How This Journey Began
A year ago this month, the Aadam Jacobs Collection Project team began converting Aadam Jacobs’ audio recordings to digital formats and preparing them for public access. But the story actually started in 2019, shortly after WBEZ Chicago ran a feature and podcast on Aadam – the “Chicago taper guy.”
As audio archivists for the Live Music Archive on the Internet Archive (now 280,000 shows and growing), we immediately understood the value of a collection like Aadam’s. His recordings span more than three decades and capture everything from first-and-only performances by local bands to early sets from now (and then)-international acts like Nirvana, Hüsker Dü, Liz Phair, Phish, and many more. It was clear these tapes deserved preservation – and that they should be heard, not hidden away in a warehouse.
We reached out. So did others. Aadam took time to sort through the possibilities and weigh what he wanted for his collection. Every six months or so, we would check in to see where things stood. Finally, in fall 2024, I visited Aadam at his home in Chicago and left with the first 120 tapes.
The Challenge of 10,000+ Recordings
Once we had tapes in hand, the path ahead looked deceptively simple: convert the tapes, lightly master the audio, split it into tracks, and upload it for public listening.
Straightforward – if you’re dealing with a couple dozen tapes. But we were staring at more than 10,000, some with two or three or more separate sets on them.
Scaling the work became the central challenge. We did the math early: at 10 shows per day, this would be a 10-year project. We were committed, but we also knew sustaining a volunteer team for a decade wasn’t realistic. To finish within a more reasonable two- to three-year window, we’d need to process 25 – 30 shows per day – roughly 200 per week.
That meant building the equivalent of a production train… while it was already moving.
Building a Workflow That Could Scale
The process has evolved continuously. Today, no one person is responsible for taking a tape from raw format all the way to the Live Music Archive. Instead, we’ve structured the work into stages, each handled by different team members:
- Cataloging
Each tape is entered into our database and routed to the transfer team. - Transfer
Transfer specialists convert tapes to raw digital audio. - Prep & Metadata
Another group handles naming, dating, venue identification, transfer-equipment info, and splitting multi-show tapes. - Editing & Mastering
Editors select shows to master, track, and prepare for upload. - Final Review & Upload
A final reviewer checks everything and uploads the show to the Aadam Jacobs Collection on the Live Music Archive.
Then we do it again – 30,000 times.
The First Recordings Shared – Scruffy the Cat
The first box of DATs Aadam handed over was a true grab-bag of recordings. When he asked whether I wanted anything specific, I asked about Scruffy the Cat. As it turned out, he had sorted his entire collection alphabetically during the early pandemic, so he knew exactly where to find them.
I flew home to Massachusetts with 115 DATs and five Scruffy the Cat cassettes in my carry-on.
We started with Scruffy the Cat because I had a working cassette deck, but no DAT deck. Most of the team had never heard of Scruffy the Cat – a rockabilly-punk / cow-punk / roots-punk hybrid. Think Jason and the Scorchers, if they leaned more punk. The band started in Iowa, moved to Boston in the early ’80s, added banjo and keys, signed a record deal, and released four albums before breaking up in 1990.
One teammate messaged:
“Man, loving these guys! Never heard of them before… How did I not know about this band?”
Link to Scruffy the Cat recordings in the Aadam Jacobs Collection at the Live Music Archive.
That’s been a theme: the sheer joy of stumbling into something you didn’t know you needed.
For me, the Scruffy tapes triggered a rush of Boston-era memories – late-night shows, dark rooms, cheap beer underfoot, a band playing in the corner rather than on a stage. Even though the recordings were Chicago-based, the vibe came right back.
Follow Along: More Gems Ahead
You can follow the project on Facebook and Bluesky (Bluesky feed of new uploads here), where automated feeds announce each new upload. You’ll never miss when we upload that The Cure show from 1984 of their first visit to Chicago. And yes – the 1984 Cure show is coming soon.
Aadam shared this memory from that night:
“I won tickets on WNUR, but they were so late with the guest list that, if there was an opening band, I have no memory of seeing them. I found a spot on the terribly crowded floor slightly closer to the left stacks, maybe the equivalent of 12 rows back…
“The better story is missing their 1985 show because I was seeing Philip Glass, but I had to be at The Cure when it ended to flyer for a late 10,000 Maniacs show at the Vic. Natalie Merchant helped. I reminded her of this about 20 years ago after a Wilco show.”
What We’ve Achieved So Far
Before we uploaded even a single file, we knew these recordings would spark memories, conversations, and connections. And they have.
In the project’s first year, we’ve:
- Uploaded 1,500+ shows
- Seen 133,000+ streams or downloads
Yes, at that pace it would take 15–20 years to finish. But the team is finding its rhythm, and the coming year should be even more productive.
Want to Help? Here’s How
If you’re a taper – or simply someone with experience or interest in:
- transferring 2-channel live recordings (either DAT or Cassette)
- editing or mastering 2-channel live recordings
- helping with setlists, metadata, or database work
…we’d love to hear from you.
Email us at [email protected].
Transfers currently take place in Chicago, Cleveland, Palo Alto, Charleston (SC), and Wilmington (NC). Editors span Vancouver, the UK, the Netherlands, and dozens of U.S. cities.
Our goals for next year:
Reach 8,000 uploaded shows and one million visitors.
With help, we’ll get there.