Q&A Remix With Daniel Graham of Great Wide Nothing

Have you ever bought a record just for the artwork?

Oh yeah definitely. One really good example that comes to mind is David Sancious & Tone’s Transformation (The Speed Of Love). The cover is this really wild painting of an egg in a vice with this vibrant sunset (and on the back there’s a naked dude crawling out of the egg - which has cracked open). I spotted it one time at a thrift shop in Hilton Head, SC when I was like 17 and bought it on the spot. That was one of the best impulse purchases I’ve ever made - it turned out to be one of my favorite jazz fusion LPs of all time.

What is your most memorable vinyl buying/receiving experience?

Even though I didn’t actually buy a record, per se (just a bag), hitting the Hollywood location of Amoeba Music was incredible. Such a cool vibe, and they had everything you could think of. So much cool shit that I haven’t seen in the wild anywhere else.

What’s the first area you head for in a record store?

It really depends on if I’m going in with a particular record I’m looking for or not. If I know what I’m hunting, I’ll get straight to work digging for it in the appropriate genre section. Otherwise, my typical go-to will be the “used - new arrivals” section if the store in question has one. That’s where you tend to come across the best surprises.

What’s the most treasured album in your collection and why?

Probably Kevin Gilbert’s Thud. Only like 500 copies were ever pressed (and this was like 20 years after it was released; 19 after his death. It’s a special remastered edition that also includes his cover of “Kashmir” by Led Zeppelin and some B-side type stuff on side 4). A few years back, the executors of his estate found a crate of sealed copies in a storage facility and put them up for sale at a dirt cheap price. They sold out in minutes and I managed to be one of the lucky bastards that snagged one. Kevin’s music is incredibly important to me - he’s one of my favorite songwriters ever. He was both a brilliant producer and a gifted multi-instrumentalist (though he gravitated toward bass, live). His songs are often so sharply sardonic and cynical on the surface, but at their core is this profound sensitivity and wide-eyed idealism…so much empathy and sincerity. He was a troubled guy who felt really deeply and desperately wanted to “make it” the way his heroes did, and he had the talent to do so! His peers respected the hell out of him and he was involved in some massive projects (including some production work for Michael Jackson & Madonna…plus he co-wrote Sheryl Crowe’s Tuesday Night Music Club). But the industry really chewed him up and spat him out in a way he never quite recovered from or forgave.

What one record in your collection would you be most eager to share with new friends?

The answer to that question differs from person to person and on my own mood, quite honestly. Naturally if I’m dealing with someone who’s never heard like…fucking Pet Sounds or Sgt. Pepper’s… or What’s Going On or Kind Of Blue,one of those is going straight on the turntable and that person is not leaving the room till they’ve heard it through. But otherwise, if they’re fairly well acquainted with the classics, I’d lean toward something I really love, personally, that they might not know but isn’t so esoteric it would scare them off. Maybe In Keeping Secrets… by Coheed & Cambria or Tim by the Replacements or Pinkerton by Weezer?

Are you a completionist when it comes to artists? Which artist do you have the most records from?

Generally, no. My philosophy toward buying vinyl at this point in my life is - broadly speaking - that if I can’t see myself spinning it frequently and enjoying the experience, I don’t need it. And of course even the best bands/artists make a dud or go through a period that just doesn’t resonate with me every once in a while. As to what band I have the most records from…probably Rush. Those dudes made a lot of albums over the course of their career. And I really love the overwhelming majority of them a lot. They’re incredibly influential for me.

What is/are your white whale records, something you have your eye on but haven’t been able to find?

I’ve been hunting a good mono copy of Magical Mystery Tour by The Beatles. As a general rule of thumb Beatles albums always sound better in mono. That’s the mix they and George Martin actually gave a shit about and had the most input on. Only Abbey Road and I think maybe Let It Be were ever originally recorded/produced with stereo in mind. Beyond that, I’d love to get my hands on The Afterman (Ascension & Descension) by Coheed & Cambria, Brian Wilson’s SMiLE, which got a really limited vinyl release and has yet to be reissued…but I think my ultimate holy grail at the moment is Himiko Kikuchi’s Flying Beagle. It’s an outstanding japanese jazz fusion record that’s damn near impossible to find (and the most recent one sold online was priced at like, $700).

What is your greatest “score”; could be on value or just rarity or something you were looking for the longest?

My biggest score ever happened like 8 years ago I want to say…it was some obscure Greek psych/prog LP that I bought because it looked cool (honestly can’t even remember the name of the band or title of the album - which bugs me to no end). The guy running the shop I got it at sold it to me for I think $18…because he assumed it was one of the much more common bootlegs floating around. I listened to it a couple of times and liked it, but it was far from an all-timer. I decided to sell it during a financial rough patch, and in the process of pricing it, I looked more closely at some of the markings in the dead wax, did some research and it turned out to be a much rarer original first pressing. I sold it for $200, which helped keep the lights on that month.

Who/what got you hooked on records?

I always thought vinyl was cool in a sort of “retro/novelty” way, but I really fell in love with it as a teenager. My parents had recently divorced and my dad married someone who was very into thrifting & antiquing, and though little else about her presence in my life was positive in nature (those who have heard me talk about the Great Wide Nothing song “Viper” will know who & what I’m talking about), that aspect of her personality led to me getting my first turntable (along with a boombox and stacks upon stacks of beat-up secondhand classic rock LPs) for Christmas one year. Over the years that followed, my record collection was something I could escape into and immerse myself in, and building it was something that brought an element of joy to the experience of spending hours upon hours at estate sales, charity shops, etc. with someone who otherwise brought mostly pain into my life and that of my family.

What are your first memories of listening to records?

I remember staying up late at night in high school, doing homework with my headphones on, listening to albums I’d gotten early on like Selling England by the Pound by Genesis or Kansas’ Point of Know Return. I would periodically take a break to stare at the large-print artwork, read the lyrics/liner notes, and so forth. And of course there was the crackle and the warmth of the audio itself…it was a full sensory experience that made such a massive impression on me.

What’s your favorite record to listen to on headphones?

There are lots of good ones, but one that immediately comes to mind is Pink Floyd’s Wish You Were Here. It’s WILD with headphones. The way songs like “Welcome to the Machine” make such deliberate and full use of the stereo field is something that becomes much more apparent and profound when you listen with headphones, and the effect is really kind of transportative and hypnotic.

Tell us a little about your favorite record store.

My favorite has got to be Moe’s Record Shop in Gainesville, GA, where I live at the moment. The owner - Moe Lyons - himself is a big reason why. Moe is a lifelong collector, himself, and a serious lover of music. He DJs several radio shows (chiefly jazz/jazz fusion ones) for the local college radio station and has done so for probably a decade now. He’s chock full of stories and is a walking encyclopedia of musical knowledge. He’s heard everything. He’s seen everyone. And he’s the nicest, most down to earth and approachable, friendly dude you could ever hope to meet.

What’s the weirdest record you own?

My weirdest record? Probably Mekanïk Destruktïẁ Kommandöhby Magma. If you’re not familiar with Magma, basically all you need to know is they’re a French band from the 70’s helmed by a guy named Christian Vander. Vander combined classical/opera music with like…jazz-rock & psychedelia (the resulting music he dubbed “Zeuhl”) & cooked up this whole speculative sci-fi mythos revolving around humanity’s colonization of space and our evolutionary destiny set in the distant future. He also invented a language called Kobaïan, in which the overwhelming majority of all the lyrics on all their albums are sung. Incredibly strange, incredibly unique stuff.

How has your record collection and appreciation for vinyl evolved over the years, and what has influenced your tastes?

My collection has expanded, condensed…and then inevitably expanded again on several occasions. Sometimes I’ve ended up in a bind and had to sell off fairly large chunks of it to keep gas in the car and food in the pantry. Those times force me to really assess my priorities and suss out what it is that I connect with and value in music (what I need to hold onto because it feeds me on a spiritual and emotional level) and what I don’t (what’s really just material clutter), so I can make decisions I don’t regret. Sometimes I’ve found myself in a position where all is well, financially, and I can grow the herd to my heart’s content. Those periods allow me to really freely indulge my curiosity and expand my horizons in ways I might not, otherwise. In any case, my collection is constantly a work in progress; a reflection of my ever-evolving, lifelong relationship with art.

What’s the last record you played?

The last thing I listened to was actually that Magma record I mentioned. I just got a new bottle of cleaner and decided to give it a good wipe down, and then of course I had to give it a spin.

Daniel Graham is the bassist, vocalist, and primary songwriter for the progressive punk rock band Great Wide Nothing. He resides in Gainesville, GA with his wife, three kids, and four cats. Daniel has been listening to and collecting records for well over a decade.

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