Spirit Award, The TVD First Date

“I was never into vinyl much growing up, my family never had a record player.”

“One of my earliest memories of vinyl was going to my grandfather’s house and he had a record with “Big John Davy” by Jimmy Driftwood on it. I remember replaying that song over and over, and loving the sound of the needle scratching as I clumsily turned the needle back.

My first vinyl I got was Abbey Road. I found an original Apple pressing for sale at a coffee shop. I didn’t have a record player at the time, and I hadn’t even heard the record, but I knew it was important. I went to Goodwill and got a cheap player and put it on. It was the first time I realized that The Beatles were in fact musical geniuses (something I shrugged off in my younger years). This was really one of the first records I sat intently and listened to all the way through.”
—Daniel

“I’m was fortunate to have grown up in a household with a vintage 1950’s jukebox in our living room that worked and played 45s.”

“One of my first vinyl memories was as a young child (between the ages of 3-4) listening to 45s being played on my family’s jukebox. My favorite songs at that time were Steppenwolf’s “Wild Thing” and The Rolling Stones “Satisfaction.” I was always selecting those two tunes to get played.

My most memorable vinyl moment would have to be when I discovered Dorothy Ashby while in college when coming across her album Afro Harping in a record store. That album blew my mind off! It was so ahead of its time—it combined jazz, latin, funk, and rock ‘n’ roll all in one. When most people think of jazz harpists Alice Coltrane probably comes to mind—who is amazing don’t get me wrong. But do yourself a favor and check out Afro Harping by Dorothy Ashby, you will not be disappointed.”
—Chris

“The first time I had specifically gone out of my way to buy a piece of vinyl I really wanted was at a show in May of 2005.”

“Two of my favorite bands at the time were playing at the Showbox together (Bright Eyes and The Faint). Although Bright Eyes was technically the headliner, a lot of us felt that The Faint stole the show. Needless to say, I left with Wet From Birth by The Faint and still have that copy today of course! Now that the infamous venue where that show went down is in jeopardy of being torn down to make room for condos, the record means all the more to me.”
—Terence