The interviews with The Make-Up, Blonde Redhead, The Spinanes, Jonathan Richman, Versus, The Swirlies, and Butterglory are all from when Dan was living in North Carolina in 1995 and 1996.
The rest are current.
questions
If you were making a mix of disturbing songs, what would you put on it?
If you had to pick one song to start every mix, what would it be?
How do you title your mixes? Favorite title?
Cover art? Process?
Process?
Richard (Versus) - What really gets me is to give them a blank tape and a sheet of paper with all the songs.
Fontaine (Versus) - Maybe just black. I don’t draw pictures or anything.
Steve (The Make-Up) - Something simple, nothing too elaborate or artsy. Tapes are ephemeral. Cut out stuff- ready made.
Debby (Butterglory) - Rip things out of magazines or other interesting photos.
Adam (Adult) - Simple Helvetica Text. The process is very long for me, and I wish I had more free time, because I love making them, but I'm so methodical that they take forever.
Skippy (March) - I try to keep as many old Life magazines around the house for this very purpose. The process can range from simple text on an old C-60 cassette insert to an intricate "Amelie" style of handwriting the titles and soaking it in wine and blow drying the paper.
Mark Mallman - Porn and coupons. Porn and coupons. Porn and coupons.
Calvin (Dub Narcotic) - The cover art is usually a postcard from the archives, often a Stella Marrs design.
Bob (Shellac) -
Never thought about it...maybe a handwritten list of the bands and song-titles?
Jason (The Bronx) - Usually I put all the music I want to be hearing onto my computer and make myself something to listen to on the subway. I tend to edit out the songs I skip over, and add that special something for that special someone, if so inclined. Or the just fucking go for broke approach works well. Note to readers: I would also like to receive a mix comprised completely of GNR covers please, (you can never have too much metal, right?)
Jamie (Leka) - These days, I prefer a single image over the collage effect although there's no shortage of amusing pictures and images to take out of context. Even better is to create something original that's not cut and pasted. That said, my artistic impulses often abandon me at crucial times so it's usually left to random chance.
Rishi (Space Mitten) - Half-Assed
Jen (All Girl Summer Fun Band) - Usually clip art from old magazines
Tim (The Sames) - A spur of the moment decision.
Sam (Pacific Stereo) - A hastily scribbled title on the blank tape cover. Usually I smudge the ink.
Jack (The National Trust) - I like the cut-and-paste style, personally. I'd rather make a collage than design something on a computer (though I like to receive tapes with snazzy photoshop covers).
Chris M. (The Hecklers) - Used to be into cut and paste disparate images
followed by the Xerox machine to blend. Used one NY Underground Film Guide
for a bunch. Usually pretty crappy looking. A lot of bondage imagery from
this 40's bondage magazine that my friend at work at the time let me xerox
a bunch of pages.
Jeremy (Arctic Skies) - Again, the digital age has resulted in less of a hands-on method. I used to rubber cement collages and such for tapes but now at work while I burn the mixes I scan google for extra large pictures that I copy and paste into Microsoft Publisher, size them properly, then print them out double sided on my color printer. It's pretty boring but they look nice.
Dan (Crispus Attucks) - Glue sticks progressed to rubber cement progressed to computers. I can be lazy. I’m not very good with scissors and I don’t trust paper cutters. Don’t trust them at all. Favorite cover I’ve made is a picture of Josh Granger in front of Kline’s Dairy Bar in Harrisonburg, Va holding two ice cream cones. However, I’ve cut out the head of Jack Watson from another picture and put his head on one of the cones. Perfect.
