Are there any Archivists among us

[boxoboom]

I have always been interested in audio gear. Recording gear especially. For the last 30+ years I have ventured out to record local bands .. events .. vacations .. etc. Never charging anything, always pushing my equipment and me to capture the moment. Most of times I didn't have the best equipment, but I made do .. Some of the tapes really sucked and some of them are real treasures. But all of it is audio history. Is there any one else out there that does this .. or am I the lone stranger ? :scratch2:

One of the reasons I ask is I have recently come across three 7inch tapes of a local radio show from 1953. These are performances of a local band on a saturday night live radio show, complete with some commercials. I am converting these to digital and wondered if any one else have old recordings or have done live recording ?

Just wondering and listening

Steve

 

[hakaplan]

There's a whole hobby surrounding the practice of recording radio broadcasts (Airchecks) and then trading them with others. Many of the recordings were originally done on tape, but these days people simply trade cassettes.

When I was young I taped programs and music off the radio. I had no money so I used a cheap tape recorder with a microphone from the clock radio in my bedroom. And of course I used the cheapest cassettes I could find. I am gradually transplanting the tapes into new cassette bodies and will eventually transfer everything to CD. Needless to say the quality is terrible, but I have captured moments in time that can never be relived.

 

[Jim Clark]

Bootlegging is a huge hobby. I have hundreds and hundreds of shows that some very gifted tapers were able to capture. Often times with the sanction of the band, sometimes stealthly. Great tapers are heroes in my book. There are many bootlegging sites, some with their own forums dedicated to the archivist and the quest for the perfect capture. My favorites can be tough to get into but persistence usually pays off. "Dime" in particular is tough to register for, but it's worth the effort, it is primarily an archive however

Some of my favorites:
http://www.thetradersden.org/
http://www.purelivegigs.com/forums/
http://www.dimeadozen.org/

There are hundreds more, some band specific. Usenet groups abound. Most have rules against charging money, so you're on the right road there, and the best sites prohibit anything MP3 related.

My goal is to gain the secret to access indietorrents.com so if anyone has any invites to pass out I would be in your debt!

jc

 

[boxoboom]

Well I really wasn't talking about bootleg trading or recording broadcasts .. I know a lot of people do. I do have some of both. But more local orginal music within your own communities. Those who will never make it big .. but exist in your community or surrounding area .. For instance we have a couple of bands that have been around here in kalamazoo for the last 30 + years .. While they don't play everyweekend anymore they do play once twice a year. I have tapes of them and a lot of other local music happenings.