“I’m a child of the ’80s, so I grew up with vinyl being the main music format in the household.”
“My parents are big music fans, so I was lucky enough to grow up listening to original pressings of The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Marvin Gaye, and The Supremes. My mom was also a jazzercise teacher and bought a lot of ’80s pop music including Devo, The Stray Cats, and The Eurythmics. The cover art sticks with me to this day; it was so inspiring to look at strong photos of Annie Lennox and the mad outfits of Mark Mothersbaugh. Our local record store at that time was called “Licorice Pizza” (geddit?) and I absolutely LOVED going in there.
As a teenager I got really involved in the DIY/punk/hardcore scene in my hometown of Santa Barbara/Goleta. I played in a few bands, went to a ton of all-ages shows, and became good friends with people who ran record labels out of their own living rooms. These were the days when getting CDs made were just as difficult as making vinyl… so, they just put out vinyl.
My friend John Lyons (who these days makes beautiful guitar pedals) would put out records on his label, Reality Control. In fact, I was lucky enough to be featured on my first vinyl at the tender age of 16, when he put out a split 7″ with my band, 60 Cycle Hum.
At the time you had to really seek out the music you were into, the Internet didn’t really exist for most of us yet. We bought vinyl from touring bands, or mail ordered them from ads in zines, or even better, would buy stuff from our local shop, Deep Groove Records.
I still love going record shopping and it’s a joy to see that so many shops are returning and flourishing. The physicality and artwork on vinyl is incomparable to other formats. My record collection is well-worn and has stayed with me my whole life, whereas other formats are just so throwaway.
Vinyl also makes music listening a sit-forward event, unlike passively listening to your phone while on your commute. With September Girls, it’s never a question whether to release on vinyl, we love the format.”
—Jessie Ward O’Sullivan
“Our 4-track 12” EP, “Veneer” is coming out on Kanine Records/ Fortuna Pop! on the 24th/25th of November.”
