https://pleasemehavenoregrets.jux.com/674727

Interesting read

thanks for posting! i would love to shake this mans hand

fantastic interview. Website is kind of annoying to look at, here's the text:

Please Me Have No Regrets
An Interview with MKDevo
Nov 18, 2012

The Phish community has always been an especially tight knit one, necessitated by the fact that the band has always been on the raggedy-edge of the wider culture. Phish encouraged this initially with the Doniac Schvice, their idiosyncratic newsletter that was distributed 6 times a year in the 90's. eventually going to more than 100k subscribers. In order to keep the fire burning between tours, inform, delight and define their community as well as make announcements in a pre-web era, Phish had to take a lead role initially. But its fans have always have a big role in keeping the community bustling, consistently finding ways to improve the entire Phish experience.

Now that we are firmly ensconced in the Web 2.0 era, new tools, networks and protocols have emerged that are bringing this community together and providing services and features that only a decade ago would have seemed absurd.

Perhaps one of the clearest examples of this is on YouTube, where a search of "Phish" yields thousands of results from incredibly rare live performances dating from the early 90's to, more recently, complete Phish shows in Full HD. By far the most prolific videographer is MKDevo. youtube.com/user/mkdevo
Anyone who has spent anytime watching Phish videos on the web is familiar with his videos.

With more than 8,000 subscribers and over 7 MILLION views, MKDevo has, since 2009, documented dozens of Phish shows in their entirety. No one, least of all MKDevo, would claim that YouTube videos of Phish shows comes close to matching the intensity, feeling and overall experience of attending one. And yet, for tens of thousands of people, us included, MKDevo's videos enable us to come as close as possible to recreating that experience in both an audio and visual way, and maybe even a few others.

With this in mind we reached out to MKDevo to see if they would answer some of our questions but also as our version of a major Thank You!

MKDevo, thanks for agreeing to this interview! First things first, when did you start documenting concerts?

Hey, happy to be here! First show I ever documented was The Smashing Pumpkins in Hartford, CT, 11/1/96. I was a senior in high school and brought with me a little Panasonic handheld cassette recorder that my dad used as a "notepad" for bass ideas. At the time, I had no idea that DAT existed, and the concept of external microphones was completely foreign to me. It wasn't long after that that I got my first DAT recorder and was patching out of a taper's rig at my first Phish show (11/26/97).

What possessed you to start recording videos? Are you a filmmaker or a video professional in any way?

Not at all. For the longest time, I was audio-only and really had no interest in video whatsoever. I've always enjoyed (very) amateur photography. Sometime in 2007, I realized my Canon bridge camera took pretty decent video clips, and started shooting clips here and there at shows. An upgraded version to this camera line came out in December 2008 - that was the first in the series that shot HD video.

Of course, this was also shortly after Phish announced their return, and I already had my tickets. The first thought that entered my head when I heard about this camera was that the moment Phish hit the stage for the first time in almost 5 years, I needed to be capturing it. The rest is history.

t do you shoot with? And what about audio? Are you using a separate mic? Do you have assistants who come with you to shows?

Up until very recently, I didn't even own an actual video camera! I shot with that Canon bridge camera (SX1) from 12/08 until late 2011, switching to a Sony bridge camera right before the 2011 NYE run. Since then, I've started getting into multi-camera shooting, and have built up a small arsenal of 6 cameras now.

For audio, I always try and sync the video with an external source, whenever possible. I had a full audio taping rig from 1998 until 2009, when I sold it off because it just wasn't getting much use anymore. Earlier this year, I bought some mics and a recorder again so I can do everything myself and not have to rely on the hope of a separate audio recording surfacing for a show.

I know now that you are a fan of lots of bands including Pearl Jam and Radiohead among others, can you tell us a little more about your musical tastes?

They're kind of all over the place. I'm not your typical Phish/Dead/jamband guy (I actually don't really care for the Dead at all [:ducks:], though obviously respect them greatly).

I'm an early 90s alternative/grunge kid at heart, with a whole lot of classic rock (60s/70s) mixed in. Nowadays, it's a little bit of everything, and I think Phish has a lot to do with that. I feel like they introduced me to so much more music, and that's a wonderful thing.

All that said, John Frusciante is, hands down, my favorite musician of all-time.

Any newer bands that you have discovered we should be paying attention to? If so, why?

Dopapod - I haven't been this excited about a band in a really long time. They've got a fresh sound that's hard-hitting and just something that's right up my alley. All incredible musicians, and just a great bunch of guys.

Kung Fu - Another incredibly talented group of musicians - a couple whom I've known since grade school - who just work their instruments overtime on every song. An all-star band that sounds like they've been playing together a LOT longer than they have.

The Stepkids - Modern psychedelic groove music. Hard to believe that musicians are capable of coming up with this kind of sound in this day and age. Only place you'll hear anything similar these days is in a Tarantino movie.

The London Souls - Sort of the exact opposite of the last one, they're just very good rock and roll. Their songs are brief and to the point, but they get in your head and stay there.

[b]Does recording shows effect your enjoyment or connection to the show in anyway? How often are you actually looking through the lens or viewfinder?

Quite the opposite. If anything, it makes me enjoy the show more. I LOVE what I do. I love knowing that I'm going to be taking these moments home with me. I love that I get to share that with other people - that they get to relive THEIR moments too, or they get to live moments they couldn't live in person. And I love that they enjoy it. It's just a great feeling to be able to provide so many people with something that makes them happy.

At Phish shows, I'm conscious of the viewfinder, but I'm not constantly looking at it. Once I'm locked in, I can back off and wait until I know I want to zoom in or out at a certain part.

When you set-up do you ever get any pushback from people around you? What about security? Ever had your rig confiscated?

I've never had anyone around me complain. I always sit in the seat I have a ticket for, and all my gear remains in that one seat. I'm also on the shorter side, and the camera never goes over my head, so I'm not in anyone's way.

Thankfully there have been no run-ins with security to speak of (:knocks wood , but confiscation isn't an option. I would leave a show before handing my gear over to a stranger.

Do you make money from YouTube ads?

Not a dime. In order to make money from YouTube ads, one has to own 100% of the content on their channel. So in my case, the copyright holders of the music are the actual content owners.

Has anyone from the Phish organization ever contacted you about your project? If so do they object or approve?

I've never heard from anyone either way.

What kind of feedback do you get from viewers and the community at large? Any favorite comments or trolls to watch out for?

Overall I'd say it's overwhelmingly positive. Negative comments are few and far between, and are mostly directed at the band/performance moreso than the actual video. I tend to focus a lot more on the positive comments, because knowing that people are actually enjoying what I do really keeps me going.

It's always great to hear comments from people in other countries, who don't even have the option of going to see a show. But there was a recent comment on my 7/8 YEM video that has stuck with me for a while now:

"Thanks for all your work Mk, i can't make it to any concerts as i've been fighting cancer for 3 years now and you have provided me with this gift. You have no clue how much your concert coverage of phish/primus has helped me get through the hard times."

I can't possibly put into words how good it feels to be able to provide people with something that makes them happy like this. I don't really look at what I do as being a big deal, in and of itself. But this kind of feedback makes it a big deal, and like I said, keeps me going.

What's the best Phish show you've ever attended?

I'm going to have to take the easy way out here. Having been at Big Cypress, it's really hard for me to say anything else. But since my first show in November 1997 to today, I'm thrilled to have been in attendance for a LOT of great moments, and definitely looking forward to a lot more.

What are your thoughts on where Phish is right now? Were you able to catch any of Leg 2? Were you at DICKS? What do you expect for YEMSG?

I didn't do any of Summer leg 2, unfortunately, though I can be pretty certain when I say I won't make the mistake of missing another Dick's show!

I'm thrilled with Phish right now. I was really down on them after the breakup. Hated had happened to Trey and the band by the time it was over in 2004. I barely listened to any Phish in those 4+ years after Coventry. It just left a bad taste in my mouth and was really sad.

I still had that feeling when the reunion was announced. I didn't feel at all like I *had* to be there. I thought I'd try for tickets, I'd have no chance of getting them, and that would be it. I wasn't going to be bent out of shape about it, and I wasn't going to go out of my way to get there. I struck out on my one PTBM request, which was fully expected. When it was time for the public on-sale, I almost didn't even bother, because I thought it was pointless. But somehow I managed to get right in at 10am, and a couple minutes later, I was checking out with 2 3-day passes! My whole attitude changed at that moment. No question about it, I was psyched.

Any bad feelings still lingering immediately went away the second the lights went down in Hampton. I think it's just wonderful to have the band come back and not only redeem themselves for the way they went out, but to actually continue to grow as well. Sure, maybe the jams aren't what they used to be, and maybe the moments of greatness are fewer and farther between. But I'll take that from a happy and healthy Phish any day over the rapid decline we saw in the "2.0" era. I get a lot of joy when I zoom in on the band members and see them smiling. It's clear that they've been having a lot of fun playing with each other since they've come back, and that means a LOT to me as a fan.

As for the upcoming MSG run, the only thing I expect is that I will be in the one place I'd rather be more than anywhere else on those four nights. This will be my 7th NYE Phish run. Last year's run was a bit underwhelming for me after the 28th, but it didn't even matter. I was in the right place with the right people. This year will be no different.

Talk to us a little bit about the community of Tapers: Obviously we live an era of LivePhish, near instantaneous availability of soundboard recordings, FLAC and even the expanded use of HD Webcasts. How does this figure into what you do?

Ah, instant gratification... Well, it's motivation to work faster, that's for sure. I've always been a fan of getting my stuff out there quickly though. Way back when, I was in a group called People for a Clearer Phish (PCP). The group's goal was to circulate Phish shows on CD-R. For the 1998 NYE run, I started a tree (and as I'm typing that, I wonder if people even know what that is anymore) before the run started. I had blank CD-Rs from a bunch of people ready to burn, and right after the shows, I burned them and dropped them in the mail to the branches on the tree. This was about as fast as things got back then. Crazy how far we've come.

But yeah, I still try to get my recordings out there as quickly as possible. I'll typically come home from a Phish show and start working on it immediately. I'll go to bed a couple hours later, after the first song is done rendering and starts uploading, and I'll sleep in little chunks - setting my alarm for every 30 minutes or so when the next video is done rendering so I can queue it for upload. People are kind of used to that now, so I guess there's no turning back.

Oh, and I think the webcasts are great and everyone should support them. I've personally purchased every one of them for shows that I wasn't able to attend. Couch tour is a ton of fun.

If HD handheld cameras were available a generation ago, would Grateful Dead tapers simply have been recording live video?

I have no idea how to answer this.

There are less tapers today. We remember when one couldn't miss the unmistakable presence of the taper section, are we seeing the death of this incredible tradition? Or is it just evolving?

I'd say evolving. There are definitely less tapers at Phish shows, but there's also a lot of them that you don't necessarily see. I personally haven't been in a Phish tapers' section since 12/31/02. For me, a lot of the joy of recording was sharing it with others. That was sort of taken away once they started releasing every show. And that's fine - I think it's great that bands do this. Maybe that's why I fell in love with doing video so much - because it's something that's not readily available like the audio is and I'm once again sharing something that people don't have immediate access to.

Make no mistake though, there's still plenty of audio tapers out there. As long as microphones and recorders exist, tapers will be out there documenting the shows.

We see you as carrying on that proud legacy of documenting shows for posterity's sake and for the good of the community, how do you see what you are doing ultimately and what would you like it to lead to?

That's really how I see it as well. I'm an archivist. I don't think music should just be seen/heard once and forgotten. I know I want to be able to relive those moments, and I want the same for others. And like I said earlier, I also want people who weren't there to experience it to be able to.

I feel fortunate to have found a new hobby that I love in my adult life. It's something that I think I'm fairly decent at, and steadily improving. I've picked up a couple of paying multi-cam gigs so far, and I think that's awesome. I don't see myself ever being able to make a full-blown career out of it (that would be a dream come true), but it's nice to make a little money on the side doing something you love.

You can see all of MKDevo's videos on his YouTube channel youtube.com/user/mkdevo
or Follow him on Twitter twitter.com/mkdevo

Love that his first show is 11/26/97! The show that I got IT!

Thanks MK - you really really make my day brighter - checking your vids all the time

nice read

MK is the best. Really glad he's doing his thing.

I don't believe he's using auds. I'm fairly certain he's using soundboards or is tapped into the greatest auds of all time. Either way the band isn't complaining so keep it coming!

@mkdevo, as soon as im comfortable i will start buying you tickets to all the shows i go to. Look forward to your vids more than the free download from ptbm. Really appreciate what you do for this community

Awesome read...thanks for everything @mkdevo

Long overdue. My friends and I talk about "mkdevo" and his videos like we all grew up together.

Thanks for all you do.

@mkdevo - if you make yourself known at MSG, you will not buy a single beer. You saved my Friday night and many more to come! Hooked the computer up to the TV and can't get enough of this summer's tour from your vids! Thank you and, seriously, beers on me for the nye run!