Tim Durling!

My first 8-track junkie!!
Tim was recommended by Crash (see previous interview) as a possible interviewee for my blog! I look forward to meeting Tim in the future and seeing his collection first hand.

I love people who collect obscure stuff like this! 80's hair metal 8-tracks! How cool is that! (Well maybe we are only a select few who would actually think that is cool but damnit Im one of them!!).

He has received some pretty impressive autographs and aquired a very large collection  over the years. I really enjoyed putting this interview together as Im sure you will enjoy reading it.

Here we go!!

Name:  Tim Durling

City/Town: Woodstock, although I live in Canterbury.

Job: CJCJ-FM Woodstock, Commercial Writer/Part-time on-air/Saturday Night Solid Gold Show host, the Gold Show runs on CJCJ and CIKX-FM Grand Falls.  Check us out on www.cj104.com and www.k93.ca.

CJ and K93 are affiliate stations to the Fox, reading Crash’s and Uncle Rob’s blogs is actually what led me here.  I realized there were other music geeks out there…no, nerds?  Um, no…how about aficionados, yeah let’s go with that.

Music has always been important to me, and the only real hobby I’ve ever had.  I was never into sports, automobiles, hunting, fishing, or really for that matter, TV or movies.  Just tunes.  Rock and roll is like an old friend who’s never let me down.

I respect most other genres of music, when you work in radio, I think that’s essential.  I like to think I have a pretty good general knowledge about most music.  I also enjoy learning about musicians of all types.  If I’m flipping through the channel guide and see there’s a documentary coming up on Avril Lavigne or George Jones or Joey Ramone, chances are I’ll watch it and enjoy it; even though I’m not a fan of any of those artists.

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

I have more CDs than anything, but with some artists, particularly my favourite ones, chances are I have their catalogue in multiple formats. I started off like a lot of children of the 80s (I was born in 1974) with cassettes.   Didn’t own a CD until late 1990.  When I first started buying CDs it was when they came in the “long-box” packaging, to give you some idea.  I’ll get into the music collecting part of it below.

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

If I had the room and the resources, I’d probably prefer vinyl.  There’s nothing like album art on an actual album.  I’ve got a lot of vinyl but I rarely listen to it, mostly because I’ve got them all on CD, with 2 or 3 exceptions.  I keep all my records in plastic sleeves.

For convenience and practicality, CDs do it for me.  Although I must say, I’ve never had a cassette tape skip on me!   Drag and snap maybe, but skip, no.

I’m really not what you’d call an audiophile, who will extol the virtues of the sound of vinyl over everything else.  Honestly my ears just aren’t that discerning unless it’s a horrible recording.  I either like the music, or I don’t.

As far as digital is concerned, I’m very old school.  I refuse to pay my hard-earned money for music that I can’t hold in my hands, see artwork larger than a postage stamp, and read the credits.

(WARNING:  This next paragraph gets really, really nerdy.)

The 8-tracks are strictly for collecting…my wife would say collecting dust but I digress.  I certainly remember this audio format growing up, when I was five or six years old I remember hearing artists like Kenny Rogers and Charley Pride on 8-track.  But certainly not AC/DC or Van Halen or yes, even Def Leppard.  I think that’s why I’m so enchanted with finding albums I like, on 8-track.  Especially releases from into the 80s which are the hardest ones to find, because after around 1982, the only 8-tracks available were through music clubs like Columbia House.  www.8trackheaven.com is a great site if that sounds interesting to you, there are carts as recent as 1988 on there, however for the most part they’re pop and country; so don’t go looking for an 8-track version of Appetite For Destruction.

(Bored yet?) 

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

Mainly 70s-80s hard rock; what used to be referred to as “pop metal” or “commercial hard rock,” with just a hint of prog mixed in.  If I was forced to name an all-time favourite, I would have to narrow it down to two.  One is a band that tends to elicit strong love/hate responses, that band being Rush, the other is one of the most sadly overlooked bands in history, that band being Y&T (Yesterday and Today, yes named after the Beatles album)…never heard of them?  Neither have most people I’ve met, which is a darn shame.  (If you’re into classic hard rock, check them out on youtube, yes some of the videos and outfits are cheesy.  Don’t let that deter you.  Whose videos and outfits weren’t cheesy back then?)

Some of my other favourites are Journey, Kiss, Alice Cooper, Metallica, April Wine, Helix, Honeymoon Suite, Kansas, Aerosmith, Def Leppard, Queen, Dream Theater, Van Halen (I’m partial to the Sammy Hagar era but I’m loving their new one with Dave), and many more.

The band that was responsible for getting me into hard rock…let me rephrase that…getting me into music in a big way, was Bon Jovi.  This might sound funny now, because they’ve changed so much, but believe me, if you were 12 years old in 1986 and had pretty much just listened to Top 40 radio, “You Give Love a Bad Name” was the heaviest thing you ever heard.  That band is the reason I started reading album credits.  Finding out who the band members were…what they played…who produced the album…who engineered…mastered…co-wrote the songs…who did the band thank?  What label were they on?  Did they have any other albums? 

That’s also when I started buying rock magazines like Circus, Hit Parader, Metal Edge.  After that, it wasn’t enough for me to hear a band and think they were pretty good.  I now had to know everything there was to know about them.  Which in the pre-internet days, sometimes wasn’t easy, I can tell you.  Especially with the lesser-known bands.

Does this mean I hate everything that came out in the 90s and beyond?  Not necessarily.  However, I wasn’t particularly fond of the “grunge revolution” because I resented the fact that all of a sudden it wasn’t ”cool” to listen to bands like Motley Crue or Tesla or Cinderella anymore.  I never understood that, it was like a class war or something.  Whoever said that you weren’t allowed to have Pearl Jam next to Poison in your music collection? 

So what did an 80s-rock loving guy in his senior year of high school (1992 for the record) do, when most of the new rock wasn’t to his personal taste?  Start listening to rap?  Hardly.  Go country?  (Which a lot of people my age did.)  Please. 

Nope, what happened was what I called my “Classic Rock Renaissance.”  I went back and started listening to bands that my favourite bands always talked about.  That’s when I discovered Queen (thanks in no small part to Wayne’s World), Led Zeppelin, Kansas (criminally overlooked band, there’s more to them than those 2 songs), Lynyrd Skynyrd, Boston, Deep Purple et al.  In fact to this day, a Kansas song from 1976 actually sounds newer to me than a Bon Jovi song from 1986.  That’s also when I started appreciating the art value in vinyl.  A 12x12 canvas makes all those Journey sleeves look even cooler.

When it comes down to it, I like rock music with hooks, melodies, guitar solos, smart arrangements, and most of the time, great vocalists.  I’ll give just about anything a chance, but it takes a lot to turn my head these days (except the Darkness, I think they’re great); it could very well be I’m just getting old and curmudgeonly; which translates in plain English as “old fart.”

Most people would disagree with this, but my theory is this.  Just because an artist is old and had their commercial or critical peak many years ago, doesn’t mean they can’t produce new music of quality.  Conversely, just because a band is “new” and “happening” doesn’t necessarily mean they’re any good either.

How big is your collection?

I have over 700 CDs, around 300 records, 150 cassettes, and as you can see, quite a few 8-tracks.  I also have a decent collection of music DVDs, and a lot of VHS tapes from back in the day, some of which have never been issued on DVD unfortunately.

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

With my favourite artists, I tend to be a completist…as the Queen song goes, I Want it All.  A few other bands, I may like, but a well-chosen compilation can do the trick.  There are a few bands that I remain faithful to, that are staples of my collection, and I try to get pretty much anything they put out. 

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

I certainly do remember.  It was 1985, Zellers in the Fredericton Mall.  Platinum Blonde’s first album, Standing in the Dark, on cassette.  No I don’t have it anymore, although I wish I’d had the foresight to find it on CD, because I’ve seen that one go for upwards of $350 on ebay!!

What is your favourite item in your collection?

I have a few.  I achieved a long-standing goal in 2010 of getting one of my 8-tracks signed, when Nazareth played in Woodstock.  Dan McCafferty and Pete Agnew generously signed my Greatest Hits cart for me, which I display proudly in my office at work.

The other 8-track I have that I’m particularly fond of, not only because it’s a classic album, but also the fact that it’s relatively new in 8-track terms, is Def Leppard’s Pyromania. That’s a good example of an album that isn’t rare in and of itself, but the format. 

I’ve got a few older CDs that I’d hate to misplace.  Again, not necessarily rare albums per se.  For instance, a lot of U.S. Capitol Records releases, like Queen’s The Works, April Wine’s First Glance and Animal Grace, Sammy Hagar’s Rematch, and Helix’s Wild in the Streets.  Mid-80s Canadian CBS Records issues of Cheap Trick’s The Doctor, Kansas’ Monolith, Europe’s 1^st album.  A Canadian Elektra version of Metallica’s Garage Days Re-revisited.  People who are really into these artists know how rare these are.

My favourite vinyl acquisitions would have include the first Skid Row album, Kiss’ The Originals (with booklet I might add, Kiss Army soldiers), a European-only Rush compilation called Rush Through Time, and some newer (90s and beyond) vinyl like Aerosmith’s Get a Grip, Van Halen’s Balance, Rush’s Feedback, and the first Chickenfoot album.

I’ve also been fortunate over the years to meet a few of my favourites, so I’ve included some pictures of some autographed items.  I mentioned earlier how Bon Jovi was the first sort of hard rock band, and the band that kind of got me interested in the minutia, if you like, of music.  So it was appropriate that they were also the first band I saw in concert.  And as luck would have it, I actually got to meet the man himself, Jon Bon Jovi.  Unfortunately, what I had on me for him to sign was the “Bed of Roses” cassingle (if you have to ask, don’t bother), which is a pretty dark surface, but trust me, the man’s signature is there.

I’ve also got autographed CDs, records, and ticket stubs from members of April Wine (including the late Jim Clench), Honeymoon Suite, 38 Special, Helix, Carl Dixon (fantastic singer of another overlooked band, Coney Hatch), and my favourite piece of KISStory, drummer Eric Singer’s autograph.  Although I should note, Eric was in between Kiss gigs, and playing with Alice at the time which is equally cool to me.  For the record, my buddy Matt and I also met Alice very briefly, and I mean very briefly.  Long story, but we thought it best not to chase the man down the street. 

 

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

I’m married with two kids, so take a wild guess J  I still follow my favourite bands closely and try to keep up on their new material, but it tends to be limited to just CDs.  Stuff that’s strictly for collectability, not so much anymore.

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

The internet has certainly made it a lot easier to find really rare stuff.  But I still get excited when I go into a pawn shop or flea market and see something I’ve been looking for.  Right there, no PayPal, no shipping, no waiting, just hand the money over and there it is, in my filthy little hands, to paraphrase David Lee Roth.  As far as vinyl, the lion’s share of my stuff I’m sure has come from Backstreet in Fredericton.  The area I live in isn’t exactly crawling with places to find cool stuff without doing a bit of driving, and that certainly doesn’t happen much these days, with the occasional exception.

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

My CDs are all in towers…my records are in boxes except for the framed ones I have in my office at work.  The cassettes and 8-tracks are in storage.  I dig them out and look at them once in awhile, or when I have something to add to it.

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

Amanda is a saint for putting up with me in general.  She tolerates my musical obsession because she knows there are far worse things I could be doing.  And she knew right from when we met that I was a music nut.  Except the 8-track thing.  Drives her nuts.

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

There are two releases I’ve never been able to find on CD, and coincidentally they’re both self-titled EPs from the 80s.  One is Kim Mitchell’s first solo EP from 1982, and the other is Ratt’s first one from ’83.  Oh they’re available, but at ebay or amazon prices comparable to a week’s groceries.  P.S. I’m not kidding.

Obviously I’d still love to track down more rare 80s 8-tracks; number one on my list would probably be Kiss Creatures of the Night with the cool makeup cover. 

There are a handful of records that I’ve never been able to track down; again I know they show up on ebay but usually quite pricey.  April Wine’s One For the Road, Kansas’ In the Spirit of Things, Kiss Creatures of the Night with the stupid non-makeup cover,  the Flash Gordon soundtrack by Queen, etc.

Do you know any other collectors?

I have a few friends that have decent music collections, but like me, we’re all married with kids so things like buying music inevitably take a back seat to things like paying for groceries, gas, food, clothes.  That’s not a complaint, just how it is. 

I hope your readers enjoy my rambling on about my music, as much as I’ve enjoy rambling on about it.  (SHAMELESS PLUG TIME)  If you want to hear the voice behind the rambling, I do weekday afternoons from 2 to 6 on www.cj104.com. And Saturday Night Solid Gold Show on CJ and also www.k93.ca. 



Crash!

***Please feel free to follow Maritime Vinyl on twitter and facebook (links are on the right). I will keep you updated on when I post new interviews!***


Pretty sure Crash is no stranger to most in Fredericton. You hear him all day at work and see him emceeing some of the best rock concerts that pass through our city!

I met Crash only once. My Wife and myself went to the Fox hole when they had their last open house in the fall. He greeted us as if he knew us his whole life. Let us stick around while he did some live broadcasting and even welcomed us on the air! But better yet, Crash is the reason I havent had to pay for the movies in the past two years. Well him and my Wife. Seems like every time we get low on movie tickets my Wife always wins on Crash's afternoon show! (Thanks Fox!)

I follow Crash on twitter and encourage everyone else to as well! He always keeps me up on whats going on in Fredericton and always seems to be able to make me laugh! @Crashola

I thank Crash (and all my other interviewee's) for taking the time to allow me to interview him for my blog! So here we go!


Name: Ryan Barton (aka Crash)

City/Town: Fredericton

Job: Mid-Day Host for 105.3 The Fox

Maritime Vinyl (MV) - What do you collect? Vinyl; CD’s; Cassettes; 8 tracks; bootlegs; music memorabilia; magazine; etc..

Crash - The bulk of my collection is CD’s, but I do have some vinyl, which is all the stuff my dad collected when he was a kid – lots of great classic rock stuff. I also dig posters and stickers, and have quite a collection of those.

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

Crash - Sound wise, Vinyl is warm and inviting...there’s a nostalgia to listening to vinyl that takes me to a time before my time, which is kinda cool – vinyl is an experience. Having grown up in the 90’s, though, CD’s were my vinyl, so they’d be my preference...the sound’s so crisp and despite the sound wars driving everything to the max, there can still be a dynamic in the music. I have digital copies of a lot of my stuff, for taking on the go...but when I’m near a player (at home, or my car, etc), I put the disc in.

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

Crash - I’m a rock guy; have been since I was a kid, thanks to my parents, but I have a pretty wide spectrum of music I love, so it’s hard to narrow it down to one genre. I like anything with heart and soul in it. If it brings about an emotional response, then I’m all for it.

I’m a huge Foo Fighters fan – on top of other 90’s stuff like Pearl Jam, Alice In Chains, Soundgarden, STP, etc.

My parents brought me up on the stuff they listened to. My Dad’s a drummer and he instilled in me a love for Zeppelin (The first time I heard the drums for When The Levee Breaks, I was hooked) and he gave me a deep appreciation for Rush, which is his favourite band. I dig Rush, but not the way most fans do, haha.

I’m a big Matthew Good fan – one of the best shows I’ve ever been to was him, solo, at the Playhouse in ’06; just superb! Big Wreck’s 1st album is one of my all-time favourites – and I’ve had their latest, Albatross on repeat in the car since it came out at the start of March...it’s a nice bluesy guitar-laden return. Hey Rosetta!, Elliott Brood, Our Lady Peace (Burn Burn wasn’t my favourite, and is the only one of OLP’s I don’t own. I’ve heard the new one, Curve, and I’ll be happy to add that to my collection)

I’m a huge fan of the talent in the East coast too: Matt Mays (one of my favourite Canadian artists, period), Ross Neilsen, The Stanfields, Andy Brown...I could go on forever... I like Plaskett a lot too; though not like Uncle Rob, haha.

MV - How big is your collection?

Crash - I have around 400 CDs, I think; close to 100 Vinyl. Plus walls of posters and a guitar case plastered in stickers. I collect movies too...so i have a lot those, with a good section of music DVD’s/BluRays.

 

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

Crash - Dave Grohl is obviously a big one, between Foos, Nirvana and his other projects (that Queens of The Stone Age album he drummed on is fantastic.), he probably takes up the biggest chunk of my collection in everything from CDs to DVDs and posters. Also, anything Jack White touches is welcome in my home, haha. I wouldn’t say I concentrate on it so much...but I’d be more apt to add stuff - beyond just a CD – to my collection if I’m a big fan.

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

Crash - First album I bought with my own money was in 1997; Our Lady Peace’s Clumsy, and yeah I still have the disc. It’s in surprisingly good shape, too. I played the hell out of it, and took it everywhere (with a discman) when I was younger. I think I must’ve replaced the jewel-case, because I know it was in pieces at one point, haha.

 

MV - What is your favourite item in your collection?

Crash - That’s a tough one to answer...but, the Alice In Chains Music Bank box-set is pretty sweet. I have The Who’s Who Are You on red vinyl which was a Canada only release, I believe. Coloured vinyl in general is just cool. I have the gold vinyl edition of Framption Come’s Alive.

On the visual-art side of things, I have a limited edition screen-printed Elliott Brood poster (I have #34 of 65), and a wooden-framed promo poster for The Foo Fighters debut album, which I just found lying around the office (it hangs over my desk at work).

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

Crash - I still collect, but it’s definitely mellowed a bit. Getting married and buying a house will make you concentrate your funds elsewhere, haha. I’m not a single guy who can just buy whatever anymore...which is fine because it allows me to focus on getting what I really deem “worth it”.

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

Crash - I still like going out to an actual store to buy my music, but I have shopped online too – sometimes the price is just better; or as in the case with the Guthries album Matt Mays played on, I had to go to ebay for that. I also get sent a lot of stuff digitally (.wavs) through work, which acts as a nice preview; if I really like it, then I’ll buy the actual album. Occasionally the label or artist will send in a physical copy, but it’s increasingly rare, these days...and usually they go to Uncle Rob first, haha. (the perks of being Music Director)

As far as favourite stores, I think Backstreet Records has to be the place to go for Vinyl or a good poster. I do like perusing Digital World for CDs too; every couple of weeks I drop in just to see if I can find something. In fact, most of the CD’s I’ve bought in the last year or two have been used copies of the music I downloaded with Napster when I was in high school. Kind of a way of catching up with the bands I dig.

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

Crash - My stuff is all stored in my “Man Cave” in the basement. The music is all on shelves and the posters are on my walls. My computer, guitars and turntable and everything is there too, so it’s kinda like a college dorm-room, haha; I love it.

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

Crash - Erin’s cool about it, but she’s not really into it herself. She likes music, but a burned copy or a download of what she likes is fine with her. I like having the physical copy and the artwork and liner notes, etc...

We share an account for bills and joint purchases, etc. but we also have our own personal funds, and we’re free to do whatever we want with that; guilt free, haha. So, no convincing is necessary if I wanna buy some music or whatever.

If I wanted a new guitar, though...that might take a little sugar, haha.

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

Crash - I’d really like to have the Foo’s covers collection, Medium Rare, which was a vinyl only Record Store Day release last year...I was working that morning and didn’t make it to Backstreet in time to get one of the two copies Eric had. A friend of mine did, though...and I’m jealous. I’ve seen it on ebay, but I’m just not willing to fork out the cash people want for it.

Also, the only thing I don’t have by Matt Good is Loser Anthems & Lo-Fi B-Sides; I’d like to get those someday, but they’re rare and cost a pretty penny. I do have the deluxe edition of In A Coma, which included all of those songs, so in a way i do have them....the original releases would be cool, though.

MV - Do you know any other collectors?

Crash - Yeah I know a couple. My friend Diane Cole collects vinyl – she has that Foos record I mentioned above. My buddy Josh Linton has gotten into vinyl. He has Neil Young’s Massey Hall ’71 and it sounds so damn good! (tag that to my wish list, too haha. It’s possibly my favourite Neil Young release). Then there’s Uncle Rob...who as you know from your interview, has a pretty cool collection. He really wants my Elvis Costello Hollywood High EP...which makes me want to hang onto it even more, haha.


MV - I am a big fan of 105.3 the Fox (seriously, not even trying to kiss ass!). I enjoy Freddy and Mark in the morning, they getting me laughing every drive to work. I listen to you during work all day and Uncle Rob on the drive home every day! You guys always seem to have so much fun! Is it as much fun as you all make it out to be or are you guys just really good at faking it?

Crash - Well, we are all actors* ...but, no I totally dig it haha. I often say it never feels like work, so that is key for me. I never wanted to be stuck doing something I didn’t enjoy. I’ve been very fortunate.

 

*for real: Freddy has a stage background, while Rob has done mostly screen work. I continue to do stuff with the Film Co-Op, and I was in a TV movie on CBC back in August. (a few of the shorts I’ve been in are on Youtube.)

MV - Everybody has a bad day at work once in a while. How do you disguise this to not make it obvious on the air?

Crash - Vodka in my water bottle...

Y’know, that’s a good question, really. As much as I dig what I do, there definitely are days where you just kinda feel less enthusiastic. I don’t have a tried and true technique, aside from reminding myself that I have a job to do, and a reputation to uphold, so I just brush it aside and do what I need to do. There’s nothing worse than being sick and at work, though...I don’t care how much you love your job, haha; when a head-cold grabs ya, you don’t wanna do anything but stay home in bed.

MV - I really enjoyed the “Heads or Tails” contest you guys had during the summer. How did you luck in to doing all of the destructive things? (I remember you slashing tires for sure… maybe refresh my memory on some of the others’).

Crash - Haha! I happened upon that by chance, I think. It just so happened that the first destruction event was the Tire Slashing, and Freddy was busy in the afternoon (when we did the flip) I think, and Rob was on air, so I was the only choice left, haha. I played it up and had so much fun they just kept getting me back to do the destroying of property. I cut up a bed, threw a wallet in a wood-chipper and helped crush a car. It was reallyfun, and all of the contestants and “losers” were great about it; they got the fun of the whole contest, which is something I think we as the DJ’s were a little nervous about. I hope we do it again.

MV - You really seem to be a big fan of some of the acts that pass through Fredericton. What is it like getting to meet some of these guys in the Fox Hole?

Crash - It’s one of the coolest parts of the job. There have been enough people come through the doors that I’m fully aware they’re just people too. We tend to build up musicians or other celebrities because they seem so larger than life as we watch them, but for the most part – the ones I’ve met anyway – they’re no different than you or me; they’re shy sometimes, too.

MV - Are all of the artists you guys interview at the Fox Hole genuinely nice? Any of them completely surprise you as of who they actually are?

Crash - I’m often nervous about meeting artists I admire, because I have an idea in my mind about what they’re like, so I don’t want that idea ruined if they’re a douche, or something. But it’s been cool; most of the people who’ve come through the doors, or who I’ve had the chance to interview have been really nice. Coolest Interview I’ve had was Mike Inez of Alice in Chains; it was over the phone, but he seemed genuinely humbled by the fact the band was being well-received with a new singer and, as a fan, he was a cool interview.

MV - What is it like standing in front of the crowds at local concerts as the Emcee?

Crash - Emceeing things might be my favourite part of the job. Stepping out in front of a crowd is such a rush. I talk every day for however many listeners, but on stage, I actually have people there, looking at me. I never get nervous, but there’s definitely a different kind of energy during those moments; my own rock-star moments, if you will... even though the crowd couldn’t care less about me, haha. They just know that when I leave the stage, the band they’re waiting to see is coming on, so they’ll cheer when I ask...they aren’t cheering for me, they’re cheering for the band...but I pretend it’s for me, and it’s awesome, haha.


**Check out the video below of Crash slashin some tires during the no BS contest! (courtesy of the fox)**