Tape Op Magazine - Issue #34

Interviews

Fletcher

By Walt Szalva and Bob Marshall

In pro audio circles and throughout the vast realm of the internet, Fletcher is a ubiquitous and highly vocal presence. Always quick with commentary and an endless font of knowledge regarding even the most obscure pieces of gear, he is also the owner of MercenaryAudio, a purveyor of high-end...

Interviews

Ken Andrews: Perry Farrell, Creeper Lagoon, Pete Yorn

By Roman Sokal, Saby Reyes-Kulkarni

A self-described late-bloomer who "didn't even think about" playing music until he was 18, Ken Andrews' recording sensibilities have developed on a parallel track, almost simultaneously, with his guitar playing and singing. He is perhaps best known for his work in Failure (a...

Interviews

Roger McGuinn: Rescuing folk music

By Larry Crane, john Chiasson

Roger McGuinn is known to most people as the leader of The Byrds, the folk-rock band from the '60s who fused Bob Dylan and folk music with the rush of jangley rock and roll.

He was interested in technology back then, being one of the first people on the West Coast to purchase a Moog modular...

Interviews

Jeff Lipton

By Andy Hong

Mastering. It's kind of like the snake oil of making records. It's that secret...

Interviews

The Yohimbe Bros.: Vernon Reid + DJ Logic = Yohimbe

By John Dylan Keith, Jodi Shapiro

Since the early Black Rock Coalition days, Vernon Reid and DJ Logic have gotten together...

Interviews

Buddy Miller: One of Nashville's Finest

By Matt Fordham

Buddy Miller lives and records in an old bungalow on a shady street in Nashville, TN. In...

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David First: Microtones and Notekillers

BY STEVE SILVERSTEIN, JODI SHAPIRO

I initially encountered David First performing a composition of his microtonal drones called "My Veil Evades Detection; My Veil Defies Exhaustion; My Veil and I Divorce" at an old rec room called Cuando on New York's Lower East Side. The piece's dense, slowly evolving microtonal drones are typical of the work that has earned him respect in New York's avant-garde music community. While First is best-known today for these drone based compositions, in the past, he has played guitar — in one of Cecil Taylor's large ensembles at a legendary Carnegie Hall concert and with former Television guitarist Richard Lloyd [Tape Op #56]. Ecstatic Peace will soon release a CD compiling the work of the Notekillers, his late-'70s punk-era band. "It's always been a weird pendulum swing with me, from totally noncommercial extended sound-oriented things to song- oriented things." He brought his experience recording and playing so many styles of music to his new pop album, Universary, most of which he recorded himself at home.

FEBRUARY 28, 2026 INTERVIEWS

Howard Johnson: Pro and Home Studio thoughts

BY THE FEZGUYS

Howard Johnston is the co-owner and chief engineer of Different Fur Studio, tucked away in the once ignored, now ultra hip dot-com Inner Mission of San Francisco. In business for over 25 years, Howard has worked with a dizzying array of musicians including The Residents, Stevie Wonder, James Taylor, Bill Frisell, Brian Eno [Tape Op #85] and David Byrne [#79] (on My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts), Devo, Stan Getz, Herbie Hancock (on the classic Headhunters), Too $hort, Sir Douglas Quintet and Snakefinger. He's even done movie soundtracks, including Apocalypse Now. We talked to Howard between afternoon and evening sessions on a hot Friday, discussing when to offer the benefit of one's experience, "best time" and avoiding dinosaur-hood.

FEBRUARY 28, 2026 INTERVIEWS

Hrvatski: IDM and beyond

BY DAN SMITH, SEAN WOLFE

Keith Fullerton Whitman, aka Hrvatski, is a record buying addict who blends experimental drum 'n' bass, academic music and his washer and dryer into some very exciting and listenable music. I was first introduced to Keith's music when I borrowed Oiseaux 96- 98 from a friend. I had heard about Hrvatski prior to hearing the record and had expected something with far less live instrumentation. I thought it would be more like Kid606 or Matmos records than old Pink Floyd albums mixed with complex drum 'n' bass beats. I bought my own copy of Oiseaux 96-98 a few days later and listened to it over and over. Then I started lending my copy to friends who normally listen to "rock" music like Shellac or My Bloody Valentine [Tape Op #26]. They too went out and bought a copy to listen to over and over. More than 2 years has gone by since then and I still think of Oiseaux 96-98 as one of the best experimental electronic records that "rock" type people can enjoy. Keith has a wide range of material from spastic cut-up drum 'n' bass rhythms to electro-acoustic drones and has had songs and records released on Planet- Mu, Kranky and on his own Reckankreuzungs- klankewerkzeuge (RKK) label (to mention a few). This combination could only be expected from someone who used to write "The Metal Detector" for Guitar World magazine, studied at Berklee College of Music and worked as an employee of Forced Exposure.

FEBRUARY 28, 2026 INTERVIEWS

J.D. Foster: Richard Buckner, Marc Ribot, Green on Red

BY JOHN ASKEW, CHELSEAMOSHER

Ask JD Foster. From his days playing bass with the likes of Dwight Yoakam, The Silos and Lucinda Williams, to producing and engineering the records of Richard Buckner, Marc Ribot, Eszter Balint, and Green on Red, JD Foster has left his distinctive mark in recording studios across the map. From his Manhattan home JD spoke to me about his recently completed production — and recording — of Marc Ribot's recent solo guitar record Saints, his fanatic attraction to gates, and why a producer is, or isn't, very important to the recording process.

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COLUMNS

by Larry Crane

GEAR REVIEWS