Looking back, it seems like I've always been recording something. When I was very young there were a pair of small Sony reel-to-reel recorders floating around our house — previously used by my parents to send audio letters back and forth while my Merchant Marine father was at sea. I soon found myself recording snippets of my favorite TV shows and making silly sounds on these decks. When cassette recorders became the norm, I was constantly making tapes of borrowed LPs to listen to in my room (and later in my car). Soon I bought some cheap Radio Shack mics and started recording my friends playing music, plus my own weird electronic compositions.
When 4-track cassette recorders came around, I'd already spent many years creating reduction mixes from cassette deck to cassette deck. My family and friends pitched in and bought me a Yamaha 4- track one Christmas, and immediately I was tracking my band's demos and collaborating with friends. I'd already been in the studio a couple of times at that point, guiding our band through sessions for a few self-released albums. I loved spending time in the studio, as the concepts of overdubbing, using effects, and looking for the best takes were already ingrained in me.