The Afterhours Mystery

J Krajcik · Post by **J Krajcik** » 10 Jul 2007 23:28

According to WGO and Olivier's site, there seems to be plenty of shows recorded and released on the so-called Afterhours tapes. I know that's been up here before, but; What the f*** are these tapes? Can somebody please explain this to me cos I just don't get it. Sure, I bought some old VU-tapes way back (with stuff I couldn't find on any vinyl-boots), but they just seem to be like fifth gen copy of some other tape/source. You know, hardly playable. Are there really some original cassettes with complete, unreleased shows out there? And why can't that oldtimer in possession of these mythical tapes, just get the shit together and release them?

tarbaby2 · Post by **tarbaby2** » 11 Jul 2007 06:15

I totally agree with you and I've posted the same question elsewhere on this forum and gotten no real answer as to where all the Afterhours tapes are.

squirrelcage · Post by **squirrelcage** » 11 Jul 2007 17:18

there's really no mystery to the afters hours tapes. they have been in wide circulation for years, and in some cases might only be slightly better sounding than some of the recent remastered CD boots that have been made from them. these tapes are not in the possession of a lucky few people who are not releasing them. they're out there and they circulate all the time. if you have the '69 boston tea party shows for example, they're most likely sourced from the after hours tapes.

gordon · Post by **gordon** » 11 Jul 2007 19:28

squirrelcage is correct - there is no real "mystery" about the AH tapes and I dont think there is much on them which isn't available elsewhere.

The AH tapes themselves were compiled by some knowledgable folks back in the 1980s long before the days of CDrs and Dimeadozen etc. In those days, the AH tapes were pretty much the only way to hear rare live and studio VU. There were a few bootleg vinyl LPs but not many. There were also record fairs (in the UK anyway) where bootleg cassettes were sold but these often had more hiss than music (ferric oxide - yeuch!)

The VUAS used to sell the AH tapes for about $8 if I recall correctly, and at least they were on maxell CRO2 tapes so they did last. (I still have some from back then which still play just fine).

I'm sure that there is a complete list of the AH tapes somewhere - isn't there one on Olivier's site?

bobbldr · Post by **bobbldr** » 12 Jul 2007 00:27

Well now, I was trading Velvets tapes back in the 70's / early 80's BEFORE the Afterhours Tapes were "created". I had low generation copies of nearly all of the complete shows. As I have mentioned in this forum previously, my ex wife destroyed all of my tapes and I have been trying to replace them recently. I have asked the Velvets community for assistance, to no avail. I had one promise which never materialized. It seems that the lucky owners of these tapes do not want to part with them. The early tape trader's spirit is certainly lacking these days. It truly is the beginning of a new age...

squirrelcage · Post by **squirrelcage** » 12 Jul 2007 06:52

I'm not saying uncirculated tapes don't exist, but the original question was about the After Hours tapes, which are very common.

I've been trading Velvets tapes for around 20 years, and can't recall anything I've ever had that I still don't see in circulation. What is it exactly that you're looking for?

I don't think the "trader's spirit" is gone, but I do think that a large number of old tapes have been lost, destroyed or damaged like yours were. That and the fact that not everyone is committed to trading tapes and cds for life are the reasons you can't find your super rare uncirculated recordings.

bobbldr · Post by **bobbldr** » 12 Jul 2007 07:08

I am not talking about "super rare uncirculated" tapes, but rather, tapes that have been circulated for some 30 years now. I agree that not everyone is committed to trading for life- I took a 20+ year hiatus and have recently attempted to get back into it to replace what I lost.<p> I guess that I got off track from the Afterhours tapes originally referred to. Sorry. But I do stand by my observation that the early trader's spirit is not what it was. But then, not much in life remains constant. Keep on rockin in the free world.

gordon · Post by **gordon** » 12 Jul 2007 09:33

hi Bobbldr - I must have missed your original post. Exactly what material is it you are loooking for?

bleach · Post by **bleach** » 13 Jul 2007 02:11

I seem to remember reading a list of the 'Afterhours' tapes and what each one contained and I didn't think there was anything on them that isn't in circulation presently. Alot of the Afterhours tapes had odd running orders and strange combinations of dates. But hey that was the wicky wacky world of 1980s cassette tape trading..They were a reasonable (cheap) source of new VU sounds when tracking down boot LPs was pretty tricky and had stupid prices.

One thing that always confused me about tape trading was the obsession about tape generations, great in theory but how could you be completely certain that 'Boston Tea Party 1969 etc etc' gig really was only 5 copies or whatever from the original source..

gordon · Post by **gordon** » 13 Jul 2007 14:31

hi Bleach I know exactly what you mean. In my case, I received what were claimed to be "4th generation" copy tapes from a guy who had a reasonably credible story as to where they had come from (as well as them being audibly better than any I had previously heard). On that basis I used to list them as "4th gen", but that is the only time I ever did that with VU material. With Lou solo material it was a bit easier - I either made the tapes myself or I got them from the person who did. I never listed something as "master" or whatever unless I was as sure as I could be that the info I was providing was accurate.

(FYI the guy who sent me the "4th gen" VU tapes also provided some interesting info about the "professor" hiding his reel to reel machine under his poncho etc etc. This sort of unrequested detail convinced me that the tapes were what they claimed to be - as well as the fact that he gave them to me for nothing. Some unscrupulous traders used to ask for big $$$$ if they thought that they had any material which was not in general circulation....)