Tape Op Podcast

To celebrate the 100th episode of the Tape Op Podcast, I thought it appropriate to interview the two people responsible for Tape Op's existence; Founder and Editor Larry Crane, and Publisher John Baccigaluppi.  We dive into the early days of the magazine, the evolution of the recording and publishing industries, things learned along this nearly thirty year journey, and more. Enjoy!

We interviewed Black Pumas producer and guitarist, Adrian Quesada, for episode 77 of the Tape Op Podcast, so when the opportunity arose to chat with frontman, singer, and songwriter, Eric Burton, we jumped! Geoff Stanfield caught up with Eric in this wide-ranging conversation to discuss the recording of the band’s latest release, Chronicles of a Diamond, staying connected to community, learning to...

"Bristol, England, based band, Idles, recently released their fifth album, Tangk. Produced by the band's guitarist, Mark Bowen, along with Nigel Godrich and Kenny Beats, Tangk explores new sonic territory for the band – including the use of tape loops – making for a rich and nuanced landscape for singer Joe Talbot's deeply personal lyrics and raw delivery. Geoff Stanfield caught up with Joe and Ma...

I first met Alan Parsons in 2004, when I interviewed him for Tape Op issue #42. We’ve been lucky enough to work together on Recording Academy presentations and meet up socially a few times after that, and I always thought we’d have fun doing a podcast, and as it was now 20 years later, it felt like a good time. Alan had also built his ParSonics Studio on his ranch in California, and a deluxe box s...

There is a long list of accolades for indie legend, producer, engineer, songwriter and musician John Vanderslice. In addition to being the owner of Oakland recording studio Tiny Telephone, he has released sixteen full length albums, five remix albums and EPs and worked with artists such as Spoon, St. Vincent, Deerhoof, the Mountain Goats, and Grandaddy. His new project, Google Earth, is a collabor...

Athens, Georgia, born singer Madeleine Peyroux has just released her ninth album, Let's Walk, and it finds her in peak shape as a singer and songwriter. The album's songs and lyrics address a broad range of socially-conscious topics and events in the American landscape. The album is beautifully recorded, and was produced by the legendary Elliot Scheiner, along with Madeleine and band member, Jon H...

Welcome to Tape Op's DISCussion, where we call our friends and music community notables to talk about their favorite records. For this episode, Geoff Stanfield chats with bassist and producer Tim Lefebvre (David Bowie, Whose Hat is This?, Tedeschi Trucks Band) about Fink's 2014 release, Hard Believer. Enjoy!

Compton native Lenise Bent has worked with a staggering list of artists, and played a part in some of popular music's biggest albums. Steely Dan, Blondie, Fleetwood Mac, Supertramp, Ringo Starr, Tanya Tucker, George Harrison, Frank Zappa, Suzi Quatro, Neil Diamond, Leonard Cohen, and Cher, not to mention the long list of film and television projects such as Shrek, The Golden Girls, The Larry Sande...

If you were tuned in to the radio in the 90's, singer, songwriter, and producer, Paula Cole, has been woven into the fabric of your musical life with mega-hits such as "I Don't Want To Wait" and "Where Have All The Cowboys Gone?" Almost three decades on, Paula is still making great records and has recently released Lo, a collection of highly personal songs performed entirely live with her longtime...

Welcome to Tape Op's DISCussion, where we call our friends and music community notables to talk about their favorite records. For this episode, Geoff Stanfield chats with Taylor Deupree about Brian Eno’s 1985 ambient masterpiece, Thursday Afternoon. Enjoy! Sponsered by AKG-JBL https://www.akg.co

Welcome to Tape Op's DISCussion, where we call our friends and music community notables to talk about their favorite records. For this episode, Geoff Stanfield chats with producer/engineer Mario J. McNulty about Massive Attack’s 1998 release, Mezzanine. Enjoy! Sponsered by AKG-JBL www.akg.co

My friend Jolie Holland and I first met when I edited, overdubbed, and mixed her album Wine Dark Sea in 2014, ten years ago. Around then we even played a short 2 song set live at an Elliott Smith tribute show. A few years after that we worked again on Wildflower Blues, an album she did with Samantha Parton, her former bandmate from The Be Good Tanyas, and recently I prepped a re-master of her debu...

Welcome to Tape Op's DISCussion, where we call our friends and music community notables to talk about their favorite records. For this episode, Geoff Stanfiled chats with producer/engineer Mikey Coltun about Toumani Diabeté's Symmetric Orchestra's 2006 release, Boulevard De I'Independance. Enjoy! Sponsered by AKG-JBL https://www.akg.co

Indiana may not be the first place that comes to mind when you think of a blossoming psych-rock scene, but you'd be mistaken. Formed in Bloomington and now based in Los Angeles, Frankie and the Witch Fingers have been cranking out an interesting sounding and diversely-influenced series of albums that document their growth as songwriters and a band as well as their development as recordists. Geoff...

Welcome to Tape Op's DISCussion, where we call our friends and music community notables to talk about their favorite records. For this episode Larry Crane chats with Steve Von Till from Neurosis about Brian Eno’s album Ambient 4: On Land. Enjoy! Sponsered by AKG-JBL https://www.akg.co

February 2024 will see the release of MGMT's fifth album, Loss of Life. Tape Op's online publisher Geoff Stanfield sat down for a chat with the band's founding members Andrew VanWyngarden and Ben Goldwasser to discuss the recording of the album, their long time working relationship with producer/mixer Dave Fridmann, and finding their new favorite microphone! Enjoy! Sponsored by: Earthworks Audio h...

Welcome to Tape Op's DISCussion, where we call our friends and music community notables to talk about their favorite records. For this episode we chat with Producer/Engineer Thom Monahan about the 1993 Polyphemus album, Scrapbook of Madness. Enjoy! Sponsered by AKG-JBL https://www.akg.co

If there is an authority on the production, editing, mixing, and mastering of film scores, it is Mike Matessino. He has had a hand in hundreds of films including classics such as the Star Wars Trilogy, Poltergeist, The Goonies, Superman, Back to the Future, Home Alone, the Star Trek films and Empire of the Sun.  For his latest project, he meticulously remixed and remastered the Super Deluxe versio...

"In the early days of 2020, following a cancelled tour and a near total mental collapse, Beirut's Zach Condon arrived on Hadsel, an island in the far northwest reaches of Norway. Armed with several suitcases stuffed with recording equipment, a modular synth rig, an Austrian tape machine, his trumpet, and some winter clothes, he embarked on the creation of what would become his latest release, Hads...

September 2023 marked the 30th anniversary of the now classic Morphine album Cure for Pain. It was the band's sophomore release and recorded during the transition from original drummer Jerome Deupree to Billy Conway, with Jerome playing on the bulk of the album's songs and Billy playing on the title track, "Cure for Pain" and "Let's Take a Trip Together". To mark the occasion of the album's annive...

Over the years it has been suggested that we do a segment on haunted studios. Our friend Heba Kadry got her first job in the U.S. as an intern at the famed Sugar Hill Studios in Houston, Texas. Legend has it that the place is haunted, and Heba told me that she was freaked out to be there alone at night and would blast loud music to keep the spirits at bay. Apparently that worked and she never enco...

Welcome to Tape Op's DISCussion, where we call our friends and music community notables to talk about their favorite records. For this episode we chat with producer/engineer Ryan Hewitt about Neil Young's 1970 release After the Gold Rush. Enjoy!

Strokes guitarist Albert Hammond Jr. has been owning the downstroke for well over a decade now, and in addition to his work with the band he has managed to find time to release several solo records. His latest, Melodies on Hiatus, is a sprawling 19 song offering recorded with longtime collaborator Gus Oberg. Geoff Stanfield chatted with Albert about his latest recording, working with Rick Rubin an...

I interviewed Portland Oregon's M Ward for our DISCussion podcast about a year ago and with his new release, supernatural thing, it was another opportunity for us to check in. In this episode, Geoff Stanfield catches up with Matt to discuss his love of collaborations, analog approach to recording and more. Enjoy! Sponsored by: Rupert Neve Designs https://rupertneve.com

Welcome to *Tape Op's* DISCussion, where we call our friends and music community notables to talk about their favorite records. For this episode we welcome drummer Victor Indrizzo (Willie Nelson, Scott Weiland, Chris Cornell, Queens of the Stone Age, Beck, Daniel Lanois and countless others) sat down with Geoff Stanfield to chat about Marvin Gaye’s posthumous release, Vulnerable. Sponsered by AKG-...