SassyBlack: Cathartic and Spiritual
by Larry Crane
Her bio states, "SassyBlack is a space aged singer, songwriter & producer," and that is a great starting point in digging into her career, one that also includes the titles of freelance writer,...
interviews
We talk at length with record-makers about how they make records.
Caught in a Mosh with Alex Perialas
by Scott Evans
Anthrax, Testament, Overkill, Stormtroopers of Death, Nuclear Assault, Vio-lence... Alex Perialas is responsible for dozens of classic metal records from the '80s and '90s, mostly made in his studio,...
Kevin Army: "If I made it sound beautiful it would just kill it."
by Ian Brennan
Kevin Army was a secret force behind the East Bay punk explosion of the late '80s and early '90s. Being a generation older than the bands he worked with brought depth and wisdom on two-fronts that...
Matt Wallace: Journey to Producer Island
by Geoff Stanfield
Laurie Nelson Roll up your sleeves, make a mess, get dirty, get fired, get re-hired, tear it down, and build it all back up again. Then make it better than it was before. That could be a...
Third Man Pressing: Making Vinyl in Detroit, an interview with David Buick & Roe Peterhans
by Jason Hatfield
Musician and entrepreneur Jack White [Tape Op #82] has opened a brand-new storefront and vinyl record pressing plant in the historic Cass Corridor section of Detroit, a place that's been home to...
Ben Fowler
by Larry Crane
I first met Ben Fowler in 2011 while working on a record for a new up-and-coming country artist, Charlie Worsham. I was the assistant engineer during tracking and overdubs, and Ben was going to be...
Tony Bongiovi: Back to Power Station
by Larry Crane
The legendary Tony Bongiovi was the engineer, owner, producer, and studio designer behind New York City's Power Station studio. Power Station opened in 1977 at 441 West 53rd Street, helmed by Tony and...
Neko Case on Songwriting, Production, and Being Real: So Much Possibility
by Bren Davies
We got to sit down with Neko Case at Brooklyn, NY's The Honey Jar recording studio to discuss her career so far, as well as her production experiences while tracking and mixing her most recent...
Daniel Lanois: The Sound Takes Over
by Geoff Stanfield
Daniel Lanois' career reads like an enviable work of fantasy. From his early projects with Brian Eno and Harold Budd on their genre defining "ambient" recordings, to a pivotal role on U2 classics...
Dan Auerbach: "This is what I like to do"
by Larry Crane
Dan Auerbach, along with drummer Patrick Carney, started The Black Keys in 2001 as a writing and recording project, releasing their first album in 2002. Dan also began recording and producing other...
Sphere Electronics: A Brief History of this Console Company
by Willy Wilson
Lead photo text: Author Wally Wilson behind the first Sphere multitrack console at Creative Workshop, Nashville, TN, 1976. Recently there's been renewed interest in Sphere consoles, and the history...
The Mammals: Recording Around Their Home, Literally
by Larry Crane
Way back in [Tape Op #39], we received a wonderful report on how The Mammals utilized a bunch of borrowed gear and gathered talented friends to track their Evolver album at home, in upstate New York....