Member Monday #49: Steve Long aka Stevo Infinitum

Member Monday is our favorite part of the Vinyl Junkies newsletter because it helps us celebrate the best part about this community: the patrons! We place the spotlight on our VJ Patrons by asking them to share what makes collecting records so special to them. This week, we’re especially happy to feature VJ Patron #161, Steve Long aka Stevo Infinitum!

What was the first album you ever bought on vinyl?

I was blessed in that I inherited my first 150 records or so from my father right before I headed to college. So my first record purchase was bought at a Record Exchange in Toledo. It was an OG copy of Led Zeppelin’s Houses of the Holy in solid shape. Which, aside from Presence and Coda was the only major Zep album he didn’t own at the time.

What drives you to collect vinyl?

As a music fan since I was a baby, I have distinct memories of my parents turning on the stereo often, especially Sundays, and that to me became my “church”. My dad had a turntable going early on but also listened to a lot of radio. So in turn me and my siblings were always using the radio, our cassettes and eventually our CDs as a soundtrack to life. But once I inherited records, it was like a door opened and I knew it was time to grab records if the moment seemed right. Now, I see it as a way to catalog and curate the past, educate others and most importantly support the musicians when streaming doesn’t financially sustain most of them. Vinyl is now a major soundtrack to my life. And I wouldn’t want it any other way.

What genres do you collect? How big is your collection?

My favorite genres to collect are Rock N’ Roll (Classic Rock, Alt-Rock, Heavy Metal and Indie Rock), Funk, Soul, and Hip-Hop. In the last year or so, I’ve started to dive deeper into the music scene I loved while I lived in Toledo, and that was the Detroit/Ohio Garage Rock revival of the late 90’s/early 00’s. Plus, I’m slowly but surely adding choice Jazz releases after dabbling for a while.
I currently have 317 catalogued on Discogs, with another 60-80 or so left to go, so about 400.

What is your holy grail?

I have a few… 2 of the biggest are The Mars Volta’s De-Loused in the Comatorium and At the Drive-In’s Relationship of Command. I’m also hoping for reissues of Lemon Jelly’s Lemonjelly.ky and Lost Horizons.

What is your most cherished memory associated with vinyl? 

It was definitely the moment my dad gifted me half his collection with a starter turntable. It was right around when I turned 18, so a big turning point in my life. One of the best reasons aside from memories throughout my childhood of him playing them for the family, was the fact he kept them in such good shape. Even today many of them remain in my collection for sentimental reasons and because none of the ones I’ve found in the wild are as clean!

Do you have a ritual associated with your collection? If so, what is it? 

I am big on pairings with record listening. So if it’s solo or for a party, I love to enjoy a beer, wine, some cannabis or edible while listening. In college I got really into album + film synchronicity so I would often throw on a classic film I knew and play them together. In the last few years, I’ve also paired my cooking sessions with vinyl spins, then eat dinner while enjoying the music. Even more recently I’ve expanded to projected lights, YouTube visuals like nature/bonfires/mandalas or films that might reflect the genre or artist I’m listening to. Like a Blaxploitation classic like “Superfly” with some tasty funk.

Please make a Spotify playlist of your top ten tracks or albums of all time.

 Spotify Playlist –https://open.spotify.com/playlist/20oLYHtUCXEvF7OBK4IoVm?si=oTpvj9FeSteren7p63ZTeA

1. The Beatles – Abbey Road

2. Led Zeppelin – IV

3. DJ Shadow – In Tune and On Time

4. Funkadelic – Finest

5. The White Stripes – De Stijl

6. A Tribe Called Quest – The Low End Theory

7. The Clash – London Calling

8. Pearl Jam – Vs. aka five against one

9. The Avalanches – Wildflower

10. XTC – English Settlement

11. AC/DC – Highway to Hell

What made you choose to step up and support this community?

Oddly enough I stumbled upon Vinyl Junkies from a strong shout-out on “Third Man Record Collectors” on Facebook, especially talking about Sam’s livestreams. So I decided to give it a go, as well as started posting my own vinyl. Sam reached out via a Facebook PM and I decided to become a Patron on the spot. I’m Patron 161! 

Stay tuned for our next Member Monday post! We’ll be featuring more of the stories and collections of our Vinyl Junkies family!

Hungry for vinyl? Looking to add to your collection? We got you covered. You can check out all of the artists mentioned above in our store: https://vinyljunkies.store/

The post Member Monday #49: Steve Long aka Stevo Infinitum appeared first on Vinyl Junkies.