Maritime Vinyl (MV) - First off I would like to say
congratulations on a great performance in Officers Square in Fredericton for
Canada Day! There was a great turnout and you and the Emergency really rocked
it!
Joel Plaskett (JP) - Thanks!
MV - I’m assuming owning your own
record label and reading some of your tweets that you are a fellow vinyl
collector! What do you collect? Vinyl; CD’s; Cassettes; 8 tracks; bootlegs;
music memorabilia; magazine; etc..
JP - I have a large vinyl
collection. I bought a lot of records as
a teenager and don’t part with things easily.
Having said that, I don’t collect things because I think they are
valuable, I just buy things I think I’ll like.
MV - Do you prefer vinyl more than
other audio formats?
JP - Yes.
MV - What is your favourite genre of
music? Some of your favourite artists?
JP - I’m a rock and roll guy but I love good soul, country, hip hop, blues, jazz. Some of my faves include Led Zeppelin, Nick Lowe, Jonie Mitchell, Irma Thomas, Curtis Mayfield the Impressions, Husker Du, The Pixies, ZZ Top and Nina Simone.
MV - How big is your collection?
JP - I’m not sure. A guess would be maybe 600-800 records and a
few hundred cds.
MV - Do you concentrate your
collection on one or more artists in particular?
JP - If I like an artist I tend to
seek out records I haven’t heard by them yet.
I also buy lots of one offs at Value Village or wherever. I’m not a stickler for an album being in good
condition.
MV - What is the first album you
remember purchasing? Do you still have it?
JP - Billy Joel’s Glass Houses. First copy melted in the sun, had to buy it
again.
MV - On a day off, what record would
you spin?
JP - Maybe Miles Davis, “Sketches of
Spain”.
MV - What is your favourite item in
your collection?
JP - Original copy of Jim Ford’s
“Harlan County”
MV - Do you still actively collect or
was this something you concentrated on in the past?
JP - Mostly in the past, although I
still actively buy vinyl, particularly new records or reissues. A couple times a year I’ll pop into a record
store and buy a handful of records and I’m always picking up a record or two at
thrift stores if I see something cool.
MV - What is your preferred way of
adding to your collection? Shopping online? Flea Markets? Independent music
stores? Etc… Any favourite store or websites?
JP - Independent record stores, live
shows and thrift shops.
MV - You’re out on tour often! Do you
ever get to check out the vinyl record stores while on the road?
JP - If I have time or a day off I’ll
usually pop into the local shop.
Sometimes I’m too busy.
MV - How do you store your collection?
Shelves? Boxes? Your attic?
JP - A shelf my dad and I built together.
MV - Does your significant other
support your collection? Did you have to convince him/her?
JP - She's cool with it although I may be moving my collection to my studio to free up some room at the home J
MV - What is on your “wish list” at the moment?
JP - Duke Ellington’s “The Far East
Suite” and any early LPs by Lee Dorsey.
MV - Do you know any other collectors?
JP - A few. Stephen Cooke, Jay Ferguson, Kirk Lahey. But those guys are way more hardcore. I don’t consider myself a collector, just a
fan of music who holds onto stuff.
MV - What made you decide to open New
Scotland Records?
JP - I wanted to create a home for
records my friends were making or projects I was working on. Create a little label to help draw some
attention to things I like. Something
for people to discover and connect the dots.
MV - You make vinyl record references
in your songs. As an artist do you think that vinyl is making a comeback?
JP - Yes. I’m selling a lot of it at live shows. It might be a fad but I think people still
like to collect things and vinyl is the best sounding and most robust format
for music.
MV - I see a lot of younger fans at
your shows. Do these young fans seem to be interested in the vinyl?
JP - Yes. It’s remarkable.
MV - New Scotland seems to be a big
success here in the Maritimes! I often ask what is hot lately when I visit the
various record stores and the New Scotland items are always in the top 3! Has
this been the general response all across Canada?
JP - The independent shops have taken
a real interest in the label. It’s still
small but it’s really encouraging and I have some great people on the team who
are getting the word out there.
MV - In regards to the Joel Plaskett
Emergency and your solo releases, are a big percentage of your sales on vinyl?
Or are most people still buying CD’s and digital downloads?
JP - I still sell plenty of CDS and
digital but I’d say vinyl is steadily picking up and getting closer in
numbers. If I had to guess I’d say
almost 20 % of my overall sales now is vinyl.
MV - You are involved in the process
from writing the song, recording the song, pressing the song on vinyl,
releasing the song, and performing the song. Do you feel this gives you a lot
more freedom as an artist?
JP - I care about how things are
presented and how they sound. Vinyl is
still my favorite format. You have to
engage it, flip it over, brush it off.
Cds are just a whole lot less resilient and less fun.
MV - You seem to be packaging these
New Scotland records with us avid collectors in mind, especially when you added
the CD to “EMERGENCYs, false
alarms, shipwrecks, castaways, fragile creatures, special features, demons and
demonstrations.” Most artists would have thrown in a digital download card to
save on the cost. Do you have us crazed collectors in mind when making these
decisions?
JP - I like things to be collectable
and give people a reason to buy. I don’t
always have the ability to include the digital version because my label Maple
has some of my digital rights but I’m always looking at ways of making the
vinyl more attractive.
MV - The night before the Canada Day show
in Fredericton I was spinning the ‘Thrush Hermit – great pacific ocean’ picture
disc. Any picture disc’s in New Scotland’s future?
MV - Any chance you will ever press
that Thrush Hermit box set on vinyl? You can make a special one just for me if
you prefer!
JP - Very unlikely although I will say
I aim to press Clayton Park sometime over the next couple years.
MV - Fellow Maritime Vinyl contributor
Keltie Harding has mentioned that he previous had some of his Joel Plaskett
concert recordings posted on the Joel Plaskett site. Do you remember these
recordings? What did you think?
JP - Yeah I remember Keltie more than
the recordings but I do remember he made a few cool ones. I rarely revisit recordings from the past as
I’m usually moving forward and I sometimes start second guessing myself if I
review live shows.
MV - I’ll end this on an unrelated
question. Being a fellow cat lover myself! Has there been any new felines
roaming around New Scotland Records after the ‘Late, Great Little White Fang’?
JP - We have a great cat named Blotchy
and are about to adopt another cat, name unknown at this point.
I'd like to thank Joel for doing this interview and his manager Sheri Jones for helping make it happen!
Extra special thanks to Uncle Rob at "105.3 THE FOX" for getting my foot in the door with the contacts I needed!
Thanks for reading everybody and I hope this interview, as well as yesterdays with "Poor Young Thing's", is just the beginning of many great Canadian artists who are anxious to discuss vinyl and share with us their collections!
Extra special thanks to Uncle Rob at "105.3 THE FOX" for getting my foot in the door with the contacts I needed!
Thanks for reading everybody and I hope this interview, as well as yesterdays with "Poor Young Thing's", is just the beginning of many great Canadian artists who are anxious to discuss vinyl and share with us their collections!
Great interview and awesome to see Joel owning a copy of "Sleep Beneath The Willow" by Daniel Romano, one of my fave Canadian artists. (If you see this record, don't hesitate, just get it! Trust me!) Shameless plug aside, awesome interview with a great guy, an amazing talent and fellow collector!
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