Steve Holub

I’m new to this whole advertising and marketing game for these record album frames, and to be honest, it’s a lot tougher than I thought it would be. I put together my first animated gif for the lp frames and I thought I would show it off to the world wide webs.  Again, many props go to Giulio for helping me out with some graphical magic and tips.  If you have ideas on how to get the word out there (where to advertise, design ideas, etc), let me know.

Jim Guthrie is one of my favorite singer / songwriter’s ever.  It’s honestly a crime that he’s not as well known as he should be, because there are very few artists who can write a melody as catchy as he can.  The reason I contacted Jim is because I was thinking about making some new packaging for the frames, and I wanted to have the artist’s permission, and I figured that it might be tough to get Kurt’s approval (and I’m not sure that a seance would hold up in court).  I was very excited to receive an email reply from Jim saying that he would be willing to give me permission, and was free to meet up for the record swap and he even had a bit of extra time to talk music with a fan.

The picture included here is of Jim holding his 2003 masterpiece Now, More Than Ever sitting nicely in one of our frames (and the background picture is actually one of Jim’s own photographs).  This album is a great early example of the “indie rock + orchestral arrangements = pure awesome” formula, which has seen a huge amount of popularity in recent years with the likes of Sufjan Stevens and the Arcade Fire.  We actually chatted about Jim’s connection with the Arcade Fire during a brief tour for Now, More Than Ever when they opened for him for a few dates.  Owen Pallett, who is responsible for the string arrangements on Now, More Than Ever, all of the Arcade Fire albums, and many more, actually met the Arcade Fire through Jim at these dates, which is a neat little tidbit of Canadian indie rock history.

Jim was also kind enough to offer me a copy of the Human Highway album (Moody Motorcycle), which also has an incredible album cover in it’s own right.  It is a beautiful piece of musical work as well, so I would definitely recommend checking it out.  Overall, I was completely overwhelmed by Jim’s kindness, especially with his time, and it was great to talk about all sorts of things both music related and otherwise (he’s currently working on music for an independent iPhone game called Sword & Sworcery, which should see release soon).  Like I told Jim that day, one of the main reasons I’m in this frame business is so I can have a legitimate excuse to sit and talk music with fellow fans and musicians alike.  If you’re interested in hearing more of Jim’s tunes, you can check out his first two releases here, or check out his homepage for a complete discography.

In case you’re curious, I brought Jim a couple albums for the swap (vinyl for vinyl seemed right) which I thought he may not have heard before, namely, Paradise by My Disco, and Sound on Sound by Bill Nelson’s Red Noise.  Hopefully he will dig them.

*Edit* I forgot to mention that the Now, More Than Ever reissued vinyl edition is only available from a U.K. label called 3 Syllables.  But Jim also drops off a few records periodically in Toronto, so be on the lookout (they go quickly).

Here’s a shot of me chatting up a customer at the musical collectables show in Mississauga.  We had a great time talking to a lot of music lovers and record collectors.  And to be honest, I was a little overwhelmed by all of the positive feedback for the frames.  Thanks to everyone who took the time to stop and check out our product.

There is an incredible amount of vinyl at these kinds of shows, so if you’re just getting into vinyl records, these shows are a great place to jump start your collection.  And for those who have been collecting records for sometime, they are the place to go to fill those gaps in your collection.  There is often a noticeable lack of new vinyl, but the sheer amount of wax there should satisfy any vinyl enthusiast.

Hello Internet!

The LP frames are ready for your enjoyment and can be purchase in the online store.  Presently we are shipping to Canada and the continental United States.  I’m a little saddened by the shipping costs from Canada, but what can I do..  My goal is to bring you these frames as affordably as possible, but  big business always wants to have a piece of the action making it difficult for the little guy (and I’m referring to actual big business, not the amazing rock band from Los Angeles / Seattle area).  Well, nothing has stopped me so far, so I hope to overcome these issues and figure out a way to reduce these costs over time.

I don’t really have a picture to post with this news announcement, so I thought I should commemorate this fine occasion with one of my favorite rock pictures.  My friend G, the real Big Business, and me (Nashville, 2005).

This picture comes courtesy of none other than my friend Giulio – the graphical mastermind behind the RoW logo and our in-store poster.  I was over at Giulio’s last weekend playing bass in one of his phenomenal Twin Beaks sessions, and dropped off some frames.  He didn’t waste any time putting a fine selection of records on his wall, and sent me this pic.  I commend him on his choices – especially Captain Beyond and King Crimson.  Something tells me that In The Court of the Crimson King is going to be a popular album to frame.  What a bad ass cover!

I know these frames are still babies (only three weeks old – how cute!), but I invite any of you out there in the internets to send me a link to some of your own ROW pictures (via facebook, or otherwise) and I’ll be sure to post them.

I just got back from visiting some record stores in southern Ontario with my friend Paul, and I’m pretty excited about all the positive feedback I’m receiving.  I’m proud to include Orange Monkey Music in Waterloo, Encore Records in Kitchener, and Diamond Groove in Dundas to our list of retail locations.  I’ve never been to Orange Monkey in Waterloo, but what a hidden gem!  Vince is super friendly, and has an amazing assortment of records and merchandise (next time I’m in there, it’s going to be impossible to leave without one of the many kick ass t-shirts he carries).  Highly recommended.  Diamond Groove in Dundas, Ontario is another store I’ve never been to before.  It’s actually a ‘double store’, with one half serving up mostly new, and often hard to find, vinyl records (and a healthy selection of amazing box sets).  The other half of the store is called Alternative Audio, and they carry all sorts of super high-hi audio equipment.  All of these stores, and more, can be found on our store locator page.

First of all, thank you for visiting this website.  Inventing and producing this simple record frame has been a dream of mine for some time, so I truly appreciate your interest in this story.  And here it goes..

Records On Walls came to be because I’m a fan of music, first and foremost.  I’ve been collecting vinyl records since 1998 because I didn’t have a proper cd player in university, and somehow found a small box of records and a stereo/turntable combo in my parents basement.  At first, I only had a handful of Beach Boys and Buddy Holly albums, so people started to lend me some amazing records from their family collection.  I was hooked, so I started scavenging used dollar bins at the local record shops, and I really started to enjoy discovering ‘lost’ music in the back corners of record stores and flea markets.

Over the years, I continued to collect more records (both new and used), and would always find a space on my wall to hang a few using tacks, nails, or whatever else would work (often damaging the records that were hung using these crude methods).  For me, there was always something special about the vinyl record format.  Although great sound is important, I’m no audiophile and can barely tell the difference between the ‘warmth’ of the analogue versus digital formats (this is probably due to years spent as a musician myself, killing my ears with distortion and feedback).  It was the physical product itself which excited me the most.  I want to support music and musicians as much as possible, but I felt I was getting ripped off a bit with the cd format.  Maybe it was my own careless ways, but cds would often last a few months before my favorite song on the album invariably became the first to start skipping.  With my vinyl records, there was reverence for the art form through the medium.  The vinyl record wasn’t something that was thrown on the passenger car seat on top of empty fast food wrappers, no.  They were meticulously cared for in milk crate boxes next to my record player, receiver, and speakers.  I took them out deliberately and carefully, layed them down on the spinning wheel, and turned it up to ten.

It’s been great to see the vinyl resurgance of the past few years as the market adapts to the consumers demand for a physical music product with some lasting value.  Cds are cheap and ugly.  Mp3s are immaterial and disposable.  Vinyl records are forever baby!  People thought that the physical format for music was dead – that it was only the actual sound/music that mattered.  Wrong!  Fans will always want a way to connect with their favorite artists and their music in a physical manner.  It is a way to show respect for the art, and how the music has an important role in our lives.  Blogs, video, mp3s, etc. will not fill that gap.  Artists are already giving away so much of themselves and their art for free.  As a music fan, I try to do two things to show my appreciation for the music that has brought me so much over the years.  I try to go to as many shows as time will permit, and I try to buy as many records and t-shirts as I can afford.

So that is the basis for this product.  I love these albums, and I wanted a better way to hang my records on the wall while having simple access to the music and without causing damage to the album.  I like to think of it as a functional frame.  Something that I wanted as a music fan.  Since I couldn’t find anything that suited my needs, I invented a frame so all music lovers can hang their favorite albums safely while maintaining full access to the music.

Thanks again for you interest in Records On Walls – YOU ROCK!!!!

Steve Holub