So, you're probably wondering "what the heck does this guy know about taping, and why the hell should I listn to anything he has to say?"

First, I must say again that I am not claiming to be any kind of taping/recording/trading expert. What I am is someone who is really interested and commited to taping/recording/trading. I am someone who is concerned about trading as a concept, not merely as some hobby to kill time. I am concerned about preserving quality (I'm a digital purist...). And I'm someone who is as interested in figuring out if XY or ORTF works best from row K at Shoreline as in the actual act of recording.

Having said that, let me get on with my background.

I started trading in October of 1997, when I received a Dave Matthews Band show on analog cassette. By the end of that year (just 2 months or so later) I had already bought my first dat deck and had made the switch to digital. By February, 1998, I was fully-armed with a new computer and a ZA2 digital audio card, converting dats to CD in a purely digital domain. On March 17, 1998, I taped my first show, DMB at Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, CA. It was a horrible recording, but it was a start.

Since then, I have taped maybe 100 shows ranging from ones at Shoreline or Concord Pavilion to the Great American Music Hall to the Wetlands in NYC to the Fillmore and the Warfield in San Francisco. I have taped in a pretty diverse range of situations, from taping sections or from my seat. I've taped in bars, large auditoriums and in amphitheatres.

My interest in live music has propelled me into further areas. Much of 1999-2000 saw rather intense involvement in the Stanford Concert Network, the campus concert board, where I served as Assistant Director and General Manager (treasurer). From that position, I had the chance to work on the promotion and production of concerts. I helped organize shows ranging from Sir Mix-A-Lot at our annual Mausoleum Party to the Roots in Memorial Auditorium to a five-week series in our CoffeeHouse with artists such as Rubberneck, Allette Brooks, and the Slip. The year culminated in an all-day festival in historic Frost Amphitheatre, an event that, though not nearly as financially successul as we all hoped, was very much a dream-come-true for me. I learned about production from top professionals and worked with management and booking companies around the country.

I must admit that I haven't taped nearly as often the last year or more as I would've liked. Finally, around April 2002, I sold all of my taping equipment. It just didn't make sense to have all of that stuff lying around if I wasn't going to use it. I can always buy a whole new rig some other day, when I feel like getting my feet back into things again. But my interest in live music continues.

Finally, I have had a rather avid interest in studio music work from very early on. Eventually, I hope to put together my own little studio in my home. Until then, I continue to read up on the topic and try to apply the techniques used in studios as much as possible to the various situations I find myself in when taping in the field.

Ultimately, taping is both a hobby and much, much more. It is always a challenge to determine how to best make a tape in each and every venue I go to. I approach each situation both as a chance to make a great recording as well as to learn more about the art of taping.