Next up we have Bob Mersereau! I have never actually met Bob but I feel as I have known him for quite some time! Whether it be me reading his daily blogs on CBC or flipping through some of his great books on Canadian Music at Chapters.
Bob has a great collection and his Beach Boy's stuff alone has to be one of the greatest Beach Boys collections in Canada!
Enjoy!
Here we go!
Name: : Bob Mersereau
City/Town: Fredericton, NB
Job: Producer at CBC, music writer, blogger and columnist, Author
of Top 100 Canadian Singles, Top 100 Canadian Albums
Maritime Vinyl (MV) - What do you collect? Vinyl; CD’s; Cassettes;
8 tracks; bootlegs; music memorabilia; magazine; etc..
Bob Mersereau (BM) - I collect CD's for the most part, as they are
still the main format for labels to send out to reviewers. When I'm actually buying for myself however,
I tend towards vinyl, particularly 45's.
MV - Do you prefer one audio format more than others? (example:
vinyl more than cd’s)
BM - My favourite format is the 45, especially 45's with picture
sleeves. I love the small artistic statement each one makes, and I enjoy collecting
the variations from country to country.
Next would be LP's, and then CD's.
MV- What is your favourite genre of music? Some of your favourite
artists?
BM - I collect a few artists, but far and away the biggest love is
The Beach Boys. Since 1975, I've been
adding to this collection, and will pick up anything I don't have, if the price
is reasonable. I have about 300 45's,
including 100 European picture sleeves, all different. I'm closing in on completing the North
American collection, at least to my satisfaction. You can never have all the variations. My LP collection for them is nearly complete
as well, again, to my satisfaction. I'm
not sure where this puts me in Canadian terms, but I don't know of a bigger
Canadian collector than myself. I don't
go for much non-music memorabilia, although I have quite a big collection of
books, magazines, articles, even some clothing associated with the band. I have a somewhat extensive Elvis Costello
collection as well, with lots of 45's, albums and CD's, including many promos
issued over the years. My Springsteen
collection is large as well, with 45's, 12-inch singles, and a great many
bootlegs, including a huge number of hours of live material on cassette from
1970 to 1988, many of them original masters that were passed on to me by a
taper who was getting out of the scene.
Because of my job as a reviewer and writer, since the early 80's, I've
been lucky enough to amass several thousand (probably around 6000, although I
haven't counted in years) CD's, plus I
have hundreds of 45's and LP's.
My favourite genre would best be described as 60's and 70's rock
and pop, as well as soul.
MV - What is the first album you remember purchasing? Do you still
have it?
BM - The first album I bought with my own money was by Humble Pie,
Smokin'. Not a great choice. It was due to peer pressure. I finally had enough of my money to buy
something, and the guys I was trying to impress at the time were into the
band. I liked 30 Days In The Hole okay,
but the rest was not really my taste, being more a fan of Elton John, etc., at
the time. I eventually traded that album
to a friend, for Long John Baldry's It Ain't Easy, an album I still love to
this day!
MV - What is your favourite item in your collection?
BM - I think my favourite item in my collection would be my copy
of the Beach Boys' first single, Surfin', on the Canadian London label. It was issued in the U.S. on the tiny Candix
label, a local L.A. indie, and hit #75 in Billboard, strong enough for Capitol
Records to sign them. In Canada, the
London label often picked up U.S. indie
singles for distribution here, as they did with Surfin'. It was not a hit in Canada, and few copies
are known. I've never seen an accurate
value placed on the single, nor have I ever seen it for sale, on eBay or elsewhere,
and I've heard wild claims for it. It
would be one of those unknowns that could generate lots of interest at
auction. I have heard of two other
copies, and I've seen photos of it in discographies, so it does exist out
there, perhaps more commonly than people believe. It doesn't matter though, mine isn't going
anywhere. I also recently purchased a 1962 copy of Surfin' Safari autographed
at the time by four of the Beach Boys, and I quite like that.
MV - Do you still actively collect or was this something you
concentrated on in the past?
BM - I am very involved in collecting again, although I had let
the Beach Boys collection slide for several years, other than the latest and newest
items. But about a year ago, I got back
into collecting 45's in a big way, via eBay.
It's really easy, you can find lots and not overpay. My usual buys are $20 or less. Once I find that good deals like that are
becoming rare, as my collection grows larger, I'll simply buy fewer items, and
save up for the more expensive, at $30-plus.
MV - What is your preferred way of adding to your collection?
Shopping online? Flea Markets? Independent music stores? Etc… Any favourite
store or websites?
BM - My preferred shopping would be in used record stores and flea
markets, but I live in a town with only a couple of used stores, and they don't
get a lot of traffic of course. I have
found some interesting things at a large flea market here, but only because the
stall is run by a long-time collector who is cashing out his collection
slowly. I picked up a Beach Boys album
I'd been searching for since the 70's, plus some other nice vinyl, and he
usually has something I'd like. When I go out of town, its great to get into
the used stores, that's been my hobby all my life. But because of where I live, eBay has become
the easiest way for me to collect.
MV - How do you store your collection? Shelves? Boxes? Your attic?
BM - I store my collection in several different types of shelves,
added on as it grows. I had a series of
shelves built for me a few years back that I love, a wall of CD's, but the guy
who built them retired, so as the collection grew, I picked up some other kinds
of shelves. But to my shame, yes, there
are boxes in the closet of stuff I haven't the space for.
MV - What is on your “wish list” at the moment?
BM - I have a working wish list for the Beach Boys of 45's I need
to complete the North American section.
I try to check eBay each day to see if any show up. Unfortunately, they are mostly quite pricey,
but I've managed to find some great surprises and deals, when the other collectors
aren't watching.
MV - Do you know any other collectors?
BM - I know lots of music collectors, but no other Beach Boys
collectors personally. I've talked via
mail and email with them. Most of the collectors
I know are friends who simply like to own lots and lots of music, and don't
specialize. Although I do have a good
friend with a fondness for The Who.
MV - You have been reviewing music since the mid 80’s. Where have
people been finding your reviews?
BM - I first started reviewing at my university radio station,
CHSR at UNB in Fredericton. Then I
started working as a casual at CBC Fredericton.
Having done some on-air work, I asked if they would be interested in
music reviews on one of the programs.
That was in 1984. I have, with some breaks, been doing that ever since,
and I can be heard each Wednesday on CBC Radio 1 in N.B. at 4;45 on Shift. Also, I have written review columns for
publications, including Halifax's The Coast for several years, then the
Telegraph-Journal in N.B. for several more years. These days, my reviews appear at cbc.ca/nb,
where I review East Coast music, and on my own blog, http://top100canadianblog.blogspot.ca/
MV - Since you have been reviewing music, has it been noticeable
when the music styles started changing? Example, I can take practically any
80’s album and identify it as an 80’s album from the style, recording,
packaging, etc... No need to look for a date on the album.. Has it been a
gradual change from the 80’s to the 90’s to the 2000’s, etc? Or was it just
like you woke up one morning and BOOM there was Alternative bands and no more
hair metal?
BM - I think changes in music have, for the most part, been
subtle, with a few exceptions, usually major breakthroughs such as Nirvana's
huge success with Nevermind. But I'm
afraid I'm stuck in the past most of the time!
I'm so busy enjoying what's come before, I usually don't get caught up
with some new trend for two or three years later. I don't mind this, I never claim to be a
reviewer in tune with the latest trends, I'm more in line with roots and rock
material.
MV - Do you have a favourite decade for Canadian music?
BM - My favourite decade for Canadian music would be the
70's. In the 60's, we simply were behind
the pop music being created in the U.S and England. We didn't have the studios, nor the
industry. We certainly had the
musicians, but they had to leave to get heard, and only a few were able to
break through in the U.S. By the 70's,
our industry had developed enough to support a Canadian scene, and that's when
I was growing up and in love with the radio.
I love those hits, as they were the soundtrack of my youth, from
Lighthouse to A Foot In Coldwater to April Wine and so many more.
MV - People are always critics of music critics (if that makes any
sense). Somebody always has a problem with a review they read. I am a big fan
of Rolling Stone magazine for example, and I know so many people that hate the
reviews in it because they find them inaccurate. Well to me a review has a lot
to do with taste, and my music taste relates to some of the journalists
at RS so I like it. How do you take
people criticizing your album reviews?
BM - I have no problem with people disagreeing with my opinions on
music. What bothers me is when they insult me, which happens often on the internet,
it's the anonymity of the medium, and people seem to believe they have the right
to say things they never would in person.
Usually they focus on one thing in a review that they don't agree with,
and can't see past that. Recently I had
somebody furious with my review when I quite plainly said I liked the
album. They also seem to feel I have to
structure my reviews under some sort of guidelines they want; but I'm doing the
writing, it's my blog, I get to choose how I review or write about
something. If you don't like the format
I use, they are another 40,000 people writing music reviews on the
internet. But my main annoyance is that
many people who complain simply have no idea how to disagree or even argue with
an opinion they do not share. Their only recourse is to insult, rather then
debate.
MV - Do you share the same hatred towards Nickelback as many
Canadians have started to?
BM - Nickelback. I do not
like them, but I do not hate them either.
I think Rockstar was a pretty good song.
But yes, they do seem to repeat themselves and it is generic rock. They are like Bon Jovi, it's very limited
music with basic lyrics and dull melodies.
Why people feel the need to hate a band they don't like is what
frustrates me. So what if they have lots
of fans and gets lots of airplay? People have so many choices now, it's not
like it was in the 70's when there was only a couple of radio stations to
listen to. You can easily avoid
Nickelback, Lady Gaga, Beiber, whoever you want. I never hear these acts, unless I
purposefully play them. So let the fans have
their fun, they don't complain about your music.
MV - You have written two pretty well known books; “The top 100
Canadian Albums” and “The Top 100 Canadian Singles”. I am a big fan of these
books. What has been the general response?
BM - The overall response to the Top 100 Canadian books was very
strong. Yes, there was lots of debate, some of it quite vehement, but it was always
over the lists. Once people saw the
actual books, the wonderful visuals and layout that Goose Lane Editions
designed, and understood that this was a celebration of Canadian music, the bickering
would usually end, and they would enjoy the reading experience. The stories and interviews are a big part of
the fun; even if you don't like Seasons In The Sun, Terry Jacks had some good stories
about the song. Yes, there was a lot of
debate over what did and didn't make the lists, but that was for the most part
a good experience as well, because it proved people were interested in Canadian
music, and held strong opinions and feelings for it. I never doubted it; but even booksellers were
shocked at how well they did in their stores.
We had been told by some that list books and music books don't do
well. These became national
best-sellers. And of course, the lists themselves were generated by big national
polls, hundreds of people involved in Canadian music voted for their favourites,
and all I did was do the math. So I
wasn't really responsible for who showed up and who didn't. Now, it will never be a perfect system, and I
went into it realizing fully that there is no accurate way to rate art. You can only come up with a consensus at best. My goal was to have an all-Canadian
celebration, as hard-cover coffee table books.
That is something that had never existed before these books came
out. For the first time, Canadian
popular music was treated with the same respect as other Canadian art, and the
public responded very well to it.
BM - I never have a problem finding music to review, I always have
a huge surplus, which drives me crazy. I
wish I could review everything sent to me, but I simply don't have that much
time. I am staring at roughly 50 CD's
that have been sent over the last two weeks, plus there are links sent via
email as well. I try to review two a
day, but usually I'm happy with about 10 in a week, and that is an awful lot of
listening, since I usually listen at least twice to a disc before writing.
