The Vinyl Guide - Artist Interviews for Record Collectors and Music Nerds

In a rare interview, Greg Ginn opens up about the latest Black Flag lineup, the SST catalogue, the possibility of long-overdue reissues and the legacy of one of punk's most beloved bands.
Tickets for Black Flag's 2026 Australian Tour
Topics Include:
Greg Ginn is based in Texas but currently in Long Beach after a tour.
Black Flag is heading to Hong Kong and then Australia next.
This will be Black Flag's third tour of Australia.
Rumors of new recordings remain unconfirmed — Ginn stays tight-lipped.
The current lineup has been together for about a year.
Band plays nearly two hours a night across two full sets.
Proximity of bandmates in Texas keeps the band constantly tight.
Ginn discovered punk through the Stooges, MC5, and New York bands.
Television, Ramones, Blondie, and The Damned were early major influences.
Ginn identifies more with open, varied 70s punk than 80s hardcore.
He never planned to be in a band — guitar was a personal outlet.
Finding like-minded people in the mid-70s was genuinely rare and meaningful.
Ginn started a business at 12 selling ham radio equipment he built.
He published his own amateur radio magazine as a teenager.
Black Flag's first EP was recorded as a demo, not a label release.
Nobody wanted to sign them, so starting SST was a reluctant default.
Ginn has applied the same DIY experimentation to an organic fertilizer brand.
He gets bored easily and improvisation is central to keeping music alive.
Ginn stays connected to a song's emotional meaning, not just its notes.
Seven band members once lived in a single room during Black Flag's peak.
Lineup changes were mostly practical — commitment and lifestyle demands were extreme.
Ginn isn't interested in nostalgia-driven reunions; best music matters most now.
Fans frequently thank him personally for helping them through difficult life periods.
He avoids fiction, movies, and video games — prefers reality and constant learning.
SST vaults are mostly bare — nearly everything recorded was officially released.
Ginn is open to remastering but skeptical of padding albums with leftover cuts.
He notes Dead Kennedys recently remixed Fresh Fruit — and wants to hear it.
Ginn doesn't own a working turntable; portability matters more to him than format.
SST catalog reissues — including Stains, Dicks, Overkill — are a genuine possibility.
Ginn believes Black Flag's songs remain timeless, attracting both parents and their kids.
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Picts by Edward Colver
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From funding the first Record Store Day to producing limited one-step pressings of Pet Sounds, Prince, and Dr. Dre, Tom "Grover" Biery is one of the most influential figures in modern vinyl culture - Hear all about his next adventures with the vinyl artform.
Topics Include:
Tom "Grover" Biery spent 20 years at Warner Bros. Records
He pushed vinyl internally around 2004 when nobody believed in it
His boss Tom Wally gave him the green light to proceed
First pressings were Kevin Gray and Steve Hoffman catalog titles
Warner's vinyl billing exploded from $300K to $5M in 18 months
Failure's Fantastic Planet was among the earliest titles he championed
Neil Young gave an impassioned in-office speech about the importance of sound
That speech directly inspired the "Because Sound Matters" brand name
BSM is Warner's audiophile imprint; DSS covers Interscope and Capitol
Tom now operates as a consultant to both major label groups
His own label, Slow Down Sounds, has been running nearly a decade
One-step pressings go lacquer to stamper, skipping generational quality loss
Each stamper yields only 500–750 pressings, requiring multiple lacquer cuts
Neotech's D2 vinyl compound produces exceptionally quiet, revealing pressings
Mastering costs alone run nine times higher on one-step projects
Sources are vetted exhaustively — flat masters, tape, or high-res files
Artists and managers approve every test pressing throughout the process
A newly discovered 1972 Pet Sounds master changed everything for the reissue
Chris Bellman confirmed the tape matched a 1972 white label perfectly
Only 6,000 copies of the Pet Sounds DSS one-step will ever exist
Tom has been transparent about sourcing since 2005, long before the MoFi controversy
Quality now ranks second or third in why fans buy vinyl
Beck's Morning Phase and Tom Petty's Wildflowers one-steps surprised even skeptics
Soul Coughing's Ruby Vroom reissue came from original tapes at Warner
Nate lobbies for Frusciante, Jellyfish, Beck's Sea Change, and Marilyn Manson reissues
Dr. Dre's The Chronic from tape is among the first hip-hop one-steps
Neil Young has still never done a one-step, despite inspiring the whole program
Tom was one of the original funders who got Record Store Day off the ground
Record stores are reporting their biggest-ever RSD sales figures this year
His label Slow Down Sounds is releasing Terry Callier's Occasional Rain this June
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Zev Feldman returns to reveal 11 Record Store Day 2026 releases, including stunning discoveries from the legendary Joe Siegel Jazz Showcase tape archive featuring Ahmad Jamal, Yusef Lateef, Freddie King, and more never-before-heard recordings.
Topics Include:
Zev Feldman returns, now dubbed the "Jazz Attorney General" by Nate
Feldman has 11 releases this Record Store Day — a personal record
The Joe Segal tape archive is the foundation of five RSD releases
Segal was an NEA Jazz Master and Chicago's greatest jazz impresario
He presented legends like Lester Young starting back in 1947
Feldman first connected with Siegel around 2010-2011 via word of mouth
A breakfast meeting with Siegel led to three follow-up Chicago trips
The archive may be the world's largest collection of unissued jazz recordings
Between 8,000 and 10,000 tapes discovered across reels, cassettes, and more
Resonance is partnering with the Siegel family and Wayne Siegel on releases
Joe Henderson's 1978 quartet at the Jazz Showcase is raw and electrifying
Pianist Joanne Burkeen confirmed this captures exactly how the band really played
Ahmad Jamal's 1976 Jazz Showcase run includes a full 26-minute Swahililand
Jamal and Siegel shared a deep longstanding friendship spanning many years
Yusef Lateef with Kenny Barron: a burning three-LP set from 1975
Lateef played the Jazz Showcase more than any other single artist
Mal Waldron and Sonny Stitt reunite in an unusual 1979 bebop week
Nate predicts Mal Waldron will be the sleeper hit of RSD 2026
Bill Evans at the BBC features performances Feldman first saw on laser disc
This marks Feldman's 15th Bill Evans release — the catalog keeps growing
Freddie King from the French INA archives is Nate's personal favourite of the batch
Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top contributed to the Freddie King liner notes
Cecil Taylor's 1969 Paris recordings premiere officially for the very first time
Michel Petrucciani recordings surfaced from the Kuumbwa Jazz Center in Santa Cruz
Petrucciani died young, making these rare live documents especially precious
Terry Callier's 1967 solo guitar recordings came from the Earl of Old Town
Roy Hargrove Quintet captured live and burning at Berne Jazz Festival 2000
Buster Williams' debut Pinnacle gets an all-analog AAA reissue on Time Traveler
This batch marks Feldman's 96th Record Store Day release across his career
Feldman previews a Don Schlitten jazz photography coffee table book on Fantagraphics
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Photo by Zak Shelby-Szyszko
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Zakk Wylde opens up about Ozzy's final show, the 17 days that followed, Dimebag's unfinished recordings, and the making of Black Label Society's crushing new album Engines of Demolition.
Topics Include:
Zakk runs on 14 pots of Valhalla coffee every single day.
He was invited to Back to the Beginning well in advance.
Tony Iommi, Jimmy Page, and Ritchie Blackmore are mythical heroes to Zakk.
No More Tears was rehearsed but Ozzy pulled it on the day.
Ozzy was giddy meeting Axl Rose — couldn't believe it was happening.
Zakk watched Sabbath's final set alongside Axl Rose and Sharon Osbourne.
Just 17 days after the show, Ozzy passed away unexpectedly.
They'd been texting memes and planning another record together right until the end.
Zakk envisioned a global Back to the Beginning charity tour series.
A sober Zakk and Ozzy watched their blasted crew destroy a Tokyo restaurant.
Dimebag left hours of unfinished song ideas on tape for potential release.
Playing Dime's solos means staying faithful — like Stevie Ray covering Hendrix.
Zakk and Eddie Van Halen's amp, calling it life-altering history.
Engines of Demolition was built across several years alongside the Pantera Celebration tour.
Zakk confirms BLS, Zakk Sabbath, and more Pantera shows are all coming.
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Rikk Agnew, James McGearty, and David Glass share stories about Rozz Williams & Christian Death, the making of Only Theater of Pain, and completing his final recorded wish with the new song Flowers.
Tickets for April 18 movie premiere and music reunion event
Topics Include:
Rikk Agnew, James McGearty, and David Glass remember Rozz Williams together.
Rozz described as mysterious, enigmatic, and a deeply misunderstood artist.
Rozz excelled across poetry, music, visual art, and assemblage work.
He scratched images into 8mm film cells as experimental art.
Rozz was a chameleon, constantly reinventing his look and sound.
Christian Death began as a punk band before Rikk joined.
Rikk's arrival catapulted Rozz's darker, more mystical artistic vision.
Much of Only Theater of Pain was created spontaneously in-studio.
Rozz unveiled his poetry to the band for the first time recording.
A violent storm set an eerie tone during the vocal sessions.
Rozz recorded in a candlelit booth — a truly otherworldly performance.
The vocal track was lost; nobody could explain why it didn't record.
The released vocals paled against what was actually performed that night.
The entire album artwork and layout was hand-drawn by Rozz himself.
Lisa Fancher of Frontier financed the record; the band were teenagers.
Catastrophe Ballet launched in Europe first; Death Wish emerged mysteriously unauthorised.
Only Theater of Pain's influence grew gradually, now considered truly seminal.
Rozz's final wish was a full-band studio recording of Flowers.
Rikk, James, and David completed Flowers separately, finding it deeply emotional.
Romeo's Distress documentary premieres April 18th with a live reunion performance.
High resolution version of this podcast is available at: www.Patreon.com/VinylGuide
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