Vinyl File: Vinyl File: Interview with an Against Me! collector and upcoming releases

You're the lucky reader of the 24th edition of the Punknews.org Vinyl File. This column aims to keep you informed with upcoming releases as well as spotlighting interesting releases, your favorite band's own collections and labels with an history of vinyl releases worth talking about. As always, Vinyl File is brought to you by Ben Conoley.

This week Vinyl File took some time to talk to Daniel Moncada who has one of the largest Against Me! collections you'll ever see. We spoke to Daniel about record collecting, Against Me! and all things vinyl in general.

Not only that, but we've also got word on new releases and reissues from No Idea Records, None More Black, The Broadways and more.
Click Read More for the interview.

THE VINYL FILE SPOTLIGHT
Tell us who you are and where you live

My name is Daniel Moncada and I am 21 years old. I've recently just relocated to San Diego CA, but I am originally from Victorville CA.

Record collecting doesn't really provide much of an income - what do you spend your days doing?

I'm a full time student, so I spend most of my time going to school and holding a part-time job. When I'm not studying or working, I find myself spending time with my girlfriend, or going to shows. I really don't do anything exciting or anything, in fact I find myself pretty boring.

Were you very interested in music/music collecting at all before jumping into records?

I've been very interested in music from the start. I love listening to new music and exploring / discovering different and new bands. Before collecting records, the only thing I collected that was music related were t-shirts and CDs. I've got around 70 different band t-shirts, along with hundreds of CDs. Now, I mainly focus on collecting vinyl and prints/posters from different artists.

When did you first get into record collecting - do you remember what your first record was?

I heavily got into record collecting a few years back, maybe sometime around 2004. I really enjoyed the aesthetic quality that vinyl has to offer, and the various amounts of different colors / inserts / silkscreened covers that came along with collecting vinyl. CDs and Cassettes really cannot compare to the physical quality vinyl holds. The limited quantity that some vinyl carry makes It really cool to own as well. The first record that I purchased was Black Flag's Damaged LP, and after listening to it on vinyl, I quickly fell in love with the rawness and sound quality that vinyl can produce.

Were you into collecting any bands before you got so heavily involved with Against Me!?

No, Against Me! was the first band that I became heavily involved with when it comes to collecting vinyl. Though over the years, I have slowly gained decent vinyl collections from bands such as: Black Flag, Bright Eyes, Defiance, Ohio, NOFX, and Propagandhi. Once my Against Me! collection is pretty much done, I plan on finishing up my other collections, along with starting some new vinyl projects.

Do you recall when you first heard Against Me!?

Yes, it was in late 2001, early 2002. I had stumbled across plan-it-x records, and came across their Crime EP. Then Anti-Flag released their mobilize album in Feb. 2002, which contained Against Me!'s song "I still love you Julie" on the A-F sampler that came with it. By then, I was hooked, and became really involved with the band and their music. I then came across Against Me!'s website, which was run by Stevo of 1234 GO! Records during the time, joined their message board, and started to attend as many shows of theirs that I could.

What was it about the band that struck you?

Their music was something I have never heard before, the passion and emotion from their earlier releases definitely made the band stand out. Sadly, their newer material does lack their rawness/emotion their earlier releases once had, but it still has that Against Me! "feel" to it. Their live shows are really something to experience, especially pre-2003 shows. They have by far been one of the best bands I have seen live, and the vibe their shows give off is really something to experience.

What was your first Against Me! vinyl purchase?

My first Against Me! Vinyl purchase would have to be the 1st pressing of Disco Before For The Breakdown on translucent Red vinyl in January 2003.

At what point did you decide that the Against Me! collection was something that you wanted to pursue a little more aggressively?

At first, I just wanted to collect different colors of Reinventing Axl Rose, this was my set goal. After I joined various record trading message boards, such as nofxwiki, VLV, and the message board over at recordcollectorsguild.org, I realized that I wanted to further my collection, and had decided to complete their entire discography, including color variations. After entering the record collecting community, I've got in contact with other Against Me! collectors: Scott Simcox, Matt Flood, Andy Thompson, and Billy Hamilton. Without them, my collection would not be where it is today, as we all helped each other out in one way or another. Scott and Billy especially helped me out in my collection, as they both gave me first dibs into their giant AM! collections, and were able to sell me whatever I needed / wanted for mine. They were definitely a huge part in filling the gaps in my collection, and are indeed really nice guys.

Off all the bands to decide to pursue a complete collection of, Against Me! is one of the toughest around - was that something you considered before getting into it? Once you got started?

Once I got heavily into collecting Against Me! Vinyl I really did not consider how hard it will be to track down color variations less than 200. Of course, some were easy to find via ebay or message boards, but there were tons of stuff I was going crazy over, and I was unable to find them for awhile. At times, it would take me months and months just to hunt down one specific color that I needed. So I kind of cheated and got in contact with Var Thelin of No Idea Records. He has always been very nice to me from the start, and was willing to help me complete my collection. He gave me a list of all the stuff he had available, and I quickly snatched everything I could.

What Against Me! records have been particularly troublesome in adding to your collection?

By far the hardest to track down were color variations of the Acoustic EP that was put out by Sabot Productions. These were extremely hard to track down in particular, because each press is limited to not more than 250 copies of each color, some being as limited as 13 copies. It took awhile, but patience finally paid off and every color was eventually in my possession. Another troublesome record was Against Me!'s S/T 12" EP (the record release show version out o f 50). A member of one of the record trading message boards I was part of had actually won a copy off of ebay. I eventually made him a huge offer of 9-11 7inches, along with 1 test pressing. I guess he liked what he saw, because 2 weeks later I had a nice S/T 12" at my door step. It has been by far my most satisfying trade yet.

Do you have any other interesting or funny story about how you came across some of your records?

I really don't have any funny stories about records I came across, but I have some interesting ones. A lot of people were aware of my collection and how close it was to completion. Once the word got out, I started to receive numerous emails from people on message boards that I am involved with. They were willing to sell me stuff I needed for my collection for just the cost of shipping, which was really cool and it helped me out a lot. It was awesome. I had also received an email about a year and a half ago, about some leftover Against Me! - S/T 12"s that were found; making a long story short, I ended up scoring a copy for 10 dollars postage prepaid. It was a wet dream come true.

There must be a few that you still can't count as your own - what are your white whales?

My white whales currently consist of : Crime 7" Test Pressing, Acoustic EP 7" Test Pressing, Eternal Cowboy LP Test Pressing, Searching LP Test Pressing, and the Vivida Vis cassette tape. Other than that, I have pretty much everything minus some no idea releases that are limited to less than 4 copies. I've contacted Jordan Kleeman about some Sabot test pressings, but the only copies went to the band, so I doubt I'll ever see any of those surface.

Do you collect anything else AM! releated such as shirts, prints, posters, etc?

Yes, I have a pretty big t-shirt collection that I have gained throughout the years, along with a good handful of some rare prints and posters. My favorite poster would have to be the promo poster that Sabot Productions put out in 2002, to help promote the crime 7" / CD EP and the Acoustic 7" / CD EP, it's pretty awesome.

Against Me! has been catching a lot of flack recently. What has made you stick around as such a devoted fan?

Even though I do not agree with everything Against Me! has done in the past, I can honestly say I still have respect for them. From a band that had dumpster dove pickle buckets to use as drums, they sure have gone a long way to what they have become now. They have started from the bottom of the barrel, and have definitely worked their way up to a now "mainstream" level. So in general, their dedication as a band has kept me a fan.

What's your official list as to what your Against Me! collection includes?

Well, im not going to list each record individually, because it will take up tons of space, but here is a breakdown of what I currently own.

Demo Tapes

2 Demo tapes, which includes Toms S/T Demo Tape that he recorded when he was 18, and a Crime Demo / Promo Tape, with different versions of I still love you Julie (which is called "Hanging on for a scam"), and 8 full hours of sleep (which is called "8 full hours until tomorrow).

S/T 12"

4 copies total. This includes, 2 copies that open from the side, 1 copy that is hand numbered out of 50 (record release show, w/ red star stamp), and 1 copy is the cover only.

Crime EP 7"

11 copies total. 4 different colors total, along w/ 3 different shades of pink and one of the very first copy released, which contains a die-cut cover.

The Acoustic EP 7"

18 copies total, which includes a rare promo version and 15 different colors.

Disco Before the Breakdown, EP 7"

37 different colors total.

Reinventing Axl Rose LP

44 different colors, which include 3 different test pressings.

Cavalier Eternal 7"

32 different colors, including 1 test pressing.

Sink Florida, Sink 7"

21 different colors, including 1 test pressing.

Fat and Sire Releases

I have every color of each release Fat and Sire has put out for Against Me! so far.

THE PUNKNEWS.ORG VINYL FILE

A vinyl release of Paulson' All at Once will see the light of day this spring via One Day Saviour and Cavity Records. More info on the release and label can be found at their website. Oneday Savior Recordings is also expected to collaborate on he release.

Nine classic Killing Joke albums are set to be released on vinyl with most of them coming out as double 180g LPs and including bonus tracks. More info on the reissues can be found here.

No Idea Records has yet another slew of represses coming out. Hot Water Music has three represses available including Caution on yellow and pink (each limited to 200), A Flight and a Crash on yellow vinyl (limited to 210) and No Division on unknown numbers of assorted colors. Small Brown Bike is included in the mix with Dead Reckoning available again, this time on orange and limited to 200. 135 orange copies of This Shit is Genius by Dillinger Four have been pressed and finally Defiance, Ohio's 2006 effort The Great Depression is available on assorted colors.

Molssok Records from Richmond has the third album from RVA's Hex Machine available. Run to Earth is available in a number of colors including "sunshine yellow," "white with Robin's egg blue haze" and "grey with robin's egg blue haze." Also available from the label is a split 10" between Thank God and Tigershark and a split 12" between Tigershark and !Apeshit!.

1-2-3-4 Go! Records has announced they are doing the vinyl version for the latest album from The Cute Lepers, Can't Stand Modern Music. Pre-orders are being taken now with the record available in both blue (/200) and white (/500) vinyl.

Sabot Productions has finally announced that None More Black's swan song This Is Satire will in fact be released on vinyl in a strictly limited edition of 500. While the label had originally planned on doing it over a year ago, things lost steam and it took the encouragement of a certain former Punknews editor to get things rolling again.

Pegasuses XL's The Antiphon LP is now available as a pre-order from Asbestos Records on white vinyl with ranbow splatter (/150) and black/white swirl (/350).

Kiss of Death Records have a new 7" available from Mouthbreather. The self-titled 7" is limited to 300 copies on clear green vinyl.

Earlier today Asian Man Records uncovered 80 copies of The Broadways' classic Broken Star. They are bound to be gone any minute now, so if you want one, quit sleeping on it.

Chase Pagan's Oh Musica! is now available on vinyl care of the fine folks at The Esperanza Plantation.

Relapse Records is going to be releasing a split between Rosetta and The Minor Times. The 12" is scheduled to come out some time early this year.

Second Nature Recordings is taking pre orders for Able Baker Fox's Voices. It is available on both yellow and blue/orange vinyl.

If you have anything you would like to see featured in an upcoming Vinyl File, email ben (at) punknews (dot) org.