Tape Op Magazine - Issue #163

Interviews

Interviews

Interviews

Interviews

The Messthetics and James Brandon Lewis: At Tonal Park

Interviews

Interviews

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JULY 16, 2025 INTERVIEWS

Colin Marston: Out of the Cave, Into the Woods

BY SAM RETZER, PAUL FILMS

After 18 years helming his studio Menegroth: The Thousand Caves, in Woodhaven, Queens, Colin Marston is alone with his synths. Gearing up to tour behind his band Krallice's latest opus Inorganic Rites, Colin has temporarily set up shop in Northampton, Massachusetts, for mixing and mastering projects. He's also thankful that the ARP 2600 mini reissue comes with a road case. The closure of Menegroth came suddenly in the spring, in the wake of completing Inorganic Rites and the latest from art deco wackos, Imperial Triumphant. Colin's studio was an incredible incubator for local niche metal and weird music, and surely thousands, if not millions of kick drum notes shook those walls. We took a look back on the legacy of Menegroth, moving forward, and brutal death metal bucket lists. Check out Colin's earlier Tape Op #101 interview.

JULY 16, 2025 INTERVIEWS

Fred Thomas: $30 and Ingenuity

BY CAROLYN ZALDIVAR SNOW

There are too many bands Fred Thomas has touched in his 30 years of touring. Ask him for a count on projects, and he'll tell you he doesn't keep track. The end of 2023 saw Fred's departure from Tyvek, a focus on pop ensemble Idle Ray, reissues from old solo projects, and a foray into drum and bass on his solo release, ECOATM. If this is not ringing a bell, you may know Fred from Saturday Looks Good To Me and as a member of His Name Is Alive. We caught Fred on the phone during a snowy Ypsilanti, Michigan, week of duplicating tapes for friends, organizing archives, and working on art for an upcoming release. A perpetual DIYer, we talked about his small label Life Like, how much gear one really needs, and the occasional emergency tooth extraction at the hands of a Portland drummer.

JULY 16, 2025 INTERVIEWS

Joseph LeDoux: Brains & Music

BY RICHARD BARONE

Every musician knows that music, memory, and emotion are connected. But how? Joseph LeDoux, Professor of Science and director of the Emotional Brain Institute at New York University, and author of the best-selling book, The Emotional Brain: The Mysterious Underpinnings of Emotional Life – along with other influential writings, has studied this field for decades. Considered one of the world's leading experts on the mind and brain, LeDoux is also a prolific musician and recording artist who has collaborated in the studio with the likes of Rosanne Cash and has performed with his group, The Amygdaloids, on bills with Rufus Wainwright, Lenny Kaye, and Steve Wynn of the Dream Syndicate. His music has been playfully described as "heavy mental." But how does LeDoux's acute knowledge of the brain's operations affect his approach to his own musical compositions and lyric writing? I sat down with Professor LeDoux in his home studio/office to talk about the mysteries of the brain – and the magic of music.

JULY 16, 2025 INTERVIEWS

Linda Smith: Embracing Limitations, Expanding Boundaries

BY LISA MACHAC, PEGGY BITZER

Linda Smith is a pioneering figure in the bedroom pop genre. With her introspective lyrics and DIY approach to recording, Smith's lo-fi sound was first captured in cassette releases in the '80s and '90s. Despite a 20-year hiatus, Smith's creative spirit endures, as she continues to produce new music and collaborate with fellow artists. She chats with Lisa Machac of Omni Sound Project about her creative process, the advantages of recording to tape, and working for the circus.

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