Whitacre, The TVD First Date

“I’ll never forget the moment I finally gave into the vinyl craze. I had believed it to be a trend that would come and go in a year or two and be quickly forgotten about. That was until my buddy, Max, gave me a spare record player he had lying around his house that wasn’t getting any use.”

“I remember it being such a kind and unexpected gesture. I also remember feeling somewhat ‘obligated’ to buy at least one record to try the thing out. A couple of weeks later I went to see Rayland Baxter open for Fruition at The Ogden Theatre in Denver, CO. I picked up Rayland’s Feathers and Fishhooks LP for $20 and took it home with me. I’ll never forget sliding the vinyl out of its sleeve and discovering it was an opaque green record. I was instantly hooked.

I remember flipping that record back and forth 4-5 times that first night I got it—listening to every song on repeat. I think that was the first time I really appreciated a collection of songs and their ability to tell a story. I felt so stoked about buying a record that didn’t have a single song that wasn’t so enjoyable to listen to. I let that idea fuel my passion for vinyl.

I started wondering about other albums some of my favorite artists had produced that I could throw on the turntable and never worry about wanting to skip a song. Lief Vollebekk, Hippo Campus, The Oh Hellos, and Coldplay were a few of the first records I bought.

Shortly after I had scoped out all of the local record stores and had a collection of 25-30 LPs that I was proud of, I started wondering what it would look like for my band to make a record of our own. This idea sparked even more of an appreciation for vinyl than ever before.

I hadn’t really considered all that goes into making an album that offers something unique enough to convince a fan to buy a $25 vinyl vs. listening on Spotify for free. The artwork, song transitions, mastering and every song have to be so convincing.

It’s pretty amazing that vinyl records have not only influenced the way that listeners experience an album, but also the way artists think about the creative elements of their record, too. I wanted to make an album that engaged listeners the same way that Feathers and Fishhooks grabbed me that first night I bought it—I don’t know if or when I would have viewed the creative process the same way without vinyl.”
—Paul Whitacre