Here at THE VINYL DISTRICTwe're good consumers. All Mp3's are posted to promote and give exposure to the music and are linked for a limited time. Please download to preview, then head promptly to your local vinyl vendor (or - OK, CD store too) and fork over your hard earned cash. You'll appreciate the piece of mind.
Got something you think we should be listening to or reading? thevinyldistrict (at) gmail.com
I admit that it's not so easy to come up with an angle for these contests each week. I mean, why bother making it difficult? We want to put tickets in your hands - we don't need you jumping through any hoops.
But this week, we kinda do.
The mighty Solar Powered Sun Destroyer plays the Rock and Roll Hotel Friday night (2/5) and we've got a pair of tickets to give away—along with a SPSD T-shirt, a CD Package, and some stickers for good measure.
But, as I mentioned, it's not going to be your typical call and response contest. The band's assembled five questions to inspire your entries in the comments section to this post. The smartest and perhaps the most accurate comment takes home the prizes.
The questions are:
1. All five members of Solar Powered Sun Destroyer have been associated with other bands and acts—name three of their other musical projects. 2. Every member of Solar Powered Sun Destroyer owns an LP from one particular band—which band? 3. There is a picture floating around of a member of SPSD wearing a Solar Powered Sun Destroyer shirt posing with a celebrity—who is the celebrity? 4.If Rambo owed you a big personal favor and would even take someone out for you—who would it be, and how would he do it? 5.Write a Haiku using the words Solar Powered Sun Destroyer in it.
You've got until Friday at noon to solve one or more of these head-scratchers. We're choosing our winner then and leave us some contact info!
We've been big fans of Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeroes since '40 Day Dream' made itself known to us last summer. But we tend to handle our records carefully by the sides to avoid fingerprints (and more.) Nora Kirkpatrick, ES&TMZ's accordion player, turns out to be a bit more...shall we say... free-wheeling:
"In college, my roommates and I, yet unwise to the immense value and pleasure of vinyl, would use our parent’s old records as plates for parties, or melt them in the oven to use as bowls. I kick myself every time I walk by my Neil Young “On the Beach” party bowl, which is great for chips, but not nearly as great as actually hearing the songs!
Although I have known about the best hidden record store in Los Angeles for a few years now, I didn’t own my own record player or have what could be considered a bonafide collection until two months ago. Now that I have finally seen the light, I am working very hard to retire every digital album I have and replace it with its vinyl counterpart. My first and best stop is Music Man Murray on Exposition Boulevard.
It has been run for decades by 87-year-old Murray Gershenz, a former opera singer turned character actor. (You may recognize him from The Hangover as the half-naked patient in the hospital scene.) Murray has about every album you could ever want, and about 10,000 you’ve never heard of, but should want anyway. Music Man Murray is an experience in and of itself, and if you are looking for rare or interesting records, I suggest giving his store a try.
When I am on the hunt for records I never knew I wanted, I often go to thrift stores such as St. Vincent’s downtown or Oasis thrift shop in Indio, California. I’ve gotten such gems as “The Baja Marimba Band’ (greatest hits, of course), Perry Como “So Smooth,” and some that I have come to cherish, such as “The Art of Charles Mingus,” Little Richard “Gospel” and “The Piano Music of Erik Satie.”
Our friend and regular contributor Kris returns with the first Alternative Ulcer of the new year—which arrives without any acid reflux for starters. —Ed.
Last Thursday night Iota hosted its second Haiti Relief Benefit. The line-up advertised was "The Torches with Adrian Hardkor, Wes Tucker, Alex the Red Parez, and more." Unfortunately the extensive trek across the Potomac caused me to miss the first two acts - Adrian Hardkor and Alex the Red Parez.
Those who managed to get to the show before me were able to hear both of the acoustic acts and said they enjoyed them. Both bands play tons of shows in the DC metro area so if you missed them on Thursday you can catch them again in the coming weeks.
Wes Tucker minus the Skillets, took the stage somewhere around 9, maybe a little later. While there were maybe 20 or so people in the room at this point, he and his acoustic guitar made a nice accompaniment to the friendly conversations dispersed throughout the room.
After Wes, the Torches's drummer, Thomas Orgren, played acoustic guitar for a bit on stage before they began their set around 10. The Torches have this gritty cowboy gypsy feel to them that I love so much but rarely hear in DC. The last time I saw the Torches was at the Red and the Black in December when they opened up for The Young Republic and A Sunny Day in Glasgow but they were without their drummer.
The show in December and the show on Thursday could really not have been more different. Ogren was once a guitarist in the Torches but has very recently taken up the challenge to step in as drummer though from the audience's point of view it was as if he'd been playing with them since the band's inception. December's show had been hot, like sweat-drop-down-my-balls hot, the sound quality hadn't been great, and although many of the same songs were played on Thursday as the December show, the pace of the band's former show was more mild.
Last Thursday's show was great—Iota has a really awesome sound guy and with a band that includes an oboe, a banjo and a harmonica it made all the difference. More people poured into Iota and many got off of their stools or stepped away from the wall to get closer to the stage. They played eight songs in all, including my favorites Mr. Vampire and Wish You Well. And I was definitely amped to hear them play Blood and Money because any song where a band can yell a lot with the audience happy to participate always leaves me wanting more.
The Torches lead singer Stephen tells me they have no shows currently booked so all you rad DC venues—get to bookin'!
Hats off to all the bands for playing quality music to help Haiti and making it worth the trip out of DC for the evening.
Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings will return with their new album 'I Learned The Hard Way' on April 6th and anticipation of the new release, Daptone Recordsis giving away the title track—free!
Although we happen to have the track for download below—an exclusive I might add—we want you to head over to Daptone anyway and leave your email address to join the mailing list.
Fans who follow on Twitter, Facebook, and on the mailing list will receive exclusive pre-sale information for show tickets including the record release party at The Apollo Theatre on April 30th. And you do want to be there.
I had a couple of emails yesterday inquiring about my Mom who some of you might recall has Alzheimer’s and moved to a nursing home last July.
If there’s an upside to the disease, it’s that it eventually steals your memory along with your desire to maintain connections with things or people with whom you’d normally miss when taken from your home and placed in a senior’s facility, for example.
So for my mother, there's no longing for her home, her belongings, her dog, her brother, ... or me. To know this woman all of my life as one who is just so particular and choosy with aesthetics entirely of her own making which had to be maintained with some expense—it’s the oddest thing to witness and get your head around.
I’m told however that when she’s asked by the nurses or aides at the nursing home if she needs anything, her response is often, “A good looking man,” so I know some synapses are still firing like they used to.
Along with her not missing much of anything, she’s not missing the piano above which I wrote about here last summer.
Her house has been sold and she and my late father’s possessions will all be boxed to move to storage for when I have a house of my own, but for the life of me I cannot figure out what to do with this 105 year old piano. I thought that to move it to the nursing home would be a grand karmic gesture as she can still play quite well, but they’re wary of housing it for a number of obvious reasons.
To know my mother is to understand just how important this instrument is to her and I’m unable to fathom selling it while she walks the earth – however slowly at this point.
I often wonder about this endeavor here online and think about all of this work and coordination just to go on and on daily about ...music. I mean, how frivolous. But like the cotton commercial jingle—it’s the fabric of our lives.
So, if anyone has any ideas about the piano, I’m all ears.
Our friend Brandon, one half of the dynamic DJ duo behind We Fought The Big One returns with our first Musique Non Pop of the new decade. —Ed.
Teepee - Morals (Sensei, 2009 LP only)
So much of modern criticism is skewed toward the comparative. It’s a lazy and sometimes thuggish situation geared more towards the display of the critic’s own hierophant-like knowledge of the modern record. But, besides being somewhat petty, this approach fails on at least two major levels.
First, the writerly one—which is that the product is unreadable (the English major in me gets more upset by this than most, probably.) But the other, more important failure is that it fails completely to capture the process, the craft and the spirit of the work it was intent on translating into the written word.
Thus the comparative review can only ever truly minimize by association that what it might want to lionize and really fucking miss the boat on what it’s like to struggle with something just to get it right. This, the best of the bands do, laboring long hours on a record, only to get Velvet Underground dropped in their laps by someone still living at Hotel Mom.
I have to admit to having come up short when trying to review the new album by Teepee, the alias of Miami’s own, Eric Lopez-Delgado. I haven’t been able to do it justice in any way. I toyed with a scissor kick off a Marshall stack while fist-pumping “it’s fucking awesome” approach—including rampaging through the thesaurus, picking out every juicy synonym for moody, rocking, opaque, blastular etc. I even thought of being the lazy shit and name-dropping a certain mid-eighties art-rock band from Illinois, but killed that immediately (See paragraph 1.)
I settled ultimately on the narrative. In this case, in the depth of the night, there came the realization. How can one write about sensibility? How can you properly capture, in words the thing that allows an artist to simply know how long the cues between songs should be and just what order those songs should be in? And how those songs should be so haunting way beyond the coolness you feel about owning a labor of love record by someone obviously without an ounce of rock star cynicism?
I should shut up now and let you listen to the song. But allow me to end this review in an ellipsis and question mark…..? Teepee - I Told You So (Mp3)
...my Mom used to say that. She’d be upstairs primping before a holiday gathering or something and while the guests amassed and made their way clear to cocktail #3, she’d descend down the spiral steps aglow and all smiles.
And if someone said, “Oh Ruth, you look lovely...” she’d point out, “Powder and paint make ya what ya ain’t.”
That one sort of stuck with me.
I’m not sure how many of you have taken note, but we’ve given ourselves a bit of a face lift over the past month or more. We even tried out a few new mastheads up there and have settled on this one as the new TVD logo and brand. Ta daa – all fresh faced.
I realize that the content too had shifted a bit with the revised look. Less me opining about bullshit and more general in a sense – and I love it.
At some point last year, this being largely a one-Jon endeavor, I was sorta ready to pull the plug. I know I’ve made mention of this before but there are only so many childhood memories to upheave and records to marry to said upheaval. I lost interest, and if I should lose interest, the whole thing would suffer – hence dreams of plug pulling.
I found that by removing the burden of writing from my perspective and giving the artists more voice here, the more interested I am in the endeavor. And it’s opened doors far beyond my dreams, not just at the outset, but from, well... last December!
Opportunities have arisen that will unfold over the next few months—more to the general in scope but still square in the vinyl realm—that hell, I even want to read and I know what’s coming.
So, this week it’s a bit of a ‘State of the Blog’ address while we ponder the ‘powder n’ paint.’
You're welcome to opine as well in regard to the shifting seas...
...and it's been a delight to have them this week. Remember to get out to the Strathmore Mansion tonight and/or to Iota tomorrow night to see the band live. Pick up the brand new CD ‘Memento Mori’while you're there too.
Em and Suz brought bagels for us this morning, so I'll turn it back over to them while I go get me one. Check back soon though...they've got 10 tracks you should be listening to as you rev up to see them this weekend.
Well folks, it's been real! Thanks so much for joining us this week during our takeover of The Vinyl District. We hope you enjoyed what we had to share with you. We also wanted to say a huge Clov thanks(!) to TVD for letting us invade for a week.
But before we go, here are some more Clov-related things to look forward to in 2010 and beyond.
New music video | In the near future, we have plans to shoot a brand new music video for a yet undisclosed track off the album. We'll be enlisting some film friends in New York to lend us their creative vision and incorporate our own as well. Word on the street is that the video may involve some clay....
Vermont writing sessions | Since last summer, we've spent two weeks in the countryside of beautiful, secluded Vermont, penning and demo-ing a slew of new tunes. Some of them have already become set list faves at our shows, including Rainbow Warzone and Autumn of the Patriarch. Hopefully we'll get enough songs together for another full-length release.
Covers! | Also later this year, we hope to release a covers EP with a handful of songs we've put our own spin on (maybe exclusively on vinyl!) We'll see. We're ironing out the deets as we speak.
You have to know by now that if we’re going to be promoting a new release and a few live dates around the release that we’re going to give you a chance to win said release and concert tickets, right? We are just that transparent.
Em and Suz of Exit Clov have hooked TVD readers up with a pair or tickets for both CD release shows this coming weekend— Friday night (1/29) at the Strathmore Mansion with True Womanhood and Saturday night (1/30) at Iota with Olivia Mancini and the Mates. They’ve also tossed in the brand new CD ‘Memento Mori’ for each ticket winner. Cuz they do indeed love you back.
Here’s how it’ll go (as it always does:) jump up and down in the comments to this post and plead your case to attend one of the two shows this weekend. We’ll have two winners—one per show—who sufficiently inspire us with their brilliant entry.
Em and Suz are picking the winners too, so y’know, put some effort into it. You’ve got til noon on Friday!
John Thornley’s Monday night outing at Solly’s, Thornley & Friends, celebrates its one year anniversary this coming Monday night (2/1) and it’s not only spawned a fine evening of spontaneous music in its lifetime, but a brand new collaborative whose track streams below. John gives us the back-story:
"So this is a little collaboration between John & Paul Thornley, Matthew Hemerlein, and Ryan Mitchell called The Four Horsemen. We play mainly guitar, ukelele, banjo, violin, mandolin and whatever else we can carry around on our stagecoach. We play a mix of originals, gospel/spiritual tunes, blues, and 80's power pop.
This number is a tune John Thornley wrote on a borrowed ukelele from Ryan Mitchell while at home for the holidays. Everyone then pitched in on several different instruments until we came up with the song you hear now. It's just a demo version but we thought it would be fun to stream it to promote the show on Monday.
Named after the four great Notre Dame linebackers in the 1920's, The Four Horsemen have no relation to these men, just admirers. A perennial group comprised of, John & Paul Thornley(1), Matthew Hemerlein(2), and Ryan Hunter Mitchell(3) formerly of Deer Wolf(4), their live shows are seldom performed beyond the confines of their chateau in Montreal. With a keen knowledge of Russian(5) literature, The Four Horsemen lyricist writes strictly on such topics. This show will be a once in a lifetime opportunity to broaden your musical horizons. There will be sing alongs.
Also opening up the gig is good friend Sonny Kilfoyle, "Sonny Boy", from NYC via Boston. Previously in acclaimed bands such as "Blonde Acid Cult" and "Calypso", he will be making his debut solo appearance this Monday in DC."
1. It should be mentioned at this time that the Thornleys, John (1982- ) Paul (1984- ) are brothers by birth and any other rumours to the contrary are suspicious. 2. Mathew Hemmerlein (1983- ) was awarded the Tchaikovsky Award of Honor for his aptitude in violin, but donated his award to various charities. 3. Ryan Hunter Mitchell IV (1984- ) is a recent novelist and world expeditionary. 4. Deer Wolf (tm) is a fictional band with no offense intended to bands such as Deer Tick, Deer Hunter, WolfMother, Wolf Parade or Owl City. 5. Russian in the soviet sense. Referring but not limited to Czech, Ukrainian and other Cyrillic based languages.
Sometimes it's hard to believe, but Exit Clov's been a band for 6.5 years. We've survived quite a lot together—relationships come and gone; broken down vans in Marshall, TX; 22-hour drives from Austin to DC; shady motels; and even the passing of loved ones. At the end of all of it, we're still making music together.
As we've grown together, each of us has also started up other projects with friends involving art in many forms. We've all branched out beyond Exit Clov as musicians & songwriters, crafters, audio engineers, writers, producers, entrepreneurs and even web & graphic designers. So we decided to create an umbrella entity -- called the Nervous People Collective -- to house all of these projects. We're launching the new website (designed by Susan!) www.nervouspeoplecollective.com.
Please indulge us by reading our mantra, along with a brief description of each of the Nervous People projects. Hopefully you'll enjoy them, knowing they all have little pieces of Exit Clov. For each music project, we've posted a song for free download.
NERVOUS PEOPLE PROJECTS drunken sufis | Glenn Beck is edible...a dollar item on the duality menu...Obama smokes butts...he's still a shape shifting reptilian...Karzai's got warlords living luxury...you can't believe what you read...so we just watch... "What would we do baby without us..." Watch our video and listen to our track Torture Me, off our latest release. Free download: "Torture Me"
imoM | imoM is an independent line of artwork, jewelry and fashions we (em & suz) founded, inspired by the work of artist Ming-Yen Hsu. Our shop offers various adaptations and prints of his works on jewelry (acrylic earrings and necklaces), 4x6 cards and 11x14 prints that can be framed. Visit our etsy shop; friend us on Facebook; and follow us on Twitter!
milly beau | Milly Beau is a band from NYC making pretty sounds from urban grit... calling it soul thrash. We are named after a good ol' southern storyteller with a big heart and a salty mouth. We come from hip hop, jazz and indie rock. Beat and LES poems ignite the lyrics and the JMZ train lives in every recording. Visit our myspace page or follow us on Facebook. Free download: "So Chic"
mousybabe | mousybabe is a website that houses all of Em & Suz's miscellaneous projects. We blog, we read, write & play music, rant, meet interesting people, eat food, make jewelry and little videos. Our latest video is a holiday stop-motion film short, featuring imoM art/jewelry and the soundtrack of a holiday tune we wrote/recorded last winter 2008. Last summer, we also filmed a home fundraising video that went viral on YouTube across the Pacific Ocean!
the sounds of domestic living | Spare dark folk country soulful pop blues. Debut track just released and available for free download below. The track was mixed/mastered by Greg Maly of Basshound, engineered by Patrick White and Greg Maly. Check back for a lounge remix of this track from Greg, which should be available shortly. Be our friend on Myspace and Facebook.Free download: "Gold to Refine"
sri | An "avant-pop" duo from New York City, formed in late 2008. Self-produced and engineered, their debut EP, Bone Bazaar, is the result of nearly a year of experimental recording, meticulous sound design, and richly layered instrumentation. A haunting example of modern-day DIY, keep an eye out for upcoming live performances! Get Sri's Bone Bazaar from iTunes or visit their Myspace page. Both members of Sri are also the founders and chief engineers of Stitch Sound Mobile Recording, Mixing and Mastering.Free download: "Vog"
stitch sound | Guerrilla-style recording, mixing & mastering. Located in Billywick. With an emphasis on performance and creative solutions, at Stitch, we pride ourselves on capturing unique sound in any location. Wherever we end up, our sessions are always pressure-free and set to inspire. Whatever the time table, whatever the budget, our greatest joy and satisfaction comes in seeing each project reach its fullest potential. Visit our website for more!
It must be a record of sorts—this is Olivia Mancini’sthird appearance here at TVD and we’re just now doing a proper ‘First Date’ feature. But it’s timed well indeed as Ms. Mancini and her Mates open for our guest bloggers this week, Exit Clov, Saturday night at Iota (for which we have free tickets for you to join us.)
Now, First Dates just like first loves come in varying guises. For example, my first love was KISS. (No, really.)
Olivia has much more of a discerning palette:
Who was my first love? Umm. Judy Garland.
I would put her Live at Carnegie Hall album on my Fisher Price turntable and imagine us singing “Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart” together. She blasted “Over the Rainbow” and my little kid voice would try to match hers note for note coming through those built-in plastic speakers. I wrote her love letters–or maybe I just sent her LP love letters, taping a Garfield Post-It note to the record sleeve. “I Love This” I scrawled in four-year-old handwriting. I adorned the rest of the love letter with big red hearts, to really drive home the point.
Fast-forward to 1987 when my dad gave me for Christmas my first “big girl” stereo. If it was an overly large gift designed to mitigate the birth of my little sister, it worked. How I loved that single unit Magnavox with its familiar turntable, radio and state-of-the-art dual cassette player. In the box was an accompanying present, one that my dad never could explain buying. The 1950’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Collection: Jukebox Saturday Night was a three-disc vinyl box set (on discount? An impulse item at the checkout counter?) that blew my eight-year-old mind and made me forget all about Judy. (Perhaps this was Dad’s ultimate goal.) I traded “Putting on the Ritz” for “Earth Angel” and “Stormy Weather” for “Teenager in Love” and never looked back.
Cassettes and CDs and MP3s. Even vinylfiles shouldn’t hate them. They made music portable even as they modified our expectations of sound quality and changed our relationship with the collection of songs known as the album, and I, for one, wouldn’t want to go back. I’ve got the best of both worlds: my iPod in my purse and my favorite LPs stacked on my Garrard RC-98 at home.
But I know because I couldn’t resist throwing on Live at Carnegie Hall when I dug out the records listed above in preparation for this “First Date.” An MP3 is not going to do Judy any favors. But her voice coming through my living room console made me think the four-year-old me was pretty right on the money with that Garfield Post-It note.
Killing Joke's first EP, 'Turn To Red', appeared in September 1979 on the new Malicious Damage label set up by graphic artist Mike Coles and distributed by Island. It was followed in November by 'Almost Red' - basically the same EP plus new title track, which was initially sold at gigs. The track demonstrates how the Joke were indeed ahead of their time, as dub-disco sensibilities course through the heavyweight thud of the Youth-Ferguson rhythm axis topped by a metallic synthetic replication of the 'I Feel Love' riff, Geordie's sparse guitar shards and Jaz's caustic, post-nuclear proclamations. Their radical, apocalyptic approach was often cited as a massive influence on anyone from Nirvana to industrial bands, but also incorporated dub reggae and New York dance music.
'Bustin' Out, The Post Punk Era 1979-1981', the first in the New Wave To New Beat series, is an often-startling picture of the no-holds-barred musical ructions which sprang up after punk's scorched earth revolution. Compiler Mike Maguire has made a rigid stand against being pigeon-holed throughout his 30 year DJing career, spreading the message that no sound or genre should be compartmentalised. This multi-hued set is a fine testimony to this ethos.
Vinyl: A Testimonial | As this is a blog dedicated to vinyl, Jon asked us to talk about the role of vinyl in our lives. For most of our band life, the 5 of us have been pretty darn broke, so suffice it to say that record collecting, not to mention an actual turntable, has been a luxury just out of reach of our grubby hands. Some things have changed, thankfully. ;-)
However, here is our personal testimonial about vinyl. There is an ugly green dumpster perched right on our front lawn (don't ask about the property value of our apartment, we're just renting heh). So naturally, it's the dumping ground for all of our neighbors who are either cleaning house or moving. It's not always the most beautiful sight, but for foragers like us, it's a treasure trove. It's like having your own personal Goodwill on your front lawn actually.
So one time Em hit the jackpot, and she found.... nuh-UH! A Sony Turntable!! The needle was a little busted but the black circle - it spun. And spin the black circle we did :) A good friend of ours helped us get it repaired, and now we've started a budding collection of records, including Talking Heads, Led Zeppelin, Electric Prunes, Pet Shop Boys, Joy Division and Crosby Stills Nash & Young. It's a piddly collection so far, but Suz fawns over it every now and then, the way she sometimes fawns over some cool new shoes that she's really excited about... only this is way better :)
As far as Exit Clov, we have a couple releases coming up in the near future, and we're seriously considering pressing vinyl only. Should be exciting!
Q+A With KEVIN COOMBE (DC Record Fairs, DC Soul Recordings) Since Memento Mori, unfortunately, is not going to be available on vinyl, we decided to feature friends of ours who are doing some good things for the vinyl community in the District. You might know Kevin Coombe as one of the partners in crime behind the events, (as well as the guy featured on NPR and WashPost for his personal archiving project DC Soul Recordings and DJ gigs.) He graciously let us pick his brain.
Psst - if you haven't been to one of these Record Fairs, you're missing out! We've watched the events grow, even though the turnout at the first one at Civilian Art Projects was already pretty mindblowing. It was jam-packed with people, mostly vinyl geeksters with huge satchels slung around their shoulders to carry their records, and very excited looks on their faces. The next fair is coming up soon - Feb. 14 at Black Cat, with DJ's like Eric Hilton (Thievery Corp), Geologist (Animal Collective) and Ian MacKaye (Dischord). Certain to be a Love fest.
EC: We're always fascinated by the idea of a group of 'kids' getting together, hammering out a vision and just making shit happen. It sounds like this is what happened with the Record Fairs - you're coming up on the 4th one and it's probably the biggest one yet. Can you tell us where the idea came from to do these events, who was involved, how it all transpired and what your goals were in doing the event?
Kevin:The idea came when Neal Becton (Som Records) and myself became frustrated with another record fair in Maryland. This fair was not well organized, and furthermore, it was lacking in fun and atmosphere. A large & brightly lit showroom space filled with nothing but cafeteria tables and record dealers, might sound luxurious for the hardcore digger types that would dig in the web of a giant spider if the right record was there. But for the average adults that want to cruise somewhere nice, and the younger generations that're often in learning mode (and are looking for an exciting scene), it's something more that brings the new heads out and old heads back.
We feel we've added that element by utilizing interesting locations, marketing to non-vinyl heavy audiences, commissoning unique and collectible promotional posters per show, local celebrities, fantastic DJs, good food, and serious drinks (our signature has been the Bloody Mary).....far beyond the cold slice of pizza and soda record fairs often offer. And our team works beautifully; we all discuss each stage in process, but specifically we have Neal scouting spots, dealing with venue owners, and overseeing general operations, Jon Meyers (The Vinyl District) heading up massive promotions, contracting for design work, and securing the tables for the event, Chris Knott being the go to man for any project or job we need done quickly and done correctly, and myself securing the record dealers, determining the layout of the venue, and coordinating w/ the DJs & celebrity entertainment.
EC: What do you think is unique to DC historically, culturally that lends itself to an event like this? We've talked about the "punk spirit" of the event before, because it's open to everybody, it's all ages, it has a bit of an underground feel, it's safe, and people are just gathering to talk music, hear music, trade music. Plus the $2 cover is really reasonable.
Kevin: There are certainly many aspects of DC that are unique. I know I can't discuss them all, and so I'd rather stick to the topic at hand and give some examples of DC's music past & present setting itself apart and explaining how that relates to the Fair. The direction of the DMV music scene has resulted in artists and genres that are undoubtably noteworthy. Go-go is especially unique, so getting its godfather aka Chuck Brown in the second Fair was very important to us. The last Fair featured poster art designed by an artist/imaginary music hero who is very much a DC only phenomenon.....Mr. Mingering Mike.
This next show features many local stars playing some of their favorite records including Eric Hilton of Thievery Corporation and Ian MacKaye, 2 pillars of DC's past and present music scenes. I can't even begin to say how much impact Ian and Dischord have had, and Eric has just basically killed it as both part of Thievery Corp and in his capacity as a scene developer in DC, being that he is behind so many of DC's coolest bars. Regarding how this show differs from others in the rest of the country, see the question above about making shit happen. Those things I mentioned are important to us and certainly separate us from many of the traditional shows. The low cover charge is a result of our commitment to making the Fair about having fun, rather than about filling our own wallets.
EC: From a personal standpoint, being at these Record fairs really brought back that feeling as a teenager when you're digging through CD's or cassettes and you find the killer record you've been looking everywhere for. It's such a thrill. But kids now might not ever have the opportunity to have this memory. Do you think this kind of experience has any practical importance for the way people experience music? Or is it all essentially the same good music - just different time, different place? What's different about going to a record fair, versus just going to a store, like a Borders, Best Buy or even a mom-and-pop?
Kevin: Well, many many kids are browsing Amazon and I-Tunes for mp3 downloads right now, and I'm sure that tons of them happen upon cool remixes, or songs associated with something that they didn't know about and then can download on the spot. Nowadays, the instant gratification from downloads certainly does give people access to the same good music....but without the learning experiences of interacting with other like-minded people at record fairs or flea markets or general music stores. In many ways it's better, but in many ways it's worse. Take it with a grain of salt.
In regards to Record Fairs vs. a place like Best Buy, the Best Buy probably has a slowly changing stock of CDs and/or download stations, laid out for you, relying heavily on hits and pop music culture......and it's ultimately up to you to find something that looks good. It's a solitary activity and limited in scope. A Record Fair can feature pop too, but it will likely showcase some material that isn't easily available for purchase or download at a retail store. Another difference is that a record fair doesn't have to be such a solitary activity if you don't want it to be. Chances are good that many buyers and dealers will have information they can share with you to point you in the right direction, or maybe even a new direction. Plus, you get to buy a physical product which is cool. Owning that piece of history has got to stand for something.
EC: It's odd when you think of the mad rush toward digital, and it's happening with all aspects of art & culture—books to Kindles, snail mail to e-mail, landline phones to data phones. And then there's vinyl. It's like you have this silent legion of vinyl junkies deliberately marching the opposite direction of the masses. What is so special about vinyl, beyond just the technicalities of better sound quality, that is so important to people that they would give their left arm to walk 'backwards'?
Kevin:Well, I'd say there are a number of mixtures involved here. First, you have the old school vinyl heads & collectors that refuse to accept anything else. Why are they this way? Well, there could be many factors...... things like prior commitments to collecting as it relates to vinyl, or a true belief that vinyl really sounds better and so that's that. Then you have the old school vinyl heads that love vinyl, but are cool with digital for personal entertainment, or/and for DJing purposes. These guys may even have downsized their vinyl collection a bit. I'm one of these guys, and I feel that....if used appropriately as a DJ (using a high bit rate, not going tooooo crazy with the massive availability that's out there right away)....it can only up your game.
Next you have the old school vinyl heads that decided that vinyl wasn't for them anymore because these new digital files don't take up space, aren't heavy to load into gigs etc., and so they sold off all their vinyl. DJs that used vinyl strictly for work purposes could easily fit into this category. Then you have the opposite side of the spectrum....people coming from digital w/ limited vinyl exposure, mostly younger, that have decided that the iTunes world just isn't enough. For any number of reasons, they then decided that vinyl might be a good addition to their large music collection, keeping the digital but adding a physical element that they can touch, hold, look at, display, and use in interactions with others. We target both the hardcore guys and this big market of casual buyers for our Fair.
EC: Lastly, you're a DJ too. Have you played DJ Hero yet? Yea or nay?
Kevin: Yeah. I played it at Best Buy while waiting for my oil change. If you like controllers with all kinds of buttons and thingys that you apparently have to move and hit randomly along with the screen movements, you might like this. But if you're looking for a controller that actually mirrors DJing and gives you freedom, you're in for a disappointment. My advice is to make friends with a DJ and give the real thing a shot :)
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