Our own Tape Op Books is extremely proud to announce that we have published Phill Brown's Are We Still Rolling? In Tape Op #12 Chris Eckman and I interviewed Phill, and in issues 16 to 32 we ran excerpts from his then unpublished book. Keep your minds and hearts open, use and improve your skills and bring more music into the world. There are a million ways to create and record music. I also thank my beautiful wife Jenna, who has literally been with me since the beginning of this journey. I gratefully thank John, our Tape Op staff, all of our wonderful contributors and, of course, our faithful readers. A few years into Tape Op, he took my raw ideas and helped turn a tiny magazine into a leader in its field - something I could've never imagined in 1996. My partner, John Baccigaluppi, deserves half of any praise due. Over the years thousands of readers have joined us for the ride and many have become contributors. If anything, the changing face of audio production technology only proves that it is the music and creative recording process that matters, and not merely the equipment. Recording equipment is necessary, but gear is only part of the tools that we use. Creating works that resonate with listeners and communicating through music and sound is our goal. In my heart I still know the most important aspect of creative music recording is the fact that this is art we're dealing with. My goal was to learn more about music recording, to note that it could frequently happen outside of a proper studio and to celebrate that making records is truly an art and not simply a technical process. I photocopied all the sheets, spray- painted the covers and hand-stapled the pages together. It was 15 years ago that the first issue of Tape Op made its debut.
It all ties together through a shared love of music. Dungen might hail from Sweden, but they have recently cut a single for Third Man, with Jack producing and Vance engineering.
Producer/engineer Vance Powell grew up in Missouri, but now also living in Nashville he's worked extensively with Jack in the studio - the career trajectory he's taken is filled with collaboration, hard work and friendships. Besides their collaboration in The Raconteurs, Brendan's excellent solo career and Jack's groups The White Stripes, The Dead Weather and his Third Man record label have had far-reaching effects with others all over the world. Jack White III and Brendan Benson originally hailed from Michigan, and now live in Nashville, Tennessee. This issue of Tape Op illustrates that quite well. When an aspiring engineer/producer/musician asks me how they should get their start, I always tell them that the most important aspect for me early on was being part of a community, and not necessarily one based on where I lived.