Copper


The Winter of Our Disc Content

Issue 57Opening Salvo

Welcome to Copper #57! One last gasp of winter's wrath in Chicago, combined with Anne E. Johnson's mention of misheard lyrics elsewhere in this issue, led me to the title above. I hope that...

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Show Report: Axpona 2018

Issue 57FEATURED

Normally, I’d think twice about visiting Chicago in April—winter has a way of ignoring the calendar around Lake Michigan, and those April showers are often white and fluffy. The lure...

The Engagement

Issue 57MUSIC'AL NOTES

“Goodbye” I said with a smile as I stepped over the two bodies twitching on the ground. Many years ago I almost married the absolutely wrong person. We had met...

Mix A vs. Mix B

Issue 57MUSIC AUDIO AND OTHER ILLNESSES

In the dark, dim past, on a dark and stormy night, Bill Bottrell would rant to anyone who would listen (usually just me) about Mix A and Mix B. As...

The Sea and Cake

Issue 57AND INDIE FOR ALL

Misheard lyrics are an age-old, unavoidable problem in rock music (and the inspiration for some great YouTube satires), but one band took advantage of the phenomenon. While listening to fellow...

Guitar Influences, Part 1: Mike Bloomfield

Issue 57TWISTED SYSTEMS

I have been asked on several occasions to write about the guitar players who have had the greatest influences on me. While I have talked about this short list in...

So Far, So Good

Issue 57TOO MUCH TCHAIKOVSKY

That’s a punch line! It belongs to the joke about a guy who falls off a ten-story building. As he passes the sixth floor, someone calls out to him from...

More Stuff About Old Stuff

Issue 57VINTAGE WHINE

Within the span of a couple weeks, I went from a vintage equipment show, Vintage Voltage, to Axpona, a show with a ton of brand-new gear where the only vintage items were...

Made By Hand

Issue 57THE AUDIO CYNIC

As a late Boomer (as well as a late bloomer) I’m clearly a child of the industrial era. Perhaps because of that, I have an inordinate appreciation for those who...

Rikki Farr, Part 2

Issue 57THE COPPER INTERVIEW

[Part 1 of Dan Schwartz’s conversation with Rikki Farr appeared in Copper #56. As we concluded Part 1, Rikki was running for his life from Germany and ” I got out and met...

Roll Over, Beethoven

Issue 57QUIBBLES AND BITS

If you were a professional orchestra conductor – or even a professional orchestra – it would behoove you to take steps wherever appropriate to promote the public perception of your...