Ep020: Bootleg Records Special Part 2: Mike the Mic, Stephen Coates & X-Ray Audio
The Vinyl Guide - Artist Interviews for Record Collectors and Music Nerds
Nate Goyer
4.7 • 579 Ratings
🗓️ 18 February 2016
⏱️ 44 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In part 2 of our 2 part series on bootleg recordings, we tell the story of Mike Millard "Mike the Mic" who recorded hundreds of bands in the 70s in Los Angeles, including Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, The Who and many more, and then interview Mr Stephen Coates of the band "The Real Tuesday Weld" who just wrote a book titled "X-Ray Audio: The Strange Story of Soviet Music On The Bone". Fascinating book, you must hear what it was like for music fans behind the iron curtain during the cold war.
If you like records, just starting a collection or are an uber-nerd with a house-full of vinyl, this is the podcast for you. Nate Goyer is The Vinyl Guide and discusses all things music and record-related.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hey there, vinyl fans. Welcome to another episode of the Vinyl Guide podcast, the weekly podcast where we cover news, products, and general dialogue for fans and collectors of vinyl records. |
| 0:11.1 | This week, we are having a special double episode week, which is an exhausting effort that I probably won't be doing again anytime soon. |
| 0:18.3 | But the episodes are finished, and I'm very proud of them and I |
| 0:21.1 | hope you're enjoying them. In today's show, I'll continue the topic of bootleg records. Now, |
| 0:26.0 | last week we discussed the history and events that resulted in the very first widely available |
| 0:31.5 | bootleg, which is a series of unreleased Bob Dylan tracks in a collection called The Great White Wonder. |
| 0:36.8 | And today, I'll tell |
| 0:37.9 | the tale of a legendary bootlegger and the methods that he used to capture some of the best |
| 0:43.0 | rock concerts ever onto tape without permission of the bands or management. Also, I'll talk to |
| 0:49.1 | Mr. Stephen Coates, an author who just wrote a fascinating book on bootlegging and the various |
| 0:54.0 | methods used by music lovers in the Soviet Union to traffic songs during the Cold War. |
| 0:59.0 | The book he wrote is called X-ray Audio, the strange story of Soviet music on the bone. |
| 1:04.4 | And it's brilliant in so many ways. |
| 1:06.4 | I think you'll all enjoy this discussion and hopefully find yourself buying the book to learn more. |
| 1:14.6 | Okay, shall we continue with part two in this two-part series? Do you listen to and collect vinyl records? Well, you're in luck. Welcome to the Vinyl Guide, |
| 1:21.6 | the podcast made for record nerds like yourself. Here's your host, the biggest record nerd of them all, Nate Goyer. |
| 1:29.3 | In the previous episode of the Vinyl Guide, I shared the story of how bootleg records started |
| 1:34.2 | and how quickly they spread. Now, like any industry, once the idea was out there and it was |
| 1:40.1 | clear there was widespread acceptance, many imitators stepped in and tried to make similar products. |
| 1:45.9 | And while there are many noteworthy tales about concert bootleggers, I wanted to share one |
| 1:50.5 | particularly captivating tale of a bootleggar, Mike Millard, or using the nickname he earned, |
| 1:57.5 | Mike the Mike. |
... |
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