The Shoeless Wonder!

I don't think I could have possibly picked a better guy to be the first interview on this blog. I first met him back when I was in high school. I was in a small band with big dreams in Miramichi. One day me and a friend were digging through comics at the local comic book store and our band came up in conversation with the owner. He said he knew a guy who had training in sound engineering and who would love to record a demo for us.

I still remember seeing Keltie the first time. Coming out of his old plymouth century with an Erics Trip t-shirt on, sound board under one arm, free arm out to shake our hands, big smile on his face and an eager to record attitude. It was instant that you could tell Keltie was more of a fan of music than the average person. It was his whole life!.

He hammered out a incredible demo for us that afternoon. We even took a break and let Keltie beat the hell out of our drum kit with his Ian Paice style drum roles.

It was the beginning of a great friendship and really the beginning of myself transforming into a collector. The first time Keltie invited me over to check out his music collection is permanently embedded in my brain. His room was absolutelhy amazing. Covered wall to wall with thousands of cds, lps, 45's, vintage posters, and a massive collection of concert bootlegs.

You may have bumped into Keltie before. He would be at most of the local shows in moncton with a recorder plugged into the soundboard. Making the best damn bootleg recordings I have ever heard. Keltie would have hundreds of shows recorded that he attended over the past few decades. Bands like Elevator to Hell (or Elevator through, or Elevator... I can't keep track..) go to him for live recordings.

Without further ado, please welcome the Shoeless Wonder to Maritime Vinyl as our first interviewee.

Name: Keltie Harding

City/Town:  Moncton, NB

Job:  Auto Detailer (day job)  / recording engineer (hobby)

What do you collect? Vinyl; CD’s; Cassettes; 8 tracks; bootlegs; music memorabilia; magazine; etc..

I collect vinyl, cd’s, bootlegs, some memorabilia and the occasional magazine.

Do you prefer one audio format more than others? (example: vinyl more than cd’s) 

For sound quality, well done vinyl is the way to go.  Well mastered CD’s are good too, but finding a well mastered CD these days is like finding a needle in a haystack.

What is your favourite genre of music? Some of your favourite artists?

I’m all over the map, genre-wise.  I  can go from jazz to metal in a heartbeat.  I enjoy jazz, classical, blues, rock ( classic rock, blues rock, psychedelic rock, power-pop, metal, 50’s, and beyond) and old OLD country.  Some of my favorites are The Beatles, The Beach Boys, Eric’s Trip, The Plastic Cloud, Black Sabbath, The Doors, 13^th Floor
Elevators, Buddy Holly, Hank Williams Sr. and the list is endless.

How big is your collection?

VERY large.  I have maybe 1500 + LP’s, the same in CD’s, (maybe more) and literally  thousands of albums stored on various forms of digital media (hard drives, CDR, DVD-R.  I have a fair amount of 45’s and a bunch of 78’s. 

Do you concentrate your collection on one or more artists in particular?

Not really.  I collect what I enjoy.

What is the first album you remember purchasing? Do you still have it?

I had a lot of records when I was very young and still remember some of them, but  my first PURCHASE was probably “Live Bullet” by Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band.  I think I was about 7 at the time. And yes, I still have that copy.  It’s a bit beat up, but still plays well.

What is your favourite item in your collection?

This is a tough one.  Hard to pinpoint a favourite, but two of the most special items I have are 2 Beatles albums (that feature Pete Best on drums) that I had Pete Best sign back in 1996 when he played a show in town.

Do you still actively collect or was this something you concentrated on in the past?

I still collect, but financially its almost impossible to obtain every single thing I want.  So when it comes to making a purchase, I’m very choosy.  I’ll never stop collecting music.  Music is too much of an obsession for me.

What is your preferred way of adding to your collection? Shopping online? Flea Markets? Independent music stores? Etc… Any favourite store or websites? 

I’ve done all of the above.  Online shopping can be fun and some great deals can be found.  Flea markets and thrift shops are a crap shoot, and mostly there is nothing but CRAP, and in terrible shape. Occasioanlly I'll find something decent.  I like indie record stores because they seem to cater to the market that really appreciate GOOD music.  Plus indie stores avidly support the indie scene and that helps the indie scene tremendously.

Favourite stores are Spin-It (Moncton, NB), Backstreet Records (Saint John and Fredericton), GEMM.com and Ebay.com.  Amazon.ca generally has very good prices

How do you store your collection? Shelves? Boxes? Your attic?

My collection is split up between  2 houses, mine (where I live) and my parents’ home.  My house is currently too small for my entire collection so most of my records are still stored at my parents’ home.  I have shelves for my records.  My girlfriend got me a hand-made CD wall unit for Christmas a few years ago.  My (then) brother-in-law built it for me.  It stores approx. 1000 CD’s. 

Does your significant other support your collection? Did you have to convince him/her?

Yes she does.  She knows how important my music is to me, but I’m pretty good with what money I have to spend on music.   If I had more disposable income, I’d probably buy more records

What is on your “wish list” at the moment?

Original “Allied” pressings of The Plastic Cloud & Reign Ghost (both worth thousands of dollars in mint shape), a Beatles “Butcher” cover in decent shape, a copy of Eric’s Trip’s “Notes From Stereo Mountain” with the original comic book,  Eric’s Trip – Peter (German 12” on Sub Pop), The Zombies – Odessey & Oracle, and the new Marine Dreams album.  This is just a few off the top of my head.  An original Robert Ludwig cut of Led Zep II.  There are more….so many more.

Do you know any other collectors?  

Yes.  Because most of my circle of friends are musicians, they are also avid collectors.  I have a good friend and she is also a collector of local indie stuff, but she isn’t a musician. But has great taste in music. And the person conducting this interview!  Thanks Brad!