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Setting Levels
Edited by Paul L. "Pro" Pearson, Ph.D.
Strange Pleasures-www.strangepleasures.com
pro@strangepleasures.com

One of the greatest appeals of jambands to me is the chance to hear something new and unique and then be able to relive it through a live recording. Trading tapes started off for me as a way to recapture the Phish shows I had managed to see and a way to get our music 'out there' to people who would otherwise not get the chance to hear us until we had a CD to sell them. But as I progressed in knowledge and interest, trading became a constant source of discovery and mystery. Coming home each day not knowing what would be in the mailbox was exciting. Would it be crispy DAUD2's, or hissed-out hi-gens? Would I get the Denver show I saw, or just somebody else's pick? Would I get screwed over for five tapes, or receive a lovely bonus?

This month, I asked a good friend of mine, Kyle Blomenkamp, to describe his experiences as a newbie tape trader. Over the past couple of months, Kyle has picked up some nice shows he has passed my way, including the Utah 'Dark Side of the Moon' (11-2-98?) and the excellent Sandstone show . Kyle's advice and outlook on getting started should give anyone interested in starting a tape collection a place to start.

As always, I will accept submissions for next months "Setting Levels" column. Email me with your ideas.

Take care, Pro

The Miracles of the Tape Trade
Kyle Blomenkamp

As Eddie from Empire Records once said, "Music is the glue that holds the world together." There is nothing quite as mystical and exhilarating as a live concert. Unfortunately, due to such trivial things as work, school, and responsibility, we can't all go to every single concert that we want to--well, most of us, anyway. And, even when we do go to a concert, we are only allowed to listen to the concert once, what with the time continuum and all. However, because of the wonderful joys of technology such as tape recorders, the Internet, email, telephone, and the government postal system, there is a way to enjoy many of these concerts, or at least the music that is a result of them. It is called the tape trade.

Many of the bands that we love to listen to so much (e.g. Phish, Grateful Dead, Dave Matthews, Blues Traveler, Allman Bros., to name just a few) allow(ed) their concerts to be taped, so that we might be able to capture a bit of the magic. The hardest part of participating in the tape trade is getting started. There are different ways to get started, some being a great deal more successful than others.

I have to admit, I was pretty lucky when I started trading. By the time I got interested, my friend Pro (the regular editor of this column) had already started, so I was able to glean my first tape from him. It was Phish 11/16/97, my first show. After that, the most helpful tool I had was a magical little newsgroup called rec.music.phish (rmp). There are other newsgroups for other bands and for trading in general, but this was the one I was most interested in. Amongst the bickering, flaming, and wondering, there is a thriving tape trade already in process on rmp. However, there is also a certain etiquette that goes along with the trade. More about this etiquette and how to be the most successful can be found on the FAQ at www.phish.net. It is best not to immediately post to the newsgroup. First, read the other posts for a couple of days, so you get a feel for the process. Don't pay attention to the people bitching about this or that. Very uncool. Instead, look for the posts that use the newsgroup for the proliferation of the music.

When starting a collection, you will be called a "newbie". It isn't derogatory, just a title to help other traders understand your situation. Everybody was a newbie at one time or another. You will probably have to do a blanks and postage trade, or B&P. You send the other person tapes, along with another envelope and postage for their return, and they will copy their tapes to yours (spin them) and send them back to you. To help speed you along, here are a few of the rules I go by when looking for tapes:

1. First and foremost, above all else, DO NOT GROVEL, WHIMPER, OR BEG FOR A SHOW. Put down the munchies and read this very carefully. DO NOT GROVEL. The kindest people who will get you the best tapes pay absolutely no attention to groveling. They are happy that you are looking for your first show, or for a birthday show, or for a gift for a friend, but as soon as they see the words "please, please, please" or "you will be the greatest person in the world" they move on without another thought. Instead, if you look, you will find people offering to do B&Ps, in exchange for an interesting concert story, or some similar thing. Groveling will only get you hate mail.

2. Follow the guidelines of the trader. Everybody has their own rules when taping for others. Usually, they use only Maxell XLII or XLIIs tapes when trading. They don't usually send tape cases, as that costs unnecessary postage. By following their guidelines, you are more likely to get your tapes in better quality and more quickly.

3. Allow ample time for the trader to get your tapes spun. I see some people on rmp complaining that it has been a week since they sent their tapes, and they haven't gotten them back. Everybody has a life (well, most everybody), so they can't always get to them the second they get them. If you have allowed three weeks or so, and you haven't heard anything from your trader, you might drop them a line, just to make sure that the tapes got there ok. Otherwise, don't worry. The good traders exponentially outnumber the bad ones, so you will get your tapes back.

4. Never, never, never pay cash or extra tapes to a trader. The real traders don' t want anything more than to spread the music. If someone says that he will spin your tapes for money, or for one extra blank tape, ignore him and move on. He is a traitor, not a trader.

5. Once you get the tapes, offer to spin them for somebody else. You are not the only newbie, and there are others wanting tapes as well. Spread the wealth. However, make sure to purchase a quality deck that produces quality dubs.

These are just a few of the ways to start a collection. Another way is to become a member of a tape tree. I don't know much about this, but the information can again be found at www.phish.net on the FAQ.

Once you have a small collection, you can move away from B&P to trading. This is where you send a copy of one of your shows to someone else for a copy of theirs. It is much less expensive, and a lot more fun, as you are helping to spread the music rather than just gleaning from everyone else. More details on trading will appear in a later column.

So, if you are interested in starting a collection, I strongly encourage it. You will be glad you did. In fact, to help you get started, I will do a blanks and postage deal to the first three people that email me at blomenkampk@platte.unk.edu. If you get a reply from me, then you are one of those three. If not, then pay attention to rmp to get another newbie deal. Also, if you would like to see my tapelist to trade or have any other questions, email me at the above address.

Good luck, and let the taping begin!!