“My love for Vinyl started in my grandparents basement before I could walk.”
“They had this amazing old record player that was built into a wood TV stand. It had built-in speakers on each side and the top opened up to store records. I would sit and listen to my grandparents big band, classical, jazz and Christian records all day and night. I told my mom that I wanted the player someday, but when the time came and my grandparents passed away, the record player was given away in the shuffle of clearing the house out. ‘
That was truly the one that got away. But I did manage to get some of the vinyl and I’ll cherish that forever.
Later in life, my girlfriend bought me my own record player and I’ve been collecting vinyl ever since. Everywhere I travel, the first place I Google is record shops. I usually try to find records that reflect that city.
While I was in Nashville, I would hit up the Sunday flea markets and find some classic country—Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings. In Chicago I found a great store in Wicker Park where I found blues and jazz—Coltrane, Miles Davis, Chet Baker. In LA I’m always on the lookout for classic rock—bands that remind me of what driving through Laurel Canyon in the ’70s would have been like… Zeppelin, the Stones, Fleetwood Mac, and of course the Eagles.
A couple of years ago I was living in Vancouver and had these bare white walls. I was just renting the place and didn’t want to spend money on fake art that I wouldn’t ever use again. And then I had the thought…I found a local record shop and went crazy with vinyl that I found there. The records not only served as my music to my journey that year but also as the artwork I hung all over my apartment’s bare walls.
I think my favorite record has to be from my idol, Bob Seger Live in his hometown of Detroit. Nothing beats the subtle scratch of vinyl behind the clear sound of musical parts. It’s the kind of sound that when you close your eyes, you feel like you just might be there with them in the room. And that’s why I love vinyl.”
—Riley Smith
“Radio,” the new single from Riley Smith is in stores now.
