It’s Saturday, and of course it means it’s time to go record digging. Today was pretty fruitful, as I scored some great 45s, and a handful of Reggae 45s and Lps out of what I call, The Reggae Van. About a month ago, I see this older Jamaican guy with records, so of course I stop to chat. I can not pass up some 45s straight from JA. His patois is not super thick, but he introduces himself as King Bravo, and claims he has played with the Skatalites. The first few times I bought from him, I got some Soul, and a really nice Roots full length. The van is literally filled with junk, but the records are kind of neat, and you really have to go through them. All the while there are a couple, yes a couple (he switches from one to the other) of radios and tape players blaring Soul or Reggae. As the music is playing, he’s talking about Tommy McCook, and how he himself started out in Calypso, then switched to Ska. It’s definitely interesting, but the music is so damn loud, it’s hard to sample records. The great thing about the van is that it’s almost like a Sound System, and he’s got the inside of the van doors open, speakers out, having a soundclash with the old lady cranking up smooth Jazz in the next spot. Bravo has a lot of record covers taped to the inside of the van doors, covers of Moms Mabley, various Reggae and Skatalites Lp jackets. You can see by the photos below.

This man loves his Reggae and Ska, and he will talk about it for days. He said he is having a hard time making it here, because the petrol costs him way too much to get where he needs to go. I had to dig, and I got some great records, which hopefully helped out with the petrol until next weekend. The jury is still out whether or not he has played with the Skatalites.

The usual suspects were out this weekend.. In fact, they were crowding Stinkie Steve’s table. Word has it around the spot that he has been banned from yet another flea market, so he is ever present at my spot. (The story goes is that he was banned from setting up a table, but if he paid 2 bucks he could sell in the parking lot. Well, he didn’t want to pay the 2 bucks, so he got banned for life.) In fact, it was like a stare down when I walked by his table and didn’t buy records from him. I saw “Egg Beard” (thanks Tommy for that one), who was rumored once to sell a quarter record for like 2 grand, and will try to push you out of the way, even going as far as to dig in your same crate. For me, I don’t go for that shit, and haven’t had to elbow him in the chest as a close acquaintance of mine did, but am not against a little shove if one of these record crazies gets in my personal space. I’m serious about records, but some of these guys who do it for a living get a bit wacky and will try to see how far they can get with you, even try to intimidate you, which is hilarious. It’s the flea market for God’s sake. I moved on. “Johnny No Change” only had one and a half crates, the half was nothing but Bowie records and the other mixed. I had to wait because this really annoying guy who is always digging through crates with one hand, while the other is on a cell phone to someone probably Popsiking everything in each crate. It goes a little something like this: “Urbie Green..yeah Jazz. Mott the Hoople, yeah the grey label, wait here’s a Quincy Jones”…on and friggin’ on every week. He’s next on the list. If I have to wait one more time for him, he might just get the elbow. DJ Jack the Ripper was hanging tough (I hope he got some good stuff) at Steve’s table, but honestly, there are enough records to be bought elsewhere. The process you go through to get prices, it kind of wears on you. I may eventually go back to him, but who knows. Steve is gonna miss out on my buying. I buy a lot of records every week, so it’s his wallet that’s gonna hurt. My normal dealer set me up with some great records (as always), and I was happy to get out of there in about two hours before the heat of the sun really started warping what’s for sale. Here’s a list of the 45s I got:

Seven Seas – Pat’s Jam/ Glades
Sandy Wynns – Love Belongs to Everyone/ Champion
Al Wilson – Keep On Lovin’ You
Otis Clay – This Kind of Lovin’/ Cotillion
Mary Wells – Can’t You See/ Atco
Chairman of the Board – Finder’s Keepers/ Invictus
Black Blood – A.I.E./ Mainstream
Ike & Tina Turner – Beauty Is Just Skin Deep/ Tangerine
Black Ivory – Love Won’t You Stay/ Buddah
Garnet Mimms – Stop and Check Yourself/ GSF
Renaldo Domino – Just Say the Word/ Blue Rock
Jacob Miller – All Day Til Daylight/ Jam Sounds
Flick Wilson – Keep the Troubles Down/ Ultra
Roman Stewart – Doing Fine/ Aiken
Jah Brundy – Shaolin Disciples b/w Joe Gibbs and the Professionals – Kick To Yu Chin/ Belmont

I got a couple of nice original Bob Marley records from Bravo, and some assorted sampling records from the “Old Lisp Guy”, who is happy even when it rains. I had to buy 3 records to make a buck, so I copped a Blue Magic and a George Baker Selection to round it off. All in all, not a bad day. I’d say the best score of the day was the Flick Wilson and the Seven Seas, which will definitely be reviewed sooner than later. I also picked up an old Jazz Encyclopedia for 2 bucks, plus some crazy comic book that looks like it could be good flyer material by an artist named Tom Skinner. It’s called “Up from Harlem”, and it’s a blaxploitation Christian comic, but the imagery will work for some future gig flyers. Stay tuned in the upcoming weeks for a special treat. I got an interview with a Rare Groove and Funk artist from the Louisiana area. I actually tracked him down and we spoke briefly yesterday, so that’s on the horizon. Keep Diggin’!