Record Weirdo: OC Record Geek Fest - March 2003!
By Kevin Hillskemper
About ten years ago, I had a chance meeting with Lux Interior of the Cramps in the lobby of a Bay Area hotel. There’s not much of a story to tell. I was walking in and he and Poison Ivy were walking in. I said something brilliant like “Hey, Lux Interior” and babbled incoherently for several embarrassing seconds. He made small talk back and was nice enough not to call me an idiot. He was certainly more polite than he had to be. He was also very tall and had an amused smirk on his face. End of story? Probably.
Several months later, I was behind a table at a record show in San Jose
selling stuff.
One guy that bought some records from me stood out from the crowd for
some reason. He was tall and thin, his hair was kind of longish, and he
was wearing a ridiculous pair of gym shorts. As he handed over his money,
he looked at me with an amused smirk on his face that I had seen somewhere
before but couldn’t quite place.
I wasn’t until later that I remembered where I had seen a smirk like that before. Did Lux Interior grow his hair in the off-season and haunt collectors’ shows incognito? It’s possible. He is a well-known collector of old records and all things retro-cool. Collector geek drag would be a perfect disguise if you want to be avoided. Record collectors are not usually known for being dynamic and exciting.
* * *
Once a month, Orange County record collectors, music fans, and people that just happen to collect records (but deny being collectors) converge on the Sequoia Club in Buena Park for the Greater Orange County Record Show. These shows are basically swap-meets with vinyl, CD’s, posters, books, promo swag and other music-related stuff. They are also called Record, CD, and/or Music Conventions, Swaps, Fairs, Expos, and Geek-fests.
Where was I on the morning of March 30th? At the Orange County Monthly Record Show. Guilty.
I like record shows. Not only can you find some interesting stuff for cheaper than you would in a store, but they also attract a wide variety of people. You won’t find the same level of social hopelessness that you would at a comic book or beanie baby collectors’ show, but there might be some overlap. Music is something that almost everybody likes and there’s pretty much something for everybody. Some people choose to put themselves into categories defined by the type of music that they like, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. At a record show you literally see all types – from older jazz and big-band guys to kids trying to find something that will offend their parents, bless them.
At the risk of sounding like some kind of utopian idealist, everyone
at these shows seems to get along and respect each others differences
and tastes. It’s okay to like Gene Autry or GG Allin or Night Ranger.
Whatever you are in the outside world, it doesn’t matter –
we are all bozos on this bus.
That said, one obvious exception comes to mind. In Seattle, where I used
to live, there was one guy who went to all the record shows asking every
dealer if they had any records by “juvenile performers”. He
would load up on everything from Bulgarian youth choirs to pre-teen novelty
acts. He gave everybody the creeps and was known to buyers and sellers
alike as “the pedophile”. Okay, so 99 percent of record collectors
are harmless.
Back to the March OC Record Show. Here’s my report. The most I usually fork out for a record at these things is seven or eight bucks. In that category, we have two items. Item One is “Rockabilly Rebel-lion” by Ray Campi on the legendary Rollin’ Rock label. It rocks. The second item is a live CD of the Minutemen called “Acoustic Blowout”. This recording is from a 1983 radio broadcast and was made available (and affordable!) through the wonder of CD-R technology. It’s beautiful. I still miss the Minutemen.
Moving into the 3-5 dollar LP’s, we have Captain Beefheart “The Legendary A&M Sessions” and “It’s Time for Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers” by, you guessed it, Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers. Both of these artists, dissimilar as they are, both fall into the “you either like them or you don’t” file and not going to bore anybody by extolling their virtues.
When you work your way down to the 1 dollar and under records –
my weak spot – things start to get ugly. Sifting through the sub-budget
bins of a record show is akin to an archeological dig. For the most part
you are digging through the discarded trash of a past civilization, but
occasionally you find a precious jewel in the mouth of a mummy.
No jewels here, but I did find a couple of interesting records. For 50
cents, I bought a copy of “Hey Little Girl” by Jimmy and the
Mustangs. It is a fairly decent Southern California rockabilly-esqe relic
from 1982. The songs are pretty standard fare, but it features some very
good and well-renowned musicians like drummer Charlie Quintana and pianist
Gene Taylor. The album cover is really stupid-looking and the title is
disturbing (I’m not going there again), which is probably why they
weren’t more successful. Call me a senile old coot, but I believe
I once saw them open for the Adolescents at the Cuckoos Nest back in the
early Neolithic period.
At the bottom of this month’s heap we have Atila. No, not the Hun or Billy Joel’s old prog-rock band, this is Atila the Hairdresser. He was also a performance artist and local underground TV personality. I remember seeing him on “New Wave Theatre”. He did a song called “Guns” that consisted of him shouting lyrics like “guns guns guns guns guns, shoot shoot shoot shoot shoot” at the top of his lungs in some indecipherable accent of unknown origin while using a guitar as a percussion instrument. It was great. He was sort of a cross between the Shaggs and Tiny Tim. The Atila album that I found, titled “Looking for Love”, sounds nothing like that and I was disappointed. It mostly has an artsy reggae/dub/mid-eastern thing going on and at times sounds like Public Image Ltd. being fronted by Herve Villechaize. I like it, so shoot shoot shoot shoot shoot me.
If you have never been to one of these record shows and would like to,
here are some helpful hints.
1. Bring your own bag. Many sellers have bags but most don’t. Your
bag can also serve as a fashion accessory and can help you find your niche.
For example, indie fans recycle bags from indie record stores, jazz guys
use canvas book bags, Phish fans use hemp tote bags, prog-rock guys wear
backpacks, punkers use grocery bags, etc…
2. Do not wear a t-shirt advertising a band or a performer. If you do,
every seller will try to either sell you something with that band or performer
or, even worse, try to initiate a conversation with you about them. If
this is what you want – go right ahead.
3. Practice regular personal and dental hygiene. You’ll find out
why.
The Greater Orange County Monthly Record Shows are held at
The Sequoia Club
7530 Orangethorpe Ave.
Buena Park (between Beach Blvd. and Western Ave)
Upcoming shows are April 27 and May 25. For more information, go to their
website:
http://www.asavinyl.com/record_show.htm
Will Lux Interior be there? I doubt it. Sometimes they have performers come in and sign autographs and stuff, but it’s usually someone you’ve never heard of.