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

Zappa Vaultmeister Joe Travers discusses the Bongo Fury box set, the Frank and Beefheart origin story, Frank's cutting edge approach and what may be next from the Zappa Universe.
Order the Zappa/Beefheart Bongo Fury 50th Anniversary editions here
Topics Include:
Joe and Nate bond over the Stooges and unreleased raw recordings
Bongo Fury turns 50 with 48 previously unheard tracks
Two complete Armadillo shows finally presented unedited in sequence
Portuguese Lunar Landing emerges from rehearsal tapes—a true nugget
Frank kept tour itineraries but few detailed production notes
Joe worked solo digitizing tapes for decades under Gail's direction
Universal now controls the vault—the process has changed significantly
Frank's Mac had one gigabyte—they dumped mixes to tape constantly
Kennedy backup tapes and Synclavier data may be unplayable forever
Racing against tape decay and obsolete machines that can't be replaced
Heartbreak: 1630 tapes getting stuck and destroyed inside malfunctioning machines
Early history of Frank and Captain Beefheart
The Soots recorded together—Tiger Roach released, two covers still unreleased
Frank invited Beefheart to join tour to get him some money
Beefheart was unpredictable—lyrics in paper bags, sketching onstage mid-show
"Born to Suck" captures spontaneous studio magic with Snoop tape banter
Frank constantly taped everything—jokes often sparked future song ideas
Post-tour darkness: Herb Cohen fallout left Frank uncertain about everything
Frank and Beefheart reconnected—hour-long phone calls in Frank's final months
Warner Brothers failed to promote One Size Fits All and Bongo Fury
Cheaper Than Cheap footage sat in vault for decades—sync issues unresolved
Joe finally identified the mystery tapes; Universal funded the restoration
More Atmos projects coming—Joe teases a big announcement next month
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Danny Goldberg shares insider stories from his 50-year career as Led Zeppelin's publicist and Nirvana's manager, revealing Kurt Cobain's creative genius and the first-hand dynamics behind rock's biggest bands.
Order Danny's book "Bumping Into Geniuses" here
Topics Include:
Danny discusses the 2026 reissue of "Bumping into Genius"
Admits his turntables are mostly for show, prefers streaming now
Kept about 100 vinyls including The Fugs on ESP Records
Answered a Billboard ad not knowing music business existed
Found his calling through enthusiasm and sensitivity to artists
Became Led Zeppelin's US publicist in 1973 for Houses of the Holy
The biggest band in the world had never gotten positive press
Peter Grant described them as "just mild barbarians"
Bonzo would arrive early to tune drums for each room's acoustics
Jimmy Page avoided TV—felt it couldn't deliver Zeppelin's true sound
Physical Graffiti era: Danny became Swan Song Records vice president
His blues tribute pitch rejected—later repurposed for Foghat
Robert Plant was eloquent and handled most press duties willingly
Jimmy's Crowley interest rarely came up in day-to-day interactions
Met Ringo, never John or George—All Things Must Pass is essential
Nirvana's 92 Australian tour produced the Rolling Stone cover shoot
Kurt's "Corporate magazines still suck" shirt was pure tightrope genius
He storyboarded every Nirvana video shot by shot himself
Appeared on Headbangers Ball in a dress to subvert metal culture
Nevermind hit five radio formats simultaneously—unprecedented crossover success
Kurt agreed to edit In Utero packaging for Walmart-only kids
Fame invaded his privacy—tabloid coverage of Courtney infuriated him
Depression and heroin predated fame—confirmed by Chris Novoselic
Danny dismisses conspiracy theories—Seattle PD had no coverup motive
Sub Pop planned "Cash Cow"—Kurt licensed it back as Incesticide
Incesticide liner notes rank among Kurt's most remarkable creative statements
Danny calls In Utero Kurt's best songwriting, his personal favorite
Bonnie Raitt's Nick of Time gave Danny credibility to expand management
John Silva brought Redd Kross, leading to Sonic Youth, then Nirvana
Born Innocent documentary on Redd Kross earns Danny's recommendation
High resolution version of this podcast is available at: www.Patreon.com/VinylGuide
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Support the show at Patreon.com/VinylGuide

Producer Plug discusses his journey from New York DJ to hip hop producer for Wu-Tang members, running multiple record stores, and launching R&G Records in Inglewood with Snoop Dogg.
Topics Include:
Producer Plug discusses meeting again at Austin Record Fair
His three superpowers: DJing, executive producing, and music production
Born in Flushing Queens with father's influential Fisher sound system
Father introduced him to WCBS-FM and classic disc jockeys
The Fugees "Killing Me Softly" became his first musicology lesson
Father taught him to stay curious and humble about music
Started buying records at Nobody Beats The Wiz and Coconuts
Carried white garbage bag of records through high school
All The Right Records shop combined haircuts and vinyl shopping
Made popular mixtapes across Queens neighborhoods, sold as CDs
Got on record label promo lists by showcasing his tapes
Mixtapes evolved into producing albums with original beats naturally
Career progression through DJing, A&R, and label executive roles
Opened multiple Records & Goods locations across different cities
R&G stores feature unique Grail Museum showcasing rare pressings
Hip hop's importance: taking best moments from every music genre
Each store represents a spiritual piece of his father
Haradio Sound Lab offers vinyl meditation space for listening sessions
Tom Silverman's advice: learn from my billion-dollar mistakes instead
Vinyl On Demand releases reissues plus upcoming Big Boo collaboration
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

Co-founder and former Three Dog Night frontman Chuck Negron (1942-2026) discusses the collectible records of his career, the early releases on small labels, the rare and recalled albums of Three Dog Night and mega-smash excesses and turnaround of his life and career.
Interview from July 2022
Topics Include:
Chuck's autobiography Three Dog Nightmare .
Basketball was first passion growing up in Bronx schoolyards.
Made first record "Oh Baby" in 1958 at age fifteen.
Early releases on tiny Bronx Records label extremely rare today.
Progressed through Rondelles, Marlinda, and Heart Van regional California labels.
"I Dream of an Angel" became regional hit across central California.
Columbia Records offered deal while playing college basketball at Hancock.
Chose to finish basketball season, damaging initial Columbia Records excitement.
Learned hard lesson about commitment after squandering early industry enthusiasm.
Bill Sharman offered Cal State LA scholarship but chose music.
Left school permanently, ending high-level basketball career for music industry.
Three Dog Night formed with three lead singers sharing spotlight.
Band's strategy: find great songs, not write them themselves exclusively.
"One" by Harry Nilsson became breakthrough hit launching massive success.
Achieved 21 consecutive Top 40 hits selling over 60 million records.
"Joy to the World" became worldwide number one, band's biggest success.
"Black and White" addressed racial integration as mainstream social statement message.
Hard Labor's controversial birthing cover recalled after hundreds of thousands distributed.
Now hosts weekly WhatNot show selling rare Three Dog Night collectibles.
At 80, credits basketball training for vocal stamina and survival.
High resolution version of this podcast is available at: www.Patreon.com/VinylGuide
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Support the show at Patreon.com/VinylGuide

Legendary drummer & producer Steve Jordan (The Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, Jon Batiste, SNL & more), discusses the history and deep personal reverence for the music of Chess Records and the 75th vinyl reissue series. 
Topics Include:
Steve Jordan discusses touring with John Batiste at Davos Economic Summit
He's producing Robert Cray's new album at Fame Studios in Muscle Shoals
JayVee Records finishing Willie Mitchell documentary, The Verbs album, and Tony Joe White posthumous record
Chess Records called arguably the cornerstone of modern music
New vinyl reissue campaign marks first proper Chess reissues in decades
Steve's compilation "Let's Play Chess" features personally meaningful recordings
The Dells were his first Chess records—Chicago's hardcore R&B answer to Motown
Tommy Tucker's "High Heel Sneakers" on Checker was childhood obsession
British Invasion reintroduced American blues that establishment had suppressed racially
Etta James "At Last" originals fetch four to five hundred dollars
Universal fire destroyed masters; some duplicates recovered from Europe thankfully
Early stereo versions often poorly done with hard-panned instruments and fake echo
Chess building preserved physically but control room was completely stripped of gear
Steve brought API console and ribbon mics for 2010 session there
Correctly guessed drum placement; Hubert Sumlin confirmed the next day
Otis Spann's piano still vibrates sympathetically when musicians play the room
Jack Wiener designed Chess gear and later mastered recordings in basement
Mastering represents twenty-five percent of the mix, often overlooked historically
Jamie Krentz alerted Universal to Chess catalog's 75th anniversary reissue potential
Rarities campaign revealed extraordinary alternate takes including deep Lowell Fulsom version
Willie Mitchell spent years perfecting Royal Recording's signature snare drum sound
Keith Richards session led to lifelong friendship with Willie Mitchell
Willie gave Steve one of Al Jackson's tom-toms from Al Green recordings
Recording, overdubbing, and mixing in same room captures authentic studio sound
John Lennon was his white whale—missed meeting him by five minutes
Finally played with Paul McCartney on Rolling Stones' Hackney Diamonds album
Blues Brothers debuted on SNL's third season finale with Saturday Night Live band
Matt Guitar Murphy was a Chess session player—Steve's first Chess connection unknowingly
John Belushi educated Steve nightly on deep Chess catalog from his Chicago roots
Devo's SNL performance was a life-changing moment Steve witnessed firsthand
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