VINYL VISIONS

By Denise Mercedes and Jeannie Pawlowski

What’s old is new again! The vinyl comeback is firmly re-entrenched among music collectors. And for native New Yorker Mark Yoshitomi, co-owner of Generation Records in the West Village, well, life couldn’t be better.

Mark has been collecting vinyl since age 12. He’s a Punk Rock historian of sorts with an excellent knowledge base of underground music. Growing up and seeing a photo of the Sex Pistols and finding them cool was different from the classic-rock types his brothers and sisters enjoyed during the ‘70s. Fast forward to the ‘80s when he answered the call of the wild: Mark got a Sid Vicious spiky haircut, found band jacket patches, and began the quest of finding friends who enjoyed the same type of music. The catalyst year was 1986 when Mark started going to shows and HardCore matinees when he could get in (you had to be 16; he was 15).

He started becoming familiar with the record business by working at Second Coming after high school graduation. Then, Generation Records opened up a couple of years later where Mark worked for seven years. He left to explore other endeavors before returning to the music scene as a professional record collector and businessman in 2017.

Both experts and aficionados contend that to achieve that warm vinyl sound, all you need is a decent turntable and needle to enjoy a full fidelity listening experience. Mark agrees. We recently sat down the vinyl master to learn a bit more about turntables and more.

Records took a backseat for many years to other platforms including cassettes and digital. When did the tide start to shift back to collecting vinyl albums?
The last few years have changed the market. The internet killed physical media, but records have outlasted the cassette, CD, VHS tape, and DVD.

Is the trend of owning actual records increasing?
There are more people now devoted to vinyl. I think people enjoy owning a physical item that has a lot more benefits than an mp3 file. No one is asking to see their mp3s when they come over to someone else’s place. New bands, established bands want vinyl.

How did Punk Rock and HardCore become your specialty? You and Generation Records are recognized as experts for these genres.
I grew up in that scene and started going to shows in the late ‘80s. Most of the staff at the store has some background in the Punk/HC scene as well as by following the international punk scene too.

Generation Records is an extraordinary place. How extensive are the collections of the genres of music you carry?
It’s an independent record store with two floors dedicated to all forms of music—but concentrating on heavy Punk. Also available are Metal, Rock, Hip-Hop, Jazz, Disco, Freestyle, Reggae, Gospel, R&B, Soul, Funk, C&W, Classical and Opera. We cover it all.

Since taking over, you have re-invented the store concept to include book signings that can coincide with a live performance for music artists. Tell us about some of the previous events you’ve held there.
I started with Harley ‘Cro-Mag’ Flanagan’s book signing and live performance for Hardcore: Life of My Own then had Roger Miret’s book signing and live Stigma performance for My Riot: Agnostic Front Grit, Guts & Glory; and also Richard Hell’s Blank Generation LP re-issue signing. It’s been a combination of both old and new for sure.

Tell us about your upcoming March 31st Link Wray 60th Anniversary of Rumble that you will be hosting at Generation Records.
Link Wray is one of my favorite guitarists of all-time. Without Link Wray—and Chuck Berry—Rock ‘n’ Roll might not even exist. It’s an honor to have an event such as that at my store. I couldn’t be any more enthusiastic about it!

For more information on Generation Records, visit facebook.com/generationrecords

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YOU’RE INVITED

WHAT:
Generation Records and MusicRealms.com invites you to The 60th Anniversary Celebration of Link Wray's RUMBLE 1958 - 2018

Hosted by:
Mark Yoshitomi in conjunction with Denise Mercedes and MusicRealms.com

Guests of Honor: Beth Wray Webb
With a live Performance by Chris Webb in a Musical Tribute to his Grandfather Link Wray with
Nick Marden and JJ Meraz plus more special guests

WHEN:
Saturday, March 31, 2018 3 PM – 6 PM

WHERE:
Generation Records 210 Thompson St (between Third Ave, and Bleecker St.)

For more info visit MusicRealms on Facebook