We are collectors, people who define the objects we love based on our own sense of value. We crave the nostalgic, and with every piece added to our collection, we gain momentum. With over 20,000 vinyls comprising his collection, Peter Kirwan is no stranger to that feeling. To him, vinyls are not only about music, but about art and history—each record symbolizing an era. Vinyls ultimately became an expression of himself, tokens cast in records exemplifying who he is.
Peter Kirwan is Co-Founder and CEO of Collexion, Inc. In addition to vinyls, he also collects typewriters and other vintage items.
Also, check out Peter Kirwan’s online vinyl collection on Collexion, Inc..
Q: What inspired your collection?
A: I have always been into music in various ways. As a child I grew up listening to my mother’s 45 collection from the 1950s, as well as some of my father’s records. That gave me a good basis for different eras. As a teenager I joined Columbia House’s record club, and I was sort of “forced” into collecting whatever they sent you if you didn’t send back the card saying “don’t send it.”
I later was a DJ in high school and then in college and kept buying vinyl. I kept getting into more genres of music as I had to DJ different types of parties. That meant learning about more old music including swing. Around the time I was in high school, an older man by the name of Jim Diamond, then the.manager of a yacht club in the area, gave me a whole history lesson on Swing. Turns out he was the manager of some swing bands back in the day. To this day if I can’t name the music I can name the big band that is playing from listening to it. I’m a big Benny Goodman fan because of this.
After that I opened up some dance clubs which meant more records. Somewhere in the 80’s I switched to CDs and my record collecting went on hold for quite a few years. About 15 years ago I started picking up records in thrift shops mostly for the cover art. I would put them up in the office. Mostly dated covers that were very stylized. Along the way I picked up quite a collection of 1950’s Cha Cha albums. I actually didn’t listen to them for many years but ended up realizing they were pretty good!
Q: How large is your vinyl collection?
A: 20,000+ LPs & 12” records, 2,000+ 78 rpm records, 1,000 7” 45 singles, a handful of reel to reel tapes (which are not records but can sound pretty good under the right situations).
Q: Do you collect a specific genre or are you more inclined to collecting a specific band?
A: I am all over the map. I really like really BAD records as much as good ones. Everything has something even if it is really ridiculous. I’ve got a lot of 80’s records from when I used to DJ and had clubs. I’ve got a post war 40s 50s country music collection on 78s (I really only like OLD country). Most of my collection is 60s, 70s 80s. Then there is a big gap until the last few years when they started releasing vinyl again. I like variety. I keep some of my records in a storage unit, and I’ll go grab a random box once in awhile and just start listening to them a few at a time even if I don’t know what it is.
Some of the best stuff you end up discovering is that way. I think today music is so personalized and so abundant that we almost “use” music like a utility. Instead of water or electricity we have music streaming. I use that too but you end up with a very narrow range of music that is based on your preferences and just keeps reinforcing that type. Pandora does that even. When you have albums you can flip through them and randomly pick one and chances are it’s pretty good, assuming you went to the trouble to buy it.
Our world today is becoming so programmed and “personalized” we are missing out on the “randomness” that used to exist. I do like Spotify because you can see other people’s playlists – I’ve discovered great music that way. There is nothing like a box of records though that is a mystery. I tend to buy entire collections of 500 or 1000 records so I never know exactly what I will get.
Q: Where did you find most of the vinyls in your collection?
A: The last few years I bought entire collections from craigslist and some smaller collections on eBay. Thrift shops used to be my #1 but now that vinyl is so popular they get cleaned out quickly.
Q: Do you have an all time favorite record?
A: Hmmm. That’s tough because there are different types of music for different moods. I would have to say the Beatles “Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band” is pretty hard to beat. I had not listened to it for years and about a month ago I put it on and realized how good it was.
There are other albums I like that I can listen to over and over again for some reason. It’s not that they are the best albums, but for whatever reason I never get tired of them. The Rolling Stones “Some Girls” is one of those albums. I have a handful of those albums I don’t get sick of. How about the worst record? “Ethel Merman’s Disco Album” is up there.
Q: What do you think of the community aspect of collecting? Are you involved in it at all?
A: I am not because I don’t feel that the record collecting community has hit mainstream enough. Often you find that very hard core collectors are not the most social people. Fascinating to talk to but hard to find. As Vinyl has become more mainstream, I think there are more community/social opportunities that will develop.
I am hoping that Collexion will help with that. It would be great for us to put on an event sometime and see which users show up. Getting younger users as part of the mix is really important. They can learn from the more experienced collectors while younger ones are more social/tech savvy. We need to build that community in new ways with Collexion.
Q: Is there a large market for vinyl collectors?
A: Yes. Vinyl is the fastest growing part of the music industry these days. The supply of record pressing plant capacity is what is holding it back now. Plus there is all the old stuff.
Q: What is the significance behind your collection or what does this collection symbolize to you?
A: Most collecting is an expression of who you are. My collection shows a wide and eclectic range of interests which is how I am as a person. There is a little humor mixed in there too.
Q: Why vinyls specifically?
A: The artwork is important – sometimes I’ll buy just for that. They are historical “objects” that you can touch and so there is more than just the music. If you set up a good stereo right with a nice turntable and a few hundred dollar cartridge and play it through some great speakers – well then it’s hard to go back. I used to not believe it sounded better but when I got everything setup right and compared I could barely listen to the CD version. My hearing is not as good as it was because of the DJ years, but I can still tell the difference.
Q: Do you collect anything else besides vinyl?
A: Yes. Typewriters, Cameras, radios, reel to reel decks, old computers; pretty much anything that is used for creating, sending, receiving information, audio or video. I collect “obsolete media technology.” Records are the ones that I actually USE. The rest remind me of how technology changes will become dominant then replaced by something else. Often lately it is replaced by something that may be inferior in quality but is more portable and convenient. The medium really is the message.
Q: Would you like to add anything else about your collection?
A: One of the greatest finds was when I bought some random collection that was literally a big box on a pallet. I bought it on craigslist for about $200 for 1,000 records. In the collection was a virtually mint set of every Nat King Cole album he ever made (although many are re-releases of earlier works). One of the albums still had the plastic on it with a piece of paper on it. Turned out it was the back of a check with Nat King Cole’s autograph. Since he was my mother’s favorite singer in the 50s I framed it and gave it to her. So it pays to buy big boxes of stuff even if you have no idea what’s in it. My ex-wife might disagree . . .
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