The Vinyl Guide - Artist Interviews for Record Collectors and Music Nerds

Ahead of Mudhoney's Australian tour, Mark Arm talks vinyl rarities, bootlegs, Australian imports that blew Seattle's mind, and the daunting task of singing Chris Bailey's songs in The Saints 73–78.
Mudhoney's Aussie Tour Info & Tix here  |  The Saints 73-78 Aussie Tour Info here
Topics Include:
Mark Arm preps for Mudhoney's Australian tour, then the Saints.
He's worked at Sub Pop's warehouse for 21 years.
Not a collector anymore; he's cleaning out via Discogs.
Bandcamp lets fans try before buying; vinyl prices feel abhorrent.
The rarest "Touch Me I'm Sick"? The plain black radio copies.
Sub Pop's colored "Loser Edition" first runs get band input.
Holding Mr. Epp's first seven-inch felt unbelievable at age 20.
A cheeky flyering campaign caught the eye of Seattle's Pravda label.
Rodney on the ROQ played them, briefly charting above Toni Basil.
Music wasn't a career, just entertaining bored suburban friends.
Rock records were banned at home; his mother loved classical.
He smuggled forbidden seven-inches home under his coat.
Radio staples like "Radar Love" gave way to Cosmo's Factory.
Devo on Saturday Night Live was a Beatles-on-Ed-Sullivan moment.
He thought bands needed virtuosos, until friends started making noise.
Downtown punks, he realised, came from the same suburbs.
Steve Albini tipped him off to the Saints' Prehistoric Sounds.
A surf chat in Torquay sparked Saints 73–78.
Nailing Chris Bailey's phrasing and facing Saints purists felt daunting.
New Saints material? Ed has old songs; Mark's open.
Tom Hazelmyer ran Amphetamine Reptile from a Marine barracks footlocker.
His holy grail: Randy Holden's Population II, found in Vienna.
Records as time machines: even bad Jefferson Starship lyrics stick.
Doo-wop's market vanished, Stones records stall, yet Rumours keeps repressing.
His wife's first Stones album? Black and Blue, a stubbed-toe start.
Early Mudhoney bootlegs, possibly Long Gone John's, felt like a badge.
Deep Six codified Seattle's heavier punk underground.
Gambles on Australian imports like the Scientists and Feedtime paid off.
1990: bunking above the Lansdowne, and an empty second Auckland night.
Now: East Coast dates, Raglan surfing, and Saints shows with Jim White.
High resolution version of this podcast is available at: www.Patreon.com/VinylGuide
Apple: https://tinyurl.com/tvg-ios
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Support the show at Patreon.com/VinylGuide

Author Ben Merlis traces the Beastie Boys' wild leap from young hardcore punks to rap's first number-one album, revealing the rare records, recordings and scrapped ideas behind Licensed to Ill.
Pick up "Licensed To Ill at 40" book here
Topics Include:
How a short 2017 article landed Ben Merlis this book deal
Why the Beasties' punk-to-rap story fits Ben's two obsessions perfectly
The process of writing the book
Pollywog Stew: an unknown pressing run
How a Black Flag show sparked the Beastie Boys' hardcore beginnings
The Upper Broadway loft where they formed, demoed and played first
Lucky, well-connected teens, and why young genres are meritocracies
Scrapping an EP, crank-calling Carvel, and stumbling into Cookie Puss
Downtown dance-punk, and sets that switched from hardcore to rapping
Def Jam's surprising origins as Rick Rubin's punk label
Meeting Rubin over a bubble machine; Kate Schellenbach gets pushed out
Rubin, Dr. Dre, Hurricane: were the Beastie Boys' DJs really members?
Rock Hard & Beastie Groove
Def Jam's collectible burgundy-sleeve era, and how to spot them
British Airways steals Beastie Revolution and pays out $40,000
The settlement money buys an 808 instead of a Rickenbacker
No band cooperation, then a surprise interview with Mike D
The grief behind the jokes: losing parents young
Counting the White Castle references on License to Ill
Opening for Madonna at $500 a night with fifteen minutes' material
Recording Licensed to Ill, and pinning down its real release date
Fight for Your Right: written last-minute on Palladium cocktail napkins
MTV, race and radio: how they scored rap's first number one
The album's shockingly offensive working title, and why CBS killed it
The crashing-plane cover, Led Zeppelin worship and uncleared samples
A runaway tour, alienated fans and a messy split from Def Jam
Rubin blocks their movie, royalties stop, and lawsuits follow
Legacy: everything dope and whack about the 80s in one album
Rare pressings: tour show vinyl, blank Spanish LP, "Licensed to Kill"
French seven-inch box sets, Peruvian covers and a Japanese laserdisc
High resolution version of this podcast is available at: www.Patreon.com/VinylGuide
Apple: https://tinyurl.com/tvg-ios
Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/tvg-spot
Amazon Music: https://tinyurl.com/tvg-amazon
Support the show at Patreon.com/VinylGuide

Original Nirvana drummer Chad Channing shares stories from the Bleach era, Love Buzz single & other collectables, getting knocked out by Chris's bass and digging through his rare vinyl.
Topics Include:
Chad's prized find: an original Australian Dirty Deeds from a rummage sale
Hunting a Bill Evans record, and why jazz demands clean vinyl
Dad played LA jazz bass; Mom once sang with Chet Baker
How jazz quietly shaped his "drummer for the song" philosophy
Describing his drumming style in one word: adaptive
Nirvana's only instruction when he joined: powerful but simple
Coming from a math rock band with 13-part songs
The one time Kurt openly praised his drumming: In Bloom
How "About a Girl" got its name from Chad
Kurt finishing Bleach lyrics in a notebook while driving to the studio
Shelved songs, lost tapes, and Chad's forgotten cassette in the box set
Owning Love Buzz single #3; Kurt had #1, Chris #2
His blank-label Bleach test pressing, housed in a homemade cover
Nate authenticates Chad's Australian Waterfront blue vinyl live on air
The ultra-rare purple Waterfront pressing and why most were destroyed
Swirled Sub Pop variants, and why he's never played some
Knocked out by Chris's bass at the Bleach cover photo show
Tracy Marander's undeveloped rolls of never-seen Nirvana photos
Sub Pop steering early decisions while the band went along
Packed European shows: the moment they realized something big was happening
The Blew EP and its gynecologist-chair cover he never chose
Hiding under the drum riser with Kurt as bottles flew
Stuck alone in a broken Manchester elevator for half an hour
His European tour posters, including the coveted Lush show poster
Could his beat-up distortion pedal be Kurt's missing Astoria pedal?
A gifted Mustang, his kit at MoPOP, and heirlooms for his kids
Smart Studios sessions, and Dave Grohl keeping his drum parts
Here She Comes Now, Sappy, and becoming a Nirvana fan afterward
MS, a childhood leg injury, and a memoir about 73 moves
The wonderful photo by Rosetta Greek 
High resolution version of this podcast is available at: www.Patreon.com/VinylGuide
Apple: https://tinyurl.com/tvg-ios
Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/tvg-spot
Amazon Music: https://tinyurl.com/tvg-amazon
Support the show at Patreon.com/VinylGuide

From teenage Flaming Lips flyers to Nirvana and Soundgarden posters and record covers galore, Coop shares art-creation stories and the chaos of his record collection.
Grab one of Coop's "Poster Boy" books here!
Topics Include:
Introduces Poster Boy, his massive new career-spanning art book
Kickstarter (via Zoop) already blew past $40k raised
Coop admits he's "too much" of a record collector
Closing in on 10,000 records, out of shelf space
3,000-4,000 are 45s he actively spins as a DJ
Recalls chasing UK punk records early in his Discogs days
Loves Jamaican 45s for their rough, charming pressings
Tells story of scoring a stash of 60s garage 45s
Traces another haul to a Miami DJ's Jamaica trips
Confesses completist streak for The Fall, Guided by Voices
Owns up to buying every Bandcamp vinyl color variant
Prefers Bandcamp since money goes straight to the band
Talks Austin's record fair and reconnecting with old LA dealers
Describes current obsession hunting weird beatnik novelty 45s
Buys mostly on vibes and wild, bizarre label artwork
Explains how he broke into art through poster connections
Credits Greg Shaw and Long Gone John's Sympathy label
Became a top poster artist alongside Frank Kozik
Poster work opened the door to major record covers
Tells the wild origin story of the Lords of Acid cover
Discusses keeping Discogs updated for his family's future
Shares recent grails: a Beefheart 45, rare beatnik pressing
Explains his (mostly) organized system for shelving and DJ crates
Talks trading doubles, then wraps with a final Poster Boy plug
High resolution version of this podcast is available at: www.Patreon.com/VinylGuide
Apple: https://tinyurl.com/tvg-ios
Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/tvg-spot
Amazon Music: https://tinyurl.com/tvg-amazon
Support the show at Patreon.com/VinylGuide

Laura Jane Grace opens up about tours and donating gear to the Punk Rock Museum, her massive vinyl obsession, the wild story behind her first Against Me! record and more.
Topics Include:
Nate and Laura Jane Grace preview her Punk Rock Museum dates
She's donating her amp, guitar, and clothes, mostly for storage space
Museum's jam room lets visitors actually play donated instruments
Her photo greets everyone entering the Punk Rock Museum
Favorite museum artifact: Joe Strummer's last bag of weed
LJG is an avid vinyl collector who abandoned CDs entirely
Her collection fills Ikea shelves plus boxes of seven-inches
She now collects complete artist discographies, especially posthumously
Bowie's late career shows the appeal of complete discographies
She's donating a rare, flawed first-pressing Against Me record
Physical vinyl feels more meaningful to her than streaming stats
Reinventing Axl Rose has hundreds of variants; she's wary of the trend
Axl Rose has never publicly acknowledged their tribute record
She loves browsing new-arrival shelves during unhurried store visits
Their first pressed record had accidental distortion, but still sold
Touring made scheduling test pressings a constant headache
Warner Brothers surprisingly gave White Crosses back to the band
Her label, Total Treble, drew lessons from mentor Fat Mike
She worries algorithm-driven social media and AI hurt musicians
Her teenage son's DIY punk scene offers genuine hope
She discusses redemption debates and a German venue's IDF controversy
She closes by naming favorite record stores worldwide
High resolution version of this podcast is available at: www.Patreon.com/VinylGuide
Apple: https://tinyurl.com/tvg-ios
Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/tvg-spot
Amazon Music: https://tinyurl.com/tvg-amazon
Support the show at Patreon.com/VinylGuide