DBD Digs For Vinyl: February 2011

In hopes of getting rid of a lot of doubles and booking a few tables for my May 29^th Toronto Show, I dealt at the Oshawa Record Show yesterday. It was a very exciting day and I got the chance to meet plenty of great collectors and dealers from across Ontario. A huge thank you goes out to Quest 4: 500 GAAT who helped out at my table for the day. It was a complete success and the reason is three fold:

1) I rarely buy less LP’s than I sell in any given day. Yesterday brought 4 records to my collection; four extremely diverse cuts.

Horace Silver and the Jazz Messengers, Lexington Ave. Blue Note. Needless to say this early Blue Note mono is hard to find. Though it’s only in VG shape, I would say this is the most startling grab of the day. This album is fantastic. ‘Creeping in’ features wonderful drumming by Art Blakey. I’m almost embarrassed to say this is my first introduction to Horace’s first LP, though I’m more familiar of him as a sideman on other fantastic early Blue Note recordings. Purchased from legendary collector/dealer Don Keele.

Venom: At War with Satan: Banzai. I’m always excited to find an old Metal album on Banzai. Venom are known as the first Black Metal band, ironically due to an album of that name - defining the genre as ‘anything that sounds a bit like Venom’. At War is their third album, and takes a step backwards in polishing its sound- almost going back to a thrash sound. I’m usually first to say Metallica invented thrash, but we can’t dismiss Venom. They didn’t have the chops and speed of Slayer or Metallica, but the energy was there.

Thin Lizzy: Johnny the Fox: Vertigo. Johnny the Fox is another reminder that I need to get a larger Thin Lizzy collection. Known for their harmonies and layered guitar work, Thin Lizzy has an immense catalog that seems generally unaffected by the ‘cheese’ factor that destroyed Kiss, Bowie, and even James Brown. Johnny the Fox is an anthem album, more so than ‘Jailbreak’ in my opinion. I was fortunate to purchase Venom and Thin Lizzy from Larry Guarascia, who has the best classic rock selection in Ontario.

Necrophagist: Onset of Purification: Relapse. One of the heaviest first albums in death metal, Onset of Purification was almost entirely played by guitar virtuoso and singer Muhammed Suiçmezz. This limited edition, European only pressing is on orange and black slattered vinyl. For fans of Obscura, The Faceless, Decapitated, and Decrepit Birth. I was fortunate enough to pick this up from a new shop owner from Bowmanville; Mark Crawford of Alibi Records

2) I sold a lot of records.

I should point out that I’m not a dealer. I am a collector with too many LP’s, so I am ‘trimming the fat’ so to speak. It’s kind of like this weekend has been a healthy diet for my collection. I didn't sell junk, mainly doubles of albums that I have upgraded, or potentially a sound that no longer interests me but still garners interest in the collecting world.

3) I booked a lot of tables for my record show on May 29^th! (Shameless).

Rodney, AKA- DJPolo is another UK based collector who I have gotten to know over the past year through trading and discussing vinyl on the forums. He immediately jumped to mind when Ant and I thought of this feature-and we are lucky! As you will see, he has some of the rarest items in Heavy Metal.

What do you collect and why?

I collect anything related to the bands I love be it any of the formats, industry awards, merchandise and promotional items. I collect because of the passion I have for the bands I listed to and the pleasure their music and all the different pressings they release give me. I also do it because I enjoy researching how various formats are produced and learning everything I can about a bands releases.

How big is your collection?

I've never added together all my various band collections but its around 6500 items.

Explain your storage/display techniques.

At the moment my collection room is a bit of a mess so things are not displayed how I really want but I do have a lot of things framed, and displayed in various shelves, I try and display the rare or unusual things.

I store my CD's, vinyl and box sets in shelves, to me these are the most delicate things so I make sure they are protected, vinyl is most important so each record is stored out of the picture sleeve in its own plain white sleeve and is kept along with the picture sleeve is a PVC sleeve and they are all stored upright, never store vinyl on top of each other!

Tell us about an odd record in your collection.

The main band I collect is Iron Maiden, a couple of years back I picked up a UK 1-sided 7" acetate for Running Free, not only is it unbelievably rare but it represents an incredibly important time in Maiden's history. Its odd because its so unassuming and in many ways ugly, its got a white label with typed text and comes in a plain brown sleeve, all of this really belies how important and rare it is.

What elusive gem are you still looking for?

At the moment its a BPI silver sales certified LP award for Motorhead's Overkill.

How do you keep track of what you have/need?

I have lists of everything I own but to be honest I have it all in my head, when it comes to what I need that's all in my head as well.

Discuss your stance on using the Internet for collecting? Are you only using Ebay, or a combination of stores and online?

I think the Internet is a good addition to the world of collecting as long as people realize that there are just as many fake items out there as genuine ones. The Internet requires great caution and should be used wisely for collecting but if its used properly it can be a great resource that should be exploited. I use Ebay but it only accounts for around an eight of my collection, there are many other online sites I use plus contacts I have made through the Internet. There are also seven record shops I visit on a regular basis and each one is invaluable, if I could only use the Internet or my records shops is would be the latter.

Do you have any routines surrounding listening?

Not really, if I'm in the mood I will sit down and listen to some, I suppose the one routine I have is making sure everything is in its place in my collection room before I listen to any music, I can't relax and enjoy the music if anything is out of place.

Are there types of covers you look for, or is it all in the grooves?

Its all about the music first and foremost but after that I am always looking for the obscure pressings that tend to have differences in the sleeves as to me they are the most interesting.

Do you have a long-term plan for your collection?

No at the moment.

What is the longest you looked for a record before getting it? How did you feel once it was in your hands?

The longest I have looked it six years, it was for an RIAA certified gold sales award for Sound Of White Noise by Anthrax. I can only describe the feeling I had once it was in my hands as one of elation!

What’s your all-time favourite record, regardless of value or rarity?

Its an Iron Maiden UK 10" one-sided Abbey Road Studios acetate for Holy Smoke. Its my all-time favorite record because it symbolizes the time when I started to get where I wanted to be with collecting and that was getting the most exciting and usual items.

What is the saddest record story you know.

Once I heard of this guy who took a Beatles record up to London to be valued, he was told it was worth around £10,000. He came away very happy as you can imagine and on the way home he had to change trains, once he had changed it suddenly hit him that he had left the LP on the other train, he never saw it again!

What is the last record you bought?

Witchcult Today LP by Electric Wizard.

What was the first record you bought?

The Number OF The Beast UK LP PD by Iron Maiden.