I could have easily done 10 per genre. I follow a very easily defined philosophy: NO SHOWTUNES, NO CLASSICAL with very few exceptions to this rule. My collection consists of endless white boxes stacked to the ceiling and around the room for the 45s and 12" thick wallpaper running down the load-baring wall of our apartment. Half the LPs have been moved to a storage space since my son was born.

1: Side A. "Jazz and a New Perspective" - Donald Byrd

Every Thursday night my Father would play my brother and I a few records from his collection. Mom worked late on Thursdays so this was sort of our Boys Night Out. We would go through Jazz, Country, R&B, Soul, and Rock you name it. My dad has hundreds of records. This is when that nasty vinyl bug bit me. We played this record a lot. Later it also was the record that brought me back to listening to Jazz.





1: Side B. "it's Just Begun" - Jimmy Castor Bunch
My Brother and I have very strong memories of music growing up. Neither our Mom or Dad play music but they have a passion for music unlike any of the parents I knew growing up. Driving around in my Dad's Ford Fairlane 500 listening to "It's Just Begun" on 8-track is one of those very vivid memories. Cars and music. In high school I had a 1972 Dodge Dart Swinger with my Dad's 5 spoke Craegar's all around. I blasted my own copy of this, James brown, Blue Note jazz, Punk, Hardcore and "Good Ol' Rock-N-Roll (as well as anything else I could get my hands on) for all to hear. Whenever I get to roll the windows down and crank a favorite record I think of my younger days. William De Vaughn style…

2. "Goin' Down" - The Monkees
The Monkees TV show was already in re-runs when my brother (18 months my elder) and I were kids. When the episodes would air with "Goin’ Down" we would go nuts. Over 30 years later it has the same reaction. The song was always the background music for the most psych moments of the show. Mod or Rocker? Fuck that shit, these freaks made the movie/LP "Head."




3: "Red Hot Mama" - Funkadelic
Bought this because it was on the same label as KISS. Wow, you can imagine my surprise. Some people blow off Parliament/Funkadelic as NOT being Funk. I have no idea what Parliament/Funkadelic are to this day but I'll put "Maggot Brain" up against any record in any genre any day! This is a bridge between Rock and Soul, fortunately the bridge leads to a maze of styles.





4: "Paranoid Time" - The Minutemen
This is classic 80's Hardcore; political, fast and inspiring. D. Boon said that every block in every neighborhood should have a band on it. Well, if that band was the Minutemen then that would have been the best place to grow up. I have DJed art openings and played this in its entirety several times in a single night (both sides) with no complaints. The Minuteman mixed the short fast sounds of hardcore with the grooves of classic funk. This band is one of my top 3 favorite bands.





5: "The Modern Dance" - Pere Ubu
Some people get religion some people need to find themselves, I believe the process is mutual. Robert Cohen owner of Finyl Vinyl says of music, “It will go to who ever deserves it.” More and more I agree. I fell in love with Pere Ubu’s music in the early 80’s and discovered the writer Alfred Jarry in the process. These 2 events happened simultaneously. Because of this record I love progressive music and have played in an (prog) instrumental band for the past 12 years. The writings of Alfred Jarry have inspired my art and music.





6: "Signals, Calls and Marches" - Mission of Burma
I probably heard “Academy Fight Song” first but who cares “That’s When I Reach for My Revolver” was the icing on the cake. No other rock band has influenced me more about aggression, song structure, and dynamics. They broke up and Roger Miller went deaf before I got to see them. They reformed in 2000, and they were phenomenal. Mission of Burma is equally important to me as The Minutemen and Pere Ubu.





7: "Radio Free Europe" - R.E.M.
Believe it or not NYC did have moments of decent radio. One of those moments was Meg Griffin's "Prisoners of Rock" show. She would play anything that she recently picked up locally. She played this 45. It took me a few months to get a copy. THIS IS MY GUILTY PLEASURE (and my dirty secret); I was a member of R.E.M.’s fanclub, they sent a Christmas single every year in a very creative package. R.E.M. continued to get better and better and took a very long time before they sucked.





8 : "Jack Pepsi" - TAD
TAD was one of the earliest additions to the SUB-POP label. I used to receive a 45 a month from SUB-POP during their heyday. One day a 45 showed up out of the blue, a promo. Drinking and driving on a frozen lake in a 4X4. This is the stuff that epics are made off. I try to listen to this record once a day, everyday.





9: "It's Your Thing" - Cold Grits
"Diggin' the crates" is an oft-used term. In the mid 80's I did some serious diggin' mainly in NYC junk shops. One junk shop in particular, run by Fat Larry, had milk crates stacked on milk crates stacked on milk crates. I signed each crate that I had finished going through and continued the process for close to a year. This was one of the most impressive finds. This was one of my first real rare funk finds but didn't know it at the time, I just knew it was fucking great. This is the bug that bit me and has now cost me bundles.





10: KISS – EVERYTHING
OK, up until they recorded “KISS Unmasked.” (“Music from 'The Elder'” - Leave the progressive stuff to Soft Machine and Can.) KISS were everything to me and my best friend at the time Lenny Marcocci. Kiss was heavy, they were cool to look at and of course parents hated them. Schools tried to ban them. Knights In Satan’s Service! The “Kiss Meets the Phantom” movie was horrible yet brilliant. “Kill, crush, destroy” chanted the evil KISS replicas. Dubbed voices, bad effects who could ask for more? I was a member of the KISS army when I was 9 years old.

city you live in?
Hoboken, NJ - Heaven, Hell or Hoboken? As you may know, Sinatra lived here once.

how long you have been collecting?
I bought my own records (45s) at the age of 9 (1975) from money I made from cutting lawns. I bought my first LP when I was 11, Queen - "s/t." On my 12th birthday I bought the Mothers “Live at the Fillmore East”. My Dad would take me to the city for my birthday to buy records and ride on a train.

most heart stopping find on a digging session?
Dyke and the Blazers - "Dyke's Greatest Hits" for 79 cents from a junk shop

top spots for record hunting?
At 37 and with a kid, the internet. Mr. Fine Wine has been very very good for my collection and my soul.

ebay. good or evil?
EVIL. We sold a sealed, original, Mono Sgt Pepper's for almost $3000, need I say more. GOOD. I bought some LPs by the Ambient/Prog Metal band Isis recently for a great price and in great condition. OK, I guess I'd say both.

motown or stax?
Your kidding right? STAX.

sneakers or shoes?
New Balance 587. Same ride since I was 14.

creole or gumbo?
Jambalaya

favourite tipple?
Lately, Yuengling. In the Tavern, Guinness Stout.

where can people see/hear you play?
Every Tuesday at Maxwell's in Hoboken, NJ for Sabroso! Latin, Afro beat, R&B, Funk, Soul and Brazilian.

anything to add?
Collector’s Creed
You will...
Never know everything,
Never own everything,
Never hear everything.
Have an open mind and above all, ENJOY.

(Conceived at the counter of Finyl Vinyl – NYC where I watched a lot vinyl change hands for over 12 years.)