The Vinyl Guide - Artist Interviews for Record Collectors and Music Nerds

Documentary producer & record collector Jeanne Elfant Festa has made films about The Beatles, Foo Fighters, Pavarotti, Bee Gees and more. Today she discusses her latest movie on Billy Preston — revealing rare archive footage, Olivia Harrison's key role, and Eric Clapton's emotional on-camera tribute and a lot more.
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Jeanne lost her entire vinyl collection in the Palisades fire.
Her family and animals all escaped the fire safely.
A custom-built, mathematically designed sound room housed the collection.
Rebuilding takes time — the turntable alone hasn't been replaced yet.
Music passion began with her Brooklyn-raised parents' rich jazz collection.
Her dad snuck into the Apollo Theater via the fire escape.
He carried a saxophone, jamming with musicians at the loading dock.
The family soundtrack: Billie Holiday, Dinah Washington, Miles Davis, Charlie Parker.
Jeanne and her dad bonded over Bruce Springsteen's sax player.
Her father did house calls exclusively for one patient — Miles Davis.
Storytelling instincts came from parents who loved plays, movies, and performance.
Her own record collection ranged from Rage Against the Machine to Supertramp.
Vinyl's tactile magic: liner notes, textures, and each album's unique smell.
Albums are movies — side one plays straight through, no skipping.
Documentary filmmaking is passion-driven, not a path to big money.
The Foo Fighters doc came from being in the right place.
Business partner Nigel Sinclair's credits include Bob Dylan and George Harrison docs.
Billy Preston first entered her life through her parents' living room stereo.
Filming subjects who've passed requires diaries, archives, and extraordinary research teams.
A granddaughter's undeveloped home movies transformed the Beach Boys documentary entirely.
A stranger's undeveloped Beatles footage, found under a childhood bed, changed everything.
Olivia Harrison unlocked archive footage and connected the team to Ringo and Clapton.
Eric Clapton opened up in a way rarely seen on camera.
Documentary ethics: three sources minimum, no gossip, no stunt casting ever.
The Billy Preston film explores forgiveness, contradiction, and the full human condition.
Extended and High resolution version of this podcast is available at: www.Patreon.com/VinylGuide
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Support the show at Patreon.com/VinylGuide

TV Smith joins Nate to discuss the 50th anniversary of The Adverts, an Australian tour backed by The Hard-Ons, and a career full of great songs and terrible label luck.
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TV Smith is touring Australia in April with The Hard-Ons.
The tour celebrates the 50th anniversary of The Adverts.
The Hard-Ons are already learning the surprisingly complex Adverts songs.
TV finds it odd but joyful to still be performing.
He got back into vinyl to quality-check his own releases.
Bowie, Roxy Music, and reggae were key early influences for TV.
The Sex Pistols made TV believe he could actually do this.
The Roxy Club punk scene started with just 30 people.
Brian James of The Damned personally recommended The Adverts to Stiff.
They recorded One Chord Wonders in a single afternoon at Pathway.
Stiff misspelled the title and controversially centred Gaye Advert on the cover.
Gary Gilmore's Eyes was TV's satirical response to exploitative media coverage.
The BBC was deeply reluctant to air Gary Gilmore's Eyes on TV.
Anchor Records collapsed mid-momentum, leaving The Adverts suddenly without a label.
Crossing the Red Sea was recorded at Abbey Road with John Leckie.
Gary Gilmore's Eyes was left off the album deliberately — vinyl runtime constraints.
RCA signed them against their own A&R team's wishes — chaos followed.
Cast of Thousands suffered a botched mix, a terrible cover, label indifference.
Channel 5 was finally properly remastered after the producer found a safety tape.
TV is bringing vinyl to the merch table — especially the Handwriting LP.
High resolution version of this podcast is available at: www.Patreon.com/VinylGuide
Apple: https://tinyurl.com/tvg-ios
Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/tvg-spot
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Support the show at Patreon.com/VinylGuide

Swami John Reis of Rocket from the Crypt and Drive Like Jehu digs deep on record collecting, the thrill of the hunt, running Swami Records, and why the next release always matters most.
Get yer tix to the Punk Rock Museum's 3rd Anniversary Show here
Topics Include:
Swami John Reis joins to talk record collecting and Punk Rock Museum.
His collection is evolving — trading old hardcore for more desired records.
Collection is 95% 45s, driven by a lifelong musical pursuit.
Early punk led him to hunt for MC5, Stooges, Velvet Underground.
The thrill: records still exist that nobody knows about yet.
Digging through boxes feels calming, healthy, and satisfying every time.
Hawaii vintage shop surprise — radio station collection hidden outside for decades.
Detroit and Pittsburgh are his highest strike-rate cities for finds.
Always ask the clerk — the best stuff is never on the floor.
Styrene vs vinyl: the label sticker is the definitive tell.
Making records informed his collecting — plain white sleeves, big hole 45s.
Pressing plant relationships are everything; affordability is the biggest challenge.
Customs delays under the current administration are wrecking release schedules badly.
Major labels scrapped their own pressing plants — now everyone competes for time.
Marketing records stopped making sense; the artist always drives interest anyway.
Every record is essentially limited and out of print from day one.
Smaller runs mean no unsold closet stock and more collector value later.
Hot Snakes packaging and Rick Griffin's creativity still inspire him deeply.
Upcoming: Sultans reissue, Mrs. Magician LP, new Swami John Reis record.
Schizophonics collaboration in the works — the next thing is always the thing.
High resolution version of this podcast is available at: www.Patreon.com/VinylGuide
Apple: https://tinyurl.com/tvg-ios
Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/tvg-spot
Amazon Music: https://tinyurl.com/tvg-amazon
Support the show at Patreon.com/VinylGuide

Dr. Strange Records' Bill Plaster talks Summer Bash and the chaos of booking a festival, punk history, record collecting, Live Strange, and how punk rock can genuinely change lives.
Get Summer Bash tix here  |  Follow Dr Strange for Live Strange here
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Bill Plaster of Dr. Strange Records joins to discuss the upcoming Summer Bash.
Punk Rock Bowling's cancellation — visa bans, politics, venue loss — created the opportunity.
Bill connected with Gallo, who runs the Fox Theater and the Cathedral in Pomona.
The Cathedral: a stunning, refurbished 1921 four-story YMCA venue hosting the event.
A massive two-day lineup — 30-plus bands across punk, hardcore, and old-school SoCal.
Notable acts include the Effigies, Channel 3, the Skulls, featuring Kevin from Green Day.
Every band asked said yes — Bill takes no money, purely doing it for the community.
Dealing with booking agents was the biggest headache of organising the festival.
Planning started in November; Bill hopes Summer Bash becomes an annual event.
The Punk in the Park cancellations discussed — Bill argues protest with your vote, not boycotts.
Bill credits Rod for building Dr. Strange's social media profile and making the festival possible.
Bill's mentorship philosophy: punk rock can genuinely change lives for the better.
The Dr. Strange "family" ethos — making fun of people with love, never punching down.
Bill's book discussed — early punk discoveries via Damned, Buzzcocks, and XTC seven-inches.
The brutal gang violence at early 80s LA/SoCal punk shows — constantly watching your back.
A close call at Spanky's: the guy next to Bill got stabbed during a Guttermouth gig.
Biggest missed show regret: skipped Oingo Boingo due to peer pressure from girls in line.
Never saw Black Flag — their reputation for brutality genuinely scared him off.
Eight years of mail order before opening the store; Voodoo Glow Skulls his biggest-selling record.
Live Strange runs Wednesdays and Fridays — the cowbell is Bill's money-back guarantee.
High resolution version of this podcast is available at: www.Patreon.com/VinylGuide
Apple: https://tinyurl.com/tvg-ios
Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/tvg-spot
Amazon Music: https://tinyurl.com/tvg-amazon
Support the show at Patreon.com/VinylGuide

John Flansburgh of They Might Be Giants talks rare vinyl rarities, the chaotic story behind the new album's cover art, why re-recording old music is almost always a mistake and lots more
Order the new album "The World Is to Dig" here
Topics Include:
Flansburgh owns roughly 2,000 records across three turntable setups at home
He doesn't identify as a collector — just a serious listener
His rarest record: an Andy Warhol-autographed Sticky Fingers with wild provenance photos
He also owns a peeled-banana Velvet Underground and a Blonde on Blonde rarity
Deep dive into what makes each of those pressings so collectible
TMBG's new album title comes from a Maurice Sendak-illustrated children's book
That led to a fascinating detour on painter Ad Reinhardt's secret black-on-black canvases
Flansburgh has been TMBG's de facto art director for 35 years
The new album's cover art was nearly a Washington Post-licensed sinkhole photo
Washington Post's mass layoffs killed the deal at the last possible moment
A Hudson Valley School painting of Yosemite became the actual cover
Flansburgh and Linnell don't stockpile songs — cuts are made for specific artistic reasons
He once had to shelve a song because Linnell came in with a nearly identical opening line
TMBG song titles are uniquely searchable — except the new one referencing Wu-Tang
Flansburgh is firmly against re-recording old material — cites Zappa as a cautionary tale
Great discussion on remastering: Beatles got it right, Hendrix remaster was disorienting
TMBG evolved from NYC performance art venues to rock clubs — crowd energy changed everything
Their boutique 8-track manufacturer couldn't keep up when TMBG needed a thousand units
Dolby Atmos debate: Flansburgh is skeptical, Nate makes the case for spatial audio
Nate's most collectible record is a Nevermind test pressing — rejected pressings are worth more
Extended & High resolution version of this podcast is available at: www.Patreon.com/VinylGuide
Apple: https://tinyurl.com/tvg-ios
Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/tvg-spot
Amazon Music: https://tinyurl.com/tvg-amazon
Support the show at Patreon.com/VinylGuide