Vinyl Emergency

Latest Episodes:

Episode 61: Speech of Arrested Development Jun 23, 2017

Show notes

Grammy-winning Atlanta hip-hop collective Arrested Development exploded in the early 90's with hits like "Tennessee," "People Everyday" and "Mr. Wendal," as the band's debut LP -- 3 Years, 5 Months and 2 Days in the Life of... -- would quickly be certified 4x platinum. 25 years since that first record, and with a limited orange vinyl repress newly released by Universal Music, Arrested Development frontman Speech joins us to talk about the influence and legalities of sampling, his first exposure to vinyl through the promos his father received as a nightclub owner, the fascinating LP artwork of Funkadelic, the Ohio Players and Earth, Wind & Fire, being the first rap artist in his native Milwaukee to be on vinyl, and how crate digging in the 80's fueled not just hip-hop, but the music industry as a whole, while turning producers and DJ's into audio historians. Follow @speech__ on Twitter and Instagram, and get the band's music, tour dates and more at adtheband2.com!

Episode 60: Mastering engineer Ed Brooks (R.E.M., Death Cab for Cutie, Pearl Jam) Jun 16, 2017

Show notes

Seattle-area native Ed Brooks has engineered, mastered or lent a hand on some of the biggest indie records of the last two decades, such as Death Cab for Cutie's Transatlanticism, the self-titled Fleet Foxes debut and dozens of releases from Minus the Bear, Cursive, the Decemberists, Mastodon and more. His résumé also extends to albums for R.E.M., Heart, the B-52's and an astounding 70+ projects alone for Pearl Jam, including the mastering of their enormous bootleg CD series, which kicked off in 2003. Today, Ed fondly recalls some early vinyl memories of Buck Owens and Alice Cooper, his obsession with speakers as a teenager and why he shifted from engineering and producing into mastering in the late 90's. He also recommends a few Seattle-area record stores, chimes in on the vinyl vs. digital debate, and shares what it was like to be present for the creation of one of R.E.M.'s biggest hits, "Man on the Moon." Visit ResonantMastering.com or follow them on Facebook for more info on Ed's work!

Episode 59: Collector's Club with Andy Menchal (Dramatic Lovers / Decibully / Temper Temper) Jun 09, 2017

Show notes

Milwaukee isn't necessarily known worldwide for musical diversity, but it's safe to say that Milwaukee-area bands of all genres often share members, stages and a mutual respect for one another vs. a divisive, competitive mentality that might take place in a larger city. Andy Menchal is just one of the many versatile MKE musicians who has played in an array of acts over the years, from The Goodboy Suit's brand of intense indie-rock to the sweat-inducing dance-punk of Temper Temper to Polyvinyl alt-country troubadours Decibully to current five-piece Dramatic Lovers (featuring members of The Promise Ring, Maritime and Decibully). They recently released their debut 7" of Brit-pop-influenced shoegaze -- which wouldn't be out of place if released by 4AD or Creation Records -- and as a massive vinyl enthusiast, Andy talks today about his record collection, the Milwaukee music scene, how food and craft beer culture intersects with the world of vinyl, the record label he started with Sylvan Esso's Nick Sanborn, and more! Follow Dramatic Lovers on Facebook and Twitter, and pre-order their new 7" from ForeignLeisure.com.

Episode 58: Dave Porter (Better Call Saul / Breaking Bad) Jun 02, 2017

Show notes

As an award-winning composer, Dave Porter communicates mystery, tension, levity and everything in between with riveting instrumental music for film and television. Whether through Breaking Bad's hauntingly iconic theme or a percussion-heavy backdrop that emphasizes panic on Better Call Saul, Walter White himself Bryan Cranston has called Dave's work "evocative, meaningful and an essential part of the storytelling" we see every week. With highly-respected boutique record label Music On Vinyl releasing Dave's score to Better Call Saul's first two seasons June 9th -- and a terrific third season wrapping up June 19th on AMC -- Dave joins us to discuss why he wrongly assumed the score for Breaking Bad would never sell on vinyl, where he was the first time he heard Prince, his process behind the scenes, how his time in both Washington DC and New York City shaped his artistic growth and much more. Follow Dave on Twitter @daveportermusic, and visit his website at daveporter.tv.

Episode 57: Tim Minneci of Dig Me Out Podcast & Music Reissues We Need May 19, 2017

Show notes

Since launching in 2011, Dig Me Out has been essential podcast listening for music fans, as Tim Minneci and his co-host Jason Dziak dive head-first into classic albums, one-hit wonders, specific music scenes and more -- all within the alt-rock/indie universe -- often accompanied with an intriguing artist interview or a roundtable of journalists, musicians or fellow podcast hosts chiming in. Today, Tim drops in to discuss the current (and future) state of vinyl reissues, his work as a college radio DJ and program director, record stores near his native Buffalo NY suburbs, how fans of Dig Me Out are constantly introducing him to music he missed the first time around, and his captivating new blog -- Music Reissues We Need -- that focuses on albums that need a first time pressing on vinyl or at least a quality, commercially-available repress. Visit DigMeOutPodcast.com and MusicReissuesWeNeed.tumblr.com to follow the podcast and blog, and order Tim's two books -- 2013's Power Ballad and this year's Small Stories -- via Amazon!

Episode 56: Mark Piro of Analog Spark and RecordNerdz Podcast May 05, 2017

Show notes

As a longtime employee of Razor and Tie -- known for their compilation and reissue work in the 90's -- Mark Piro is living the dream that any record collector would want: Founding your own imprint and putting out high-quality represses of classic albums that haven't seen the light of day on vinyl in ages. Inspired by the work of Mobile Fidelity, Analogue Productions and ORG, Mark heads Analog Spark, dedicated to using only the best original sound sources, vinyl plants, jackets and sleeves while repressing favorites of yesteryear (Dave Brubek, Sam Cooke, Ella Fitzgerald) as well as much-needed alternative-rock reissues for Blind Melon, The Cranberries and Ben Folds, where original copies still go for several hundred dollars. Today, Mark discusses his journey in founding the label, his completist tendencies with The Beatles discography, how playing Rock Paper Scissors with Smashing Pumpkins' James Iha led to him scoring one of his prized Oasis possessions, how his vinyl habits differ from his co-hosts on the popular RecordNerdz podcast and much more! We also geek out on specific pressings from The Zombies, The Beach Boys, The White Stripes and Elvis Costello, PLUS you can win Analog Spark's recent colored represses of two Ben Folds releases: The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner on opaque red, and Songs For Silverman on clear! Visit analogspark.com and @analogspark on social media for upcoming releases, as well as @recordnerdz on Instagram!

Episode 55: Andrew Winistorfer (Senior Editor of Vinyl Me, Please) Apr 28, 2017

Show notes

Not only has record subscription service Vinyl Me, Please been supplying record lovers with exclusive album presses each month -- whether they be well-known classics, brand new releases or long-buried gems -- since early 2013, but they've also amped up their written content substantially since hiring on Oshkosh, WI native Andrew Winistorfer as their Senior Editor. The written portion of the site has become so popular in fact, that VMP recently had their first book published -- 100 Albums You Need In Your Collection -- a 250+ page, hardcover must-have for any record addict, available now at your preferred independent book retailer as well as Amazon, Target, Barnes & Noble and other major chains. Today, Andrew schools me on mainstream country as well as discusses his career in journalism, the incredible backstory to Marvin Gaye's "Here, My Dear" album, why major names in hip-hop aren't clued in to vinyl's resurgence, the popularity of VMP's recent Gorillaz and Fiona Apple pressings, some gems in his vast vinyl collection, recommended record stores in Madison and more. PLUS tune into learn how to win your own copy of the new Vinyl Me, Please book!

Episode 54: Kevin Bergeron (Waxwork Records) / Record Store Day 2017 Apr 21, 2017

Show notes

If you're a vinyl collector, a film buff or both, you likely know Waxwork Records' attention to detail, as they've pressed horror movie and cult classic scores and soundtracks on lushly-colored vinyl accompanied with extensive liner notes and mind-blowing packaging since 2013. Today, Waxwork CEO and co-founder Kevin Bergeron discusses his favorite New Orleans record stores, the process in selecting and pressing Waxwork releases, being a member of the first U.S. band to ever tour Cuba, working with Martin Scorsese on 2016's Taxi Driver release, his thoughts on this year's runaway hit thriller Get Out, and EXCLUSIVE news on upcoming Waxwork pressings for Queen Of Earth, The Exorcist, The French Connection, several Friday The 13th sequels and more! Tune in as well to enter to win a beautiful purple pressing of the score for 1980's Altered States by legendary composer John Corigliano! Visit WaxworkRecords.com for more info on the label and upcoming releases. Plus this week, we discuss this weekend's Record Store Day releases with Nick Digilio on WGN Radio 720AM in Chicago!

Episode 53: Strand of Oaks Apr 14, 2017

Show notes

Timothy Showalter -- the voice and mind behind Strand of Oaks -- describes himself as a "smiling, sweaty, straight-out-of-a-river wild man" this week, and the vibrant album cover of this year's "Hard Love" encapsulates his aura so well, it nearly jumps off the shelf. His infatuation with vinyl and music in general is contagious and vast, expressing his adoration in this episode for anyone from "Weird Al" Yankovic to Endless Boogie. Today, we also discuss the crazy night that led to the cover photo for "Hard Love," why having his face on his album covers plays into his joy of digging for vinyl, what some of his discography is going for online (and why he won't buy anything on vinyl over the internet), what the best sounding album in his collection is, loaning Basic Cable Band leader Jimmy Vivino his guitar when Strand of Oaks recently played Conan, his obsession with dub music, whether one can truly be present while listening to music alone, and much more! Visit StrandOfOaks.net for tour dates, social media, etc.

Episode 52: Levi Seitz of Black Belt Mastering RETURNS Apr 07, 2017

Show notes

Previous guest Levi Seitz of Seattle's Black Belt Mastering has an impressive résumé, including work with Chris Walla of Death Cab for Cutie, Macklemore collaborator Wanz and doing vinyl cutting for last year's Pearl Jam Vault Series release and Mother Love Bone reissues. This past December, another previous guest Rocky Votolato recorded three nights of performances at Levi's home, which has now been spun into "Live At Black Belt," Rocky's first live album, cut to vinyl by Levi and limited to 500 vinyl copies on pink/white swirl. This week, Levi returns to discuss how this new project came to be and how it was recorded, the distinct difference between "vinyl mastering" and "mastering for vinyl," working recently with Halo composer Marty O'Donnell, true sound differences between 1LP or 2LP releases cut at 33RPM vs. 45, how you can tell if records in your own collection have had to be re-cut, the importance of matrix numbers within the deadwax, the myth of the "hot stamper" and a fun Paul McCartney story.

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