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STEALTH FIGHTER: The Art of Incognito Taping
by J. D. Edwards (August, 2000)

Chances are most avid music consumers have stumbled across live bootleg CD's while browsing in a local record store. Chances are that some of them have also plunked down the hefty thirty-dollar price tag for an inferior product. But how many audiophiles have ever pondered the origins of those pirate recordings? Well, many of the source masters come from resourceful individuals just like myself who smuggle equipment past security checks, wire our bodies with microphones and miniature cables and then sit painfully still for two or three hours on end.

For starters, I must clarify that I do not endorse the sale or purchase of bootleg CD's- simply the free exchange thereof. Actually much to my chagrin, I have periodically purchased those overpriced gemstones - only to be disappointed time and again with their inconsistent sound and misleading information. It is the single most important factor that drove me to stealth tape in the first place. However, there are numerous other variables involved.

Most importantly, there is the nature of live music itself. Good live music is spontaneous, unpredictable and has an intangible, electric energy supplied by its audience members. Live versions of songs often impart information about the song or songwriter that studio versions do not. For whom was the lyric written? What are the inside stories behind its inception? Talented singers inflect, emphasize, re-invent and give new perspective to a tune very time they perform it. And then, that rare surprise guest appearance can completely lift a song or band to new heights.

Additionally, there's the human element for us as listeners. Sometimes when the day of a long anticipated concert arrives, one could be extremely overtired, sick, embroiled in personal problems or just have had a long day or week at work. These and many other distractions (like the biological need to urinate or a rude, talkative neighbor) can cause even the most serious listener to miss the moment for which they attended the performance. And that's not to mention those pesky television attention spans that only allow many concertgoers to focus precisely the amount of time between commercial breaks. Besides, how many people have photographic memories and can reproduce every note of every show they've ever seen?

But I can sit back on a Sunday morning, pull a few tubes and delve into parts of the music that I may have missed the first time. Songs can assume new meanings played against the flicker of a campfire, the stars of a night sky or the hiss of a highway. Now, fans who live three thousand miles away and can not attend a performance can be right there in the room with the taper, hearing the person next to them wheeze, cough, talk or cheer at inappropriate times. No one can afford to attend every show, but with a network of fellow stealthers, the bases are covered. Admittedly, nothing replaces being present as the music is created, but audio taping is the only adequate substitute.

Sure, the potential for abuse of the technology is more tempting than ever; the prices of CD burners are plummeting, DAT mechanisms are affordable and accessible, microphones are easier to conceal and set lists and photographs can be downloaded off the Internet. The demand may not be overwhelming, but it will never subside. Everybody wants to hear as much as they can from their favorite band. Bootlegging has always been more prevalent overseas in Europe, undeniably because many European bands have such strict policies against taping. They've created the market. The argument is somewhat similar to the rationale behind the legalization of drugs or prostitution- give the customer what they want, and they will no longer resort to the black market's inflated prices and unregulated quality.

Nowadays, established bands could easily spread their music from a grassroots perspective- through newsletters and fanzines, where those interested could order live performances directly from the artists (who will still receive compensation.) CD's are dirt cheap to produce now; artists could limit the packaging and charge a base minimum price for a product that costs close to nothing to record and produce. They won't get rich, but they could safeguard their legacies, appease eager fans and nip bootlegging in the bud all in one fell swoop.

But, corporate moguls in the recording industry want no part of this. They don't see enough of a profit margin attached, no potential for top ten singles, MTV videos or "boy band" hysteria. And then there's the time factor involved in dealing with red tape and contractual conflicts. Only now some forty and fifty years later are fans just beginning to reap the recorded fortunes of Miles, Trane and Hendrix, long after the music has lost its immediacy and cultural context. Besides, if a major record label released a live recording, they would package it into a six CD box set with five other gold-plated digital re-masters of all the original studio recordings that any fan interested in an archive recording already owns.

Many members of that very industry view freelance catalogers such as myself as the greatest threat to the music business, common unethical criminals. But we're no more outlaws than those who violate oral sex statutes or tear the tags off of mattresses. The performers still receive retribution for that performance whether or not I record it. I pay my way and require no special services to perform my task, no extra space or special access. In fact, I continually support these artists through ticket sales and concert attendance as opposed to CD sales and radio requests. Who knows? Maybe I bring a few more fans out to shows because of something they heard on my tapes.

So musicians feel as if they deserve royalties for music that would have otherwise faded into obscurity without my resourcefulness? I'm the one who sacrifices, enduring stiffness and discomfort throughout the concert. I'm the one who risks public humiliation and/or prosecution. I'm the one who invests in expensive equipment for the posterity of their music. Hell, I should receive some compensation for my effort. But I am not in it for the money. I see myself as an archivist of the highest order, selflessly documenting many moments that would have never made it to a home stereo system. Sometimes, in my most Machiavellian imagination, I see myself as a music deity, "Musichrist," champion of the "do-it-yourself" aesthetic because I confer extended life to an entity otherwise doomed to perish with the final curtain- but a memory to those lucky few who paid attention.

Of course, I truly wish to support those struggling artists that I hold in high regard. But that's exactly why I return to these smoky, overcrowded nightclubs, theaters and amphitheaters, plunking down much of my meager income on increasingly exorbitant ticket prices. Are we supposed to feel sympathy for millionaires like Garth Brooks who whine and complain about the proliferation of duplication techniques? Does he really need another house or car or tax bracket? Do I not deserve to hear his music simply because I can not afford it? (Incidentally, I have never recorded Garth and probably never will. He 's just the most egregious example of good ol' American greed available.)

Actually, many American artists nowadays not only allow but also encourage the recording of their shows, and thankfully I don't have to stealth tape all that often. Thanks to the Grateful Dead for proving that bands can still succeed without being greedy. They understood that tapers have a directly symbiotic relationship with the music. We are not the enemies of the music itself, just the music business- that which profits from and exploits the sounds we hold sacred. These restrictive record labels that prohibit personal taping are the actual enemies of the music, hoarding recordings in a vault until the demand is high enough and prices prudent. Realistically, wouldn't most music lovers prefer to purchase music from major labels as opposed to bootleg sources because of the assurance of quality? Major labels are just not meeting the demand.

Artist's copyrights and royalties are a pervasive and thorny issue that will only get worse before, and if, it ever gets better- what with Internet music simulcasts and the current debate over Napster. The best thing concerned musicians can do is embrace audio documentation for promoting their fame- if not their fortunes. And if they must financially manipulate every aspect of their careers, then they should create websites where fans can pay them a small fee and trade with impunity. It's the least they could do for the ones who finance their mortgages. Otherwise, the unscrupulous among us will continue to be the ones to profit from the policies of zero tolerance.

So at the next concert, keep an eye open for the motionless statue a few seats away, wearing much more clothing than fashion or the elements dictate. And for Musichrist's sakes, please be quiet and courteous to the artist on stage, or you just may wind up documented for the ages as an immature adversary of artistic longevity.