Vinyl Ventures

Send us Fan Mail We all have favorite bands and favorite records, and those favorites can change from time to time, depending on a lot of things.  This time around the horn the guys step out on a ledge and rank the studio releases from the mighty Led Zeppelin.  With only 9 albums, one might think that this would be an easy task.  Alas, no...it is not! Favorites or not, the crew manages to put Zepp...

Send us Fan Mail "O Canada" did not become the official Canadian national anthem until 1980 with the passage of the National Anthem Act. As National anthems go, it is a beautiful song. On O Canada the Vinyl Ventures crew share some of their favorite Canadian Artists.  For this show Blame Canada like the parents of a juvenile character in the 1999 animated film South Park: Bigger, Longer...

Send us Fan Mail We sometimes take for granted the thought, inspiration, and investment that artists and their record companies put into how albums are presented.  The guys take it for granted no longer, and share some of their favorite album packages and artwork.  The album is an art form, in and of itself.  The package finally gets it's due in this first of what will likely be many Nice Pac...

Send us Fan Mail  The Vinyl Ventures crew wraps up their Essential Album shows with the 10th installment. What started as a discussion list in the summer of 2021 has become some of the most popular shows on Vinyl Ventures. 100 albums each seems easy when you have a a few thousand in the collection. But in practice with each show it gets a little more challenging as some artists and bands get left...

Send us Fan Mail Crossroads Music show is the best vinyl community gathering in Indiana. The best One Day Shop in the state for vinyl records, 45s, CDs, DVDs, Cassettes, Posters, Stereo Equipment, and Music. In this special 50th episode the Vinyl Ventures crew takes the show on the road and talks with some of the colorful characters that make the Crossroads Music Show fantastic. Subscribe and Watc...

Send us Fan Mail Greatest hits albums are sometimes snubbed by the vinyl community.  Often these collections are a cash grab by record companies, and artists can be left out of the decision  making process.  Occasionally an artist sees their sales, presence and notoriety grow from Greatest Hits releases.  It’s a mixed bag across the industry for sure.  For the Vinyl Ventures crew, when to buy a Gr...

Send us Fan Mail She Sides is the long-overdue show the Vinyl Ventures crew admittedly should have already done...many episodes ago.  This time we're honoring and recognizing great female performers and bands who have made a mark on our musical tastes.  We may have left some off but we'll undoubtedly re-visit this topic and do more shows that celebrate our favorite "She Sides"....

Send us Fan Mail Nine is the fourth composite number , and the first composite number that is odd. 9 is the highest single-digit number in the decimal system .  By Mihăilescu's theorem , 9 is the only positive perfect power that is one more than another positive perfect power, since the square of 3 is one more than the cube of 2. The Beatles created a sound collage with Revolution 9. For the...

Send us Fan Mail This time around the turntable, we offer a love letter to vinyl enthusiasts. Okay...maybe not a love letter, but a celebration of love songs and/or non-love songs. This can be music that creates an ambiance, music that makes your little heart go pitter-patter, or music to express those heart-felt emotions we celebrate on the Hallmark-created Valentine's Day. The guys discuss...

Send us Fan Mail A 50 year anniversary for some vintage releases. Singer songwriters were starting to make big waves in music, reggae was busting onto the scene and the Beatles 3 years post breakup were still relevant. MASH was a hit show on TV and the Miami Dolphins won the Super Bowl. A new album was under $5 and most concerts were under $10 to see future legends.

Send us Fan Mail The Vinyl Ventures crew wraps up 2022 in our world. Highlighting some notable 2022 releases and paying tribute to some music greats the world lost. Live music came roaring back after the Covid years and vinyl continued its spectacular rebirth, with increased sales again. Most of all, the guys appreciate all the downloads and listens and look forward to a great 2023.

Send us Fan Mail For over a year, the guys have wanted to sit with Keith Toombs for a Beatles-themed show.  Well, it's here! In this episode, Keith discusses the origins of the album (as opposed to singles) and just how much at the forefront of the album the Beatles were.  They broke ground in countless ways, and were one of the first bands to consider the album an art form.  If that weren&ap...

Send us Fan Mail As the year winds down, the guys are walking the gravelly confines of the end of the Essential Albums road.  This time, another 20 are revealed according to our fearless Venturers.   Will the dark horses win out?  Will the hits keep on coming?  Tune in now and listen for the beginning...of the conclusion of our Essential Albums list.  Don't Cost Nuthin'.  

Send us Fan Mail The 7th installment of the essential album list is like a James Bond film, change the characters (albums) and keep the same story-line resulting in a brilliant production. Maybe, just maybe, the Vinyl Ventures crew is creating a comparison that is a bit outlandish. But, on the essential show the boys break out some surprises to keep the list  interesting. 

Send us Fan Mail The Urban Dictionary says - New Sh!t is a phrase that indicates a person has made some sort of significant change or has obtained something new. This could be anything from a relationship status change to obtaining something new/fresh or even suddenly bringing in a lot of money. It could pretty much be used to reference the recent purchase of fresh new anything such as weed or dru...

Send us Fan Mail How is it not possible in doing 39 shows that the Vinyl Ventures crew had not done a live vinyl show is a crime. We are not sending the guys to jail, well at least not yet, but we are rectifying the crime. Thanks to a suggestion from a listener in Montreal, Canada , Kevin Groulx for the suggestion. “Live music is the most primal form of energy release you can share with other peop...

Send us Fan Mail At the beginning of this 100 Essential Album shows John and Jason thought - "No problem, we have thousands to choose from, this'll be easy".  While it's not hard picking an album, it gets tougher picking the right album that the guys deem essential.  Along the way by discovering hidden gems in their collections, or picking up that missing wax, this journey has...

Send us Fan Mail 1971, somehow Vinyl Ventures overlooked an incredible year for new releases from some Monsters of rock. Pink Floyd, The Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin to name a few. Never forget 1971 it was a wonderful year for music and classic vinyl.

Send us Fan Mail Essential Albums 5: The Fifth Element. In the twenty-first century, the universe is threatened by evil. The only hope for mankind is the Fifth Element-Vinyl Ventures' 5th installment of their essential albums list.  The guys have embarked on a seemingly impossible journey to list 100 essential albums each.  With the fate of mankind hanging in the balance, the journey is only...

Send us Fan Mail Speed of lightning, roar of thunder, fighting all who rob or plunder...Underdog, Underdog, Underdog.  No, Vinyl Ventures is not doing a cartoon episode.  The guys are talking about records that may not fit into other shows and records the guys don't get a chance to talk about often...the Underdog records. (And, lest we forget Mr. Russell, Jay scratched the hell out of his Mom...

Send us Fan Mail As the AC/DC song goes - It's a Long Way to the Top if Wanna Rock and Roll.  Vinyl Ventures had a chance to sit down with Nick Light, (a record company executive) and learn how he got to the top.  One day out of High School his career started as a roadie at the Ritz (now Webster's Hall).  With some connections in the industry, Nick moved to California and started working...

Send us Fan Mail You asked for it, you get it; another essential albums show. Listing 100 essential albums each is no small task, and on this 4th installment, the guys right the ship.  After doing only 9 albums each on the last Essential Albums show they take this show to 11!  Tune in and get your groove on.

Send us Fan Mail On the second (long overdue) 3D episode, we dive into an epic (and of course) essential album by the thin white duke.  We re-enlist the assistance of our "Fifth Beatle" Bill Hayse.  Not sure where the other two members are coming from, but you get it.  Bill is our third team member and his research on these 3D episodes is invaluable. Until the release of Ziggy, Bowie&apo...

Send us Fan Mail In a their continued quest to name 100 essential albums the Vinyl Ventures crew list another number nine, number nine, albums each. Since the guys are not putting albums in order, each show list will contain some big hitters in the music world. Lists tend to favor the list makers taste, and The Return of the king is no different. The guys have some top notch releases on the show,...

Send us Fan Mail 1972, a 50 year celebration. How many albums do Jay and John have from 1972...a lot. It was a great year for music. America had settled into the 1970s after the decade of change the 1960s. Music changed from pop, Motown sing along songs to Heavy Metal, Progressive, Experimental and Singer Song Writers.