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)
I often think about the relation of commerce and art. It's a convoluted one, but necessary. How could one continue to create the best art possible if they were destitute? They won't - they will be focused on survival instead. A recent...
I'll be doing a "Quickies 6: In the Studio" panel-type thing at SXSW on Saturday, March 20th, 11:00 AM, at the Austin Convention Center, Room 16A. I think you have to sign up for this, so check their website for more info. It'd be cool to meet some...
No secret that I am a big fan of King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard. They first caught my ear in 2017 with their Turkish Psych-Rock flavored album, Flying Microtonal Banana, and I have been a fan ever since. If you asked me what the definitive KGLW...
I recently have been digging through the Tape Op archives looking for writing, reviews and stuff we can post online. And I just found this snippet of hilariousness from Issue #7 in the Fall of 1997. Oh man, maybe I shouldn't post this... all...
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...
In issue #62, Josh Boughey reviewed the Monome 40h, a minimalist button-and-light interface which can be used to run musical applications. It's absolutely captivating in its simplicity; I'm writing this as an outsider, but as far as I can tell, the...
We interviewed Jim Keller of Sondhus in issue #142. Sondhus (SAHN - duss) is an architectural acoustics design and build firm specializing in recording studios. They have designed and built studios for the likes of Depeche Mode, Apple, Heba Kadry,...
I finally figured out what makes for a successful tracking session: simply eliminate the variables. On one level this could be seen as pre-production combined with concise decision making. Certainly those can help - but what I'm talking about is...
Interviews, Stories, and the Truth
by Larry Crane
In Tape Op issue #53 I interviewed Brian Kehew and Kevin Ryan, authors of the then-recently released book, Recording The Beatles. One of the topics we discussed was interviewing...