Tag Archives: record collection

San Francisco

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San Fran Pink Ladies

What does one do when traveling to San Francisco for the first time? Tour Alcatraz? Check. See the Painted Ladies? Check. Head to wine country and indulge in all things good? Check. Buy vinyl and whiskey? Absolutely! Besides eating and drinking our way through what quickly became one of my favorite cities and regions, I had two musts on the list and one was to visit at least one local record shop and the other was to stop in to Cask, the curators of our Whiskey Explorer’s Club.

I decided to turn to social media for a recommendation on which record store to visit, because there were a handful in the city (mostly in the Haight, of course) and I was trying to not completely monopolize our time. Who better to turn to than my Instagram connection, GrooveNarrative, who happens to be an SF based vinyl enthusiast? He gladly offered up a number of suggestions, and while I can’t wait to check out the rest of the shops on his list during a future visit, I opted to go for one of his first mentions, Rooky Ricardo’s – plus, I just dug the name.

San Fran RookieIt turned out that the shop was in the midst of making a move to a location down the block, but most of the vinyl was still in this original location, along with a handful of listening stations set up, which the owner encouraged us to use while he bounced back and forth between the locations. I appreciated the trust to leave us alone in the store, and while I realize we don’t exactly look shady, I suspect vinyl folks tend to be generally trustworthy. I mean, what kind of jackass would try to steal vinyl?

A few minutes after digging through the stacks I didn’t even feel the need to use a listening station, at least not for the purposesSan Fran Records of checking out the condition, because this vinyl was so clean. It was obvious that the owner cared about what he was offering up in the shop. The hardest part was deciding what to take with me, given that whatever it was would need to make it’s way back on the plane with me.  After forcing myself to limit the haul to 6 spontaneously selected albums, we said our goodbyes and headed back out to make the steep uphill trek towards some of the best whiskey cocktails we had in the city. We had worked up quite a thirst by then, those hills are no joke! If you find yourself in the Haight, stop by the Alembic, you won’t be sorry.San Fran Alembic

Our final day in San Francisco left me feeling like there was still so much that we hadn’t experienced, and as much as I wanted to hit Groove Merchant and Amoeba Music, I decided those would need to wait for the next trip and instead we made our way to Cask in the Rincon Center. To paraphrase an Instagram follower, if there was ever a zombie apocalypse, this is where I’d like to hide out. The gentleman operating that store that day introduced himself as Greg and asked if we were San Fran Casklooking for anything in particular. When I told him that I was a member of their Whiskey Explorer’s club, he immediately set off to see if he had anything special in the back, and brought out a couple of bottles that neither of us had come across before – Parker’s Heritage and Elmer T. Lee. Sold. Also sold on the Cask Exclusive Gordon & MacPhail Caol Ila single malt – which might be the smartest purchase I made while in the city. One taste and I was in heaven, so it’s a good thing that my husband isn’t as much of a scotch fan as I am because I’ll be hanging on to this one for as long as possible. I also suspect that these beauties will make their way into a Whiskey Vinyl Vibe one of these days.

San Fran Whiskey

We had a couple of slots left in the niftiest wine shipper that I’ve ever seen, called the Wine Check. It’s a wine shipping box inside of a bag designed to check on the plane, and it was brilliant! No one said we had to only fill it with wine, so the last spots went to these glorious bottles – and our San Francisco haul was complete.

San Fran Carrier

I could go on and on about the food, wine, and the cocktails that we experienced during our trip, but more than anything it was the people that made this so special. San Francisco and the Napa Valley region are filled with friendly folks, from my social media contacts who were so helpful, to the best bartenders and servers, the most gracious Air BnB hosts, and everyone in between – thank you for making our trip a memorable one. We will definitely be back.

A quick list of some of our other favorites:

Best Lunch:  Yank Sing (Come hungry!)

Best Dinner: Quince (A very special evening out to celebrate our 10-year anniversary)

Best Tiki Bar: Pagan Idol (The best bartenders around!)

Best Winery Tour while in the Napa valley: This is a tough one, but I’d go with the Chateau Montelena estate tour, followed closely by the cave tour and tasting at Schramsberg

For the best Air BnB experience in St. Helena – shoot me a message and I’ll gladly share!

 

-Her

Whiskey Vinyl Vibe #9 – The Spirit of New Orleans

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I tend to be a bit of a planner, so when a little spontaneity unfolds, I embrace the hell out of it. After a morning spent grabbing some great finds at a local shop for my very first Record Store Day (more on that to come later) we decided to reach out to friends to see if they had any interest in hanging at our home for dinner, cocktails, and of course, vinyl. Despite the last minute invite, we were pleasantly surprised that they were free.

Now, we are fortunate to have a number of friends who happen to appreciate music the way we do, and this couple is certainly no exception. When I asked which album he would like to hear first, without any hesitation the words “Jeff Buckley – Grace” were enthusiastically uttered. He had never heard the album on vinyl, and of course I was happy to oblige. No one ever needs to twist my arm to play Buckley.

So, why isn’t this Whiskey Vinyl Vibe titled “The Spirit of Jeff Buckley”? For a number of reasons, with the first being that Buckley deserves some serious attention and when you are socializing and listening to music at the same time,  the attention factor tends to wane. The second reason has to do with the second album that we put on…well, now that I think of it, it was actually the third. You see, I learned something new about one of our friends when her eyes lit up at the site of the Rob Zombie album we had picked up earlier in the day, so I had no other option but to give it a quick spin. I think she was pleased.  Next up was certainly a bit different than the prior choices, but it had no less impact. The moment the needle dropped and the strong roar of the percussion exploded from the first track of The Preservation Hall Jazz Band – That’s It, we all fell silent and turned it up. Turned it way up.

Pres Hall 1

I’ll admit that I’ve never been to New Orleans, but I have a solid appreciation for the music – and this album screams New Orleans throughout.  It consists entirely of original songs for the band, which is a first in their extensive history, but still felt like a complete throwback and I would’ve never known that these were new pieces if I hadn’t read the liner notes. Another interesting tidbit is that it was produced not only by PHJB member Ben Jaffe, but also Jim James of My Morning Jacket. The hubby and I have always agreed that Jim James is one of those people who is such a genius that he just might be borderline crazy, which is likely why his involvement in musical projects always seems to produce something a bit magical. This album is no exception.

Thanks to our friends for enjoying this random night with us in our home and sharing in our varied tastes of music, and also to my husband for whipping up an incredible cocktail for us to enjoy with album. Besides having a spontaneous evening with friends, I now want to figure out how to take a spontaneous trip to New Orleans – but that one might just require a bit of planning.  In the meantime, I will just have to settle for more last minute nights like this one – cheers!

-Her

 

A New Orleans tradition like the Preservation Hall Jazz Band deserves a traditional New Orleans cocktail to go with it. As such, the Vieux Carre was a no-brainer. I mean, it’s even named for the French Quarter. It doesn’t get more quintessential New Orleans.

I’m currently having a love affair with this cocktail, I’m not ashamed to admit it. There’s spice and heat from the rye, there’s herbs and a bit of sweetness from the Benedictine, depth from the cognac – it has it all.

Pres Hall 2

Vieux Carre-

1oz of rye whiskey (overproof suggested)

1oz of cognac

1oz of sweet vermouth

A bar spoon full of Benedictine

2 dashes of Angostura bitters

2 dashes of Peychauds bitters

 

Combine all ingredients in a cocktail pitcher full of ice and stir. Strain into a rocks glass with fresh ice. Garnish with a lemon twist and enjoy. Cheers!

 

–Him

Whiskey Vinyl Vibe #8: Love Is In The Air

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It’s been a couple of weeks since our last post as our world has been incredibly busy, but we finally had some quiet time together last night – and I must say, that it was a perfect Saturday night. With our San Francisco & wine country trip coming up in two weeks to celebrate our 10-year wedding anniversary, I was inclined to take advantage of this beautiful night and enjoy a recent addition to my vinyl life list: Jack Johnson’s In Between Dreams.

Jack Johnson2Released in March 2005, just a few short months before Trent and I met, I was playing this album like mad when we started dating that summer. It’s good thing for me that he liked it, too, otherwise I might not even be writing this post. I’ve heard some music enthusiasts (I’m trying to refrain from using the term “music snobs” here) scoff at artists like Jack Johnson and this album in particular. Maybe it isn’t indie or complex enough for them, but for me, I love the simplicity of the singer-songwriter beachy vibe that Jack Johnson delivers, and you’ll eventually see that I feel that way about a number of other artists, too.

This album in particular holds so many memories for me, for the time that I met and fell in love  with the man of my dreams, and the years that we’ve spent together. Every time Banana Pancakes comes on I just have to stop and smile – and the best part is that he does it too. Although, I did have to give him a hard time about serving up our cocktails in glasses with a skull and crossbones on them last night – perhaps his take on the upcoming anniversary is a tad different than mine…

-Her

Well, as she said, she picked this album because of our impending anniversary. I love this record and will gladly listen to every track on it just about any day of the week. It’s definitely not something I need to be “in the mood for” like some music. A large portion of the reason for that is the emotional connection I have between this record and meeting the love of my life.

What to drink with it, though? Obviously something beachy or something suited for warm weather, at the very least. We didn’t have everything in the house for a Singapore Sling (plus we still haven’t bought proper tiki mugs), so we decided on a cocktail called the Shipwreck.

I hope you give this drink a try and find it enjoyable. We were well pleased as we sipped these on the back porch last night, listening to Jack Johnson float from the speakers, mixed with the sound of the frogs and the warm early-spring breeze.

JJ

The recipe:

1 oz bourbon
1 oz aged rum
3/4 oz fresh lime juice
1/2 oz heavy syrup
4-5 mint leaves
2-3 dashes of bitters (I used whiskey barrel aged bitters)

Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker with ice, shake well and double strain into a rocks glass with fresh ice. Garnish with more mint.

With most of these cocktails that call for citrus, I find the juice to be slightly over the top, so for round 2 we used less lime juice.

This drink also reminded me that we don’t have a fine strainer in the house, either – another thing to add to the list…. It seems to be never-ending.

Slainte! (It’s almost St. Patrick’s Day)

-Him

 

3/28/2006

3/28/2006

Her Vinyl Quest

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New Stack 2

Another package filled with vinyl arrived last night and I could hardly contain my excitement. Since starting this new collection just about 4 weeks ago, this may have been the longest stretch without bringing a new album into our home – 7 whole days. To be fair, the delivery was slightly delayed due to the inclement weather over the weekend, which really set my level of jonesing up on high. I am certain that I must be driving my husband crazy by now, but he just shakes his head and smiles a little – after reminding me how fast my collection is increasing.

In just about 4 weeks, I now have 47 albums, but is that fast? I supposed it might be, but I really have no comparison. For someone who didn’t stumble upon a collection left by a relative, I suppose I might have made some swift progress, but let me break it down just a bit. Of those 47 albums, 14 were new purchases, 2 were gifts, and the rest were either bin finds or pretty cheap purchases from a handful of online shops. All in all, I think I’m doing just fine, but stopping to consider this inspired me to move forward with some intent for building the collection, something besides the obvious of having as many awesome and varied records as possible.

After picking up on a similar idea while reading through various vinyl blogs, I’ve decided to make it my mission to purchase one record that carries some significance for each year of my life. Now, this doesn’t mean that this is all that I will purchase, that would just be madness, but it does give me some focus, and it definitely makes for a great challenge that is sure to spark some deep thinking and just plain fun. My rough plan is this:

  • Start with creating the list. Working year by year, I’ll need to spend some time determining the options. This could potentially mean that what I want on vinyl for a particular year may not be available, so some back up options might be necessary, but figuring out what to dig for is going to be half the fun – then comes the actual digging.
  • Soundtracks are okay if they are significant enough, but I plan to stay away from greatest hits selections. Given that they are basically compilations of works over various years, something about it seems like cheating in this case.
  • The entire album doesn’t necessarily need to be significant (that’s a pretty tall order), but there should at least be a solidly meaningful song included, or maybe it has more to do with the artist and the time than even just a song. I should be able to figure that out as I work through each year.
  • I’m still trying to determine how I feel about reissues. My thoughts are to  avoid any reissues, and that is certainly where I’ll start, but I’ll let the hunt determine where I officially land on this point. Some exceptions may be necessary, but we shall see.
  • There is no time limit on this quest of mine, but I start today. I cannot use any of the albums I’ve already purchased towards this challenge – which just knocked a few good ones out.

Obviously, if this interests you at all, you’ll be able to follow my journey right here on the blog. In fact, a new category is in order: Her Vinyl Quest. Let the fun begin!

– Her