Category: Blog Posts

Esperanza Spalding gave me the shirt off of her back (Watching Emily’s D+Evolution)

In all honesty, I bought her shirt. Rosetta and I went to see Esperanza Spalding three weeks go and got to enjoy her and the band perform Emily’s D+Evolution in its entirety. I had the opportunity to see her perform the same album with the San Diego Orchestra in September of last year [the video below] (before it was released).

Left with baited breath, I listened to the rest of her catalog on repeat until the release of Emily’s D+Evolution in March of this year. Gladly there was a single, One (my second favorite song on the album) and it holds a lot of significance for me and further affirmed my desire to pick up the album on vinyl. Less than one week before I met my love; One was released on Tidal. I was swiping on Tinder and was enticed by an afro and beautiful smile.

Rosetta and I reminisce over our first day from time to time, but I never told her about the song. Specifically, when I heard the song my thoughts gravitated to her. I frequently talk about how impactful music is in our lives, but little did I know how this album would be so tied to my life.

In Rosetta’s office is a tiny canvas on her bookshelf. My best attempt at drawing; written on it, “I love you, unconditionally.” Unconditional Love (Alternative Version) my favorite song on Emily’s D+Evolution isn’t on the LP. Listening to this song for the first time caused my eyes to water. The juxtaposition of the band and her voice move me every time I hear it.

If you have a turntable and haven’t picked up Emily’s D+Evolution, you are wrong. Pick up your copy here. Seeing Esperanza is a treat in and of itself. Sharing the experience with the One that I love Unconditionally; priceless.

The Listening Chair – Part 2 (Before)

I’m a pretty regimented person. I like to be early, not on time. There is a menu board on my refrigerator, and I limit my time in the grocery store to 1 hour and 30 minutes on the biweekly trip to the grocery store. So, making a post that doesn’t follow my schedule is a departure that I don’t take lightly. I had to share my thoughts, and my love is away in Bali, Indonesia for a week…which makes you my confidant for the next few days.

Records are great for listening, but not so good at listening.

I don’t think I’ve ever been this excited about a place to sit. Except that one time, in band camp. In my last post about the chair, I neglected to give any background to the chair itself. Well, I still don’t have any. I do have pictures, and those are worth 1,000 words. Right?

You’ll notice the left arm is missing in the images. It has both, but I thought it looked dramatic and asked that it not be put back on until the end. The chair looks to be in good condition from the above angle, but…

The last owner got good use out of this chair. I see several hours of listening passing on the refurbished beauty that should be in my listening room before my birthday.

It’s late, and I should be sleeping….but before I go there’s something else I have to tell you. I have been talking with Vanessa Fernandez and she’s interested in doing an episode of Living in Stereo. I adore her.

Take a look at her covering, Disclosure – Latch

So, you could say my night is pretty good. To top it off, I got to talk to my love for a bit when I got home. So, one more record for the evening and I’m going to turn in. I can’t wait to give you an update!

Hating The Very Best of Prince

“It’s been seven hours, and two days…since you took your love away…” My alarm clock wasn’t obnoxious, nor was it like the shrieking that most people wake up to. Waking up to Janet [Jackson], more Janet, Prince, Chaka [Khan], Mariah [Carey], and Mary J. Blige should not have bothered me. I love their music! I did not like 6AM and most of the time I didn’t like seeing the face of Frasier O’Leary for my period zero AP Literature class. Being a teenager, there were so many more important things I could have been doing; like sleeping.

Waking up to Prince – Let’s Go Crazy for the better part of three years let to a unique relationship with my dads album selections, spoken loathing. Thom McCormick was a DJ in his younger years, if it weren’t for music I wouldn’t be here as he and my mother met in Massachusetts as he was spinning. Music is life, literally for me.

Dad gave me my first album, Kris Kross – Totally Krossed Out in 1992 along with my first turntable, only one other album followed, Michael Jackson – Off The Wall. I don’t remember what happened to those albums, nor the turntable.

I’m of the Napster generation, not quite ready for vinyl.

I realized some years later, Prince was on to something. I had the opportunity to get what remained of my dad’s effects. My mother spoke of his record collection frequently, “He had colored vinyl, a lot of them were autographed…if you only got to hear him spin; he would love what you’re doing.” His storage unit went to auction, and I never went inside of it. I wasn’t interested in the memories contained within.

When I think of T. M. McCormick Jr. it’s normally while I’m listening to Janet, more Janet, Prince, Chaka, Mariah, and Mary J. Blige. Finding myself reminded to “…celebrate this thing called life…” with good company, good memories, and good music. So here’s to Prince, the soulful ladies, and my dad.

The Listening Chair Part 1 – This Old Eames…

I wanted an Eames Lounge Chair. I think it started with The Sims. Then I saw the one on Frazier…then again when I was choosing components for my stereo. I figured, I’m a big boy. I deserve a big boy chair. Boy, was that sticker shock big on my face. Spending money on nice things that I’m going to keep around isn’t an issue. Spending $4000+ on a chair and an ottoman…well, let’s just say I’m not there mentally yet.

These thoughts of luxury seating ebb and flow, and in my travels to San Diego I came across a specimen at one of my favorite Hi-fi shops. He offered to crate and ship his replica for $650. My mind was blown, not only were there $4k chairs to enjoy my music in; there were replicas of said chair that I could get for a fraction of the price. That rabbit hole goes and goes and eventually you’ll be in a dark alley in the garment district of a town unfamiliar, comparing subtle differences between replica manufactures. The shipping from San Diego to Honolulu was prohibitive ($300). I was again Eames-less, no prospects of contemporary furniture that would be a conversation piece to grace my listening room. Amazon, had me searching high and low for a distributor that ships to Hawaii. I’d found one, but they had the worst reviews. I stopped looking, knowing one would manifest its way into my life.

About two months ago I met Johnathon, he’s an interesting guy. He is a DJ’s, and proprietor of Your Enthusiastic Upholsterer. Similar to myself he’s a sailor, but is preparing to retire with 20 years of service. I’m not the only service member with the entrepreneurial itch, which is a good thing. Our first conversation consisted of all the key areas; Cars, music, hobbies…but then he said, Eames. “What was that you said?” I was salivating with the possibility of filling my room with a locally sourced chair (manifestation is a motherfucker).

A couple of weeks later Johnathon came to the house, and we had a listening session. One the both of us enjoyed immensely and yielded a familiar result for myself…but Johnathon (in the style of Kevin Hart), “he wasn’t ready”. Music has moved me in ways inexplicable since I was a child, and I’ve come to have a deeper relationship with it as I’ve grown older. I completely understand his response.

IMG_5748 (1) — Johnathon shares his thoughts on Facebook

That’s some humbling shit. I know how I feel when I’m listening, but sharing that with someone else is a rare and highly appreciated treat. I digress…the title of this post is “Sitting on Purple Rain…” My new listening chair; dubbed Purple Rain in honor of Prince is coming soon. Thanks to Your Enthusiastic Upholster. This is going to be a multi part post, and I’m looking forward to sharing the progress with you.

Before

Comment below and let me know what you think.

Thanks.

The secret life of a submariner

I’ve been in the Navy for 13 years, and have had the opportunity to travel (to mostly 3rd world countries) and expand my view of the world. Music is what has kept me grounded during my time away from home. When I have only my brothers beside me, and we are surrounded by the ocean…there was only music to connect me to the outside world. To cause memories to traverse the depths and stir parts of my thoughts that there is no stimuli for onboard.

The lady and I at the 2016 Submarine Ball

Running Vinyl for The People comes second to being the Leading Culinary Specialist on a Hawaii Based Los Angeles Class submarine. My time is stretched pretty thin, as I like to spend as much time cultivating the relationship with my lady as possible. She’s a business owner so, gladly she understands. And moreover, she supports my dream and for that among other things I’m extremely grateful.

Collecting records started for me in 2007. I was living in Portsmouth, NH and watching Reign Over Me. The first time I can remember seeing Adam Sandler be serious. It made me cry, and not being in the mood for tears…I thought, “I want some records”. So, I went and picked up a Neumark USB TT. No albums though. I went to Best Buy, (yes they sold records) and picked up Lily Allen – {The album with Fuck You}, and went home. I must have played that album 3 or 4 times before I headed to Bullmoose Music in downtown Portsmouth. I got distracted by the bar and never made it to Bullmoose, I had smoked my last cigarette; which led to the tobacco shop…which had records. Ever since that day they just manifest themselves into my life. That’s a piece my vinyl story.

What’s yours?

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.

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