Background: Rolling back to March 2023 when Michael (txtr @mschool) – who i noticed online doing video tours of records shops in this minor provincial city of Okayama and then met at a used record fair in Ushimado (post coming) – came over for a visit to talk about records, records, and more more.
How it started: I met him at the parking lot near the Tsuchida cemetery and the camera was rolling from the hop. I don’t get to talk about *all of this stuff* much and he and i had so many common checkpoints (including Internet Service Providers in the modem days!) that our convo turned into a heavy jam session which was released as a 3 part’r – all shared below with his blurbs + a sorta”part 4″ i made while tidying up all the records pulled out during the frenzy.
So, hold onto your toques, sharp turns ahead! All the records, all the time, so much more to say but this will get you started. Many stories, digressions, non sequiturs, a few missteps, mistaken dates, changes in latitude, fogging out mid-sentence as I remember something else meant to tell you about another time.
Really though, give all 3 a watch, ask me questions, tell me *I’m totally wrong*, tell me you were there, and do the whole click and subscribe for this affable gent Michael of Rice Field Records who let me ramble in my “show n tell” (PS vid from the great record fair in Ushimado where i met Michael).
Part 1: “a 150 year old Japanese barn, vintage audiophile gear, and a very eloquent and happy man”
“We meet Dave Olson, an EXPAT who is a music lover and record collector. Dave lives in Higashi (East) Okayama, in a Japanese home which has a 150 year old Kura (barn) that Dave has restored and repurposed to be his art studio and listening room. Featured is a 1980’s rare vintage Yamaha “Gigantic & Tremendous” GT-2000 turntable as part of his listening system.“
Part 2: “a fascinating entrepreneur with stories told through a vinyl journey, tales from around the world”
“A decades long vinyl collection journey that begins in Canada, Dave Olson moves to the Pacific NW. Then criss-crosses the USA. Goes to Japan, Bali, and Europe. Records recently shipped from various storage rooms abroad to this resident of Japan. A fascinating story of music with a first hand knowledge of many Seattle and Canadian, bands, promoters and independent labels beginning in the early 1990’s.”
Part 3: “a 1990’s dial-up Internet ISP, a world traveller, a fantastic record collection, a very happy man”
“Anyone who knows my work history has a big smile on their face the moment this video begins. While Dave was the engine behind OLYWA.NET, I was the the Internet Service Provider marketing manager for Ascend Communications, who was the market share leader of access technology for ISP’s. Dave and I were marketing some form of dial-up access, ISDN, frame relay, and T-1 lines at the same time. There was so much excitement in our first meeting. I don’t know if this video deserves any more introduction. You have to be smitten by this guy’s infectious enthusiasm in the first 30 seconds.”
Bonus
Tidying Up Vinyl Records in the Kura (find the right neighbourhood to *spark joy*)
All these records bring me joy so i am tidying up in the wake of a super enjoyable visit from Rice Field Records and a used record fair in nearby Ushimado. I putter along talking about how i organize the records into “neighbourhoods” so they have pals to hang out with, pull out some box sets, try to find where i put that “one thing” and where *exactly* this one fits best while wearing an moth-eaten cardigan and noticing my beard is compensating for my thinning noggin (still cute :)). Finishes with flipping through some 7 inches while playing a live clip recorded at Ubud Jazz festival.
So many name checks for fave artists including: Courtney Barnett, Bill Janovitz / Buffalo Tom, Buffalo Springfield, David Bowie, Michael Franti & Spearhead, Joe Jackson, Talking Heads, Lone Justice, Ramones, Pixies, Weakerthans, more more more… and extra affection for compilations and soundtracks from Nardwuar, Flipside, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Urgh a Music War, Life in European Theatre, Easy Rider, Times Square (movie) etc infinity.
More: Vinyl specific goodness from my Kura barn doing arts and craft
