It took me a long time to get back on the train.
Forgive me, but I gotta get back to some roots here. Making videos of record-loving life became a big distraction and kept me from my first love, which is meeting people with recently purchased records on the streets of Tokyo, chatting them up, and making their photos.
The last handful of posts happened so many months ago that I had to gloss over some of the details of our encounters simply for the memories of meeting becoming a bit fuzzy! Still, I did my best, and I’ll continue to do so, as there is a sizeable backlog still in front of me.
Meet David from St. Petersburg. He actually approached ME, rather than the other way around, I was “Vox-Popping” in front of Shibuya Station late last summer and, by nature of the location and the self-video-ing gear, I was drawing a lot of attention to myself. I think when David noticed I was talking to people about Records, he came and offered himself up for an interview! Thank you David. On his and his girlfriend’s 2nd trip to Tokyo, this time David brought his parents along with him. When asked if he had ANY troubled time or challenging moments and Davide replied, “Everything is good”
David pulled in a massive haul from Tower Records, scoring 11 records, mentioning that the record store scene in St. Petersburg is cool but only for select enthusiasts who can afford prices 3x’s that of Japan! Wow! “It’s all a bit mainstream” he said, but don’t worry, David, you’re in a no judgement zone! MF Doom, Playboi Carti, Lana Del Rey, Bring Me the Horizon, Daft Punk, Gorillaz, Blink 182, Olivia Rodriguez, Tyler the Creator, and Kanye West, were all in his haul!
Finally, before sending David and his family off, he presenting me with an insanely kind gift–small hand-made traditional wooden egg cups called “Khokhloma” (Wow, notice the similarity to “Oklahoma”, my home state! Just exquisite! They’re beautiful! I’m so touched! THANK YOU, DAVID AND FAMILY! The world gets smaller through music.
On Vox Pop – Sep 16th https://youtube.com/live/Bq65baftl6M
On Instagram