Vinyl Collector of the Day, Chris Morin

Today, we bring you our Wednesday Vinyl Collector of the Day, Chris Morin. Chris currently calls Montreal home, but from the sounds of it, he will again be moving in a few months or so. The photo you see above is actually of one of many moves for his collection. Chris describes the photo as, “A hilarious/tragic photo of my collection, en route to rural Saskatchewan, packed entirely in a 2-door Honda Civic hatchback.”

While I was concerned that posting a Collector feature every day might get to be a bit much, every one of them have been an interesting read. I recommend reading Chris’ story of how he got into collecting vinyl, his first vinyl purchase (which is also one of his most prized records), records he would like to see pressed, and out of print records he would love to own. Thanks Chris for taking the time to answer these questions. Glad to hear you now have a van to make moving your records that much easier.

Click the link to read Chris’ feature. If you are interested in submitting your own Vinyl Collector of the Day feature, click here.

VC: Your name and the city you live in.
Chris Morin, currently Montreal, Quebec, Canada – which, of course, could change at any moment.

VC: Do you catalog your records online? Where are they? Are you on the VC Message board? What is your username?
All my records are meticulously catalogued on Deadformat, username Ohnotherobot. I am on VC every day, under the same name, for all the vinyl news and internet hate I can stomach.

VC: How many records do you own?
According to Deadformat, around 650

VC: Why do you collect vinyl?
As a kid, I was always enamored with records. I used to go to the Sam The Record Man at the mall near my house and stealthily look at the metal records. I remember thinking I was getting away with something, and I kind of was – Warrant and Poison were pretty raunchy for a 7-year-old kid!

As I got older I started collecting records because I liked the aesthetic. At one point, I had about 600 CDs and 200 records and realized I had to cull my collection – I traded all the CDs in for records and acquired quite a few gems from a local store.

Having said that, I constantly question why I bother. Records are a huge pain in the ass to lug around the country, especially considering I haven’t lived anywhere for longer than 8 months in the past five years. Last year, when I moved from Montreal to Saskatoon, SK, it must have been hilarious for the airport security people to watch me claim a box of 80 records as carry-on and pretend it wasn’t heavy – which, of course, it was. However, since I work as a music journalist, it is nice having a virtual library of rock knowledge at my fingertips – I would liken this to a researcher working on a thesis in a library full of old books.

Recently, I just bought a van for the sole purpose of driving back to Saskatoon, where the majority of my collection is. I plan on driving back to Montreal with about 550-600 records in tow. That’s commitment to a collection!

VC: What was the first record you remember purchasing with your own money?
Not sure if this was the first, but I remember hearing Death From Above (pre-1979) for the first time and being completely blown away. So I wrote a nice letter to Andy from Ache Records and concealed a $20 bill for the Heads Up! EP and the Femme Fatale LP. Andy was nice enough to send clear vinyl – which, I would later find out, was retardedly rare.

VC: What is your most prized record in your collection?
Probably the above-mentioned Death From Above EP – it incorporates amazing graphic design with a short blast of fuzzed-out punk rock you can dance to. And, again, it is quite rare. Also, as a Man’s Ruin label collector, anything from that part of my collection is awesome – great stoner rock mixed with striking artwork will always win my heart. Therefore: my OG self-titled Queens of the Stone Age LP, the Turbonegro – Apocalypse Dudes I scored for hella cheap and the Acid King test-press that inexplicably wound up in a bin titled “Moog” at a local store.

VC: What release would you like to see come out on vinyl that hasn’t yet been released?
SNFU – Lets Get It Right The First Time. I’m a sucker for live records – they tend to capture an energy that most bands can never find in the studio. And, considering this is essentially a compilation of one of the best bands in hardcore punk with an absolutely mind-melting live show, this really is a no-brainer.

VC: What is the most you have spent for a record?
Probably $80 for the s/t Queens of the Stone Age, although I once shelled out $120 for a few Man’s Ruin 10”’s, including Electric Wizard, the Fuckemos, Dozer and Fatso Jetson. No regrets!

VC: What out of print record would you kill to own?
Probably all of the colour variants of the non-counterfeit Queens of the Stone Age s/t LP.

VC: What are your thoughts on color variants? Do you collect any artists in particular?
Although I am completely contradicting myself based on the above response, I really don’t have much use for variants. Because I travel so much, I will buy an album I already own if it is something I miss. Any doubles I own tend to get given away to friends. Otherwise, I find it counterintuitive and expensive to even bother.

VC: Do you sell or trade records?
Absolutely. But in addition to selling and trading, I am wholly committed to looking for rare records for friends. I come across friends’ want list items all the time and have no problem being a good bro and mailing them awesome records. Good karma, right?

VC: Your last 5 records that you purchased?
Nomeansno – Old (this was only available on their recent European tour – and someone I have never met from the UK was kind enough to buy this at a show and mail it to me!)
Unsane – Total Destruction
The Famines – Syllables
Harvey Milk – My Love Is Higher… – double translucent red and gold vinyl, limited to 80
Harvey Milk – Courtesy and Good Will… – double dark grey vinyl, limited to 500