He spends most of the day hoping his order has arrived in the mail when he gets home. He finally gets home and excitedly opens yet another pre-ordered and anxiously awaited record. This is an almost daily routine for senior Drew Austin.
“The first record I ever bought was Modern Baseball’s ‘You’re Gonna Miss It All’,” Austin said. “I got it in November of 2014 and I decided I wanted to start collecting records. It spiraled out of control from there.”
He currently owns 243 records with several incoming from online orders and even more on pre-order. He collects several types of music, including: 6 inch vinyl, 7 inch vinyl, 10 inch vinyl, 12 inch vinyl, CDs and cassette tapes.
“New records cost about $14 to $25,” Austin said. “I don’t often buy new. I usually buy used [records]. I’ve spent about $4,000 on records. It’s definitely an expensive hobby. The most I’ve ever spent on one record would be $160.”
Austin owns every color and different pressing of one band called Have Mercy. The collection consists of several versions and colors of the same album and other signed albums with the entire selection being valued at over $1000.
“Bands do all kinds of different pressings and alternate covers,” Austin said. “Even if it’s not new music coming out, there’s always stuff to collect. I love finding rare stuff.” He owns several “rare” records, including some only available at record release shows, concerts and even more rare test pressings of records. These test pressings are used by bands and record labels to ensure the record sounds good and are good quality before an official release.
“I listen to all different genres,” Austin said. I mostly listen to punk, emo, and pop punk, but I even listen to Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran and Echosmith.”
Along with the many records, cassettes and CDs, Austin’s room is plastered with band posters, setlists from past concerts, and several pictures with band members.
“I think vinyl has been around for a really long time,” Austin said,”It’s funny, I started liking it right before it really exploded. It’s really neat. There’s always stuff to find.”
