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For our third meeting, we held an open show and tell session, as Chaim had to cancel his presentation. Jeph provided the food and drink again, and we were treated to some very rare 45's. Ron brought some of the rarest of the Beatles 45 discs and sleeves, including the one spelled "BEATTLES" and passed them around for us to inspect. Cliff also brought some amazing and very rare 45's, including some by 50's black vocal groups, and also let us have a close look at them. I wish I could remember the names of the groups, Tim brought one of the rarest Beach Boys records, a 45 on the "X" label. Ronn treated us to a show of Christmas-related Lp's. Thanks to all, for trusting us with your prizes. Sam showed some unusual things like a 16" transcription 78 rpm test pressing, a Louis Armstrong test pressing, some stampers, a prized copy of the camp classic "Satan is Real" by the Louvin Brothers, and so on.

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-We all seem to want more time to just talk to each other, and look at records, so let's do that. If we keep it modest, I don't see why we can't have our own little record exchange going on as part of our gatherings. If it gets too commercial, the library might object, so I suggest we just keep it quiet. We could all bring a box of records we are willing to sell, and just set up on tables and mingle, trade, sell, etc., for the second part of the meeting. I suggest we determine our asking prices beforehand and mark things clearly, being open to trades or other forms of payment. If we're all considerate and discreet, I don't see why this wouldn't work. Does anyone have ideas about this, suggestions? Let me know what you think, this is your club as much as anyone else's. For now, if you come, you're a member.

For new folks, we are meeting at Hagaman Memorial Library, 227 East Main St., East Haven, in the downstairs Community Room, 6:30 to 8 pm.

Our third meeting is Thursday Dec. 10, and after that, Thursday Jan. 14.

Once again, a good time was had by all, and attendance almost doubled (12 people present). People are coming from as far as Glastonbury, Preston, Stamford. Jeph kindly brought some juice and cookies, thanks!

There were three main highlights of the soiree:

Ronn's Show and Tell, a DVD on how records are made, and Bill's 2nd impromptu lecture, which perfectly complemented the video. The DVD showed the main processes and steps involved in making a record, and I think we were all pretty impressed with how much care, expertise, and industrial equipment goes into the making of an LP. If I heard right, at one time there were about 270 plants in the USA, and now there are probably only a handful. Bill also informed us that there is only one company left in the entire world that makes the lacquer discs for all the masters being made!

Bill just happened to have brought actual artifacts from his days of being an engineer in a record plant, and gave us another, more technical, "show and tell": a Pink Floyd vinyl puck, some stampers, a lacquer, etc. It was great to be able to see and touch the types of things we had just seen in the video. Thanks Bill, it was very informative.

Ronn showed us some very cool LP's, including a Pink Floyd boot, an LP with a CD insert, another with an extra 45, water-soluble sleeves which you could wet and release the pigment from, colored vinyl, picture discs, all sorts of pretty rare 1990's releases, and more. His passion came through, he taught us new things, and he showed us some pristine records, Thanks, Ronn.

The hour and a half went by very quickly and we barely had enough time to exchange want lists and socialize a bit. No business was conducted, and it doesn't seem important at this stage.

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On the agenda for next meeting:

- Show and Tell by Chaim, who is probably our youngest member (45 minutes). Chaim is a passionate collector and dealer with greatly varied interests, who recently braved the Big Apple crowds and did the famous WFMU 3-day record extravaganza.

- I will show and talk about a few record-related books that I think are excellent, (about 5-10 minutes).

- That leaves us about a half-hour. I suggest we all bring 1-3 records that we are proud to own, and that we want to say a little something about very briefly (2-3 minutes each?). It will give us all a chance to give everyone an idea about the sort of things we collect, prize, or that we just want to show, play or talk about. A micro show 'n tell.

- Any other suggestions, just email me OK? I'll have a record player set up, as usual.

This is an organizational meeting, and there may need to be more! In any case, here is the agenda we will try to stick to:

6:30  1. Welcome, soda and cookies, a little intro and a 5 minute presentation with records of course, on why records are one of the coolest things on the planet!

6:40  2. Short presentation on how clubs are typically organized.

6:45  3. Open discussion about purpose of such a club (what's the point?).

Here are some examples of an answer to that question:

-         to discover new music and things that are on records

-         to meet other collectors and trade or buy/sell records

-         to learn about, and educate others about the history and technology of sound recording and reproduction

Think about what you'd like it to be, and bring your ideas.

7:15  4. Open discussion about structure, possible nomination or election of volunteer "officers" for a one year term, usefulness of a website, other issues as time allows.

7:45  5. Decisions reached, agenda for next meeting, conclusion.

!!! Please bring the questionnaire I attached to the last email, filled out to save time. I'll have more blank ones if needed, so that we can create a database. Thanks, and see you there,

Sam

Good news! The first meeting of the club took place on Thursday, Oct. 22, at Hagaman Memorial Library in East Haven, and it was a blast!

Seven people were present (Richie, Jeph, Ronn, Bill, Paul, Aldo and myself). Three or four people who wanted to make it couldn't, and two who did came from as far as Stratford and Hartford. We had such a good time that we put off the business of decisions about a club name and structure until next time. I've reserved the library community room for these dates, for the next three meetings: Nov. 12; Dec. 10, and Jan. 14.

Same time, 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.

There was some discussion about structure, purpose, and possible names ("Groovemeisters" was one good suggestion), but it was almost incidental to the fun we had looking at and listening to records, which is probably the main point of having a club. There were a few impromptu mini-lectures on technical aspects of the vinyl groove and distortion as well as a good bit of specialized info from all present on helpful videos, websites and magazines, aspects of label and lost wax deciphering, oddball record inanities and generally arcane stuff of interest to anyone passionate about vinyl. That's another advantage of being in a club: you get the benefit of the accrued wisdom and experience of all.

Sam presented a Show and Tell about various records he has collected which would come under the "Why I love Record Collecting" rubric: pop-ups/fold-outs, multi-colored vinyl, Hi-Way HiFi, 3D and trick covers, audiophile recordings, one-sided texture discs, glass base, Polymax inside start, triplets, multigroove, 8 rpm flexi, take-offs on famous covers, etcÉand wacky covers ranging from "Bikinis and Bongos" to "Zwol," (not to mention die-cuts, 16" radio transcriptions, splatter discs, pocket, picture, paper, binaural. I don't think we can ever exhaust the variety of records that are out there!)

We all learned some new things and simply enjoyed being with others who know and love records. I think we would all agree that having such a good time is what the club will be built on. In fact, someone present expressed disappointment that we couldn't meet every two weeks! For now, we'll stay with the once a month format, but who knows &endash; it's clear that the enthusiasm is there and was just waiting for an opportunity.

I suggest that we follow a similar format for the next meeting. That is, someone volunteers to do a Show and Tell, (which should include playing some cuts of whatever you choose and is likely to be interesting to all) and if we decide to do so, we make some decisions about practical matters.

So, until the next meeting:

1.Think about groovy names for the club.

2. Type up and bring copies of your want list, general or specific, and include your name, phone number and email on the sheet, so we all know who to call when we find that Mint mono copy of Mitch Miller's Greatest Hits!

3. Bring your ideas about future activities or agenda items, or email them to me so that I can list them in advance of the meeting and have copies to hand out.

4. Bring mystery records you need enlightenment on (Ronn had brought two nice carrying cases full, but we just didn't have time to get to them all.)

5. Spread the word.

By the way, if you are relatively new to record collecting, don't be intimidated! This club is OPEN TO ALL, and there are no dumb questions. You don't have to have a collection or know much about records, just love the medium and the message. It will probably be a predominantly vinyl/shellac group, but wax cylinders and CD's are records too, and part of the purpose of a club, to my mind, is to share the passion by interaction with the next generation. 

Also, start thinking about whether or not you can volunteer to be an "officer" for a year. That is, pres., vice-pres., secretary, treasurer, webmaster, or as was suggested: platter, tone-arm, needle, amp, etc. I couldn't write fast enough to get some of the information and suggestions made during our first meeting down on paper, and it would be nice to keep a record (pun intended) of the meetings for future reference, or even to archive things and make them available to anyone on a website.

Next to lastly, if you don't want to get this information, just send me an email and I'll take you off  the list.