“We are Dance for the Dying and this is our love letter to vinyl.”
Brad, Bass + Synth | “I’m still psyched when I see a new record store open up. I like going through bins at the Goodwill or Salvation Army – where I can find out of print records by never heard of artists. I like that record store owners can curate the shop with all the stuff they want people to hear. And I love listening to music that is mixed and mastered for vinyl.
But beyond that I love the way vinyl showcases a complete album. It can give the artist parameters to put serious thought into the mood and flow of the record. There can be a clear vibe to each side, and in turn an arc that each side can take. With records, there’s no worry that the meta-data might mess up and re-order everything. No worry that the song will be purchased out of its context.
I’m not hating on mp3s, but I like the way a record interacts with you. It tells you by scratching and skipping that its time to be flipped. Except in the case of Lou Reed’s “Metal Machine Music,” where it just goes on forever in a locked noisy groove.”
Chris, Drums + Percussion | “My uncle Mike’s the reason that I love vinyl. More of a big brother to me than an uncle, I was hardly through my first year of Elementary School when he came to live with us. He always had strange sounds coming through his bedroom door. When Mike came back from school he’d shut his door and spin his records. Once in a while he’d let me in. I remember sitting in his bedroom taking in the posters and giant album art that matched the bands playing on his turntable. I remember hearing Adam and the Ants, Twisted Sister, KISS, and Judas Priest. New synapses in my brain fired their first rock sputters.
As the ’80s pressed on I discovered Run DMC and Beastie Boys. They taught me that records could be scratched to create entirely new sounds and rhythms. I have no clue how many of my uncle’s great records and needles I may have destroyed by trying to scratch. Anyways, thanks Uncle Mike because of you I still love vinyl and my collection keeps growing.”
Josh, Guitar + Synth | “My parents liked music quite a bit, but only had a tiny collection of essentials on vinyl. So, it wasn’t until my early teens that I really discovered and developed a fondness for vinyl. And that fondness developed into a full-blown love by my mid 20’s.
My girlfriend and I obsessively began building up our collections. Having a vinyl hunting partner / enabler is a blast when you go to estate sales, where old houses and moldy corners can open up worlds of classical 45’s and out of print foreign records. We’d hit our favorite vintage shops and check out new records stores in the area.
Some of my favorite records in our collection are my recently signed copy of Deep by Peter Murphy, my limited run, hand numbered copy of Patent Pending by Heavens, my first U.K. pressing of Faith by The Cure, a limited run 7” copy of “Gloves” by The Horrors, and The Beach Boys’ Christmas Album.
M.C.. Lead Vocals + Lots of other stuff | The entertainment center in the living rooms of my childhood homes featured a reel to reel and record player, with tapes on clear plastic spools in boxes with deteriorating edges and shelves of vinyl collected by my parents during their young adulthood. For me, the youngest in the house, I was upgraded to a hand-me-down portable record player after outgrowing my Fischer-Price record player with the brightly colored plastic discs that played popular children’s tunes music box style.
When I was given my first Walkman things changed. Vinyl was no longer a prominent part of my life… until my brother became a teenager.
On the special occasions that he would take me to D.C. punk shows, I was given the duty of protecting his 7″ limited presses with photocopied inserts in plastic covers. And it wasn’t just punk records from punk shows. I remember his triumphant announcement after obtaining a copy of The Chipmunks LP that he was going to put it on a chain and wear it around his neck Flava Flav style. Vinyl was back on my mind.
Since then I’ve had a delicate relationship with records. Frequent moves and lack of working equipment has kept me reluctant to accumulate too much. At one point I moved around with a broken 1970’s record player on a rolling stand that I found on the street.
I love the sound and the nostalgia associated with vinyl, the surprises I find at second hand music stores, and the feeling of importance that goes along with a special record. Some day, when I’m ready to be an adult, I hope to have accumulated a collection that I’m proud to share. A representation of the best parts of my youth and young adulthood in single file ready to be shared with other eager listeners.”
Dance for the Dying are currently in the studio finishing up a new EP and play the Rock and Roll Hotel on April 20th with Silver Liners, We Were Pirates, and Tomio.
