Kevin Beal from Black Buffalo Records in Halifax!

Next up we have Kevin Beal, owner of Black Buffalo Records in Halifax Nova Scotia! I got to meet Kevin recently at the Moncton record expo and he was a great guy. He had a great selection of vinyl and very fair prices! I encourage you to check out his store!

Here we go!

Introduce yourself!

Name: Kevin Beal

City/Town: Halifax NS

Job: Owner of Black Buffalo Records/CO-Organizer of Halifax Record Fair

Maritime Vinyl (MV) - What do you collect? Vinyl; CD’s; Cassettes; 8 tracks; bootlegs; music memorabilia; magazine; etc..

Kevin Beal (KB) - I collect all genres of vinyl, hip hop cassettes, Gig posters and portable turntables

MV - Do you prefer one audio format more than others? (example: vinyl more than cd’s)

KB - I prefer vinyl at home and cds in the car

MV - What is your favourite genre of music? Some of your favourite artists?

KB - Im a huge fan of stoner rock, blues  and funk. My favourite artists are Kyuss, Brant Bjork, QOTSA, Muddy Waters, Howlin Wolf, Bootsy Collins, Sharon Jones, Charles Bradley

MV - How big is your collection?

KB - I have over 2000lps and over 2500 45s

MV - What is the first album you remember purchasing? Do you still have it?

KB - I remembering buying a Kool Moe Dee and Fat Boys 45 from Discus in the Mic Mac Mall when I was about 8 and I think I have a copy of them

MV - What is your favourite item in your collection?

KB - My grunge collection. I have original presses of Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains and Mad Season.

MV - Do you still actively collect or was this something you concentrated on in the past?

KB - I like to get out and dig through crates and boxes as much as I can.

MV - What is your preferred way of adding to your collection? Shopping online? Flea Markets? Independent music stores? Etc… Any favourite store or websites?

KB - All the above. I just like adding to my collection any way I can.

MV - How do you store your collection? Shelves? Boxes? Your attic?

KB - Shelves

MV - What is on your “wish list” at the moment?

KB - Blind Melon and Stone Temple Pilots

MV - Do you know any other collectors?

KB - I have huge network of collectors.

MV - You own Black Buffalo Records (www.blackbuffalorecords.ca) ! What is it like owning a record store in the east coast in 2012?

KB - Its been very exciting to own my own store. I have only been open a short time, but the support from the city is tremedous

 

MV - You must be a relatively new independent record store? I never saw you last time I was in Halifax (which would have been Halifax record fair 1).

KB - Yes, I started after the first record fair selling out of my garage. I join Plan B Coop in August and have been selling from that location ever since.

MV - What’s with the name and what’s with the big scary buffalo head?

KB - I had to change my name quickly as I was threaten with legal action with my first name “In Vinyl We Trust”. Black Buffalo comes from my favourite color and animal. Im metis and the bison is a very sacred animal to us and I wanted my business to reflect my heritage.

MV - Do you have a lot of collections coming in the door or are they becoming harder to find?

KB - I cant keep up with it! I wish I had more money to purchase everything that comes through the door, but I have to show some restraint.

MV - You also co-organize the Halifax record fair! This has been a great success for you guys. Does this blend well with owning your own record store? Or does it take business away from one another?

KB - The record fair certainly compliments the store, I could not have started my store without the fair. The fair has provided tremendous opportunities for me to grow my business.

MV - What do you think of Record Store Day? Have you been able to participate yet?

KB - I think RSD is a great idea and have participated as a buyer since the start, as a store, hopefully next year I will sell RSD itmes.

MV - Is your store able to ship vinyl?

KB - Currently, Im not set up to ship any where.

MV - Are collectors interested in new releases in vinyl or are they leaning more towards the vintage lps?

KB - Depends on the collector and what stage their collection is in. If they are young and just starting their collection, I find they like the cheap used lps, however, if they been collecting a while, they tend to buy reissues or good condition used.

MV - Are your customers a younger crowd? University students? Older folks? Majority?

KB - My target market is male between 17 and 30.