vinylforthepeople

10,000 feet to the nearest turntable

Sunrise just below the summit of Haleakalā

This weekend has been great. I got to spend some time on a gorgeous island with the woman I love, watched the sunrise from above 10,000 feet, got beat up by some coral, and ate some amazing food.

What was missing? The smell of vinyl, filling my nostrils by way of digging for new additions to my collection. In addition to the fact that I hadn’t listened to a record in 4 days; I was going through withdrawals. Which led me to this post.

Searching for a record store on Maui yielded four results; two of them movie rental relics (akin to Blockbuster Video), a recording studio, and Request Music which is closed on Sunday, and having been up since 2:20AM…(to take the picture at the top of this post) this was our last day on the island and there is no denying an opportunity to go digging, (if there were there would be no need for this website).

So I walk in, music playing at a healthy level, a few records on display, some trinkets, CD’s, tapes…but I came for the basement. I found a few images on Yelp, but nothing that screamed…”come down here and dig!” I never needed to hear that though, the records whisper to you if you have the time and desire.

The basement was…full of records, all on shelves. There were hails to the 80’s and 90’s with a Schlitz malt liquor clock, and things familiar to a child of the 80’s like Zima, transporting me to Uptown DC (Northwest Washington, District of Columbia for the uninitiated) bringing thoughts of Chuck Brown, the god father of Go-Go music.

As I’m down in the basement the floor above is being vibrated by tracks ubiquitous to my adolescence from A Tribe Called Quest. I was searching for Jazz today though, Astrid Gilberto in particular.

Heading back upstairs with a single dig in hand, I wanted to see the new titles they had in stock. When I visit record stores I engage the people working there. Converse to get a sense of their level of involvement with the shop and music as a whole, that’s when I met Jeremy, the curator of music at Request on Monday. Turns out he’s been following me on Instagram (@vinylforthepeople) for a little while, we talked about the albums we are holding in the picture below for about 30 minutes, until I asked my lady to snap this picture.

@Jeremyjarvis808 and I at Request Records

I’m excited to share my digs with you in the next post, and later this week Jeremy tells us a bit about Request Records in a Record Roadtrip Video.

Until next time, keep spinning.

P.S. – Like the Facebook Page, and follow on Instagram!

Don’t Thank Me

I decided write a post on Memorial Day, not because I’m an Active Duty service member in the Navy, not because my grandfather served in both the Army and Marines, nor that my father served in and Air Force. It’s because I’m American. Because today is a reminder for those who gave all.

Today reminds us that there men and women who believed in something greater than self. Greater than social media, instant gratification, and consumerism. They swore an oath to protect the country many of us call home, and died to fulfill it.
So, while we are at the beaches eating with family and friends, think about the people who gave their lives so we can maintain our lifestyles. I appreciate their sacrifices and the ones their families made.

And that’s why I wrote this post.

Are you hungry?

As I write this I’m on a couch, sitting in the lanai outside our cottage at Mama’s Fish House, the waves are crashing and we are deciding where our dinner is going to come from. Those in relationships know this conversation very well, but ours is a little different and in this case with a unique twist that neither of us are used to, almost all the restaurants here close at 9:00 PM (1 hour 30 minutes remaining). So we have to leave here, get there, order…gladly we share a palate for most things food.

We decided on Thai, with 57 minutes on the clock. It was a short drive, and my Yelp connisour frevrently informed me of its 4 and a half star rating.

As an aside, I’m going to caution you against record selection based solely on the reviews of others, and we will revisit that topic in another post.

So…when we pulled into the tiny parking lot, there was one open space. It seemed ordained that we would be eating at Thai Palace tonight (43 minutes until closing). Once we parked, I noticed a purveyor of libations. We weren’t going to miss out tonight.

The night we arrived, we were quickly aware that alcohol sales on the island promptly ended at 11PM.

I love Thai food, so I didn’t really look at the menu. I chose from my list of favorite entrees (38 minutes), once seated we were no longer concerned by the time. My lady ordered the basil stir-fry with rice and I had Thai iced tea with coconut milk, spring rolls, and Phad see ew with chicken. All of the food was delicious. The rub however…there was no meat in the Spring rolls. This fact bothered Rosetta, but I was hungry and as I said they were good.

I bet you’re wondering how is he going to tie this in to record collection? I’m not. I will however say that if you’re interested in Thai food on the north shore of Maui, and don’t mind meatless spring rolls; visit Thai Palace. Just make sure you get there before 8:30PM.

What is Vinyl for The People?

Watch this video to see what Vinyl for The People is all about.

So I got some speakers

“Hey do you need help getting those home?”

They gave me a demo pair to take home…they don’t fit in to a convertible too well. Enter the serious audiophile…”Hey, do you need help getting those to your house.” I had just me this gentleman, moments ago. He wasn’t affiliated with the shop, just a regular customer. We talked about tubes (a story for another post), and how long he had been collecting and how is wife was supportive of the hobby (she’s a rare one, huh?). I took him up on his offer. We carefully put the speakers that were 2/3 as tall as I am in his cavernous volvo sedan, and he followed me the 8 miles to my house.

Having someone to help me set them up, and talk about the audio was nice, we sat and listened for a while…

I took him to my project studio and a completely different audio conversation started taking place. “You make music too!” I told him I dabbled around, and played a few tracks I had been working on. He was floored, and offered to give me some recordings he had made on 2” tape and put on CD. We saw one another at the shop more than a few times before I relocated to Hawaii, but I never got those recordings from him. Sadly.

First blog post

Building a 2 channel stereo.

Hello! I’m Tom, founder of Vinyl for The People. The other day, while listening to some lovely lady vocalists I was hit with an idea. “Why don’t you share your experiences, follies, and expertise? Why don’t you start a blog…so people don’t have to learn the hard way, and potentially be turned away from the beauty that is listening to music on vinyl?” I couldn’t (and shouldn’t) argue with myself so here it is.

I’m going to open up about something that has changed my life, the story of my first dedicated 2 channel stereo! Some believe that good sound can only be had at great expense. Then there is the D.I.Y. type…I’m somewhere in between. When I built my first 2 channel system, I knew I wanted McIntosh gear. I was ready to bite a costly bullet and not look back. I spent a lot of time comparing gear, countless trips to the two local hifi shops that carried Mac gear and right before I was ready to pull the trigger I stopped.

I sat in my living room, and turned on the tried and true frankenstereo that had grown over 8 years from 2 to 7.2 channels and contained a hodgepodge of brands. Klipsch F2 floor standing speakers, One Rel sub, Bose 5.1 acoustamass surround speakers, all of the wires redone with monster cables and terminated the way Bose does things. A Sony SACD/DVD player, Neumark USB TT, Apple Airport and lastly, my trusty Sony receiver.

The Frankenstereo was the pinnacle of not so careful gear selection, along with what could fit my budget spanning the years. I knew I wanted a 2 channel system and I also knew I didn’t want it to come from a big box store. Now…I’m not completely opposed to mega retailers, they have their place.

This system was to be conceived based on the knowledge of people who actually love music and gear. Sure they get a commission off of me, but that too doesn’t matter. I’d rather work with someone passionate that relies on selling me a dream component than someone that works for [Big Box Store] in a polo shirt that just finished watching [Insert Electronics company name]’s training video on the latest all in one system in a box that will suit and exceed “all of my musical dreams” (real quote).

I guess not everyone dreams in three dimensions…I must have gone to my local Hi-Fi dealers 20 times before finally settling on any gear. They knew what was up as soon as I pulled up, Stereophile or some printed online review in hand. With questions…lots of questions, lol. This story is to be continued, and this is where I’m going to end my introductory post. I look forward to our commentary and sharing. We are going to build quite the relationship.

Until next time, keep spinning!

–Tom