What is your earliest memory of hearing a record?
I remember when I was 3 or 4 years old, my family had this tiny portable record player from the late 1960s that I took apart with a pair of pliers and a hammer one day. Perhaps it was a reaction to my siblings' lousy taste in music at the time! The earliest records I can remember were Harry Nilsson's nutty "Coconut" and "Draggin' The Line" by Tommy James, both of which were 45s that my sisters had.

What was the first record that you bought with your own money?
Probably "The Empire Strikes Back" soundtrack in 1980. Man, that is such a nerdy answer, but it's true! The second was Talk Show by The Go Gos.

Why do you collect records? The rare music? The art? You like a particular medium?
I collect for a few reasons. First of all, I feel obliged to point out that I'm certainly not a vinyl Nazi. I don't believe that music is magically better on vinyl. For instance, I got into reggae in the 1990s, well into the CD era, so most of my reggae collection is on CD. However, vinyl certainly has a charisma that CDs will never have, and MP3s have no charisma at all. I really enjoy collecting vinyl that's not available on CD. With reggae, the mighty 7-inch single is still the mainstay of any serious collection, and so I love finding reggae 45s that aren't available on CD, or maybe tracking down a few favourite platters that I do have on CD but want the original singles. I enjoy the artwork when it's good, and simply pondering the sleeve notes and little details about the record when I'm listening to them. Even though vinyl is making a comeback, I generally only collect vintage vinyl, and enjoy owning these little pieces of history. Finally, when I think about all of the other stupid things I could be spending money on -- booze, drugs, video games, another subwoofer for my dick car -- spending money on records seems like a good idea.

What is the crown jewel of your collection?
Two records come to mind right away: "Man Of Dignity" by Roman Stewart and "Prisoner Of Love" by Dave Barker. The former is a rare single from one of my favourite reggae artists, and I wanted it for years and finally found a copy at a reasonable price a couple of years ago. The latter is a tune that has been included on hundreds of Trojan compilations, but my copy is a blank Upsetter single with a tasty bit of reverb on Barker's vocals that isn't found anywhere else. Both are killer tunes, and it makes me happy to own them. I also own one of the rare, original releases of Heart Of The Congos, which has a totally different mix from any other release of the album, so that's definitely a jewel.

What is your most exciting story wherein you tracked down a record that you wanted?
Well, thanks to eBay and Discogs, most of my record buying isn't that exciting! However, one very cool story is that years ago a local record shop was moving and decided to blow out all of their dead vinyl stock at 50 cents each. Mostly it was terrible -- Foreigner and Heart albums -- but suddenly there was this big stash of reggae records on the Joe Gibbs label. They had a few LPs and about a dozen 12-inch singles. Long story short, I bought almost everything they had for around $100, kept the ones I wanted, and ended up making about $1,000 selling the rest to some reggae dealers and on eBay. So that was a once in a lifetime score, I figure.

There's the old adage "You never regret records that you buy, but you always regret the one's you *don't* buy." What record got away from you?
I used to be quite competitive on eBay, but it's crazy. These days, the most I want to pay for a record is $40 or $50. Beyond that, I figure someone with deeper pockets wants it more. Almost any Glen Brown single on his Pantomime label goes for outrageous amounts, so those usually get away from me. I try not to dwell on the ones that get away, because there's always something else.

But, is there any record that you *do* regret buying?
Last month, I purchased Songs Of Love And Hardship by Earl Sixteen from some guy in Switzerland without checking the exchange rate between Swiss Francs and Canadian Dollars. Big mistake! It cost me close to $90 including shipping. Turns out it's a pretty dull album, so that's my regret.

How precious are your records -- That is, do you play them regularly, or do you keep them safe and locked away?
Of course I play them regularly -- that's what they're meant for! One of the main reasons I collect is because I have a radio show and that gives me an outlet for my collection. I can share my music every week with people listening to my program. Otherwise, why bother amassing a huge collection when you're the only one who will listen to them? That's my vibe, anyway. I try my best to sit down and listen to my records once a week, usually on a Sunday night. Most people listen to music in their car, or while cooking dinner, or plugged into an iPod during their commute. That's fine, but it's a real treat to actually sit down, relax and do nothing except listen to an LP (or a CD) once in awhile, is wonderful. I highly recommend it.

Is medium itself important to you? Why?
As mentioned, vinyl has a charisma that CDs will never have. You have to take care of them, it's more of an effort to play them, you need to turn them over after side one is over… All these things may seem old fashioned to some, but it's something that is lost in our age of everything being instant and digital. CDs are great, too -- easy to play, good sound quality, not as fragile as vinyl. I also dig CDs as a reggae fan, because it was the advent of the CD that made re-releasing reggae from the 1960s and 70s economically viable for record companies. Between 1998-2008, an amazing amount of reggae was rescued from vinyl oblivion and corroding master tapes and made available again. So, quite literally, the CD saved reggae, if you ask me. At first I didn't dig MP3s, because there was nothing tactile, which freaked me out. However, these days I can carry around hundreds of songs -- hours of music -- on a gadget smaller than a deck of cards, which is awesome. All things considered, I enjoy all formats of music. Every one has it's own advantages and things to like about them. Which is kind of funny sometimes, because at the age of 46 you would think I *would* be a vinyl Nazi, but I'm not. I know guys who are much younger than me who are vinyl Nazis and think that CDS suck and MP3s are the work of Satan.

What's your white whale record?
Maybe "Determination Skank" by Tommy McCook. One of those Glen Brown singles I mentioned earlier. Also "Public Jestering" by Judge Winchester -- one of my favourite Lee Perry productions, and always hard to find unless you want to pay a small fortune.

Do you have a favorite record shop?
My hometown has some good stores, but to be honest I only shop for records when I'm on vacation. I really like Into The Music in Winnipeg, Amoeba Records in San Fransisco is terrific, in Seattle there's Easy Street and Bop Street Records which are both great.

Any other comments?
I try to be a bit philosophical with record collecting, because I think that it's easy to get carried away. You have to ask yourself: do I own my records, or do they own me? What the eye doesn't see, the heart doesn't want, and so these days I'm pretty particular about browsing online and choosing my purchases carefully. I always think of that final scene of "Raiders Of The Lost Ark," when the Ark -- a precious artifact that people have lusted after for years -- is crated up and wheeled into this giant warehouse, lost as it ever was. Records can be the same way! The chase is always better than the kill, so I try to make sure that what I'm going for is a really cool record that I will enjoy.

Do YOU want to be featured in collector's corner? E-mail JohnG@punknews.org