So it turns out that I am friends with a relative of Mike Millard

[TheLastSpartan]

Alright, so I have a friend named Wren, and just recently the topic of Mike Millard came up when I was showing him some bootlegs. He mentioned the name, and then mentioned he believed they were somehow related. Well, he did some research and it turns out they are related! Distantly, and he is just some guy on his dads side no one really talked to. His granda (my friends grandma) attended his funeral. Thought this was interesting to share to you Zep heads!

[Strider]

It's a little unclear to me: is it your friend Wren that nobody talked to or Mike Millard?

One of my biggest regrets in life is that I didn't think to make the effort to track down Mike Millard and try to interview him. The same thing with Freezer and all the other old Led Zeppelin tapers...it would have made a fascinating book, I think.

[TheLastSpartan]

It's a little unclear to me: is it your friend Wren that nobody talked to or Mike Millard?

One of my biggest regrets in life is that I didn't think to make the effort to track down Mike Millard and try to interview him. The same thing with Freezer and all the other old Led Zeppelin tapers...it would have made a fascinating book, I think.

Mike.

[Glyn]

One of my biggest regrets in life is that I didn't think to make the effort to track down Mike Millard and try to interview him. The same thing with Freezer and all the other old Led Zeppelin tapers...it would have made a fascinating book, I think.

A Mike Millard/Freezer book would have been amazing. I would have loved to get to have a conversation with either of them. Concert memories or taping stories and techniques, even just general talk about music.

It's kinda cool finding a connection like that, even if it is a little distant.

[Melcórë]

[...] he is just some guy on his dads side no one really talked to.

This comment struck me as particularly sad. All the tidbits I've been able to pick up over the years have painted a rather pitiful (i.e. pity-full, able to be pitied) picture of Millard.

[TheLastSpartan]

This comment struck me as particularly sad. All the tidbits I've been able to pick up over the years have painted a rather pitiful (i.e. pity-full, able to be pitied) picture of Millard.

It is sad. I would give Mike all the time of day he desired if he was still around. He is a legend among Zeppelin community and has made his little name in rock history.

[Melcórë]

It is sad. I would give Mike all the time of day he desired if he was still around. He is a legend among Zeppelin community and has made his little name in rock history.

Indeed.

It does seem as though people like Millard (and to a much greater extent Freezer) could be their own worst enemies - being so involved in the trading/bootlegging community, they both seem to have become rather disillusioned, and definitely became wrapped up in all of the drama associated with it...

[Glyn]

From what I have read from people who spoke to Freezer, he seemed to be the nicest person to talk to outside of public message boards. He only had problems with the Zeppelin fans on the message boards. Probably because a lot of us are ungrateful "gimme gimme" download whores. Too bad that Mike Millard seemed to be reclusive, possibly suffering from depression, seemingly just left alone by the family. Some info and an interview about Mike Millard.

Mike "the Mike" Millard

One man who did probably more than anyone else, and whose efforts have left us with some superb sounding recordings, is the late Mike Millard, the taper behind the best sounding audience recordings of Led Zeppelin. Millard used a wheelchair for a recording prop. His taping equipment was a Nakamichi stereo cassette deck and AKG microphones. Various transfers from his masters were done over the years. Often the 1st generation copies would be slightly sabotaged by Millard. This was done by him to see who traded each version of his master. For example, low recording levels on the VHS copies or a few cuts here and there. Sadly Millard, during his depression, destroyed most of his masters, certainly all the Led Zeppelin ones. Tragically he committed suicide in 1990, but his family still own all the masters. The shows that he captured on tape and saved for posterity are among the best ever concerts Led Zeppelin performed. He recorded a number of other famous bands such as Pink Floyd, Yes, and the Rolling Stones.

This is from interview with someone who used to trade with Mike Millard between 1987-1990.

Q. What other bands did Mike record beside Led Zeppelin?

A. Tons. Pink Floyd in 1975, many Yes shows, Who shows, the Rolling Stones, & Jethro Tull. Basically everyone who came to the LA Forum in the years 1974-1980s, then occasionally taping after that, ie the Who in 1989, Plant in 1990, etc. He originally used a mono recorder in 1974, then got his portable Nakamichi tape recorder and AKG microphones in 1975 for the Zep shows.

Q. How was the tape intentionally messed up?

A. He would put a marking in a song somewhere like a volume fluctuation and then keep a log book of every copy he sent out and who's copy had what markings.

Q. Did he give tape covers to the bootleg companies?

A. Never, he hated boot companies. Every boot that was made was without his approval.

Q. Any idea how much he sold tapes for to the bootleggers?

A. He didn't. He never sold a tape, and certainly never intentionally gave one out to the boot companies. He blew a gasket when For Badgeholders Only came out.

Q. Was his wheelchair due to an illness or an injury?

A. As far as I know, it was a prop for taping.

Q. How old was he in 1977?

A. He was in his twenties in 1977.

Q. With whom did he go to concerts?

A. I am not sure on this one, I know he had a few "helpers"

Q. What was his goal in recording concerts?

A. Making the best quality recordings one could make. He was also very protective of his tapes, and any tape he traded out was marked in a secret way to identify that tape if it was put onto a bootleg. He also used Dolby B and played back with it off to boost the high end, but it also increased the hiss on many of his masters.

Q. How did he love music? What other ways did he show his love for music?

A. When he sent tapes out, he would decorate the cases with colours, labels, and Xeroxes of his ticket stubs.

Q. Did he ever meet any musicians?

A. No idea here, he was a little reclusive.

Q. Any other biographical information that would be OK to know: What education did he get?

A. He was living at home with his mother. He worked as a custodian at a high school (nothing glamorous here)

It's my understanding that his master tapes are now in the possession of his family.

Q. Do they intend ever to do anything with them other than keep them?

A. No, I had a friend who knew him very well, go to his mother after his death and try to help her organize them and pack them, but she would not let him into the room where they were. As far as I know, they are still in the room he was living in during the last years of his life.