CRATERY 76: Vinyl Ritchie

Vancouver, 2013. I’m enjoying a brief stint out west as a copywriter for ad agency TAXI’s western outpost. Most of my downtime is spent digging with the hommie Sipreano, smoking on Van City’s finest and hitting up the hometown hangouts, including The Stuntman’s 45 Throwdown at Save-On Meats. It was the sort of low key weekly where the music was open format and the sparse but knowledgeable clientele consisted of local music folk who would just come to kick back on a Monday evening. I was guesting one week when Flipout walked in with a dude I didn’t recognize. I crossed the fader and lifted my finger off a copy of “Cumbia de sal” from Cumbias en Moog, a Latin synth monster from Colombia. Within seconds, this dude was at the DJ booth. It’s funny how like-minded music nerds can bond instantly from something as small as a 45 selection. He introduced himself as Scott. And we hit it off from there.

It would later be brought to my attention that Scott wasn’t just another Vancouver DJ. But a west coast OG named Vinyl Ritchie with an extensive collection and a reputation for killing it on the 45s. I’d frequent his weekly at the Bottleneck with Flipout (appropriately titled Flip Vinyl), a two-minute walk from apartment at Seymour and Nelson. I’d head over almost every Wednesday night to satisfy my craving for some real shit. And these dudes would just be in there killing it.

Sadly, it served as a reminder for how narrow-minded us Toronto folk can be about Canadian hip-hop history from time to time. Here was this guy who had been doing his thing for close to 30 years and I had no idea who he was until I lived in Vancouver. He played big festivals and toured nationally regularly. He was well respected by his peers. And he had a genuine love for his craft. I truly felt guilty for overlooking what was happening in other parts of the country. And I made it a point to break the cycle. So when the chance to connect and record a Cratery episode back in Toronto happened a few years later, I jumped at the opportunity.

And he didn’t disappoint. Scott blesses us with lesser-known selections from the likes of Sapodilla Punch, Morena Y Clara, Los Pasos, Sesso Matto and my personal favourite, Gary Atkinson’s “Wandering soul”. He was also kind enough to sit down and chop it up with us about everything from his love for 45’s to his lack of love for social media.

How did you get your start DJ-ing? What kind of music/events did you play when you first started?

First started messing with DJ-ing in the late 80’s at a club in Hull, Quebec. We were underage and stoked on this DJ, Nadine Gelinas. It was a magical time! She was playing a mix of early rap, hip-house, house, reggae, techno, rock and alt stuff before there was any type of ”scene”. We were regulars at this club and somehow managed to weasel our way into the DJ booth at one point. I never really played a proper set there, but the seed was planted. I wouldn’t start DJ-ing ”professionally” until the early 90’s in Whistler BC. I was at a club one night hanging out with the full time DJ (who was in on his night off). After a few drinks, he decided to fire the part time DJ in the middle of his set with a packed club! He told me to get in the booth & finish the night. This was at a time when the club provided records. I jumped in and that was the start of it all. This was before there was any hip-hop, house or dance music being played. I played a mix of rock, pop & top 40. Anything to get ’em moving. I would bring my own records & tapes from home and try to squeeze in bits that I liked. Eventually I got sick of playing the regular schlock for tourists, so I convinced the owner of the club to let me try to do a jazz night on the least busy night of the week. To my surprise, within a few weeks it was packed. I would play old jazz records mixed with rare groove, funk, soul & hip-hop. I would put on a 15-minute Lou Donaldson or Grant Green record and people would bug out. This was before there was any hip