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This month's "Setting Levels" essay offers a personal reflection on tape collevting . Future topics may include other technical, ethical or philisophical issues involving tape trading.Also, for some (slight) taping humor check out the "Mikey" comic strip over in the "Inaudible Hiss" section
Do you ever wonder what makes you tick? What is it that gets you from day to day? I' ve recently been plagued by a less than happy mood recently and have begun to ask myself what gets me from one day to the next. The answer I' ve come up with is music, in particular, live music.
I have worked in a record store for nearly 10years and, in turn, have an overwhelming CD & LP collection but I rarely listen to them, I listen to the live tapes I have been trading and taping for the last 6 years, instead. What is it about these tapes that I am drawn to? Sound quality is often much worse than the CDs I own by the particular artist but I will search my tape collection for something to listen to first. Until I started trading and taping DAT I had to deal with tape flips that I don't have to bother with when I listen to CDs. What is it about these tapes?
It's boils down to the intimacy of the moment. These tapes define a particular place in time, the ups and the downs. These shows exhibit musicians putting there heart and soul on the line for that audience. A live show is an exchange of ideas and emotions between each musician on the stage and the muscians with their audience. That is the magic, that is the attraction for me. The show allows me to share a particular kind of joy that can be expressed in few ways other than music, the wordless language.
Of course, it is often a hit or miss kind of thing. The musicians aren't always "on", the sound quality of the tape is sometimes distracting, the musicians and I might not always be on the same groove but I keep trying. I continue to collect these tapes in hopes of finding a moment of revelation or transcendence that has escaped me in the traditional ways. I listen with an open heart in an effort to be touched by that paticular note or phrase that will help to make my life more clear. I search for the sound, I search for the soul. I search for the ultimate essence of life.
I'll never forget one of the last times I saw the Dead (1Apr95, Memphis) when Bobby sang "Masterpiece". As many times as I had heard Dylan or the Dead do that song this time was a moment of transcendence, I felt something move very deep within my being. There was also the record release show that Gov't Mule did in Atlanta (27Feb98) when Derek Trucks "hit the note" during "I Shall Be Released" and there is that feeling I get (you know, the chill bumps!) everytime I hear Ben Harper do "I Will Rise". These moments are very special to me. It is at these moments that I feel a connection to the whole, I know that I am part of something much larger. They are moments of contact that are irreplaceable and unforgettable.
Although there are many more and I am sure many readers can name their own, below are some tapes to look out that exemplify what I am talking about.
Recent transcendental listening:
the Other Ones--17Jul98, St. Louis (St. Stephen>The Eleven>Lovelight) Zero--23Sep97, Indianapolis (Pits Of Thunder) Gov't Mule--26Mar98, Sta Cruz (Afro Blue>The Eleven, acoustic with Tim Reynolds) Derek Trucks Band--3Apr98, Lexington (Naima) Alejandro Escovedo--20Jun98, Nashville (acoustic part when he brings the band into the audience)
Jai (prounounced like the letter "J") Sanders is an audio archivist from Nashville, TN. He's convinced that live music is the link between the actual and the spiritual.
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