Postscript: A Different Way To Be

I thought it was worth posting a follow-up to the 'in praise of a grassroots approach to releasing records' post because, tellingly, those mentioned (Michael Taylor of Hiss Golden Messenger, James Jackson Toth of Wooden Wand and Brendan Greaves of the Paradise of Bachelors label) all took the time to reply back. This speaks volumes and just goes to reinforce the whole thrust of the post. It was James who got in there first and posted a lengthy response, adding some great insights into why he continues to embrace a grassroots approach. It is well worth sharing some of his reply:

...Don't wanna speak for [Michael Taylor] or [Paradise of Bachelors], but I think the sort of ethos you describe can be attributed to our shared background in punk. When I was a kid, whenever I would order a single from a band or label I liked, they would invariably send stickers, patches, letters (see my interview with HGM!), sometimes even additional records! I like the idea of continuing that tradition, especially these days, when the lure of free music is so strong. I always felt like Dischord actually appreciated the fact that I ordered records from them, and I'd like [Wooden Wand] fans to get the same feeling when they buy something directly from me. I never got a handwritten postcard from Dave Mustaine and I never get free buttons (you guys call them 'badges') when I order something from Amazon. Of course, for this to work, we need people like you, and I don't mean that in the patronizing 'we love you, Cleveland' kinda way. I'd agree that you are the definition of a 'fan' in 2013, the only kind that really matters, and if you keep checking in on us and forgive us our occasional trespasses (we all have a Landing On Water in us, you know), we'll keep showing our appreciation...

Secondly, as a result of the post I got a pretty special delivery of records from my father's record collection (see photos). These included Davy Graham's Folk, Blues & Beyond, John Fahey's Blind Joe Death, VU's White Light/White Heat, a couple of Creedence and Zeppelin and a Mississippi John Hurt. If you owned only these records it would still amount to a pretty amazing collection!