I am excited to announce our August Vinyl Collective Collector of the Month, Scott Heisel. Scott and I first met in either 1999 or 2000 when he was putting on a show for Oblivion and Apocalypse Hoboken in a town I can no longer remember in Illinois. I want to say it was Rockford, but I am probably wrong. I had put out “Sweatpants U.S.A.” for Oblivion and was in Illinois to check out the CD release shows.

Scott and I reconnected when he was actively writing for Punknews.org. We would see Scott every year at the BYO Punk Rock Bowling Tournament and Scott likes to remind me of the time I was completely drunk playing Roulette when I convinced him to throw some money down on black and somehow I helped him to lose $20 or maybe it was $40.

Scott is now the music editor of Alternative Press and he has been kind to little labels like Suburban Home about getting coverage in the highly circulated National music magazine. He definitely infuses a lot of his own personality in the magazine and without his influence, I am not sure I would be as avid of a reader.

Although those are all great things I can say about Scott, this is not why he is our Vinyl Collective collector of the month. Scott from day one, has been incredibly supportive of our vinyl releases. I remember when he placed an order for the Every Time I Die box set and I said, “Wow, a music editor who buys music, crazy.” He also left the lone sober drunk dial on our Drunk Dial hotline when he called to discuss his receipt of the Fear Before the March of Flames “The Always Open Mouth” vinyl where he discovered that the phone numbers inscribed in the record were actually members of the band. Scott lately has been one of our most active Message Boarders and one of many reasons, the message board has such a good vibe. And most recently, Scott has been so kind as to send labels our way when discussing options for licensing vinyl. Through his help, it is very likely that we may release a Norma Jean box set as well as the vinyl for Sparta’s latest album, “Threes”.

For these reasons and many more, Scott is our August Vinyl Collector of the Month. Thanks Scott for the support, you are the best.

Note that Scott said the following about the above photo and the photo below: Okay, the pictures are attached. PICT0005 is me with the two greatest records ever made; PICT0007 is the inside gatefold of that Village People album — autographed by Motion City Soundtrack. I really feel this needs to be shared with the world.

VC: Your name and the city you live in.
SH: My name is Scott Heisel, and I currently live in Cleveland, Ohio.

VC: How many records do you own?
SH: According to my Recordnerd.com page ( http://www.recordnerd.com/lists/scottheisel ), I currently own 683 records, however there’s some random old jazz box sets and stuff I haven’t properly cataloged yet, so my collection is probably a shade over 700 pieces. If you want to start counting double/triple/quadruple LPs as individual discs, though, I’d need another day to count…

VC: Why do you collect vinyl?
SH: You know, it’s funny, I don’t view it as “collecting,” I just view it as “buying.” I’ve been blessed enough to work my way into a pretty sweet position in the music industry where the majority of CDs I want I end up getting for free. So I blow my disposable income on wax. Why am I attracted to buying vinyl is a whole different topic — there’s just something about listening to an album in a way that most of the world will never get to (especially anything released on vinyl since the advent of CDs). It’s a very personal experience, playing records; you actually have to set aside time in your day to do it. It’s incredibly rewarding, too, because it allows you to actually focus on the music instead of just using it as a soundtrack to your morning run or daily commute. Basically, it’s a tangible artifact of someone’s blood, sweat and tears. Why would anyone not collect vinyl?

VC: What is your most prized record in your collection?
SH: If we’re talking monetary value, I’ve seen some records I own go for absolutely absurd amounts on eBay (Saves The Day’s I’m Sorry I’m Leaving 7-inch; both Brand New albums on vinyl; anything from Alkaline Trio’s pre-Vagrant era) so it would be easy to pick one of those; but as for a record that has incredible personal value to me, I don’t even know how to whittle it down. I know one of my all-time faves is the Jimmy Eat World/Jejune split 7-inch that came out way back in ‘98, I think — I bought it because I was a huge JEW fan, even back then, but it’s one of the first times I remember a split 7-inch exposing me to an absolutely incredible band on the flipside. I used to have this junky little all-in-one record player with speakers that was picked up at a church basement sale for a few dollars, and for months when I’d wake up and get ready for high school, I’d drop the needle on Jejune’s half of that record and air guitar the fuck out of “The Early Stars.” Ask me this question tomorrow, though, and I’d most likely have a different answer.

VC: What release would you like to see come out on vinyl that hasn’t yet been released?
SH: The obvious answer is Brand New’s The Devil And God Are Raging Inside Me, but supposedly that’s in the works (anyone wanna take bets on which will come out first: the vinyl for this record or the goddamn lyric sheet?), but an older release I’d like to see on vinyl is Superdrag’s Regretfully Yours, which is pretty much a picture-perfect power-pop album. I’d also love to see Paul Baribeau’s self-titled album on Plan-It-X get the vinyl treatment, it’s so damn good.

VC: What is the most you have spent for a record?
SH: The real question is how little have I spent on records worth way more? I’ve been lucky enough to purchase the vast majority of my collection when it was first released, so I generally haven’t paid more than face value for vinyl; outside of that, I spend more time cruising distros looking for vinyl sales and usually go crazy when I find one. (Orders placed with Interpunk, Insound, RevHQ, Polyvinyl, Kill Rock Stars, Mindset Overhaul and more within the past 6-8 weeks will confirm this.)

VC: What out of print record would you kill to own?
SH: Weezer’s Weezer (1994) and Pinkerton on their original pressings. I have the reissues, but it’s just not the same.

VC: Your last 5 record that you purchased?
SH: I’ll do you one better and tell you the six that just showed up today:

Decibully – Sing Out, America! LP (on white)
Decibully – City Of Festivals LP (on burgundy)
Rainer Maria – A Better Version Of Me LP
Rainer Maria – Long Knives Drawn LP
Urge Overkill – Exit The Dragon 2xLP
The Promise Ring – 30 Degrees Everywhere LP (on white)

And the four I just ordered/pre-ordered:
Street Smart Cyclist – S/T 7”
Heavens – Patent Pending LP
Andrew W.K. – Close Calls With Brick Walls 2xLP
Chuck Ragan – Ole Diesel 7”