Tape Op Podcast

Eric Sarafin, first interviewed in Tape Op #34 in 2003, is a producer, engineer, and mixer, known for his work with artists such as Ben Harper, The Pharcyde, Jeff Lorber, Tone Loc, Barenaked Ladies, Amy Grant, and even Foreigner. Eric is also known as Mixerman, the name he used as he chronicled the events of a somewhat fictional album session in Los Angeles as The Daily Adventures of Mixerman, now available in book and podcast form. His following books, like Zen and the Art of MIXING, were very helpful, and his recent tome, Mixerman’s Ultimate Guide to PRODUCING Records, Music & Songs, is a nearly 600 page bundle of advice anyone making music should read. We had a nice chat, so enjoy!

With their latest album, *is*, My Morning Jacket handed over the production reins to storied producer Brendan O'Brien, who has worked with artists ranging from Bruce Springsteen to Pearl Jam. The result of this collaboration is a focused collection of songs that showcases the band's development and musical diversity. Geoff Stanfield caught up with My Morning Jacket’s frontman and principal songwriter, Jim James, and Brendan to discuss the making of this stellar release. Enjoy!

Lord Huron first caught our ear with their 2012 release, Lonesome Dreams. The album's lush presentation, harmonies, and tinges of surfy guitars made it both decidedly West Coast-sounding and, at the same time, otherworldly. Over a decade on, the band has released its fifth album, The Cosmic Selector Vol. 1, another fully-formed concept album of sorts that, like all of Lord Huron's releases, tells a story, is beautifully produced, recorded and mixed, and is another step forward in the band's development. Geoff Stanfield caught up with founder, songwriter, guitarist, and frontman Ben Schneider to discuss the new album, their Whispering Pines recording studio, and more. Enjoy!

Larry Crane interviews Authors Eliot Bates & Samantha Bennett on their book, Gear: Cultures of Audio and Music Technologies

The story of Regina Spektor is one of a truly self-made artist. In 1989, at nine years old, Spektor and her family emigrated from Moscow to the Bronx in New York. Her love and affinity for playing the piano found her studying in high school at the Manhattan School of Music, and as she continued her classical studies she was also being exposed to and fell in love with pop music, hip-hop, and punk rock. Her self-released albums 11:11 and Songs led to a growing audience and opening slots for The Strokes and Kings of Leon. She was soon signed to Sire Records, who released her third album, Soviet Kitsch. Fast forward many years, and the list of accolades and accomplishments for Regina is long. She has released eight studio albums, featured at the Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza, Austin City Limits, and Glastonbury festivals, performed at the White House for the Obamas, wrote the theme song for the Netflix series Orange is the New Black, and has had songs appear in multiple films. She recently reissued her albums Begin to Hope, Far, What We Saw From The Cheap Seats, Remember Us To Life, and Live in London all exclusively on vinyl. Geoff Stanfield caught up with Regina from her home in New York to discuss her early years, her passion for the craft, and takeaways from working with producers such as Jeff Lynne, Jacknife Lee, John Congleton, and Mike Elizondo. Enjoy!

The Connecticut-based band Goose has had what would seem a meteoric rise into the public consciousness, but the group has been building a loyal fan base the same way that artists like the Grateful Dead and Phish had before them, with nearly a decade of endless touring. Their latest release, Everything Must Go, and 2022's Dripfield were both produced and engineered by D. James Goodwin. Geoff Stanfield caught up with Goose frontman Rick Mitarotonda and Goodwin to chat about the recording of Everything Must Go, capturing the energy of a live band experience, experimentation in the studio, and D. James Goodwin's quest to make the greatest jam band studio album of all time. Enjoy!

Singer-songwriters and multi-instrumentalists, Sarah Jarosz, Aoife O'Donovan, and Sara Watkins, collectively comprise the powerhouse trio I'm With Her. Their 2018 album, *See You Around*, garnered them Grammy and Americana Music Association nominations, taking awards for Best American Roots song for "Call My Name," and Best Duo/Group of the Year. Their second release, *Wild and Clear and Blue*, is a collection of deeply personal songs and incredible playing, produced by Josh Kaufman and engineered by D. James Goodwin. Geoff Stanfield caught up with the band to talk about the making of the record, their collaborative songwriting process, influences, and more. Enjoy

Atlanta-based producer and songwriter, Turbo (aka Chandler A. Great), has been behind hits from Travis Scott, Gunna, Lil Baby, Nav, and Young Thug. His signature productions are easily recognized, and he has an innate ability to distill songs and their presentations down to their essence and a feeling. Geoff Stanfield caught up with Turbo from his home in Atlanta to discuss his early days, production process, genre-bending collaborations, and how he strives to always be evolving. Enjoy!

Baltimore, Maryland, native Josh "Deakin" Dibb is probably best known as a member of the indie rock legends Animal Collective, but he is also a producer, engineer, and mixer, helming projects for Avey Tare, Tickley Feather, Herald, his own album Sleep Cycle, and most recently a co-production venture with his Animal Collective bandmate, Panda Bear, on the fantastic release, Sinister Grift. Geoff Stanfield caught up with Josh from his studio, The Rabbit Hole, in Baltimore. Enjoy.

For over four decades, David Lowery has been an innovator and thought leader in the music business. As musician, he’s the founder and leader of both indie rock legends Camper Van Beethoven and the successful band Cracker. He’s also a writer, producer, studio owner, educator, and as a champion of artists rights in the digital age he even led a successful $112 million dollar lawsuit against Spotify. His new album, *Fathers, Sons and Brothers*, is a sprawling 28 song release that he offers as an alternative to writing an autobiography. It is a beautiful collection of deeply personal and often quite funny stories that span his history from childhood and family, to the origin stories of Camper Van Beethoven and Cracker, to relationships and more.  Geoff Stanfield caught up with David to chat about this new record, being a studio owner, producing, and his thoughts on record labels, digital technology and copyright, quantitative finance, and more! Enjoy.

We interviewed producer, engineer, and mixer, Chris Coady, back in 2016 for Tape Op issue 113. He has worked with TV on the Radio, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Future Islands, Beach House, DIIV, The Drums, Porches, Amen Dunes, Sasami, Hand Habits, and countless other artists. Geoff Stanfield caught up with Chris from his studio in Glendale, CA, to discuss a wide range of topics ranging from his formative years in Baltimore, his days at New York City's Quad Studios, and his approach to recording and mixing. Enjoy!

We interviewed Esperanza Spalding back in 2022 for Tape Op issue 147, around the time she had just finished her 8th album, Songwrights Apothecary Lab. Her latest release, Milton+Esperanza, is a Grammy-nominated collaboration with Brazilian music legend Milton Nascimento. The album is a compelling body of work that includes re-imaginations of Nascimento originals, covers, and new collaborative songs. Geoff Stanfield caught up with Esperanza from her home in Portland, Oregon, to discuss the new album and some of her favorite Milton tracks. Enjoy!

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 record, his partnership with Adrian, and more. Enjoy!

"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 Mark while the band was on tour, to discuss the making of Tangk, working with Nigel and more! Enjoy!”

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 set reissue of the Alan Parsons Project’s Pyramid album was coming out soon, so we had quite a lot to talk about. Enjoy! -Larry Crane

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 collaboration with James Riotto, and their debut album, Street View, leans heavily into the electronic realm. Geoff Stanfield caught up with John to discuss his career, this new release and more. Enjoy!

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 Herington. Geoff Stanfield caught up with Madeleine on a Zoom call to discuss Let's Walk and more. Enjoy!

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 Sanders Show, and Barbie. Geoff Stanfield ran into Lenise at this year's NAMM Show and they agreed, a chat for the podcast would be a blast. You can also check out Lisa Machac's interview with Lenise in Tape Op #146. Enjoy! Sponsored by: Rupert Neve Designs rupertneve.com