DJ Blog

You adore your albums. I’d almost bet they’re meticulously organized, their plastic sleeves free from any wrinkles. Collectors don’t come much more earnest than those who have fallen in love with vinyl records. And have you ever thought about just how that perfect little piece of wax gets into your hands and on your turntable, whether your passion is rock vinyl, jazz vinyl or just about any genre under the sun? It’s a surprisingly simple process.

Logically, the method of making and pressing the albums of today has its origins in the steps first given by Thomas Edison’s photograph. But before anything resembling a vinyl record is produced, a medium is needed. In the studio, a master recording is made, where musicians, producers and audio engineers work hand in hand to perfect the recorded sound.

Once the master is acquired, a gloss is placed on a record-cutting machine. During its production, the gloss coating dries up to a perfectly silky exterior. As it rotates, electronic signals from the master recording are transmitted to a cutting head, which holds a stylus. An engineer moves the cutter and a microscope then examines the test groove and aDJustments are made to the cutter. A computer monitors the cutting and adjusts the spacing between the grooves as needed since the recording is one continuous groove. Although not a vinyl record yet, it’s beginning to take shape.

From there, the imprinted lacquer is sent to a pressing plant – perhaps a more industrial-looking environment than most vinyl album enthusiasts would like to admit. The lacquer is then washed with soap and water and sprayed with liquid tin chloride and liquid silver. Creating an inverse of the gloss, as opposed to grooves, the subsequent metal master has ridges. The metal master is then utlized to produce a metal record, also called as the mother. From the mother, a stamper is born. The stamper is placed on a machine, which punches a hole in the center and removes the edges to create a diameter of 12 inches. Stampers are negative versions of the original recording that will be utilized to make the actual vinyl records.

Finally, the stamper is placed in a hydraulic press. Black Polyvinyl choride pellets are put in an extruder, which turns them into small “biscuits”. The biscuit is then placed in the press which has two stampers mounted within – one for each side of the record. Steam softens the plastic while the stampers create impressions of the master recording onto soon-to-be-vinyl albums. Cool water is then employed to harden the disc. The final step? Finding its place in your vinyl record collection and on your turntable, whether its rock vinyl or jazz vinyl.

Technorati Tags: jazz vinyl, rock vinyl, vinyl albums, vinyl records

For album lovers everywhere, one of the biggest draws to the vinyl record is the palette format that creates for distinctive cover art. And no matter what genre you choose, album art has become more than just an industry term, but a full-grown medium. While software like Photoshop has enabled today’s designer to produce vinyl album covers that defy convention, they owe a debt of gratitude to those that pioneered the form.

One of these men, Henry Diltz, nearly redefined the process in the 1960s. Propelling rock vinyl beyond just a mere auditory medium, Diltz began his foray into the music industry as a founding member of the Modern Folk Quartet. Nonetheless, he soon settled toward photography. After meeting the Monkees and sitting on some recording sessions, he soon started photographing the flourishing act. As his portfolio expanded, so did his reputation. He was named the official photographer of the Woodstock Festival in 1969. Still, it was rock vinyl where Diltz really left his mark.

Shooting some of the biggest names in rock in the late 1960s, Diltz captured images of musical icons that still speak to viewers across generational lines. For his career, Diltz has shot over 80 covers of rock vinyl albums. Of those, a lot have been greatly career defining. His credits include the Doors’ “Morrison Hotel,” Crosby, Stills and Nash’s eponymous debut effort and Stephen Still’s self-named solo debut. His work on these undying rock vinyl masterpieces has placed Diltz in rarified air in the world of rock journalism.

Even beyond mere covers of vinyl albums, Diltz resume is also jittered with images of both cultural and musical legends. His documentation of Jim Morrison and Jimi Hendrix living subtly captured their live imagination. His soft remembrances of Joni Mitchell, Neil Young and James Taylor captured their muted essence on film. His sullen images of a young Michael Jackson still serves as an evidence to his tortured childhood, a young boy both in the spotlight and running from it. Still, it’s Diltz contribution to the world of rock vinyl that will leave the longest-lasting impression.

Today, Diltz is still up to his old tricks. His images of current acts such as Pearl Jam, Henry Rollins and Korn have captured the rage of a new generation of rockers. As Glenn Frey of the Eagles once defined Diltz’s work, “This is not history. This is evidence!”

Technorati Tags: Harry Diltz, music photographer, rock vinyl, vinyl albums

For decades, rock vinyl was king. From the hip-rattling swagger of Elvis Presley to mind-altering explorations of the Beatles, from the primeval howls of Little Richard to the grating roar of Led Zeppelin, rock n’ roll was here to stay. But as mid-1970s came, a new sound – complete with quick hi-hat runs, infectious choruses and pop sensibilities – could be discovered on Turntables and the charts. Disco was challenging the new king.

But for some, the change was hardly welcomed. Wax was the realm of rock n’ roll and rock vinyl would not go down without a fight. Enter Steve Dahl, a Chicago DJ, who had summarily been fired from his job at WDAI after converting to an all-disco format. As someone with more than just a personal interest in seeing rock vinyl remain at the top, Dahl hatched a plan.

The game was rescheduled on July 12, 1979 as part of a doubleheader with the Detroit Tigers after rain forced the cancellation of a Chicago White Sox game in early April. Dahl, in conjunction with Gerry Meier, his broadcast partner, Mike Veeck, son of Chicago owner Bill Veeck, and other radio station executives hatched a fateful idea that would eventually live in infamy in both rock vinyl and baseball history: Disco Demolition Night.

The promotion asked fans to bring unwanted disco vinyl albums to the park in exchange for an admission charge of only 98 cents. And boy did they arrived. Rock aficionados turned up in thousands; nearly 90,000 turned up at the 52,000-seat Comiskey Park. Some scaled fences outside the park, and the freeway had to be shut down after it clogged with cars. When the stadium staff had collected more than enough albums from the crowd, many began using them as Frisbees, littering the field and hitting other spectators. It stood as a witness to their love of rock vinyl at the least. No enthusiastic music lover would ever treat “real” ‘records as such.

In between games, Dahl appeared, with a young female in town, dressed in fatigues and riding in a jeep. A crate filled with disco records and wired in explosives was brought onto the field. Rock vinyl would rule the day. The ensuing left a gaping hole in the outfield and a small fire burning. However, it was just the beginning.

True to the spirit of the beloved rock vinyl albums collections, fans stormed the field. Some walked aimlessly; some ran from police, some started more fires. In all, a small-scale riot started in the middle of a baseball game. The field was cleared by the Chicago Police Department in the end. The field was so badly mangled that the White Sox had to forfeit the game to the Tigers. And while Disco Demolition Night has gone down as perhaps the most ill conceived promotion ever, in a twisted way, rock vinyl certainly ruled the day.

Technorati Tags: disco, rock, rock vinyl, vinyl albums