We all know what it's like to listen to vinyl, but what's it like to hand-pour or physically press them? Heather and Sarah from Gotta Groove and Wax Mage join me this week to talk about their side of the record industry and their unique, one-of-a-kind colored vinyl creations that are gaining them fans from all over the world. We also discuss the age old question of whether colored records sound better or worse than standard black pressings, Wax Mage's upcoming Heavy Haze compilation, what crazy requests for album variants they've heard from labels and bands, and much more!
Visit Heather and Sarah at instagram.com/waxmagerecords, facebook.com/waxmagerecords, be sure to enter this week's Wax Mage contest for a free shirt, stickers and pins, aaaaand use the code VINYLEMERGENCY for 50% off anything at waxmagerecords.com! PLUS our flipbin contest winner is announced! Follow @VinylEmergency on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, write the show at vinylemergency@gmail.com and while visiting our new sponsor MusicDirect.com, use the code EMERGENCY for 15% off any music purchase!
Seemingly born into radio, Ryan Arnold is an avid music fanatic beyond what you hear him spin as a DJ on Chicago's WXRT. When he's not on the air, you can find him record shopping, checking out local bands and generally supporting any and all who are creating, showcasing or promoting music in the Windy City. I interviewed Ryan at the XRT studios after an awesome lunch at The Billy Goat Tavern, and we discussed his previous experience working on a railroad, what makes Chicago special musically, what he's been spinning lately, this year's Lollapalooza line-up and lots more! You can follow Ryan via @ryanarnoldrocks on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. And make sure to follow the show via @vinylemergency as well, and write the show: vinylemergency@gmail.com.
275 miles, 6 record stores and 2 states in 1 day. I made it my mission on Record Store Day 2016 to bring you a slew of interviews with vinyl collectors of all sorts in both Wisconsin and Illinois (fathers and daughters, aunts and nephews, couples, best friends and more) about their passion for records and what they wanted from this year's list of exclusive releases. Plus I chat with several record store owners about their prep for the big crowds and their love for their customers on the biggest music shopping day of the year! In Milwaukee, these chats took place at The Exclusive Company (Farwell Ave.), Rush-Mor Records, Off the Beaten Path and ACME Records & Music Emporium, plus there's audio from show-sponsor Pinwheel Records in Chicago as well as Rediscover Records in Elgin, IL. I also talk with Ben Robertson and Chris Baronner of flipbin, a new Chicago-made record display product whose Kickstarter campaign recently launched in order to help vinyl lovers better organize their "now playing" or "recently purchased" stacks of wax! Visit them at flipbin.com and listen in to learn how to win a FREE flipbin for yourself! Follow @vinylemergency on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and write the show atvinylemergency@gmail.com.
Fresh off our interview with bassist Todd Bell of Braid and Hey Mercedes, I sat down in Nashville with the other half of that incredible rhythm section, drummer Damon Atkinson! We discuss the Hey Mercedes reunion this year starting July 8th and upcoming re-release of their debut album "Everynight Fire Works," setting up his own drum kit and tour rig in his mom's basement at an early age, doing D.I.Y. cassette duplication and 7" sleeve assembly in early bands like Altered States and Figurehead, how drum-teching for groups such as Thrice and Senses Fail parlayed into a full-on career in tour management, why Shirley Manson from Garbage gave him her old Palm Pilot, and his connection to Nicoletto's Pasta Co., a new fast-casual Italian restaurant in Nashville! Follow @heymercedes2016 on Twitter and Instagram for all their updates this year, and you can also follow Damon at twitter.com/damonetm and instagram.com/damonatkinson. PLUS I announce our Black Sabbath vinyl winner, and chat briefly with return guest Rob Clark, to get a first-hand account of the recent Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony. Follow @VinylEmergency on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Soundcloud, and write me at vinylemergency@gmail.com.
Since I moved to suburban Chicago almost ten years ago, Nick Digilio has been a constant audio companion for me in both radio and podcast form. During his 2-5am shift weekday mornings on one of the most storied stations in the medium, you'll often hear Nick -- an on-air host since 1998 and having been a part of WGN 720 AM for over 30 years -- engaging with listers on topics ranging from favorite comfort foods to misheard song lyrics to iconic movie lines, always sporting a genuine passion for the arts and a hilarious, self-deprecating levity along the way, while winning a handful of Illinois Broadcasters Association awards to boot. Today, I talk with Nick about how the resurgence of 70mm film relates to today's vinyl comeback, which album he has owned in every format imaginable, a little-known fact about High Fidelity's classic Beta Band scene and how his sobriety has improved his life both on and off the air.
Follow @NickDShow on both Twitter and Facebook, and subscribe to his uncut podcasts on iTunes! PLUS: Learn how to enter for your chance to win all four 2016 Black Sabbath 2LP reissues, courtesy of Rhino Records! Follow this podcast @vinylemergency on Twitter, Facebook and Instragram, and write me at vinylemergency@gmail.com!
Back in 2014, I interviewed Braid and Hey Mercedes bassist Todd Bell about his record collection for a written piece on Modern-Vinyl.com, which led to us digging together on Record Store Day 2015. So when I began this podcast, I knew Todd would be a more-than-willing guest to discuss his vast stockpile of over 2,500 albums. In this episode, we chat about the benefits of Japanese pressings, the art of the mix CD (and trading said CD's with his pals in Jawbox and Texas Is The Reason), the good ol' days of sending cash and coins through the mail for records, Braid's love affair with off-kilter time signatures, still finding time to skateboard as a busy dad (with fellow musician and busy dad Dan Didier of Maritime/The Promise Ring), inheriting his father's classic Sansui receiver (purchased while stationed in Okinawa during his time in the Air Force) and much more! We also get some EXCLUSIVE, not-yet-announced Braid repress news direct from Todd, and you can enter our Braid vinyl prize pack giveaway! Follow the show at instagram.com/
Long before his current position as Editorial Director of Onion Inc., -- and his freelance work for Magnet, Spin and Rolling Stone -- Josh Modell created Milk Magazine (along with his buddy Jim Minor), a D.I.Y. publication responsible for introducing me to independent music when I was just a high-schooler. Josh and I discuss his vinyl obsessions when he was younger, his tenure at Milwaukee's storied Atomic Records (with memories of in-store performances from The Wedding Present, Frank Black and Jason Molina), pressing vinyl for acts like Clem Snide and Crooked Fingers on his Foreign Leisure label, how The Promise Ring's "Very Emergency" album got its title (and his role as a milkman in the band's "Emergency! Emergency!" music video), his favorite A Very Milky Christmas memories and A.V. Undercover segments, the benefits and drawbacks of internet commenting and much more! Follow Josh at twitter.com/joshmodell and tune in as well for details on our current giveaway: A hand-crafted wood album jacket display, courtesy Sand & Stain! Visit instagram.com/
A massive record collector with an inspirational work ethic that rivals the busiest musicians in the business, Evan Weiss has released more material just under the Into It. Over It. moniker than most bands do in a lifetime. Throw in his side-projects Pet Symmetry and Their / They're / There, his production work for acts like Xerxes, Annabel or You Blew It, and releasing friends' albums on his own Storm Chasers Ltd. label, and you'd wonder how he has time for even *listening* to music, let alone touring and recording. On this episode, Evan talks about going completely analog with renowned producer John Vanderslice for his new album "Standards" (out March 11th on Triple Crown), the 12 different inserts to the "Standards" vinyl pressing, his early obsessions with Peter Gabriel and Depeche Mode, checking what his own catalog goes for on vinyl auction sites, what releases of his he'll never repress, and so much more! Visit intoitoverit.com for tour dates, PLUS learn how to enter this week's contest for a copy of Pinegrove's great new LP "Cardinal," courtesy of Run For Cover Records! Visit Vinyl Emergency on facebook.com/vinylemergency, twitter.com/vinylemergency and instagram.com/vinylemergency; Also write the show atvinylemergency@gmail.com.
It's a family affair this week as my cousin-in-law Kyle Fasel, bassist and lyricist of Real Friends, comes on to discuss keeping vinyl in stock in their merch store, his role as "band dad," what it's like having his ACTUAL dad on the road with him and what to expect from the group's new album, produced by Steve Evetts (Saves The Day, Dillinger Escape Plan)! We also chat about why specific album covers speak to him and how it felt to play their hometown 20,000-seat amphitheater on Warped Tour, as well as their upcoming sold-out $5 Tour, starting March 5th. Visit realfriendsband.com to connect with Kyle and crew. PLUS: I'll announce next week's guest as well our next vinyl giveaway from Run For Cover Records! Follow the show at facebook.com/vinylemergency
My good pals and self-described "crappy twins" Josh and Chris Marcanti -- both of the Rock And Roll Brunch Podcast -- join me for an in-depth talk about the current state of vinyl and what the future could hold for music fans and the industry as a whole. Having played music together for years (both in The American Autumn and now The Throwbacks), we also discuss whether twins indeed have a secret language, being in a cover band after years of performing original material, and the many reactions they would get while podcasting at diners and restaurants. You can check out music from The American Autumn at theamericanautumn.bandcamp.
Jim's best record-shopping buddy Rob Clark (Rockton, IL) discusses both the up's and down's of online vinyl communities, how he navigated the CD revolution, sharing vinyl with his teenage daughter, potential retail price gouging vs. dollar bin digging, VPI machines, adoption, beekeeping, and lots more! You can view Rob's videos that we discuss viayoutube.com/user/EoLoVoX/
Author, freelance writer and Do You Know Who You Are? podcast host Eric Grubbs comes on the show to discuss the wide range of influences that got him into vinyl - Face To Face, Eric Carmen, Pet Shop Boys and Bruce Springsteen among them - as well has how inspiration can literally come from being hit on the head! We also discuss his 2008 book "POST: A Look at the Influence of Post-Hardcore 1985-2007" at length, including anecdotes on interviewing members of Fugazi, Sunny Day Real Estate, The Promise Ring and more for it. You can listen to Eric's podcast at soundcloud.com/eric-grubbs, and become a fan of the show at facebook.com/doyouknowpod.
Our first edition of Collector's Club is with Chris Fitzgerald (Grand Prairie, TX), who talks about how his vinyl obsession began, when he knows it's the right time to purge some his record collection and his day job as a contract administrator with one of the world's largest concert promoters! We also discuss the state of mainstream country music, how his 5-year-old daughter took to vinyl, meeting your musical idols on the job, and lots more! Be sure to follow Vinyl Emergency at facebook.com/vinylemergency
Troubled Hubble drummer and acclaimed photographer Nate Lanthrum talks with host Jim Hanke on this debut episode! Nate has photographed the likes of President Obama, U2, R.E.M. and Tom Waits, but the work he's most proud of was featured by the Chicago Tribune in 2014, spotlighting his interaction with the last families living in the Cabrini-Green housing projects. We discuss his original interest in vinyl (which then parlayed into collecting cameras), Troubled Hubble's early days and recent reunion after a 10-year hiatus, what it's like to be a juvenile probation officer in the digital age and he tells some hilarious stories about meeting both 30 Seconds To Mars and Fugazi's Ian MacKaye. Visit Nate's photography portfolio at nplanthrum.com and keep tabs on all things Hubble at troubledhubble.com!
Musicians, album collectors, recording engineers and those who press, design or otherwise celebrate vinyl records describe how this influential medium has shaped their lives and careers. Guests include Hozier, Rosanne Cash, Creed Bratton of NBC's The Office, plus members of Foo Fighters, Wilco, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, Hall & Oates, Sylvan Esso, Jawbox and more.