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| Amazing Cover Art On New Vinyl |
THESE VINYL HEADS ARRIVED AT THEIR VOCATION BY TOTAL IMMERSION - NOT A LITTLE BIT - NECK DEEP
IT STARTED WITH DEAR OLD MOM AND THE SKIPPER JUKE BOX....AND DISCARDED 45 RPMS
AS A PREAMBLE NOTE, TO YESTERDAY'S OPENING OF MISERY AND WOE, WE SOLVED ONE OF TWO HOUSEHOLD PROBLEMS, THIS MORNING, WITH THE RESTORATION OF OUR COLLAPSED SHED. DUE TO THE HEAVY SNOW THIS YEAR, AND THE FACT A NEIGHBOR'S SNOWBLOWING DRIFTS LANDED ON THE CANOPY TOP, WE HAD A DICKENS OF A TIME KEEPING IT CLEARED-OFF. LAST WEEK, WHAT WAS ONCE PEAKED, WAS NOW MORE SWAY-BACKED, LIKE A HORSE I MIGHT OWN; AND WHEN WE GOT INSIDE TO HAVE A LOOK, THE METAL PIPES HAD ALL BEEN DAMAGED TO THE POINT OF NO RETURN. WITH ONE EXCEPTION. IF WE WERE ABLE TO GET THE SNOW LOAD REDUCED, WE COULD EMPLOY A STRONG CENTER POST TO AT LEAST, NAVIGATE THROUGH THE REST OF THIS WILD WINTER. AS FOR ITS CURB APPEAL, WHAT THE HELL. ALL WE'VE GOT INSIDE ARE SOME OLD BIKES AND LAWN CHAIRS. I JUST HATED SEEING IT IN DISREPAIR, AND LIKE A LEAKING TAP, IT STARTED WORKING ON MY MENTAL HEALTH....UNTIL I FINALLY COULDN'T TAKE IT ANY LONGER, AND A RESTORATION EFFORT WAS LAUNCHED.....LIKE LEE TRYING TO GET TO THE TOP OF THE GETTYSBURG HILLSIDE. WE WON, SORT OF. HE LOST.
AFTER AN HOUR OF CAREFULLY REDUCING THE SNOW LOAD, WE FOUND TWO HUGE ICE BLOCKS IN THE BOSOM OF THE CANOPY. IT TOOK ANDREW AND ROBERT, TWO RATHER STRAPPING LADS, ANOTHER HOUR, TO BREAK UP THE CHUNKS, AND CLEAR THEM OFF THE TOP. WE COULDN'T PUSH FROM INSIDE, UNTIL THE HUGE WEIGHT WAS REMOVED. FINALLY, AFTER SEVERAL DUST-UPS, AND SPITTING-OUT VERBALS, LIKE "WHO ARE YOU CALLING STUPID," AND "WANT TO TAKE THIS OUTSIDE OLD MAN," AND OH YES, MY RESPONSE BEING, "IT'S GO TIME." I CAN TRACE THIS ALL BACK TO MY IRISH GRANDFATHER, EDDIE, "THE RAW POTATO EATER," AND IT WAS HIS TRADEMARK, TO HAVE HIS DUKES UP AT THE FIRST PROVOCATION. IF AN ARTIST HAD PAINTED HIS PORTRAIT, HIS FISTS WOULD HAVE BEEN CLENCHED, AT THE READY, FOR THE NEXT BRAVE CHAP TO STEP FORWARD. THAT WAS ON THE CURRIE SIDE FOR ME.....NOW ADD ON THE FACT, THAT FOR THE BOYS, THEIR IRISH, "SHEA" FAMILY RELATIVES, WERE KNOWN AS THE THREE MILE LAKE WOLVES; IN PART BECAUSE THEY ENJOYED A GOOD DONNYBROOK, TO GET THE CREATIVE JUICES GOING. THERE'S A POPULAR STORY TOLD, THAT A WAITER AT THE OLD QUEEN'S HOTEL, IN BRACEBRIDGE, ACCIDENTALLY STEPPED ON THE TAIL OF THEIR DOG, "OLD SHEP," SITTING BESIDE THEIR TABLE; AND AS A CONSEQUENCE, BEAT-UP THE POOR CHAP, SO THAT HE WOULD REMEMBER THEIR DOG, ON THE NEXT VISIT. SO ANY PROJECT LIKE THIS, WITH ITS PARTICULAR FRUSTRATIONS, PLUS OUR RAMBUNCTIOUS ANCESTRY, AND THERE'S BOUND TO BE ENOUGH YELLING, TO WARRANT CALLING IN THE FUZZ. JUST WHEN WE GET TO THAT STAGE OF WRESTLING, SUZANNE YELLS OUT THE DOOR, "WHAT ARE YOU BOYS DOING OUT THERE....I CAN HEAR YOU YELLING OVER THE VACUUM." NUFF SAID.
WE FINALLY GOT A MAKE-SHIFT CENTER SUPPORT, IN PLACE, AND ALTHOUGH IT STILL HAS A DEPRESSION IN THE MIDDLE, WE AT LEAST DON'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT ANOTHER IMMINENT COLLAPSE THIS WINTER. I HAVE THIS FEELING THERE'S MORE SNOW LOAD TO COME. WE PUT A STOP TO THE SNOWBLOWING DRIFT, OVER THE PROPERTY-LINE, SO UNLESS WE GET ANOTHER HUGE DUMPING OF SNOWFALL, WE SHOULD BE GOOD UNTIL THE SPRING. THERE ARE SIX FOOT SNOWBANKS SURROUNDING IT, SO THE SIDES ARE WELL SECURED. IT'S PRETTY MUCH A SCENE FROM THE ARCTIC, HERE IN SOUTH MUSKOKA. SO WE'VE RETREATED TO THE MAINSTREET SHOP FOR A LITTLE RESPITE, AND AS THE BOYS ARE JAMMING WITH SOME MATES, THIS AFTERNOON, I WILL HAVE SOME QUIET TIME, HERE IN THE STUDIO, WHERE THE ONLY SOUND IS THE OVERHEAD CIRCULATION FAN, WHICH, ADMITTEDLY, OFTEN PUTS ME TO SLEEP. IT JUST HAS THAT DULL, CONSTANT "WHOSHING" SOUND THAT APPEALS TO MY SENSORY PERCEPTION, AS THE SOUND OF A WATERFALL WOULD LULL THE VOYEUR INTO UNANTICIPATED HALF CONSCIOUSNESS. I'D WILLINGLY SURRENDER NOW, BUT I'M WRITING THIS BLOG...WITH THE TELL-TALE STING OF MY THAWING TOES. I REMEMBER THAT PAIN FROM MY MINOR HOCKEY DAYS, PLAYING IN SOME OF THE COLDEST ICE RINKS IN THE WORLD.....HERE IN THE MUSKOKA WILDS. A BLOG FOR ANOTHER DAY.
IN THE BEGINNING, THERE WAS A JUKE BOX
Suzanne probably had a few records, before she started working at the family owned Windermere Marina, on Lake Rosseau (just below Windermere House) when she was about twelve years of age, but she wound up with hundreds, after her years helping her mother run the upstair's snackbar, known as "The Skipper." A center-piece of The Skipper, was the juke box, rented to the business, by a Mr. Arney, (unsure of spelling), who came regularly to empty the coins, and change over the records, to reflect the top songs of the month. The 45's taken off the Juke Box, because they had ceased to be popular choices, were given to Suzanne, for all the summers she worked at the family business. They owned the marina from the mid 1960's, into the 1970's, a really good time for the changing music scene. So by the time they sold the marina business, Suzanne had a fairly significant record collection, that she cherished for many years later. Our sons would greatly benefit from what their mother had kept of Mr. Arney's surplus 45's.
In the early 1990's, we were just keeping our head above the water, financially, and this was, in part, due to the real estate collapse of that era's lengthy recession. We had an antique shop in Bracebridge, and a lot of family owned pieces were sacrificed, at that time, in order to make mortgage and car payments. So when one day, thanks to some probing of little fingers, the television quit, we had no choice but to hold-off purchasing another, until we could save some money. So we employed a nice stereo unit we had purchased, in the so-called good times, and for those afternoons, home with the boys, they got to play her Skipper 45's. It was this, more than anything else, that turned them onto records. They missed some of their favorite television programs, but for most of that year, we depended on the record player, and the vinyl that once entertained the cottage, and resort patrons of Windermere. We had some LP's as well, which we played for dinner, each night, and in the evening for a little background music. The radio on the stereo kept me up on the news and sports. You know, it started out as a hardship, but after about a month, it was quite remarkable, how our affections turned back in time. Even when my parents gave us a television, after they had purchased a new one, we never went back all the way....or in any way abandoned our vintage vinyl, including Mitch Miller, and those old Scottish tunes, sung by Harry Lauder.
An incident occurred at our shop, in Bracebridge, that was of major influence to the boys, and I wish it was possible to re-connect with the kindly former disc-jockey, who sold me most of his collection of 45's. There had been a flea market in Memorial Park, that summer day, and as was predictable, we'd been getting some of the vendors, coming into the shop, trying to sell us their leftover inventory. Most of it, we had no use for, except what one chap had hauled over, in a huge moving box. I knew the burly man, from previous store dealings, and had known, he was having some misfortune finding work in Muskoka at the time. It was still recessionary out on the hustings, and even the local social scene, had cut-back hiring disc-jockeys; and what he was best suited doing, well, the radio station wasn't hiring either. Having been one of the market vendors, he brought over the remaining 45's that he didn't want to take back to his apartment. He said that he needed about fifty bucks, to part with the box, and because of the new interest the boys had in records, it was a sound investment in their future interests. Was it ever. I'd like to shake that man's hand, and so would the boys, because it was probably, the biggest single motivation, to carry-on collecting vintage vinyl. This is the way many collectors caught the bug in the first place.
When the boys came into the shop, later that day, let's just say, if making them happy cost fifty bucks, what a bargain those records had been. Both at the store and later at home, the boys were head-first in that giant box; and it was that way for the whole weekend. One record, "My Bonnie," recorded in Germany, and pressed in Britain, with Tony Sheridan, and "The Beat Brothers" was worth the fifty dollars and hundreds more, and I believe it sold on our ebay site, several years later, for about three hundred dollars. Not bad for an original fifty dollar outlay. They still had those records in the shop, up until a few years ago, and I can only guess, that the profit margin was out of this world. Now, in retrospect, we weren't particularly astute when it came to the values of old records, so when I was offered the box of 45's, honestly, I had no thought of selling them. It's true, we had LP's for sale, but we never sold any of the 45's from that box, through Birch Hollow Antiques, until a few were offered through ebay, a decade or more later. The boys did use the bulk of the massive collection, to bolster their vintage music shop inventory, in those first trial and error years, here at the Gravenhurst store-front.
Now add on to this, the fact this box of records, fueled an even greater interest in collecting, and potentially selling, vintage vinyl. As Suzanne and I, for our business, travelled all over the region, and quite a distance south, and east, to hunt elusive antiques and collectables, we also travelled with Andrew and Robert, on most days through the summer (when we didn't have a shop), and on almost every weekend throughout the year. For the assistance they gave us, hauling inventory, and heavy furniture, to antique shows and open-air markets, we'd give them money so that they could shop, at some of the same venues we were visiting. I can remember going to Cookstown, and the neat market on the main street (which burned several years ago), and letting them pick-out their Christmas presents in advance.....which were a wide array of vintage vinyl. Andrew has been a career Beatles collector, and Robert has had a passion for anything by Frank Zappa, including any collectables sporting his image. So both lads probably spend a hundred and fifty bucks each, on records, from one or two of the mall vendors, and we kept them under wraps, so to speak, until Christmas morning, about a month from date of purchase. They were good with this, and we knew they couldn't be disappointed with what appeared on Christmas morning. Of course, we always added to this, because on our travels, even from yard sales, Suzanne had a good eye for quality records. This seasonal tradition still carries on to this day, at least on our part, and we just can't go wrong buying collectable vinyl for Christmas gifts.
For quite a few years, both boys stock-piled their record finds, until they found a new, almost-as-exciting, recreational pastime. It came one Christmas, after I'd done my shopping at Bracebridge's "Precision Music," on Manitoba Street, Keith Lumley selling me three starter guitars....one for each of the boys, and one for Suzanne. It was the pivotal circumstance, that began the boys' longstanding relationship with musical instruments. The Lumley family has been incredibly kind to our sons, over so many years now, encouraging them both as musicians, with good advice and playing tips, and as business owners, who still share a strong link with their mentors from Precision Music. I remember saying to Andrew and Robert, one fall season, that they would have to make a choice, with the money available for recreation, to choose between hockey registration or music. They took about four seconds of contemplation, and then walked into Precision Music, and the rest, as they say, is the family chronicle. No regrets. The funny part of this, is that they also had a great relationship with Roger Crozier, former National Hockey League allstar, who had offered them assistance to get into hockey. I was working with Roger at the time, in public relations, as his Crozier Foundation for Youth, was being launched; and Andrew and Robert had even been in a summer parade, in Bracebridge (celebrating an anniversary of Santa's Village), with Roger, handing out candy...., and yet, despite the exposure, hockey wasn't more alluring than playing music. Roger had done the same thing for me, when I was a kid, paying my registration for the Red Wing Hockey School, he was hosting, with fellow NHL'er Ron Ingram. My family could never have afforded the cost to join the week-long program, and as it was known, apparently (and not to my knowledge), in the minor ranks, I had some prospects to be a better goalie, Roger took a gamble on me. I'm glad he did, and that he got to know my sons, before his death.....because he was proof, beyond doubt, that passion is a huge motivator in life. He had been a great goalie, and by all accounts, a revered bank executive. So when I told him that the boys had chosen music instead.....he understood. "I hope they will do well," he said, and shook their hands, at the end of the parade....a note of encouragement they haven't forgotten. The boys and mom and pop, worked at the Crozier Foundation summer skating camp program, from the late 1990's into this new century; our job was to provide food services to campers. It was always wildly crazy, but it was good training for their business today. The Foundation had a huge operating standard, and everything was done top notch....and everyone who participated, knew that job-one was keeping the kids busy and contented. The youth were all from unfortunate backgrounds, who could never have joined the camp any other way, than by Roger's generosity, through his Foundation. Andrew was in charge of the music that played in the arena hall.
Over the years, up to the summer they opened their shop, ten years ago this coming July, they continued to collect records, and music memorabilia, while at the same time, using the recordings to help them master the guitar. They never had a scheduled music lesson, but they have benefitted from many mentors, like Keith Lumley (formerly of the local group Southpaw, in Bracebridge, from my high school era), and many talented musicians they have worked with, including Van Newell, and his band, "The Bodenville Flyers," - who, in part (but not complete), are jamming in the back studio, as I write this blog. Musical friend Dave Smith is joining them for the afternoon jam. If I was to list the musicians, who have influenced the boys, since they began playing seriously, and in several bands they've been a part, I could be writing names for about an hour. The same goes for records. Of considerable influence, in vintage vinyl chats, most recently, has been the mentoring of long-time collector "Kip," a retired teacher-friend from Orillia.....who has offered the boys a lot of sage advice, about the good, bad, and ugly, of being a vinyl-head. There have been many others of course, but Kip has been the mentor "most spoken about, and referenced" when they begin discussing the advancement of their musical knowledge, with associate vinyl collectors.....in regards to vintage records generally. He's been the cotter-pin in the wheel of their record collecting, that's for sure. It's always nice when he visits, or we meet him in Orillia....at the record bins of the local second hand shops. The boys didn't make their strides in the vintage music business, without a lot of help from their friends. You will never hear, even as a faint whisper, or even rumor of a whisper, either lad, say to someone, who compliments them on their business achievements, that "I'm a self-made businessman." They wouldn't think of accepting credit, that belongs to so many others. And right now, well, you kind folks are helping them, by reading this brief, vinyl-head biography.
The one thing about the wee lads selling vinyl, is that it has had a profound impact, on our quality of life, here at Birch Hollow. You can probably imagine, how much weight and size was involved, in housing two record collections, in a 1600 square foot bungalow, that is more of an inland cottage, or lodge, than a subdivision house. I have no idea how many thousand records were kept here, but in the past two years, I have actually discovered the family room that we had, when we purchased the house in 1989. It had gradually become less "family" and more vinyl storage area....so yes, Suzanne and I are thrilled by their success in the old record business. We got our house back. No if we can just get the water-tank fixed, so we can be a house with hot water again. That would be great. Thanks for dropping by today for a visit. Hope you're having a good "Family Day" weekend. As a family, by golly, we fixed the once-collapse shed. Ah, the simple joys of togetherness!
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