“My obsession with vinyl records dates back to 2005 when I purchased a bundle of records even before I owned a turntable to play them on.”
“I remember seeing a vinyl sale from one of my favorite labels at the time, Asian Man Records. It was a mystery pack, but to me the perfect starter set, since it was a dozen new records for an affordable $40 or so. I remember receiving the package mailed directly from label owner Mike Park himself with a hand-written thank you note inside.
My only experience with vinyl prior to this was coming across my parents’ water damaged records sitting on a shelf in our basement. It was refreshing and inspiring to see bands and labels like Asian Man care about pressing music on vinyl.
Over the next year, I would casually and slowly add to my record collection. A punk record here, a ska-punk record there. It wasn’t until I saw the Jamaican film Rockers, that I found a love and fascination for reggae and traditional ska music as well as Jamaican culture. If you’ve never seen it, Rockers is a cult classic film that features many of the top reggae musicians and performers of the time playing themselves; it’s a must see for anyone with even a passing interest in Jamaican culture.
There’s a particular scene in the film during which singer Kiddus I tracks a tune called “Graduation in Zion” in the studio with footage of a record plant pressing up 45s spliced in toward the end. I was so captivated by the movie, and this scene in particular, that I began looking for these old Jamaican records at stores. At the time, I was used to seeing plentiful rock and jazz sections at used record stores, but I had yet to find reggae sections with anything besides the same UB40 and Third World records that seem to appear in every store around the country.
Slowly but surely, as I began to dig deeper and visit more and more stores around the country (playing in a touring band helped!), I began finding those classic Jamaican records, just like the ones that can be seen in Rockers.
Playing in The Pinstripes for the past 10 years has introduced me to many people across the country who have broadened my musical horizons. One in particular would be Anthony Abbinanti (aka King Tony) drummer for the Chicago-based dub reggae band, The Drastics and an avid reggae and soul record collector and DJ.
We’ve played with his band a number of times over the years as well as recorded at Anthony’s studio. Seeing Anthony’s record collection at his home studio for the first time was mind blowing. He has thousands of classic reggae and soul LPs and 45s. He has served as inspiration as well as competition on occasion to dig deeper and find those vintage reggae albums.
One of my favorite finds is a record from the early ’80s that features an albino dancehall singer named Yellowman. The cover sleeve and the label both list Yellowman as the artist, but when you listen to the disc, it’s clearly not him. In fact, it’s another albino dancehall singer named Purpleman.
In 2010, I moved from my hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio to San Francisco, California. All of the sudden I had access to the famed Amoeba records whenever I felt like spending a decent chunk of change. Amoeba Records in Berkeley and the SF location on Haight Street are amazing (and overwhelming) places to spend a few hours, but what I really enjoyed most was discovering the smaller record stores just down the street from Amoeba.
My favorite store in SF is probably Groove Merchant Records, also on Haight Street. They consistently have a plentiful and well-curated collection of punk, Brazilian, hip hop, and of course old reggae and ska LPs. Haight Street also has the gem known as Rooky Ricardo’s. This store features almost entirely old soul records, with boxes and boxes of 45s covering the walls. The owner, Dick Vivian was recently profiled in GQ magazine. I remember spending time there in 2010 and 2011 with Nick Waterhouse working behind the counter. Nick is a musician who has since gone on to blow up in the world of old school R&B. I spoke to him at a show about the 45 for his tune “Some Place.” That record was pressed in Kentucky on machines that were previously owned by the famed King Records in my hometown of Cincinnati, OH.
One of the great things about playing in the Pinstripes has been that we’ve been able to put out our own music on vinyl. Because they were self-releases, we were able to do it our own way and on our own budget. A number of my band members collect records as well and this directly influenced our desire to make our own records special.
In 2009, we released a split 10″ record on blue and clear vinyl with the Green Room Rockers called Midwest Soundclash that included hand screen printed sleeves and hand letterpressed liner notes. In January of 2012 we released The Pinstripes / I on vinyl which included a hand screen-printed front and back cover sleeve, a poster with artwork and liner notes and a CD inside. Our bass player at the time, Chris, made a short documentary/how-to on the album screen printing process for the Midwest Soundclash.
I’m coming up on 10 years as a record collector and I’m just scratching the surface of what’s out there. It started with a couple of ska-punk records from Asian Man Records, but it’s turned into a collection filled with everything from bossa nova and soul to hardcore and folk, and of course, plenty of vintage Jamaican records.”
—Matt Kursmark
The Pinstripes’ “Meet King Tony: Chicago Connection” 7″ is available now.
