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

Swami John Reis of Rocket from the Crypt and Drive Like Jehu digs deep on record collecting, the thrill of the hunt, running Swami Records, and why the next release always matters most.
Get yer tix to the Punk Rock Museum's 3rd Anniversary Show here
Topics Include:
Swami John Reis joins to talk record collecting and Punk Rock Museum.
His collection is evolving — trading old hardcore for more desired records.
Collection is 95% 45s, driven by a lifelong musical pursuit.
Early punk led him to hunt for MC5, Stooges, Velvet Underground.
The thrill: records still exist that nobody knows about yet.
Digging through boxes feels calming, healthy, and satisfying every time.
Hawaii vintage shop surprise — radio station collection hidden outside for decades.
Detroit and Pittsburgh are his highest strike-rate cities for finds.
Always ask the clerk — the best stuff is never on the floor.
Styrene vs vinyl: the label sticker is the definitive tell.
Making records informed his collecting — plain white sleeves, big hole 45s.
Pressing plant relationships are everything; affordability is the biggest challenge.
Customs delays under the current administration are wrecking release schedules badly.
Major labels scrapped their own pressing plants — now everyone competes for time.
Marketing records stopped making sense; the artist always drives interest anyway.
Every record is essentially limited and out of print from day one.
Smaller runs mean no unsold closet stock and more collector value later.
Hot Snakes packaging and Rick Griffin's creativity still inspire him deeply.
Upcoming: Sultans reissue, Mrs. Magician LP, new Swami John Reis record.
Schizophonics collaboration in the works — the next thing is always the thing.
High resolution version of this podcast is available at: www.Patreon.com/VinylGuide
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Dr. Strange Records' Bill Plaster talks Summer Bash and the chaos of booking a festival, punk history, record collecting, Live Strange, and how punk rock can genuinely change lives.
Get Summer Bash tix here  |  Follow Dr Strange for Live Strange here
Topics Include:
Bill Plaster of Dr. Strange Records joins to discuss the upcoming Summer Bash.
Punk Rock Bowling's cancellation — visa bans, politics, venue loss — created the opportunity.
Bill connected with Gallo, who runs the Fox Theater and the Cathedral in Pomona.
The Cathedral: a stunning, refurbished 1921 four-story YMCA venue hosting the event.
A massive two-day lineup — 30-plus bands across punk, hardcore, and old-school SoCal.
Notable acts include the Effigies, Channel 3, the Skulls, featuring Kevin from Green Day.
Every band asked said yes — Bill takes no money, purely doing it for the community.
Dealing with booking agents was the biggest headache of organising the festival.
Planning started in November; Bill hopes Summer Bash becomes an annual event.
The Punk in the Park cancellations discussed — Bill argues protest with your vote, not boycotts.
Bill credits Rod for building Dr. Strange's social media profile and making the festival possible.
Bill's mentorship philosophy: punk rock can genuinely change lives for the better.
The Dr. Strange "family" ethos — making fun of people with love, never punching down.
Bill's book discussed — early punk discoveries via Damned, Buzzcocks, and XTC seven-inches.
The brutal gang violence at early 80s LA/SoCal punk shows — constantly watching your back.
A close call at Spanky's: the guy next to Bill got stabbed during a Guttermouth gig.
Biggest missed show regret: skipped Oingo Boingo due to peer pressure from girls in line.
Never saw Black Flag — their reputation for brutality genuinely scared him off.
Eight years of mail order before opening the store; Voodoo Glow Skulls his biggest-selling record.
Live Strange runs Wednesdays and Fridays — the cowbell is Bill's money-back guarantee.
High resolution version of this podcast is available at: www.Patreon.com/VinylGuide
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Support the show at Patreon.com/VinylGuide

John Flansburgh of They Might Be Giants talks rare vinyl rarities, the chaotic story behind the new album's cover art, why re-recording old music is almost always a mistake and lots more
Order the new album "The World Is to Dig" here
Topics Include:
Flansburgh owns roughly 2,000 records across three turntable setups at home
He doesn't identify as a collector — just a serious listener
His rarest record: an Andy Warhol-autographed Sticky Fingers with wild provenance photos
He also owns a peeled-banana Velvet Underground and a Blonde on Blonde rarity
Deep dive into what makes each of those pressings so collectible
TMBG's new album title comes from a Maurice Sendak-illustrated children's book
That led to a fascinating detour on painter Ad Reinhardt's secret black-on-black canvases
Flansburgh has been TMBG's de facto art director for 35 years
The new album's cover art was nearly a Washington Post-licensed sinkhole photo
Washington Post's mass layoffs killed the deal at the last possible moment
A Hudson Valley School painting of Yosemite became the actual cover
Flansburgh and Linnell don't stockpile songs — cuts are made for specific artistic reasons
He once had to shelve a song because Linnell came in with a nearly identical opening line
TMBG song titles are uniquely searchable — except the new one referencing Wu-Tang
Flansburgh is firmly against re-recording old material — cites Zappa as a cautionary tale
Great discussion on remastering: Beatles got it right, Hendrix remaster was disorienting
TMBG evolved from NYC performance art venues to rock clubs — crowd energy changed everything
Their boutique 8-track manufacturer couldn't keep up when TMBG needed a thousand units
Dolby Atmos debate: Flansburgh is skeptical, Nate makes the case for spatial audio
Nate's most collectible record is a Nevermind test pressing — rejected pressings are worth more
Extended & High resolution version of this podcast is available at: www.Patreon.com/VinylGuide
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Support the show at Patreon.com/VinylGuide

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
Extended & High resolution version of this podcast is available at: www.Patreon.com/VinylGuide
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Support the show at Patreon.com/VinylGuide

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
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