To celebrate the 11th annual International Record Store Day, Nine to Noon Music reviewer Jeremy Taylor is our mixtape selector.
Jeremy Taylor Photo: Penny Pender
Jeremy shares tales and tunes from his day job behind the counter at the venerable Wellington institution, Slow Boat Records.
Over its 33 years of trade, Slow Boat Records has been a treasure trove of new and used vinyl for locals and visitors to the city.
Jeremy shares some of the more memorable customers who have popped into the store.
Robert Plant will come into the shop and school you
Jeremy tells of the time when he asked the Led Zeppelin frontman to sign a copy of his band’s first album, in particular, a fairly collectable and expensive version with the band name is in turquoise rather than orange.
"He sort of picked up and looked over his glasses at me and said, 'That’s ambitious, wanting me to sign that'.”
The Led Zep legend put the record to one side, saying “I know how much that record is worth just as much as you do and me signing it..if anything affects the saleability of it.”
Robert Plant Photo: supplied
Similarly when the diehard The Smiths’ fan Taylor met his music hero Johnny Marr and got The Smiths’ guitarist to sign his copy of the band's early single.
Whilst doing so, Marr noted the Manchester address on the record label and thus knew he was signing a first pressing copy.
Marr’s only word to Taylor was: “Proper”.
Photo: Flickr
Evan Dando will steal your music
But he will bring it back.
The job of a record store clerk can be varied, and surprising.
On one occasion the Lemonheads’ singer was visiting the country Jeremy chauffeured Dando and his wife around the sites of Wellington.
Blaring out of the car stereo was “a Prince compilation I had made up,” says Jeremy. “So I had the very bizarre spectacle of Evan Dando, another person with a very distinctive voice, singing along to this Prince mixtape.”
The compilation Jeremy made caught Dando’s eye. A year or two later, a remorseful Dando visited Jeremy at the record store to return the Prince cassette to him.
Until that point, Jeremy had “completely forgotten about the Prince mixtape”.
Music details
Artist: The Wedding Present
Song: Brassneck
Composer: Gedge
Album: Singles 1989-1991
Label: Manifesto
Artist: Tami Neilson
Song: Come Over
Composer: Neilson
Album: Dynamite
Label: Outside Music
Artist: Dave Dobbyn
Song: Blindmans
Composer: Dobbyn
Album: The Islander
Label: Sony
Artist: Courtney Barnett
Song: Need a Little Time
Composer: Barnett
Album: Tell Me How You Really Feel
Label: Mom + Pop Music
Artist: Red House Painters
Song: Grace Cathedral Park
Composer: Kozelek
Album: Red House Painters
Label: 4AD
Artist: Prince
Song: Kiss
Composer: Nelson
Album: Parade
Label: Paisley Park
