. Being someone who’s not involved with social media, and as...
By John BaccigaluppiPhotos by Cynthia Connolly
If you haven't yet, check out Larry's review in this issue for some insight into the recently published book, The Inner Ear of Don Zientara. I hope you know who Don is. As Ted Nicely says in the book,...
Pitchfork TV (some spinoff of the horrible, snotty music crit site) has launched a series called A>D>D.
"The title for the series is based on the ADD/AAD/DDD codes that appeared on compact discs in the late 80s and early 90s, in which ADD...
Like any war, the loudness wars are a total mess brought on by territorial tendencies amongst those who fear losing their place in the world. And like a real war, the loudness wars cause people to throw rational thought out the window and replace it...
Geoff Stanfield and Andy Hong add an update to the original Meris Mercury7 Reverb review by Adam Kagan.
GS: I am a fan of the Meris line of gear. They are a small shop who builds their high-quality modules in Los Angeles. I have reviewed the Meris...
Jonathan Mann is the "song a day guy" of Songatron. Since January 1st 2009 he's posted a song and video a day. Septemeber 28th 2011 he'll have recorded 1000 songs. Wow. In June Nick Krill and Thomas Hughes of The Spinto Band joined up with...