“The first vinyl I ever bought was a Freddie Hubbard record called Super Blue from Half Priced Books in Berkeley California. I’ll tell ya right now, Half Priced Books in Berkeley is exactly everything that you imagine when you hear Half Priced Books in Berkeley. Smack dab in the middle of the city, this shop has got the look, the nostalgic smell, and everything else you’re thinking up.”
“I remember stopping in the bookstore on the walk from a jazz big band rehearsal at the California Jazz Conservatory to the subway station. There is something royal about classic jazz on vinyl, and I couldn’t resist the tattered, well used look. My brother had bought me a turntable for my birthday that year, and I was delving heavily into jazz at the time. I picked out the classic John Coltrane record Giant Steps for a buddy, and got the Hubbard one for myself. There truly is nothing like listening to the pure, round tone and melodic genius of a trumpet player like Freddie on warm staticy vinyl.
Funny enough, I didn’t even know my parents had a record collection until I was in high school. With no turntable around the house, the vinyl remained inside a dusty old cupboard for years; it was only when I got this turntable for my birthday that we busted out the old collection and rocked out as a family. I vividly remember my mom’s excitement as she picked up an ABBA album and tossed it on the turntable. Next came the flood of James Taylor albums, my parents’ consistent go to for as long as I can remember.
For me, the pairing of visual art with the sound of a record is incredibly valuable. The visual element of a record becomes that much more vital when the listener must take the album out of the sleeve, put it on the turntable, and let it spin. The consumer then has a preconceived notion of the sound based on the image that they hold in their hands. Storytelling is woven into the core of music. There is the opportunity for narrative in sound, lyricism, visual representation, and the passing of physical vinyl through generations.
The imagery that is paired with a record is essential in setting up the listener’s experience. I recall taking a trip to Amoeba Records in San Francisco in high school and being absolutely captivated by the sleekness of Coldplay’s Parachutes album on vinyl. I already knew every song well, but seeing and holding the foot by foot sleeve gives one a new perspective on the music.
—Hayden Everett
“Who Are You,” the new single from Hayden Everett is in stores now.
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PHOTO: BRANDON PETERSON
