Epiphone fans will dig the latest issue of Tape Op magazine, one of the best reads for fans of what goes on behind-the-scenes in a recording studio. The quarterly magazine covers everything from 78 remasters to do-it-yourself home recordists who have broken through to the mainstream. The July/August issue features a great interview with producers Jack Douglas and Jay Messina who go over their many decades working together with Aerosmith and John Lennon.
Douglas recalls how Aerosmith cut their signature song "Walk This Way" without lyrics. "We could not come up with anything for it. We had the whole track done but no vocals whatsoever." A quick trip to see Gene Wilder and Marty Feldman in Young Frankenstein proved to be inspiring. "That was the biggest crack-up line for us [Marty Feldman-as Igor's signature line, 'Walk this Way.']. We went back in the studio, I put the track up and started walking around the control room like the hunchback saying 'Walk This Way' and Steven Tyler said 'That's it!'"
There's also a terrific conversation with Roger Bechirian whose credits include Squeeze,
Elvis Costello, and the Undertones. Check it out.