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| BOX FULL OF RECORDS, January 2013 |
This one, “Box Full of
Records,” is a still life drawing – a sketch of objects not in motion.
But at my house, the vinyl
is always spinning.
I grew up in a house full
of records. We had a stereo in the rec room and I'd sit on the steps when I was
3 just to reach the thing. I used to drag my dad to Kresges and Trumbull Camera
and Hobby to buy 45s and, rarely, expensive albums. Every year there would be
more and more, and the collecting continues today.
There were once so many
labels, so many colors and swirling designs: Smash, Roulette, Capitol,
Columbia, Invictus, Dial, Uni, MCA, Track, Atlantic and its sister Atco, Verve,
Prestige, RCA, RSO, Red Bird, Warner Brothers, Cotillion, MGM, IRS, Musicor,
Dot, Chess, Epic, Capricorn, Reprise, Asylum, Bizarre, Dolton, DiscReet,
Virgin, A&M, Coral, Kapp, Cadet, CTI, Impulse, London, Blue Note, East-West,
Apple, Bearsville, Elektra, EMI and dozens of smaller imprints.
Here's another one, "It's A Groove," from 2010:
Here's another one, "It's A Groove," from 2010:
 |
| IT'S A GROOVE, Early 2010 (undated) |
Do you remember?
These beautiful labels have all been
absorbed now, devoured and digitized and conglomo’ed.
My favorite pieces of audio equipment have always been turntables because they are the source, the origin of where the music started for me.
 |
| HELLO IT'S ME, July 2011 |
It's not unusual for me to
go to a garage sale or auction and snag a few turntables just because they
catch my eye, or because it's such a shame to see a classic going for $5, or
just to have enough spare parts on hand. I guess I feel sorry for them and
don't want to see them thrown away.
I call them
"strays." And I take them in.
 |
| Garrard RC98/4 mono turntable, 1958. Restored. |
They are old but they make
me feel young again. The grooves used to be so deep. I miss them so much, and I
visit them often.
Tom Wills Productions, 2013, 2011, 2010.
