K.D. Schmitz
I can’t remember what my first actual trades were. I had been recording my own music at home for quite awhile, but been keeping it to myself, completely unaware that any kind of home recording network existed. Sometime in 1988, I stumbled across Ivan Stang’s book High Weirdness by Mail and from there to the world of zine trading and in particular FactSheet Five. From there I discovered GAJOOB. I was delighted to enter a world of people doing their own art. I created my first zine (a comic called Karkus Ratus) and began enthusiastic zine trading. I was a bit hesitant to actually attempt tape trading, but eagerly shelled out cash for various tapes. I think the first tape I received in the mail may have been something by Triptic of a Pastel Fern. Honestly, I haven’t listened to it in a very long time, but I remember playing it over and over. My main memory of the various tapes I received in that time frame was how unlike anything else they sounded. It gave me great hope for the future.
Like many home tapers, Karl “KD” Schmitz, was a multi tasking artist operating on many levels at once. His own music was filled with soul searching lyrics and memorable melodies imbued with his high tenor, early Pete Townshend, voice. He also drew fun graphic images that not only adorned his cassette covers but also his autobiographical xeroxed journal called Ten Thousand Things ( below). To me, KD represented the true essence of home taping: making it personal and communicating directly.
Schmitz also delved into the experimental scene in some unusual ways. On the tape above he samples voices and toys ( from his daughter Kayla, who also had a tape out) and combines the music made with spoken word tapes from contributing artists.
