Vinyl Collector of the Day, Seven “VII” Caso

Today, We bring you our Vinyl Collector of the Day, Seven “VII” Caso. Seven calls Ithaca home and appears to be fairly new to the world of collecting vinyl. He was so kind to answer our questions about why he collects vinyl, his most prized records, records he would kill to own, thoughts on colored vinyl, a great store in his local area, and more. Thanks Seven for taking the time to answer our questions.

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Click the link to read more about Seven.

VC: Your name and the city you live in.
Seven “VII” Caso, and I live in Ithaca, NY

VC: Do you catalog your records online? Where are they? Are you on the VC Message board? What is your username? Do you use Limited Pressing? What is your username?
The closest thing I do to cataloging my records is post photos of them in a Facebook photo album. I sometimes give pressing information if I can find it, and occasionally where I picked the record up. A lot of my friends do this too. It’s a convenient way to show our collections to each other.

VC: How many records do you own?
Counting all 7″s, 10″s and 12″s I think I have 106.

VC: How do you sort your records? How do you store your records?
I have all my records on a book shelf in my room. The 7″ records are first, and they don’t really have any controlled sorting to them. I kinda just know where one is by memory. The 12″ LP’s are next. Again, no real calculated sorting, but I try to keep certain genres with each other. The only 10″ I have if fit snugly at the end of the book shelf. I also have Nirvanas “Come as You Are” 12″ single on a picture disc that is sitting on a box next to the bookshelf. It’s kinda hard to fit it with the others without damaging the slipcase anymore.

VC: Why do you collect vinyl?
I’ve always had a loyalty to physical copies of music. I’ve always loved the artwork, the sound and just actually having the album in my possession. Vinyl is the best of those three categories, it’s basically the perfect musical medium. I only really got into vinyl about a year and a half ago, but now it’s become a complete obsession. A lot of people and bands involved in the Ithaca Underground scene were very into vinyl as well, so it only strengthened my love for it. I even bought my second record from Kylesa when they played with Intronaut in Ithaca. I still buy CD’s and occasionally cassettes, but vinyl will always remain the best in terms of quality.

VC: What was the first record you remember purchasing with your own money?
It was a dinged up copy of Led Zeppelin “IV”. I didn’t even own a record player at the time, but I had a few bucks to kill, so I thought “why not?”

VC: What is your most prized record in your collection?
Off the top of my head, it’s probably my Agoraphobic Nosebleed/Apartment 213 split 12″. It’s one of my favorite releases ever, and the vinyl version of it sounds unbelievable.

VC: What release would you like to see come out on vinyl that hasn’t yet been released?
I would LOVE a copy of Beiruts “The Flying Cup Club” on vinyl. I’ve looked everywhere but I can’t find one anywhere.

VC: What is the most you have spent for a record?
I think about $25.00. I made a loose pact with myself that I wouldn’t ever spend more than 30 bucks on a record unless it was something realllllllly special.

VC: What has been your greatest vinyl score (least amount of money spent for a valued record)?
The first and only eBay purchase I ever made: I got Cattle Decapitations “Humanure” 2x 12″ with the uncencored artwork on orange cream vinyl and the “Human Jerky” picture disc for $17.00 including shipping. That was incredible.

VC: What record(s) have you regretted not buying? (Not one you should have ordered – but actually had in your hand at a record fair, seen in a shop, had in your shopping cart, but did not buy.)
Ugh, the memories. I saw a sealed copy of My Bloody Valentines “Loveless” (re-issue of course) at my local record store. I have no idea why I didn’t get it. I also saw the “Fuck Nazi Sympathy” 7″ from Aus Rotten at Generation Records. I think it was only like 6 bucks, but like a moron, I didn’t get it!! I also got talked out of buying what looked like an original copy of Minor Threats “Out of Step” for their “Complete Discography” CD. That fucking sucks.

VC: What out of print record would you kill to own?
Wow, way to many:
Pig Destroyer – “Prowler in the Yard”
Boris – “Smile”, “Alter”, “Pink”
Regurgitate – “Sickening Bliss”
Aus Rotten – “Fuck Nazi Sympathy”
Converge – anything before “Axe to Fall”
Baroness – “The Blue Record”
just to name a few

VC: What are your thoughts on color variants? Do you collect any artists in particular?
I love colored vinyl! It looks amazing, and is a nice change from standard black vinyl. It’s not the most important thing in the world, but if I see a version of a record that’s on color that is the same price as the black vinyl version, you bet your ass I’m getting the colored version.
I’m not an avid hunter of any artist in particular, but I’m trying to get a lot of Agathocles and Nunslaughter stuff. I’ve also been buying a lot of Iron Maiden recently.

VC: Do you sell or trade records?
Not really. I’ve traded CD’s before, but never a vinyl record.

VC: Do you have any good record stores in your home town? Which ones do you frequent?
Pretty much the only one left in Ithaca is this fantastic store called Angry Mom Records. They have a huge selection of stuff from various genres and with amazing prices to boot. I pretty much always find something I want there.

VC: Your last 5 records that you purchased?
1. Fuck the Facts – “Disgorge Mexico”
2. Pestilence – “Consuming Impulse”
3. Amebix – “Arise!”
4. Antigama – “Resonance”
5. Genital Holograms/Ailments – split (local stuff. Thumbs up!)