i grew up on vinyl since i was in my mother's womb... when i became conscious of what the physical format of vinyl actually was, i recognized that this medium which stored sounds was a healing mechanism- it was used to calm the soul after a fight, or just to recapture memories.
i used to purchase music on my own all the time, but it wasn't until i was 15 years old when i truly started seriously COLLECTING vinyl. some time after this initial point my first musical teacher (after my mother) was a man named pat. longo; he was quite patient with me as i sat wide-eyed and eager, simply listening to him share information and histories of different record labels. he'd wax poetic on the mechanisms of certain producers, arrangers and artists. it was the first time i had actually heard someone speak in depth about the SCIENCE of music- i was hooked for life. he'd put that needle on the first track and INSTANTLY knew what i liked. the shop he worked at (owned by the inimitable robert cohen), finyl vinyl, was filled with internationally known producers and DJs, as well as long-time music enthusiasts. i will always love and honor him for teaching me and making me feel welcome in this world- and we are still friends today, after almost 20 years.
in 2009, pat. was featured in a site called called dust and grooves, dedicated to featuring vinyl enthusiasts and collectors. he introduced me to the 'curator' of the site, eilon paz, who has started a kickstarter page to raise money for a book he is self-publishing. paz describes himself as having:
"moved to Brooklyn, NY in 2008 after having a successful career as a photographer in Israel. I decided to move to NY to evolve, expand, and progress as a professional photographer. As a working photographer, I was always on the look out for personal projects to nourish my creativity, and since I’m primarily a portrait photographer, I was looking for a subject matter that will fulfill my passion for photography and music. I was always collecting records, but back home it was very limited. When I arrived to NY suddenly the sky was the limit. People were digging for vinyl records everywhere. It suddenly made sense that there is a whole scene here that could and should be documented. This gave me a whole new inspiration for a personal project."
as a person who is a collector of vinyl (who is obsessed with looking at others' collections), as well as a person who has majored in photograhy (i studied under the great jazz photographer roy decarava); paz' project is something which intrigues me. it was definitely a pleasure to speak with him, as it's easy to feel the passion in which he feels for his work.
take a listen, watch and enjoy. and check out what the kickstarter project (which ends 10 august 1012) entails, as well as paz' dust and grooves site.
www.kickstarter.com/projects/dustandgrooves/a-photography-book-about-vinyl-collectors-dust-and
(note: all images/videos are copyrighted to eilon paz and dust & grooves...)
- KBOO