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Stephan D.
aka
S.D.
Years
Active:
1993-1997
Tool-Taping Career Highlights:
*
09.28.1993
-
Nantes, France @
L'escall
*
03.18.1994 -
Strasbourg,
France @ La Laiterie
*
02.14.1997 -
Paris, France @ Elysee Mondaytmatre
Notes:
This
particular taper has "the touch". He somehow managed to turn a simple
set-up of Aiwa CM-30>DAT into some of the most concrete, clear &
pristine sources of the Undertow-era. In September/October of 1993 he
travelled extensively throughout France following the RATM/Tool tour;
taping each performance. Had he not taped the shows he did the
overwhelming majority of those dates would never have been covered; he
taped a significant swath of that particular leg of touring. This was when
Tool did not have the rabid following that they later developed. That
said, I must think that this taper had a sense of what he was pulling,
recording-wise. Maybe he did not have the conscious thought of "people may
really value these recordings of Tool from a historical paradigm" but that
is what has happened, actually. There is not a 'bad' or 'poor' recording
in the bunch! Mighty impressive. In 1997, this taper pulled what is widely
considered to be virtually a flawless recording: 2/14/1997. He stood
in a special-spot at the Elysee Montmartre and managed to capture the raw
emotion, the clarity of the speakers & an exceptionally powerful
performance of Tool. This recording still, to this day, just packs a punch
- enough to rattle your cerebral cortex as you, literally, can almost
smell the venue when you rock out to this source. It is absolutely a
beautiful recording. From what I know, this was the last time this taper
recorded a Tool show. Apparently, he took issue with the vehemence and
hypocritical nature of Tool's militant anti-taping policy & just said
something to the effect of "foutre le camp, Tool". |
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Billy T. / Twister
Years Active:
2001-Current
Tool-Taping Career Highlights:
*
08.03.2001 -
Denver, CO, USA @ Red
Rocks Amphitheatre
*
11.18.2002
-
Albuquerque, NM, USA @ Tingley Coliseum
*
05.10.2006 -
Denver, CO, USA @ Temple Buell
Theatre
Notes:
Twister has managed to pull some of the best audience recordings of
Tool, ever. The skill set he has in regards to pulling just amazing,
concise & clear recordings definitely place him as a legend. Although
arguably not a prolific Tool taper, per se, he has pushed the envelope
of taping with his uncanny ability to think-outside-of-the-box, problem
solve & create recordings that are less a random audience recording and
more an accurate capture of a moment in time. He is able to consistently
do this, mind you, and the high quality recordings go far beyond the
realm of Tool having culled from years + years of experience, but I
digress, we are focused on Tool-only for this purpose. Some may say I am
a little biased regarding this particular taper having known him,
somewhat, over the span of years. About 5 years ago, I received a
package from Twister with DAT-1 clones of every Tool show he had pulled
up to that point; this was an incredible gesture of kindness that has
led to hours and hours and hours of me enjoying the fruits of his
labors. He has released pretty much everything concerning Tool he has
pulled so, thankfully, his recordings are not hard to come by (if you
use your noodle a little bit that is). This taper has the elusive
'touch'. Not sure how to describe it other than that. If you've heard
his recordings I am sure you agree that he has earned his rightful spot
as a legend. |
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Steve H.
aka
Ballsdeep
Years
Active:
1993-1999
Tool-Taping Career Highlights:
*
06.23.1993 -
Mountain View,
CA, USA @ Shoreline Amphitheatre
*
12.17.1996
-
Las Vegas, NV, USA @ The Huntridge
*
10.10.1999 -
Indio, CA, USA @
Empire Polo Field, Coachella Festival
Notes:
This
particular taper has been involved with the Tool scene as a taper, so to
speak, so long and recorded them back in '93 that he could probably change
his name to OGT and people would respect that. As it is, the recordings he
pulled may have some warts on them but somehow he managed to capture some
fantastic moments in time. And, this may sound odd, but his recordings
have just a fun feel to them. His 1993 source was among one of the first
live recordings of Tool that cu.org had actually heard in it's entirety
after trading for it with someone I found via the Goldmine (remember that
one, folks... that's before bit-torrent!?! That was one of the things
that kind of got me going with live Tool recordings. One of my favorite
recordings is the 1996 Huntridge performance; I find it to be almost
breath-taking after each + every listen. The 1999 Coachella source is just
phenomenal. All this with a taper who only used analog, found digital to
be soul-less & who continues to reside in Alaska. Hagar was/is more
than just a taper of Tool; he also was one hell of a collector. He amassed
some extremely rare (i.e.: the only way cu.org heard about some of the
things he found were from him) items. Thus, for the tapes he made and the
devoted + methodical manner in which he went about collecting &
trading in the early days of this hobby, I would argue that most would
agree places him in some form of a legend status. Not enough reason? His
very actions and interest in the hobby made it possible for other people
to tape Tool and thus by default he had his hand in the proliferation of
more recordings. A few things spring to mind; Salt Lake City 1996 &
Chicago 1996 - Hagar sent his microphones to the tapers of aforementioned
shows. Not bad. And finally, DP, also from Alaska and a friend of his,
went on a road trip in Sept 2002-October 2002 & hit virtually all of
the early dates of the final Lateralus-era leg including venues in Canada
that were hundreds and hundreds of miles apart... DP used Hagar's
equipment. Nice one. |
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"Knobby"
(Sound
Engineer)
Years Active: 2001-Current
Tool-Taping Career Highlights:
*
"all"
Notes:
If we are
talking about legendary Tool tapers then Knobby, Tool's sound-engineer,
would have to be included. Not only is he very pleasant to people/fans even
when they ask him inane questions at inopportune times as he attempts to do
his job but you can tell he loves what he does (and is excellent at it).
Working night after night at the controls, Knobby is able to get Tool to
sound as they do live with what appears to be ease, skill and confidence.
And, I believe, he records the performances as well. Several times over tour
legs & albums I noticed that there have been different recorders by the
controls. An iPod for the pre/post shows. A beer to wet the soul a bit. And
a recorder. Just think about all of the shows he has been at the helm for.
Wow. Even if just a fraction of those were recorded, which I'm sure all
were, that is a significant and legendary amount. Myself, I've spoken to him
several times throughout the years (of course never as a taper or in
relation to cu.org) and he has even given out several set lists which was
very nice. As it is, even if Knobby was not a taper, that does not change a
thing. His work has been consistently outstanding - particularly when you
factor in the dynamics of certain members of Tool. One wonders if he is
something like the 5th member of Tool - nah - he seems much to sane for
that. Next time you see him at a Tool show; thank him for what he does, buy
him a beer & be respectful as you just talked with a legend. |
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"Unknown"
(Sound Engineer)
Years Active:
1991-1993
Tool-Taping Career Highlights:
*
09.05.1991 - Los Angeles,
CA, USA @
The Jello Loft (SBD)
*
02.12.1993 - Munich,
Germany @ Terminal 1 (SBD)
*
06.23.1993
-
Mountain
View, CA, USA @ Shoreline Amphitheatre
(lollapalooza)
(SBD)
Notes:
Even
with all manner of random factors that came ogether including but not
limited to luck, dedication, OCD, The Goldmine, primitive Internet use &
someone spinning cassette clones (some DAT) of Tool sound board recordings
from the early days of the bands existence one still must go back to the
source; the sound engineer. It is unknown how many Tool shows were recorded
on sound board from 1991-1993 but we can take an educated guess & think
potentially all of them. Or a vast majority of them were recorded. I say
this because, simply, for there to be this many SBD recordings from this era
that are somewhat available then there simply must be more that are out
there. Over the years, cu.org has heard of several more boards listed here,
however, all of those leads ended up being false positives that were simple
speculation without any substance. Which is too bad. All this being said,
the mystery around it is rather interesting to me, at least. The sound
engineer (whose name is known but not for this forum) and his recordings are
things of legend. The mystique around the sound board "set" as it were only
adds to the status of this integral figure in early Tool recordings... high
quality recordings. Perhaps this is the ultimate 'early' Tool taper? I would
think so. |
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"Franck
B."
aka
FBZ
Years Active:
1997-Current
Tool-Taping Career Highlights:
*
06.05.2001
-
Paris, France @ Le Zenith
*
05.10.2002
-
Paris, France @ Olympia Theatre
*
06.28.2006 -
Paris, France @ Le Zenith
Notes:
Franck is one of those tapers who just has the 'touch'. The talent that he
has for pulling amazing recordings of Tool is without a doubt extremely
impressive. I have yet to hear a poor recording from him as his
understanding of placement, position & technique in regards to recording
this band is evidence of the particular skill-set he possesses. FBZ has
taped more than the sources listed above (including an alternate version of
2/14/1997 which was distorted so he taped over it) but those just happen to
be my favorites. Now, I am biased because we are friends and have been for a
very long time. In fact in July 2009, my wife + I met up with the Bazille's
(and their wonderful children) in Paris for a day/night of riding the Seine,
sharing dinner and walking around by Notre Dame. That said, this man can and
does pull off some of the cleanest + sharpest recordings you can imagine.
Some people have speculated that he actually managed or manages to somehow
get a SBD patch & do a matrix. Although that is not the case it is a
testament to how good his stuff is and how legendary of a taper he is. In
fact, he is a légendaire inclinaison de l'outil... ;o) |
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Duncan
Years Active:
1994-2006
Tool-Taping Career Highlights:
*
07.21.1994 -
London, Empire, England @ Shepherd's
Bush
*
03.27.1998
-
Los Angeles, CA, USA @ The Palladium
*
05.12.2002
-
London, England @ Brixton Academy
Notes:
Although much
of the earlier recordings this taper pulled may not be technically
superior to other recordings from the same era, Duncan pushed his
equipment to the max. For those that may not know, up until 2001 he was
using an old-school Sony built-in microphone cassette recorder! Yeah,
imagine that. Surprisingly though the majority of his recordings are
really pretty good & are fun to listen to. In particular, Duncan's
source for the 7/21/1994 London, England recording is just a wonderful
capture of a phenomenal performance. I still don't think it should sound
as good as it does but somehow he consistently managed to finesse his gear
to pull tapes that turned into things of legend. In 1998, he actually flew
from the UK to the USA and hit each of the 4-date mini-tour performances
that Tool did in March of that year. And those recordings have withstood
the test of time, at least for me, I still pop one on of those 4 sources
on, occasionally. In 2001/2002, he hit every UK performance as well as
those in other countries such as France & Luxembourg. The Lateralus-era performances, recorded on CSB>MD, somehow just have a
vibrant, clean & detailed sound to them. Each source; there's not a
poor one in the bunch. Apparently in 2007 he sold his tickets as he became
a bit irritated by the static set lists that Tool was pulling off each
& every night. So, is this all we will hear from this prolific taper?
I don't think so - think there are some more to come, at some point. At
least I hope so. |
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Rawson
Years Active:
1997-Current
Tool-Taping Career Highlights:
*
07.08.1998
-
Lewiston, ME, USA @
Central Maine Civic Center
*
10.24.2002
- Binghamton, NY, USA @ Broome County
Arena
*
06.09.2007 - Atlantic City, NJ, USA @ Boardwalk Hotel
Notes:
I don't really have
too much to say about this Tool filmer but one word, incredible, does comes to mind. If
one were to look at his career as a whole it would appear that he has not
been caught by Tool or venue security at a show. Now, he's not using
little microphones & a small concealable recorder of some kind but a
quasi-large video camera that is extremely visible. That takes a certain
amount of skills, insanity and sheer balls - I really don't think most
people could even pull off Tool films that could stand on their own, next
to his large catalog of material. Throughout the years, Rawson's skills
only improved from the distorted audio + shaky camera angles from the 90's
to extremely slick, clean and professional recordings that he is capable
of pulling off. Not only are prolific filmers of Tool rare, I can think of
only a filmer named Pr1ck that is even in the same league with Rawson, but
to do it correctly is extremely difficult. But Rawson makes it look
effortless. |
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CatalystX
(audio)
Cesaro
(video)
Tool-Taping Career Highlights:
*
10.10.1999
-
Indio, CA, USA @ Empire Polo
Field, Coachella Festival (DAT) (Source A)
*
10.10.1999 -
Indio, CA, USA @ Empire Polo
Field, Coachella Festival (DVD) (Source E)
Notes:
The
tapers listed above, Cesaro & CatalystX both have a few other very good
Tool-related things underneath their belt, however, the reason they are
listed here is for their superb captures of the only performance from 1999;
The Coachella Festival. CatalysX's audio recording is one of the most
widespread live recordings of Tool (ever). Also, the audio quality is superb
but is also crisp, clean & is close-to flawless as can be. The film by
Cesaro, also one of if not the most widespread recording/video of Tool, is
just well above the vast majority of the other videos out there. And a lot
of this has to go to Tool and the unique, one-time-only setlist that they
performed so effortlessly and with such beauty mixed with blinding fury.
Thus due to the overall availability of their respective recordings, the
combined high quality and the performance; we have the making of a legendary
capture. |
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Smagmapig
Years Active:
2001-Current
(unverified)
Tool-Taping Career Highlights:
*
09.13.2001
-
Grand Rapids, MI, USA @ Van
Andel Arena
*
10.23.2002
-
Toledo, OH, USA @ Sports Arena
*
11.24.2002
-
Long Beach, CA, USA @ Long
Beach Arena
Notes:
This taper
is not only a very pleasant, easy going individual but is also just a
maestro when it comes to recording Tool (although he has covered a plethora
of bands as well). Although starting late in the taping-scene for Tool
starting with the Lateralus-era this taper pulled without a doubt the best
source for what I, personally, consider to be one of the most interesting
Tool show's that I myself have seen: 9/13/2001 (original date was 9/11). For
the 2002 tour, he traversed North America, arguably, rather extensively
during the second & third legs. If there is a bad tape that's done that
would be kind of a shock to me... CSB>M1/oade mod II @ 48khz. That classic
set-up yielded him superb results; results that are for the most part way
better than recordings from the 2006, 2007 & 2009 tours. It is unclear
whether or not he taped Tool since 2006. |
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<>
Years Active:
N/A
Tool-Taping Career Highlights:
* Unknown -
possible 2006 recordings, Europe
Notes:
Content removed per request. |
