We’re delighted to announce that for the third year running, TVD will be taking SXSW. In tandem with our partners Audible Treats and Flüd Watches, we’re presenting Speakers Push Air, an official SXSW artist showcase this Friday night (3/15) at Austin’s Parish Underground. This week we’ll be introducing you to the evening’s line up and talking what else, but vinyl.
“A 1940 Rock-Ola record player that spun 78s and modified to play 45s as well. Our father had found it for our mother as a Christmas gift in 1986.”
“Aaron and I went with our Dad to the grocery store, where you used to be able to test and buy new power tubes and ribbon. We helped clean it and basically watch as my Dad got it into running condition for Christmas morning. All of us kids knew it was a big gift and our Dad took us all vinyl shopping to load it up.
Our mother was a big 50s music fan, primarily Beach Boys tunes—”Good Vibrations,” “Help me Rhonda,” “Surfer Girl” etc.—pretty much the entire Beach Boys catalogue with a few Beatles 45s thrown in. My mother still to this day prefers the Beach Boys to the Beatles and isn’t shy about it.
I remember Aaron and I laying next to the speaker listening to “Kokomo,” “Surfin Safari,” or something from the Grease soundtrack or some shit when we’d take a break from runnin around. As we got older we began an aversion to much of the 50s era music filling the juke box. So, to the chagrin of our mother, we started replacing the Beach Boys and others with Simon and Garfunkel, Zeppelin, The Who, The Stones, Joni, and whatnot which always went over huge at a house party when the parents were out.
Around that time in the 90s it was always hard to find contemporary artists putting out vinyl or a place to buy it. But our favorite place that always had what was available, new and old, was The Beat in Sacramento. Also kind of a hang out for the 90s version of hipsters.
We’d listen to Hi-Fidelity types throwing around the benefits of CDs vs vinyl or bragging about their 8 track player they just put in their car.
But in my not so humble opinion, no matter the advancement in technology to the listening experience, the endearing, tactile, and vivid memories of vinyl endures because the format lends itself to a more memorable time.”
—Ryan Baggaley
