Maggie purchased the autographed copy of Veruca Salt’s American Thighs and Seether 7" single along with Waking Up by Elastica. Our email correspondence revealed similar taste in 1990’s music including Belly, PJ Harvey and others. Easily one of the nicest people I’ve talked to about this project, I’m pretty sure that back in the day, we’d have queued up for the same shows if we were in the same city. She not only agreed to sell those records back to me, she threw in Belly’s King album, Veruca Salt’s Blow It Out Your Ass EP on vinyl and a Sub Pop 7" box set! She also generously agreed to answer some questions about her music fandom and record collection.
What was the first vinyl record you ever bought?
Oh gosh, that’s a hard one: I don’t exactly remember! I *think* it may have been an Elastica single, maybe Stutter? The one with Annie on the front and the gold vinyl. I found it for sale somewhere completely unexpectedly, and as I bought anything with Elastica on it, I snatched it right up, even though I had no turntable! I seem to recall that first purchase being a bit of a “gateway” record!
How many records do you have now and do you still listen to records on a turntable?
Full, shameful disclosure: I have never owned anything that could play vinyl! I’ve always just collected records for music and artists I liked. There’s something about owning a record: the art, the often limited nature of it, the *tangible* feel. I’ve heard they sound pretty good too! Not sure how many I own now: probably whittled down to only around 10, but most of them are extremely meaningful to me.
When you bought the records from me, was it primarily for collecting purposes, to display as art or to play?
Primarily for collection and display. In fact, I had a couple of the Veruca Salt albums I sent to you previously in frames! It’s weird how even just owning records (as opposed to CDs or digital files) somehow makes you feel *closer* to the music in some way. There’s also a sense of pride in the display. Not sure where that comes from!
What is your favorite record (that you still own)?
I’ve composed some music for video games, and one of the most wonderful things that ever happened to me is that a couple of friends of mine pressed my very first full professional soundtrack to vinyl. So that’s probably my fave: not because it’s me so much as because it’s a physical symbol of something that I’m proud of, and a reminder of the support and kindness of my wonderful friends.
Who’s your favorite artist?
Another hard question! Hmm. I don’t know if I could list one favourite, there are so many musicians and composers that have contributed to many moments of sheer euphoria for me. There are so many different musicians and composers and genres that do different things for me at different times; I really don’t think I can pick just one.
What was the first Elastica song you ever heard and what drew you to them?
I think it must have been Connection. It had everything that I realise now really appeals to my musical sensibilities, an interesting, fun beat, lady vocals, harmonies, electric guitars, sass and snarl, British accents and no self indulgent guitar solos! So I picked up the album. Listening to the entire album was a revelation to me because there was no “fat” to it…it didn’t feel like there was any filler and I loved that. Nobody else I knew liked this kind of stuff, I felt very isolated, but here was this one band that seemed to GET me and the way I liked music. Add in the fact that I was teenage wanna be rocker, desperately in need of an idol that wasn’t hyper feminine and wearing dresses…or even masculine, really., Justine, Donna, Annie and Justin felt like *my people*. It was refreshingly unpretentious and real to me.
What did you think when you heard about the Veruca Salt, Elastica and Belly reunions?
Unmitigated joy? Like..feelings I haven’t had since high school. And honestly, I felt a sense of reassurance; as I mentioned, at the time nobody I knew really liked or in some cases had even heard of these bands, really. So, hearing about the reuniting and the sheer amount of fan excitement about them, I felt justified. I’m not the only one, and now it’s not too late now to share this joy with others who feel the same!
What was your reaction when you heard I was looking to buy these back?
First I was shocked that you managed to track me down! It’s been like..10 years! I was super impressed. I remembred who you were almost instantly: when I was buying those records it was a very vulnerable time in my life, and I was leaning heavily on music to get me through it, and Ebay was so stressful for me! You were kind and infinitely more knowledgeable about these bands than me, and I remember thinking about how incredible it was that you could go to these shows and get signatures, and that you had actually TALKED to these people! So it had stuck in my head somewhat.
When I heard about your project I was totally excited for you. I thought it was a great idea, very ambitious and a really cool story. I was more than happy to help get your long lost memorabilia back to you, and was just happy that I could contribute to your project in some way. It is the absolute least I can do for someone who is so committed to such great music and is so kind and giving with what they know!
If you could have one music-related collectible, what would it be?
You’re asking the tough ones today, Ron! Hmm. It might be some personalised, signed sheet music of “One Winged Angel” used by my favourite composer, Nobuo Uematsu. Although, a guitar used by Donna Matthews or Louise Post would be pretty high up there as far as my original musical inspirations are concerned as well!
