March 7, 2001

Setting the record straight on vinyl music

Collectors browse bins for rare, nostalgic recordings

By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
       Shoulder by shoulder, old technology sat by new.
      At Saturday's record and CD show at the Traverse City Holiday Inn, compact discs were outnumbered by vinyl - singles, extended play and albums - whose greater price belayed their greater popularity. At least among collectors and vinyl aficionados, who came to the show by the dozens to browse and look for that special album.
      "Everybody has that one album from their childhood they are looking for," said Mike Dowdney of Traverse City, a part-time dealer specializing in rock 'n' roll who is also a collector. "Elvis albums are very valuable and Beatles are very big demand, but are not really valuable. A lot of people are looking for Led Zeppelin and I'm amazed at the people looking for KISS."
      With hundreds of milk crates holding thousands of records, the show was an album lover's dream.
      Even Elvis stopped by for a peak at the goods.
      "This is our first record show and we bought a sealed Moody Blues album and an Elvis single," said Eric Erickson of Traverse City, an Elvis impersonator, who attended with his wife, Cherie.
      Collector John Block of Traverse City came to browse, always on the lookout for another album to add to the 1,500 he has at home (plus nearly 500 CDs.) He snapped up a Buffalo Springfield album and a couple of jazz albums on their original labels; he spurns reissues and compilations.
      "I like music a lot and I like collecting," said Block, an engineer. "Just like people collect coins or stamps, I like to collect albums."
      "Sometimes my friends think that nobody listens to albums anymore, but I do and you can still buy turntables new."
      Bob Bergman of Charlevoix, one of the show's organizers, sees the medium of records as an enduring one, despite technological advances that make digital recordings sound superior to vinyl ones. In fact, the perfect reproductions and pure sound possible with compact discs cut no ice with Bergman, who prefers the warmth of a record even if it means a few hisses or scratches.
      "The interest in vinyl has remained pretty steady over the years," said Bob Bergman, owner of Boogie Bob's Records, a vinyl business he started four years ago.
      Bergman cited two reasons for the format's enduring popularity.
      "The sound of vinyl is not as cold," he said. "Also, compared to the CD, you can not only see the pictures but read the liner notes on an album."
      The show drew seven dealers from around Michigan, including a heavy metal CD guy, a compact disc dealer and a rock video dealer. Some like Dowdney are part-time, though his search for treasure-troves of albums never ends.
      He always takes his biggest suitcase, packed with as little as possible, during business trips so he can bring home any finds. On vacation or if driving to a business meeting, he takes a zigzag route to his destination, stopping at garage sales, estate sales and antique markets along the way.
      "This is my hobby, I do three or four shows a year," said Dowdney, who played drums in a rock band while growing up in the 1960s. "I have about 3,000 albums in my inventory; I'm not a real big dealer."
      Bergman, however, has made his business into a full-time venture. A former disc jockey in northern Michigan, he has been handling albums most of his life. While he is no longer a collector, he enjoys the dealing end of his business.
      "About four years ago, I lost two jobs on one day and the same day my son brought home some old Led Zeppelin albums from a garage sale," he recalled. "The idea just kind of ballooned from there."
      He dreams of someday opening a storefront in Traverse City for rare vinyl, but for now attends numerous record shows every year. He also sells over the Internet and people call him from all over with collections to sell; hoping for a hidden gold mine among their dusty, forgotten albums.
      "The reason some albums are valuable is they are rare," Bergman said. "Everything people have is not worth a bunch of money, the Beatles and Presley were very common, so are not worth much."
      "You have to make tons of educated guesses on what to buy, it is like buying an antique."