Tamara Palmer
Contributor, Reviews
Tamara Palmer’s career as a professional DJ—as well as a freelance writer and editor for tech, music, travel and food publications—has been enjoyable for 30 years. She self-publishes California Eating, a website and small-batch print zine, and is also a cookbook ghostwriter, recipe developer, and author of a music book called Country Fried Soul: Adventures in Dirty South Hip-Hop (Backbeat Books, 2005).
Highlights
- Freelance writer specializing in creative and technical stories about music.
- Professional DJ experience includes gigs for Coachella Art Studios and Google conferences.
- Past byliner for: CNET, Wired, Bravo TV.
Experience
Tamara has been working as a freelance writer and editor since the early ’90, starting at a music magazine, and cherishes her current role as a music historian. Over the years, she has expanded that passion for music to write about DJing and audio subjects for tech publications such as Wired and Macworld before being invited to contribute to Popular Science. She has concurrently been a professional DJ—notable gigs include three years of performing at the Coachella Art Studios and for international Google conferences. Initially learning the craft of DJing on vinyl records and mixers that were always behind the technological times gave her a solid skill set to appreciate the conveniences that come with digital innovation.
Education
Tamara holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from University of California, Los Angeles. She currently studies the mechanics and artistry of DJing with private tutoring at the Beat Junkie Institute of Sound in Glendale, Calif.
Favorite weird science fact
Prior to the Industrial Revolution, biphasic sleep, or breaking a night’s rest into two segments, was a common practice that may deserve re-examination—at least at my house.
Notable Work
- Your creativity is the headliner with the best DJ software Popular Science
- The best recording software to save your thoughts and grow your audience Popular Science
- The best laptops for music production and DJing are here, right on cue Popular Science
- With a fresh spin on the 808, DJs become rhythm composers NPR
- iPod at 20: A complete timeline of Apple’s iconic music player Macworld