Keith Dodge interview!

Next up we have Keith Dodge from Nova Scotia! I never met Keith but he sure has a great collection here. Sure nice to see some new interviews roll in! They seem to come in spurts! Look forward to a few more in the coming weeks!

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Here we go!

 

Introduce yourself!

Name: Keith Dodge

City/Town: Dartmouth Nova Scotia

Job: Project Leader – Natural Resources – Province of Nova Scotia

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

Keith Dodge (KD) - I still regularly buy CDs but I tend to view my vinyl as “collecting”.  With vinyl, I’ll sometimes seek out a different/rare press, coloured wax, or buy and Lp just because of the cover. I don’t do that with CDs. I also have some rock mags, Kiss comics and various music books/biographies.

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

KD - I’m not overly fond of one format over another but once in a while I’ll put on an LP and go, “Wow” that sounds amazing. It’s a fullness and that comes out of nowhere and the depth is un-matchable. That just doesn’t happen as much with CDs.

MV - How big is your collection?

KD - Currently, I have approximately 2,400 Lps, 300 or so 45’s an around 800 Cds.  I’ve tried unsuccessfully to weed out the collection but it’s something I work on from time to time. I recently unloaded most of my cassettes but I’ve hung on to 75 or so. Oh, I’ve got thousands of Mp3’s too, do they count?

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

KD - When I first started to buy lots of vinyl, my focus was 80s music. It was easy to find most 80s pop and at a couple of dollars per record, my collection grew fast.  I have near complete album catalogues by The Human League, Thompson Twins, Culture Club, Wham…you get the point. I also have the required 80s metal catalogues like Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, The Scorpions and Kiss. The past 4-5 years, I’ve bought lots of 60s and 70s rock, stuff like Led Zeppelin, Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, George Harrison.

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

KD - The first album I remember purchasing was Chilliwack – Wanna Be A Star. There were a few K-Tel records purchased right around that same time but for some reason Chilliwack stands out.

 

MV - What is your favorite item in your collection?

KD - Hmmm, tough to say. I really like looking at my coloured wax but I also have lots of autographed albums that would be considered my favorites. I couple that stand out are:

·         Two early Northern Pikes indie releases. These were quite limited pressings and they’re personally autographed.

·         Directive 17. This band featured Andy Maize of the Skydiggers on vox and it’s hard to find. Personally autographed too!

·         U2 – Unforgettable Fire: This is a favorite because it’s autographed by Daniel Lanois. I met him in Halifax. Very cool indeed.

·         I also have quite a few albums/singles by The Cult. At last count I think I had about 26.

 

 

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

KD - Oh, I still actively collect! Barely a day goes by where I don’t think about a new CD/Album/Song that I gotta get or a new music biography I must read. This week I just bought Sword – Apocryphon on CD and I recently picked up a new copy of Me First and the Gimme Gimmes – Sing in Japanese, on vinyl.

 

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

KD - I don’t have a preferred way of buying music.  I’ve done the yard sale thing, flea market thing, Ebay thing, Kijiji thing etc….Whatever seems right at the time is good with me. I’m quite excited that the Halifax Record Fair is revived; I always but stuff there.

I was recently in Maine and stopped by a chain called Bull moose music in Scarborough (essentialy South Portland). They had a very large selection of CDs plus a decent amount of new vinyl. Not to mention books and other cool trinkets.

Taz records in Halifax is an institution so I’ve certainly shopped there and there’s a couple of other decent independent stores in the city. And, I’d love to shop at Amoeba records in California someday.

 

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

KD -  purchased Ikea Expedit shelving almost 2 years ago and had it shipped from Montreal. It’s near perfect shelving for vinyl.  I have two large units that are divided into 16 cubes. Each cube nicely holds about 80 lps.

 

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

KD - My wife is totally supportive of my collecting.  When we go on vacation, I research record shops and make sure to set aside time to visit some stores. I remember one time in Montreal, I took her through a back alley to the top of a building just to find a little record shop.

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

KD - On vinyl, I’d like to have a copy of the first Kings of the Sun Lp on vinyl. They were a great band out of Australia.

Others include:

·         David Bowie – Peter and the Wolf (green vinyl)

·         Tragically Hip – Up To Here

·         George Harrison – Wonderwall Music (to complete my Harrison collection)

·         The Beatles – (White Album)

·         West Montrose (Andy Maize/Josh Finlayson of the Skydiggers)

 

MV - Do you ever miss the days when it was a challenge to buy some albums? Now you can find virtually anything online! Is it getting too easy?

KD - I’m not nostalgic about waiting years to find a record. Sometimes I’ll spend hours on iTunes just typing band names so I can view their discographies.

 

MV - Do you know any other collectors?

KD - Sure, I was a vendor at the last Halifax record fair so I got introduced to several collectors. It’s actually a small world when you think about it.

 

MV - Tell us about your band? (name; genre; instrument you play)

KD - I play guitar in a 3 piece cover band called 3 Way Radio ( http://www.3wayradio.com ). We stick to mostly popular tunes from the 60s, 70s and 80s and we mix it up with acoustic and electric guitar.

MV - What is it like being in a cover band in Halifax?

KD - I figure it’s not too different than most other Eastern Canadian cities but since we don’t play traditional/Maritime pub tunes, we’re not often in the downtown core. There’s a lot of competition so you gotta be on your “A” game but that’s a positive thing.

MV - Do you play the majority of your shows for private events such as weddings or is it easier to find you playing at local bars?

KD - We gig mostly at pubs and bars outside the downtown core. The drummer lives in Lunenburg (1 hr South) so we gig a fair amount in that area. Our band has had good support from the valley area and we always play a handful of shows in the area each year. We also play corporate events and weddings too. 

 

MV - Your website says that you cover songs from the 1960’s to present. What are people generally looking to hear nowadays?

KD - That’s the million dollar question and it depends entirely on the venue and the audience.  At weddings, the age range is quite wide so 60s music right up to current tunes are required.  Sometimes we’ll roll into a pub or band and get 3 requests for AC/DC, other times they want to hear Rick Springfield haha.