“My first experience with vinyl took place in 1983 on the night Michael Jackson was to release his newest music video ‘Thriller’ around the world. There was a big sleep-over planned within the neighborhood and I remember the living room flooded with kids and parents and friends awaiting the moment. In the meantime they played the Jackson 5 single ‘ABC.'”
“I was attracted to the record player and the small 7 inch piece of vinyl that spun fast around and made the room light up. That little piece of circular plastic made people speak up, made people mingle, and dance and jelled us together while we waited…
The video smashed and changed everyone in the room in an instant. Visions of Jackson as the zombie werewolf twirled in our heads while we slept. But that one Jackson 5 ‘ABC’ record seemed to be where all of this came from. All of this magic came from that tiny session, forever trapped on plastic, for the people.
I woke up and the first thing I did was sneak right towards that record player. I slide out the Jackson 5 record. I hadn’t touched it before and when I did it drew me towards it. I placed it gently on the turntable and set the needle down. The magic flew in front of me.
Hip hop was pretty young at this time and I’d heard of scratching and break beats, and so I started from the top of the song, over and over in the morning before my friends and family awoke. I felt like I was DJing! It was the record, the player, and me in that room alone. But when we played together we were in a full coliseum and life was all around.
The little things lead me here today musically. All the album covers and records I looked at, but was not allowed to play for years at a time. And later, owning my own copy of He’s The DJ, I’m The Rapper by The Fresh Prince and DJ Jazzy Jeff. I’d comb the credits while the record played. The music was closer to me than the jeans I wore to school. This was during the time of my first kiss, so I remember all too well.
On to the future! I’m very excited that my new album Good Sinner is available on vinyl. Please enjoy it at your local record shop. Let’s keep this big world spinning.”
—Pigeon John
Pigeon John’s new album, Good Sinner arrives in stores on September 23, 2016 via Dine Alone Records—on vinyl.
