Tell us a little bit about yourself: My name is Carl Frazzano and I live in a suburb about 20 minutes north of Atlanta, GA called Roswell. When I am not selling my soul to Corporate America, I run Ghosts In The Garret Records in my town.  We have an eBay store, a website that is very close to being done, and a couple of booths at an Antique Shop called City Antiques Roswell (@ghostsinthegarretrecords on Facebook). We run the gamut of old and new vinyl, 45s, books, posters/art, and collectibles. I used to have a focus on Scores/Soundtracks and rarities but have expanded substantially over the last year.  I am also lucky to be the father of an amazing 1-year-old boy named Vincenzo. He happened to meet Fabio Frizzi last year while his mama, Ana, who won Best Human Ever for taking us to see him while she was 9 months pregnant.  2 weeks later, we become first-time parents and he automatically becomes way cooler than his Dad. Those were her loving words, not mine. I try to squeeze in reading, hiking, playing music, and watching only the finest B-Movies between dirty diapers and joyful 24-hour marathons of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.   

Tell us a little bit about yourself: 
I've always been into horror and Halloween. I started collecting records when I was about 12 and now I have over 1000 records. It was only a matter of time before record collecting and my obsession with the macabre met. Most of my collecting has been centered around horror soundtracks and Halloween records for quite a while. I've been a musician the majority of my life and over the past several years I've been recording and producing my own horror and haunted attraction albums as Jacob Renfield Boston. My dream would be to press one on vinyl, but for now I'll have to settle for Bandcamp, Spotify and other streaming sites. I'm going to try to release my next album Witchwood by the first day of fall and I'm super excited.

First album:

Favorite Enjoy The Ride or Enjoy The Toons release: 
Tales from the Crypt! I had been waiting so long for someone to press that! When I was a kid growing up in the 90s I always looked at the Crypt Keeper as the Santa Claus of Halloween. I have been a huge fan of the show ever since. Before you released the album I had been listening to the soundtrack on cassette a lot. I actually randomly posted it on Instagram asking for it to be pressed and you messaged me to let me know you were working on it. I did take the post down so it didn't spoil it, but I was so excited and you did not disappoint. I also listen to my Tales From the Crypt: Have Yourself a Scary Little Christmas a lot during the Horrordays... just saying...

Favorite album artwork: 
Nosferatu the Vampire by Popol Vuh. Artwork by Jessica Seamans. I have loved everything that I have seen of hers but this one is my favorite. I also love all of the artwork that are on the original releases by companies like Varese Sarabande and Milan. That's part of the reason I really dig your soundtrack work. Sometimes I just really love the original covers or poster art on the albums.

What are your favorite local record shops, in case any readers are traveling through your town in the future? 

Bric a Brac Records and Dave's Records in Chicago are simply the best. Super nice people and extremely knowledgeable and helpful. I went to Bric a Brac to buy a copy of Halloween 2 and we talked breifly about Halloween 3. They didn't have any in stock and it was tough to find at that point but later that week they emailed me. They tracked down an original copy for a good price and shot me the link. They are great!

What have you been listening to more frequently lately? 
The Unsolved Mysteries score by Gary Malkin
Over the Garden Wall score by The Blasting Company
Marshmallow Ghosts' self titled album

Any specific albums you wish you had on vinyl?

Albums that have not been pressed on vinyl:
Sleepy Hollow score by Danny Elfman
The Innkeepers score by Jeff Grace
Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark score by Marco Beltrami
The Village score by James Newton Howard
Lost World: Jurassic Park score by John Williams
Brazil score by Michael Kamen
Delicatessen score by Carlos D'alessio
What Lies Beneath score by Alan Silvestri
Hocus Pocus soundtrack/score
Goosebumps TV score
Are You Afraid of the Dark? score

Records that need a repress:
Mulholland Drive score by Angelo Badalamenti
Pans Labyrinth score by Javier Navarrete

What was the best album(s) you've discovered this year (it can be anything, doesn't have to be a new release): 

Spookshow Spectacular from Something Weird. Its a weird album full of vintage spooky music and Halloween radio spots. It's great!

What upcoming releases are you most excited about?
The Last of Us 2
The Mandalorian
X-Files

Were you able to snag any releases in the August Record Store Day Drop? Anything you're looking forward to in the September RSD Drop?

I did not snag anything. I do want the X-Files soundtrack by Mark Snow. I am interested in the Gorillaz G Sides and D Sides and the Synecdoche, New York score by Jon Brion

Since many of us are still practicing social distancing, can you make a few top 5 lists for us, to help keep folks at home entertained?

Top 5 Albums

My top non film scores are...
Rain Dogs by Tom Waits
Music From the Adventures of Pete and Pete by Polaris
Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness by The Smashing Pumpkin
Nilsson Schmilsson by Harry Nilsson
Dead Man's Party by Oingo Boingo

My top film scores are...
Jurassic Park by John Williams
Twin Peaks by Angelo Badalamenti
Halloween by John Carpenter
Coraline by Bruno Coulais
The Evil Dead by Joe Loduca
Creepshow by Jon Harrison

I know that was 6 but...

Top 5 Films
Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn
Eraserhead
Jurassic Park
Blade Runner
The VVitch

Top 5 Books
Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury
Pet Sematary by Stephen King
1984 by George Orwell
The Scary Stories Trilogy by Alvin Schwartz
Rapter Red by Robert T. Bakker

Top 5 Podcasts
Werewolf Ambulance
Stuff You Should Know
Scary Stories Told in the Dark
See Jurassic Right
Faculty of Horror

Scenario time! If you could create a vinyl variant for any album (already pressed or never been pressed before), what would it look like? Feel free to get creative with this one, its always awesome to hear what different features everyone likes!

There are two records that I've always wanted to put out or have someone l else put out. The first would be a halloween compilation of theme songs from 90s kid shows and movies such as Goosebumps, Are You Afraid of the Dark, Eerie Indiana, Hocus Pocus etc. I would put most of the main themes on side a and end credits on side b. I would do a black variant because I always want that to be an option but I also have a 3D lenticular picture disc idea. Could we use the grooves in the vinyl to create the 3D effect. If so i want it to be a nasty Madball style eyeball that blinks.

The second would be another Halloween compilation but this time with Halloween songs from the early 1900s through the 1940s. There are a lot of Halloween records from the 50s through the 80s but its really hard to find ones from earlier. There are a lot of amazing Halloween tunes from that time period, but they are a bit more scattered on albums and shellac 78s so it would be amazing to have them all on a compilation to get those spooky vintage vibes during the halloween season. I would press it on black and the art would be full of call backs to Halloween in that time period. Pumpkin die cuts, papier-mâché pumpkins, tin Halloween noisemaker and such. Maybe it could even come with a die cut or a cutout retro paper Halloween party hat or mask or something. 

Tell us a little bit about yourself: Hi I'm Phil Hendrix, and I'm a vinyl record addict.  I've been collecting records pretty much my whole life.  My preference is for the more “traditional music” releases, with an emphasis on the songs and sounds from the era I enjoyed (and miss) the most: the 80s and my teenage years. My wife and I turned 50 this past week, so I am wearing reading glasses while writing this and that isn’t very fun. I was born in the Midwest and raised by a single mother as an only child.  My father had the stereo and record collection, and it was always a treat to visit him so I could spin his records.  He also had the right version of cable television so I could actually watch MTV back when they still played music videos.  To this day, my father still has no idea the influence that all of this had on me - because back home with my mom in rural Nebraska, it was all network TV and Top 40 radio.  I remember listening to cheesy music on AM radio in my mom’s car and preferring, from my very earliest memories, listening to music over watching television or reading or sleeping...  

The year 1983 was big for me - my mom let me get (she bought me) a membership in the Columbia House Record Club.  That was also the year my dad sent me my first rack component stereo system with turntable for my 13th birthday.  A totally basic set up (Sanyo?) but it had an EQ and its own cabinet with a glass door!  A glass door!! 

Before I graduated from college, I DJ’ed on two different radio stations at two very different schools.  Also while in college and dabbling on-air, I discovered the goth and industrial club scene.  Working shifts at the radio station exposed me, rapidly, to volumes of various music I would have otherwise had a hard time identifying and finding on my own.  

After college, I missed being on the radio, so I tried doing some mobile DJ work on the side.  I realized I needed my own gear when I borrowed a small PA system so I could DJ for a military dining out that took place on the Queen Mary in Long Beach, CA.  It was great and fun but I learned that a borrowed PA is not a good setup for DJing! So pretty much right after that, I bought my own mobile DJ gear and played for wedding receptions, parties, and even a few more military functions.  Still have all the gear but rarely use it, because...

I’m a USAF Academy alumnus, and served in 12 different assignments over a 24 year career before retiring as a Colonel in 2017.  I was stationed in both Germany and Okinawa, Japan, and was deployed on 4 different occasions.  I bought music whenever I could, wherever I was.  My mom’s place in Nebraska was where most of that music ended up.  I have been waiting since 1996 to marry that half of my collection with the records and CDs that I have with me!  And the DJ gear!

Yes I still buy vinyl, mostly used, and CDs too.  I am also a big fan of 7” records.  I’m guessing I have somewhere between 2,000-3,000 in my collection (roughly half of it is with me).  This year I subscribed to Cadabra and bought a few of their back-inventory of 7” as a result.  My wife has expressed some concern…

First album: The first album I remember hearing was KISS Destroyer. At 6 years old, my mind was blown!  The first albums I got were the introductory 12 for a penny thru the record club.  Those included Van Halen Diver Down, Men at Work self-titled first album, Billy Joel The Nylon Curtain, Madness self-titled album and Duran Duran Rio.  The first album I ever bought with my own money in a store was going to be either Def Leppard Pyromania or Michael Jackson Thriller.  I opted for Def Leppard as my first, with MJ being second a few days later.  

I did not actually get into soundtracks until late October 2018, when I learned very late in the game that Death Waltz/Mondo and Sacred Bones Records released Halloween with all the variants worldwide.  That really caught my attention and I dove into the scene.  I found the MovieWax Group on Facebook, so that ratcheted up my FOMO.  I went to MondoCon in 2019 and thought "these are my people" - compulsive, obsessive, and not afraid to lay down some cash for things many (most?) would probably never consider buying. Haha.

Our media room holds the bulk of LPs and boxed sets.  Most of the music on the left is new or reissued music.  The soundtracks on the right primarily are from Waxwork, Cadabra, Graveface, 1984 Publishing, Burning Witches, Death Waltz/Mondo, and many more.

Favorite album: I’ve never really been able to answer this question, there are just too many.  I think mood plays a significant factor.  I have something for every occasion.  My favorite sound is 80s new wave/new romantic and synthpop.  My favorite band is The Cure.

My Cure collection is in full view from my desk, along with all my Japanese 12" and LP records.  The Cure is taking up almost 6 cubes now.  Also, that's a functioning laserdisc player on top of the shelf, just under the TV.

Favorite Enjoy The Ride or Enjoy The Toons release: I have a handful of ETR releases, a few are variants and a couple are test press bundles.  Those are all still sealed. I am bummed I missed seeing the tie dye repress of Porno For Pyros!!  Oh wait, thankfully a seller in Italy has it on Discogs for €1,200.00… ha!  Blerg.

Favorite album artwork: The physical package is critical for me.  It is what draws me to any release.  It always has.  I’m old school in that I got into different music initially by going to friends’ houses and getting out the records.  You hold the jacket in your hands.  You read the liner notes.  You talk about it with your pals.  It’s a bonding experience.  You also do your best to maintain the condition.  I used to buy a record and play it once to record onto blank cassette, then file the record away.  The cassette could get eaten, lost, broken, destroyed - whatever - I still had the original if I needed it.  The vinyl LP is coddled and cherished in my collection.  My shit is cherry!

Of course I'm a sucker for a nicely produced package.  Here are 2 variants of Death Waltz' The Autopsy of Jane Doe from January 2019.

Cadabra puts out these amazing limited wax mage variants and they are tough to get and pricey.  Such a nice overall package to this.

I don’t remember the first Japanese record I ever bought, but those original pressings are pure artwork.  I adore the Japanese packaging.  Any find must come complete with insert and obi (although some rare promos never had either to begin with). 

It was probably the obi that attracted me first to Mondo. It was those 5 Halloween issues, 4 of them with obi, and the box that hooked me. Then the BeyondFest variant.  Then I discovered soundtrack collecting was this whole thing.  Now it’s a tension between new releases (represses for me), filling in my 80s collection with used items from across the globe, and new pressings of film and tv soundtracks.  Takes a lot of patience, time, and money - everyone who might read this knows exactly what I am talking about.

A few original/reissue Japanese pressings from the 80s.  

What are your favorite local record shops, in case any readers are traveling through your town in the future? I live in Northern Virginia. I like Dig! in Leesburg - small shop and the owner is cool.  He somehow manages to get a lot of good quality used records into his shop.  I also like to swing into CD Cellar in Falls Church.  Great selection of used items, including DVD and Blu-Ray.  A couple I need to branch out to are Admiral’s Analog in Shepherdstown, WV and The Record Exchange in Frederick, MD.

What have you been listening to more frequently lately?  The Psychedelic Furs just last month released their first new material in 30 years!  Made of Rain is so good, it’s been on non-stop replay for 3 weeks now.  And it’s made me go back and pull out the back catalog.  So, short answer: Psychedelic Furs. 

Any specific albums you wish you had on vinyl? I collect records pressed in different countries.  There are some Japanese-only promo only records that I am patiently waiting to find.  Some things on my wants list are priced over $500.  So to line that up… I have to find it, and it must be in decent shape, then I have to have the money(!), and also be willing to part with it, and for that reason, when that specific moment arrives.  Doesn’t happen very often, that much I can tell you!

What was the best album(s) you've discovered this year (it can be anything, doesn't have to be a new release): I learn a lot about soundtracks and specific pressings from Facebook, specifically the MovieWax group.  Great bunch of people there.  One thing I was happy to discover was the soundtrack to the movie Wavelength from 1983.  I’ve had people over my lifetime tell me I would like Tangerine Dream, but I didn’t bother.  So when I saw the original soundtrack in the used vinyl bin, I thought there is no better time than now.  I’m so glad I did!  The minimalist synth sound is great.  I need to find more TD now.  I was also compelled to track the movie down on VHS.  It arrived a couple weeks ago, so now I need to find the VCR and hook it up.

What upcoming releases are you most excited about? The Cure keep talking about a new album, but you just never know with those guys.  I tend to get excited about represses of 80s records, but that is the completist in me.  I think I have at least one copy on vinyl of the songs I care about.  RSD does an okay job at putting stuff out there, but I have issues with artificial demand due to limited supply.  I usually find out about new soundtracks by scrolling thru the MovieWax Facebook page.   

Since many of us are still practicing social distancing, can you make a few top 5 lists for us, to help keep folks at home entertained?

Here are 5 Albums I never tire from hearing

• The Cure Pornography
• Depeche Mode Music For The Masses
• Prince Purple Rain Soundtrack
• Japan Quiet Life
• Nine Inch Nails The Downward Spiral

Here are 5 Films I’ve seen more than once

• Blade Runner (Director’s Cut)
• So I Married an Axe Murderer (tied with Go)
• High Fidelity
• The Crow
• The Lives of Others

Runner up: Bone Tomahawk

Here are 5 Books I may have read (or had read to me while driving)

• Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War by Nathaniel Philbrick
• Interview with A Vampire by Anne Rice
• Michael Hutchence A Tragic Rock ’N’ Roll Story - A Definitive Biography by Vincent Lovegrove (still reading this one!)
• D-Day June 6, 1944: The Climactic Battle of World War II by Stephen E. Ambrose
• Touching from a Distance: Ian Curtis and Joy Division by Deborah Curtis

Here are 5 Podcasts my wife keeps trying to tell me about while I’m trying to listen to music

• In the Dark (APM Reports)
• Lore (Aaron Mahnke)
• They Walk Among Us (it’s a UK True Crime podcast)
• Don’t Ask Tig (Tig Notaro)
• Hardcore History; also Common Sense (Dan Carlin)

Scenario time! If you could create a vinyl variant for any album (already pressed or never been pressed before), what would it look like? Feel free to get creative with this one, its always awesome to hear what different features everyone likes!  The Umbrella Academy is a family favorite and with the second season now in the books, it is deffo going to need something more than an FYE-exclusive ltd ed picture disc.  Depending how many seasons, they could press one and two now and make a binder to hold future seasons.  What would be great is if each LP could be character-based - the show would need 7 seasons for that, and I’m just not familiar with the story arc to know if it’s meant to go that long.  The particulars for each season could be based on one of the seven main characters’ attributes.  Nothing too extreme - don’t need season one to be oversized and lined with body hair!  Could go in a lot of different creative directions with this.

Tell us a little about yourself: I'm a high school social studies teacher in Billings, Montana, where I've lived nearly my entire life. I've been teaching for six years, collecting records since about 2010/2011 and as of this writing am approaching 1500 in the collection. I have my own label called Weathered Records that I started in 2014/2015 because I wanted to press records that weren't on vinyl but I wanted to be.

First album: The Dangerous Summer - Reach for the Sun on white. Record was a big deal to me so when the band announced the vinyl pressing it wasn't even a thought about whether or not to buy it. Things escalated quickly from there.

Favorite album: I kind of always default to Reach for the Sun. It's 11 years old now but I still listen to it front to back all the time and I've got more copies of it than I can count. It's an incredible record.

Favorite ETR or ETT Release: This is difficult for me. So many of the records I wanted to release with my own label ETR has been able to which is awesome because I was able to own them on vinyl finally. I'd have to go back to my high school days though and say either Cute is What We Aim For - The Same Old Blood Rush With a New Touch or The Academy Is... - Santi. Although I also have a soft spot for my first pressing of Harvard/HRVRD's The Inevitable and I which I believe was my first ETR buy.

Favorite Album Artwork: Minus the Bear - Planet of Ice has always really drawn me in. Gorgeous. Four Year Strong's Rise or Die Trying as well. I always catch something new on it.

Favorite Local Record Shops: Living where I do, choices are pretty limited. We had one open in 2016 that recently closed and there are a lot of places that sell vinyl among other things, but the only dedicated record store is an awesome one. It's called Cameron Records and opened up in May of last year, quickly becoming a second home of sorts for me.

What have you been listening to more frequently lately: A lot of older hip hop and punk. Specifically Boogie Down Productions/KRS-One, Dead Prez, The Vandals, Dead Kennedys. Some folk mixed in as well like Ruston Kelly, Leif Vollebekk and Colter Wall. The Chats, Kut U Up, The Weeknd, Frederic Chopin... kind of all over the place right now honestly.

Albums You Wish You Had On Vinyl: I've got literally an entire list of things I'd like to press or repress. Right now Boys Night Out - Make Yourself Sick and .moneen.'s The Red Tree are up toward the top. There are a bunch more especially from when I was in high school and college that have never been pressed that I'd like to see done. I'd say at the top of my list for records that haven't been pressed is either Days Away - Mapping an Invisible World or New Found Glory - Coming Home

Best Album You've Discovered This Year: Ruston Kelly - Dirt Emo or My Ticket Home - Strangers Only.

What Upcoming Releases Are You Excited About: The National's ten year pressing of High Violet is supposed to ship soon. Very excited for that one.

Top Five Social Distancing Tips:
1. Get a Switch, play Mario Party.
2. Catalog your records on discogs.
3. Take photos of your records/start an Instagram for your collection.
4. Buy records from your local shop online or over the phone if you're not able to go and listen to them!
5. Do whatever you're happy with, whether getting into something new or just taking time to yourself. You don't have to come out of all this with a new skill or as a new person. Handle it however works best for you.

Top Five Albums:
1. The Dangerous Summer - Reach for the Sun
2. The Academy Is... - Almost Here
3. Bruce Springsteen - Nebraska
4. 1994 - 1994 (or Bells) EP
5. The National - High Violet

Top Five Films
1. The Shawshank Redemption
2. Forrest Gump
3. UP
4. This Is Spinal Tap
5. The Count of Monte Cristo

Top Five Books
1. Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut
2. High Fidelity by Nick Hornby
3. Beneath a Scarlet Sky by Mark T. Sullivan
4. The Art of Racing In the Rain by Garth Stein
5. A Man Called Ove - Fredrik Backman

Top Five Podcasts
1. "The Office Ladies"
2. Formerly "Modern Vinyl" now "Stereo Confidential"
3. "Bill Simmons Podcast"
4. "Wax Cast"
5. "NPR's Says You!"

Dream Scenario: Cinematic Sunrise's A Coloring Storybook and Long Playing Record gets a proper pressing rather than a picture disc. The variant or variants are a swirl/smash of all the colors on the cover of the record or even have a variant for each of the animals on the cover. A lot of releases have done a "rainbow splatter" but taking it to the swirl type design would be incredible if you could get all the colors to separate proper.

Tell us a little bit about yourself: My name is Johnny Chamberlain, I grew up just outside of Manchester and left the UK in the late 90s eventually settling in Indianapolis, where I’ve been for 7 years.  I married an American girl in the early 2000s and moved to California, we have 2 kids, a 9yr old daughter (who has started her own Disney focused record collection!) and a 4 yr old son. I’m lucky that my wife allows me to indulge in my passions and she also loves movies as do my kids.
I started collecting records back in the late 70s when my obsession with music and movies started after seeing Star Wars; I love watching movies, going to gigs and of course, buying records! I work as a Director of Sales for an electronics manufacturer and do a lot of traveling around the US and Europe and will always find time on any business trip to do some crate digging! I have several thousand records and cds with about 1000 soundtracks. I’m also a huge Manchester United fan and was a season ticket holder in the 80s and 90s and since I moved to Indianapolis have helped run the local supporters group and of course the kids are following along with that!! Our kids love Disney so we try and get them down to WDW every summer, obviously this summer is not going to happen! They do love Star Wars as well of course so we are all excited to get to Galaxy’s Edge eventually!

First album: My first soundtrack was Star Wars; the movie and the album were hugely impactful on me and I’ve loved big orchestral scores ever since, and of course this started my love of collecting scores. My first rock albums were Parallel Lines by Blondie, Regatta De Blanc by the Police and The Pleasure Principle by Gary Numan. I was lucky to grow up in that immediate post-punk period of the late 70s/early 80s when music was really changing on a daily basis and the synth had joined the guitar as the sound of rock music. Around that same time I got into James Bond in a big way and I started to collect Bond soundtracks which really led to my soundtrack obsession; I was lucky to get into that in the 80s so have a sizeable collection of 60s, 70s and 80s OP’s including a lot of those horror classics that have become so desirable! 

Favorite album: Born to Run by Bruce Springsteen remains my #1, an album that contains all the joy, heartache, love and wonder of life. I’m a huge Springsteen fan and have seen him live over 70 times from 1985 to the present.  I’ve owned it for over 35 years and it still moves me in the way it did the first time I heard it.
My favorite soundtrack is probably Once Upon A Time In The West by Ennio Morricone; a stunning marriage of music and visuals and one of my favorite movies of all time.   

Favorite Enjoy The Ride or Enjoy The Toons release: Scrooged – what a wonderful release, I’ve waited years for the complete version of Elfman’s terrific score. I adore Dicken’s A Christmas Carol and have multiple spoken word versions and Scrooged is an annual tradition in our house every Christmas;
This was a beautiful release, great pressing, lovely artwork and variant choices and a really wonderful score. 

Favorite album artwork: I always adored Bat Out Of Hell when I was younger, what a piece of striking art that is to adorn a record album! The 70s were the golden years for album artwork; Bowie’s Aladdin Sane and Diamond Dogs, Elton John’s Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, Queen’s A Night At The Opera etc. I also love the early 80s minimalist covers that come with the British New wave music I loved as a teenager, Joy Division’s Unknown Pleasures, Gary Numan’s Telekon, Duran Duran’s album covers, etc.  As far as soundtracks go, I tend to like albums that stick to the key art for the movie’s release but most important is that the artwork catches what’s important about the movie and the score, the evocative cover of Morricone’s Once Upon A Time In America is wonderful as are many of the early Bond scores.   

What are your favorite local record shops? Here in Indianapolis it’s probably Indy CD & Vinyl in Broadripple, but I also travel a lot with work so I buy a lot when I’m traveling so Amoeba in Hollywood and the Bay Area, Record Surplus and Atomic in LA are both great, Record Wonderland in Roselle outside of Chicago and Josey Records in Dallas also get a lot of my money! Back in the UK, my hometown of Manchester has some great stores including the legendary Piccadilly Records and King Bee down in Chorlton.

What have you been listening to more frequently lately? With Florian Schnieder just passing away, I’ve been playing a lot of Kraftwerk, I’ve also been playing a lot of Bowie, but that’s been a constant for 40 years! Soundtrack-wise, I’ve been playing a lot of Jerry Goldsmith; I have a pretty sizeable Goldsmith collection and he remains on my Mt. Rushmore of favorite composers along with John Williams, Ennio Morricone and the magnificent John Barry. Since Covid-19 changed all our lives, I’ve been working from home, so when I’ve had chance to listen to music it’s been either soundtracks or more ethereal stuff.  

Any specific albums you wish you had on vinyl? I’m a huge James Bond fan like my good mate Johnny who was RCOTM in February, I’d love to see the missing 6 movies (the 4 Brosnan films and the first 2 Craig films) get vinyl releases to complete the set; My Bond collection is one of my favorite things I have on vinyl so it would be really nice to complete it with those missing scores. There are also several great scores from the 70s and 80s that never got a vinyl release like John Barry’s Hanover Street, Lalo Schifrin’s The Eagle Has Landed and Jerry Goldsmith’s Magic. 

What was the best album(s) you've discovered this year (it can be anything, doesn't have to be a new release): My favorite new release of the year is The Light, the 3^rd album by Delta Rae, that I’ve been playing non-stop. This is a band that have been around about a decade and I absolutely love them, they combine folk, soul, roots and rock music, in many ways they’re like a modern day Fleetwood Mac and they have 4 lead vocalists (2 male, 2 female) so you get a whole cornucopia of stuff on every album, I’d recommend everybody to check them out.   
I also discovered Rebecca Foon this year so have been playing her Waxing Moon a lot which is a great relaxing listen. Bruce Springsteen finally released his Western Stars album last year and followed it up with a soundtrack version of the same songs played live, both are absolutely wonderful and I’ve been playing them almost non-stop.

What upcoming releases are you most excited about? Anything that is on the Record Store Day 2020 list? There are so many OST’s that get announced every week that it’s actually becoming tough to keep up with them! I am excited to finally hear what Hans Zimmer does with his shot at a Bond score with No Time To Die, I was hoping to already have that and have seen the movie but we’re going to have to wait another 6 months!     

Since many of us are practicing social distancing or are shelter at home, depending on where people live, can you make a few top 5 lists for us, to help keep folks at home entertained?

Top 5 Albums

Born To Run - Bruce Springsteen

Exile On Main Street - The Rolling Stones

The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust – David Bowie

The Joshua Tree - U2

What's The Story, Morning Glory? - Oasis

OST’s

Once Upon A Time In The West – Ennio Morricone

The Empire Strikes Back – John Williams

On Her Majesty’s Secret Service – John Barry

Out Of Africa – John Barry

Murder On The Orient Express – Richard Rodney Bennett

Top 5 Films

Raiders Of The Lost Ark

Annie Hall

Star Wars/Empire Strikes Back

The Spy Who Loved Me

Jaws

Top 5 Books

The Catcher In The Rye – JD Salinger

The Stand – Stephen King

High Fidelity – Nick Hornby

The Beach – Alex Garland

On Her Majesty’s Secret Service – Ian Fleming 

Top 5 Podcasts

I won’t lie; I rarely listen to podcasts; I find that any available time I have to listen is taken up with music; There’s so much music to always listen to that whenever I do listen to a podcast I always feel like I should be using that time to listen to more music!

Tell us a little bit about yourself: 
My name is Paul Santellan and I am a Park Ranger with the National Park Service. I’ve been married for 5 years and we have a beautiful 2 year old daughter. I met my wife in California (I’m a Texan) and it was love at first sight. Dating was tough, I lived in the park, had no cell service (had to drive 20 miles just to get service) and lived about an hour from her town. But it never felt difficult or hard. I couldn’t be luckier. My wife makes me a better person and calling my life anything but blessed would be an understatement! Our first date actually included a stop at a music store to buy a CD. I have always been huge into music, playing guitar in bands and such, and have a huge CD collection back at my parents house in Texas. But with my profession, it was basically “what could I keep in my car” that put a HUGE limit on purchasing physical media.
My wife and I have always loved thrift store shopping and antiquing. Once we had a more permanent basis, that “collector” in me started to reawaken. I though it would be fun to get into records as we were always seeing them in thrift shops. It seemed like a cheap, fun idea to have a record, a memory of being somewhere together and finding a piece of music we both enjoyed. So we started looking for record players during our outings. Despite always searching (in numerous states and stores) we actually never found a single record player for sale.
It all came to ahead when my wife surprised me with a record player for my birthday. Realizing record stores still existed we started making time to stop at both record and thrift stores now. My wife started getting Disney records (even though we were about 3 years away from having our first kid!) while I dove into the world of soundtracks (mostly horror), classic rock and metal. My wife ended up upgrading my turntable as an anniversary gift a few years later and it’s been a whirlwind ever since. Our daughter now has my first player so she’s learning about taking care of records and is developing a taste of her own. She has her own LP bag when we go record shopping so she’s usually throwing 45s or cassettes in there. It’s so much fun and a real blast. 

First album: 
When my wife gifted me that first record player she fully intended to include a few records (Miles Davis, Nekromantix, and O Brother, Where Art Thou?) with it, but they didn’t arrive on time! So I went out to the local Hastings (we lived in Carlsbad, NM at the time) and I grabbed Johnny Cash At Folsom Prison. I remember being torn at the time on what to buy. I didn’t know if I should get something I owned on CD already or something I had been meaning to buy on CD. However, I always had this mindset to buy albums that were originally intended to be released on vinyl. So staring right at me was this landmark album that I had NEVER owned. I always like Johnny Cash, just never owned any releases. Now here was my chance and it was totally the right choice. Hearing that masterpiece on vinyl is the way it should be heard. Miles Davis was the same feeling when it finally came in, so my wife made an awesome choice for me and I am huge fans of these artists now. 

Favorite album: 
A single record that I absolutely love and couldn’t be happier exists would be my Waxmage variant of Alan Silvestri’s score for Young Guns II. It looks like a shotgun blast with blood splatter and powder burns. It legit looks like specs of black powder is in the vinyl. I think only 15 or so were made but that doesn’t matter; what makes this one my favorite is the fact that it is THE score that got me into buying soundtracks. I loved the movie and music as a kid and I recall my parents taking me to the mall to get the soundtrack and I found it! I bought that cassette with my hard earned money from cutting grass and washing cars and couldn’t be more proud! Than I listened to it and it was just a bunch of darn Bon Jovi songs! What the hell? I was so upset! I wanted the score, the music I heard in the movie, not this! But I was a kid, I didn’t know the difference between a soundtrack and a score. Turns out, the score had never really been released; until now. FINALLY Rusted Wave released this masterpiece, and it saw the light of day. The soundtrack I had started searching for over 25 years ago finally existed and I was able to buy it. That’s pretty cool.

Favorite Enjoy The Ride or Enjoy The Toons release: 
That’s a toughie. Transformers gets a lot of play and is near and dear to my heart but True Romance is the one that got me into EtR to begin with, yet I’ve really been loving the Elvira score... I have to go with is Take Another Hit - The Best of Coconut Pete. I think this release best shows just how much I love EtR/EtT and think they are the most fun label in the biz. Every time I spin this 7”, I have a huge smile on my face. I never imagined wanting songs sung by the wonderful Bill Paxton on vinyl; yet someone was smart enough to want that and release this album. It means even more to me now that Mr. Paxton has passed. It just feels special and is hands down my favorite release. Excellent job EtR!

Favorite album artwork: 
Tuomas Holopainen - Music Inspired by the Life and Times of Scrooge. This was a no brainer for me. I absolutely adore Scrooge McDuck and the graphic novel this album is based on affected me greatly. The beautiful thing is the album art was done by the comic artist himself, Don Rosa! He came out of retirement to paint the cover for this LP and it’s a beautiful piece of art. 

What are your favorite local record shops, in case any readers are traveling through your town?
Mostly living in isolated areas, I’ve been pretty far from some stores. While I lived in New Mexico, my closest favorites (3 hours away in opposite directions) were Eyeconik Records in Las Cruces and Ralph’s Records in Lubbock, TX. It was an effort getting to them, but worth it for the great prices and classy staff. In Colorado, my closest was Eagle Valley Music and Comics in Minturn, CO. Probably the most beautiful setting for a record store in this small resort valley town. The owner was super nice and knew his stuff. Currently I tend to go to St. Louis, MO to record shop at either Planet Score Records or Vintage Vinyl. I love these spots and have found some real gems! Locally, we have this great store called Recycled Records owned by two brothers who hit up garage sales and auctions to pick up records and other things. It’s like a huge warehouse of eclectic things and the vinyl is super extensive. You can take all day and it still wouldn’t be enough time to crate dig though all of it. 
 
What have you been listening to more frequently lately? 
A ton of synth wave actually. I’m a kid of the 80s so I absolutely love the genre. I didn’t even know it existed until about two years ago. I was getting burnt out on the soundtrack scene and synth came on my radar with the awesome band Night Runner. It ballooned fairly quickly from there and it turns out to be a pretty rad scene. I’ve fallen in love with the label Electric Dream Records for instance. They’re doing some really wonderful releases and taking the genre to the next level! They do various things like test presses, stickers, posters; little things that really make the releases feel special. Every few years they also release a synth compilation that features exclusive tracks by various groups, which is a super cool and fun idea. I’ve had to dedicate a section of my collection to this genre alone.

Any specific albums you wish you had on vinyl? 
I have a pretty good want list, but nothing really unattainable. The one thing I always wanted but didn’t have the guts to pull the trigger on was the killer Moonsorrow box set released by Blood Music. Just a pure onslaught of Viking metal that I just love. I had a chance for it but I could not justify the price tag. I ended up able to get all their albums individually though, so it all worked out in the end! 

What was the best album(s) you've discovered this year (it can be anything, doesn't have to be a new release): 
Bo Hanson - Lord of the Rings. It single handedly shows why I love collecting vinyl records and crate digging in stores. When I stumbled on this release one day, I text my buddy Matt asking if he knew a thing about this release and he said pick it up immediately. It was a wise choice as it is some of the best 70s prog I have ever heard. Pure masterpiece! I’m starting to dive into his discography now. 
Gallowbraid - Ashen Eidolon. Noted as atmospheric black metal, I stumbled upon this release one day on YouTube and was blown away. It’s the only release from this band, initially pressed in 2010. It quickly sold out and was going for quite a few dollars. But as luck would have it, the band was gearing up for a small repress and I was able to snag one! I absolutely love this album. 

What upcoming releases are you most excited about? Anything on the Record Store Day 2020 list?
Beats me! Record releases today all seem to be very hush hush. No one wants to give a big peek into some thing coming too far out into the future. It isn’t until a month or so before something is set to be released that it gets announced. I can only say the album I’m looking forward to the most hasn’t been announced yet! Even with RSD the list isn’t announced until a month before; so everything is a surprise! You can always count on a Doors album to come out and I am really looking forward to this years title. The soundtrack for the Batman Animated Series Documentary by Makeup and Vanity Set is a huge want as well. Not too much grabbed my attention this year unfortunately. I do miss the Side x Side releases that use to come out. Those were always fun. People seem to have a love/hate relationship with RSD and I’m fine with it. I always pick up something but it is always after the fact or online. It’s always been that way with my living so far from record stores. I’ve only been a part of two RSD days and last years was the absolute best. I was getting ready to move out of Colorado so I got to together with two of my best friends in Denver before moving. My buddy Justin Burning flew in from Phoenix and we stayed with our pal Matt Dougherty’s place. We drank, enjoyed RSD, spent a ton of money, drank, and watched horror movies. RSD 2019 will never be topped. Until we get together again of course. 

Since many of us are practicing social distancing or shelter at home, depending on where people live (as of these questions being sent on March 26, 2020), can you make a few top 5 lists for us, to help keep folks at home entertained?
It’s such a bummer what’s going on the world right now. It almost feels wrong talking vinyl and media, but music is truly an escape from the madness that’s going on beyond our walls and at the very least it’s giving us a chance to be closer to our hobbies, our loved ones, our passions. 
 
Top 5 Albums

Sand - The Dynamic Curve. Beautiful instrumental album that was the singular release from this band. Full of guitars and ambient sounds, I’ve never heard anything like it or since. Everyone owes it to themselves to hear this album.

The Return of Swamp Thing - Chuck Cirino Terror Vision Records are the best at finding and releasing the most amazing underground horror scores out there. They never disappoint and really make it special for the fans. They even have a subscription with loads of goodies and subscriber variant hand pours - just awesome. This album sold our fairly quickly because of how good it is. Not to mention the beautiful pressing, package, and artwork. Seek it out - it’s worth the effort.

Dream Electric - Vol. 1/Vol. 2 Synthwave never sounded better than on these releases. Electric Dream Records put together a fantastic collection of various artists contributing an exclusive track to this compilation. While the first volume is long gone and hard to find, volume 2 can still be picked up!

The Proposition - Nick Cave and Warren Ellis We all know Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds are amazing, but Nick’s score work is some of the best out there. He really shines on The Proposition and elevates the film to the next level.

Anima Morte - HP Lovecraft’s Dagon. Cadabra Records have excelled in the spoken word vinyl game and every so often they release the isolated scores to their releases. Anima Morte has been on my radar for years but the work they did for this score stands so strongly on its own, that it was one of the best albums of the year. Everyone needs to hear this album.

Top 5 Films*

Ravenous - Cannibalism and isolation in the Sierra Nevadas, what would you do? It is one of the greatest movies ever and the soundtrack is the most unique scores ever written for any genre of music. It’s a masterpiece that someone seriously needs to release on vinyl.

Bubba Ho-Tep - This is probably Bruce Campbell’s greatest role. It’s not a particularly scary movie, but is has such wonderful heart. The score is one of the best in the horror genre.

Fire & Ice - A cartoon based on Frank Frazetta’s art by the awesome Ralph Bakshi. Full of scantly clad women and sexual innuendo; this cartoon almost got me kicked out of school (they said bring a cartoon for class to watch) - but it’s a great fantasy tale with swords and sorcery. Love it!

Southern Comfort - I grew up watching this movie and recently I have started to wonder if it was intended as a horror movie. A group of soldiers on a training mission encounter some Cajuns that lead to some “backwoods terror” and all hell breaks loose. It’s so underrated.

Top 5 Books

The Last Season by Eric Blehm - The greatest book I’ve read that’s a true story about a park ranger who goes missing in the wilderness. It’s not only about the quest to find him, but the struggles his family went through. One of the main character in this book was actually a former roommate of mine and the book simply made me examine the career choice I made.

Bat Bomb by Jack Couffer - The true story of when the US military experimented with using live bats as incendiary bombs during WWII. Written by one of the soldier during this secret mission, I learned about this while being a park ranger at one of my former parks. It’s an extraordinary tale that is almost to amazing to believe.

Frank Frazetta’s Death Dealer by James Silke - I rarely break away from non-fiction but when I do it’s worth it. Based on the Death Dealer painting by Frazetta, four novels were released to give him a background. They’re fun reads and I thoroughly enjoyed them!

The Warriors by Sol Yurick - After absolutely loving the film and soundtrack, I finally got around to reading the book and it blew me away. It’s nothing like the film and instead captured the true grittiness and grime of New York with the dangers of the streets before it became tourist centered. I don’t think the true form of this book could ever be filmed.

What do you enjoy about collecting vinyl?
Music has the power to take you to another place and music means the world to me! And the way they’re doing vinyl now a days; it’s truly like art. You’re spinning a piece of music that looks like art and sometimes, it feels like your needle dropping on a Picasso. Beautiful. But really, what I enjoy about collecting vinyl is the amazing people I have met. The community is full of wonderful people who have gone above and beyond to connect and in many cases for me, blossom into real friendships. More people than I could even name in this article! Friends who believe in karma and paying it forward. I know when I hit some financial difficulty for instance, I had friends stepping up to get me a vinyl they didn’t want me to miss out on, friends who hunted certain lps for me that I couldn’t find, others who flat out asked, “How can I help?” Friends who gave up their copy of an out of print vinyl because they knew someone else would enjoy it; it’s endless. Hell, two of my best friends, I met in the vinyl community and we talked vinyl all the time. But when I was having my kid, they were helping me out with words of wisdom and always just a text away. Things got real and went beyond music. Beyond vinyl. So yea, collecting vinyl is something truly special - but what makes it special is the people. 

Scenario time! If you could create a vinyl variant, what would it look like? You can choose any album of your choosing, seeing as this is hypothetical.

Tell us a little bit about yourself:  Hello, my name is Jeroen. I remember the exact moment I fell in love with film music: I was 13 years old and watching Jurassic Park in the local cinema. Not only did the movie leave a huge impression, the music I heard filled me with joy and exhilaration. It was the first time it clicked to me that this music could stand on its own and I knew I had to find out if something like this existed on CD. Quickly I started to dig around and found that a lot of favorite movies I watched had these awesome scores I did not even know about! Goonies, Indiana Jones, Hook, Gremlins, and before I knew it: I started to collect all these great scores. 

With the introduction of digital media 10-15 years ago, there was literally nothing you couldn’t find and I stopped buying CD’s. For some time I even lost interest in scores and then this exciting thing with vinyl happened. Today I own almost 500 soundtracks on wax and with two international friends I’m running a cool Facebook group called MovieWax and I’m learning new things on composers and scores every day! I live close to Amsterdam in the Netherlands, and I’m working in the coffee industry now, but I used to be stage manager in the theatre! I live together with my partner and we have a sweet little pug dog. 

Favorite album: This changes a lot over time, but I’ll go with the classic The Empire Strikes Back by John Williams

First album: I’m not completely sure, but one of the first I bought where the Back to the Future ones by Mondo. I got the black vinyl, as I had no clue colored wax existed at the time.

Favorite Enjoy The Ride or Enjoy The Toons release: That has to be the 35th anniversary variant of The Dark Crystal. I think it is also the first one I’ve bought with Enjoy the Ride Records! It is a stunning release, great cover and booklet and my 3 Suns Color in Color variant is gorgeous! I hope for a nice extended release in the future ☺

Favorite album artwork: I love it when album artwork goes beyond the general movie artwork. It’s great to see artists use the cover as a canvas and share their vision of it. There are many great examples, Let me pick today what Kilian Eng did for Mondo for both Batman and Batman Returns.

What are your favorite local record shops, in case any readers are traveling through your town? First of all, if you are looking for Soundtracks on vinyl, the Netherlands is not the best country to live in. Also, the town I live in has no record shops whatsoever. Though the cities of Amsterdam and Haarlem do have some great stores to visit. I would mention Concerto in Amsterdam and Sounds in Haarlem as top on the list if you are in the neighborhood.

What have you been listening to more frequently lately? Ludwig Göransson is top on my list at the moment. His work for Black Panther was very good and he achieved a full action-packed score without sounding cluttered or too blockbuster. With The Mandalorian he achieved something I wasn’t sure was possible: creating a new sound for the Star Wars universe, sounding like it came directly from the universe itself (with all the static and mechanical sound) AND still coming up with great elaborate themes and grandeur. I hope we do not have to with long for this one to be released on wax!    

What are some of your favorite albums you have in your collection? As my collection consists of old and new releases it’s quite a mix of things I’m getting excited about. To name a few: Godzilla: King of Monsters, Jaws 2, Schindler’s List, Poltergeist, The Orphanage, I could go on forever! The reality is that I believe a collection should reflect your musical taste and therefore they are probably all favorites!

Any specific albums you wish you had on vinyl? My Discogs ‘wantlist’ is pretty extensive although I would not consider all of them as must-haves. There is a box set once released that contained the Shirley Walker score for Batman: The Animated Series. That would be awesome to get at some point, but the current value is putting me of.

What album would you like to be pressed on vinyl? I love the scoring Alexandre Desplat did for many Wes Anderson movies. I know a couple made it to vinyl, but I really would love to see The Grand Budapest Hotel being pressed (on purple and pink wax please). This is such a fantastic score and it always makes me happy listening to it.

What was the best album(s) you've discovered this year (can be anything, doesn't have to be a new release): My biggest ‘discovery’ of last year is a truly underrated gem for the horror movie, Lady in White. It was released in 1988 by Varese Sarabande, composed by the director himself: Frank LaLoggia. I believe it is the only score he ever composed unfortunately. On the back cover he writes: “I’d like to dedicate this score to all of the wonderful movie scores I’ve repeatedly listened to, loved and marveled over throughout the years”. I challenge you to listen to this score and see if you can recognize the same 70’s and 80’s scores Frank is here referring to….

What upcoming releases are you most excited about? Obviously there is way more coming up than I know, but a couple of announced releases I’m definitely getting are two new Studio Ghibli releases: Kiki’s Delivery Service and Porco Rosso. Also, there is a Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance coming by Varese Sarabande, a great Ennio Morricone compilation series by Music On Vinyl and obviously I will be getting the latest Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker in March.