Thursday, February 9, 2012
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Don’t know what to do with all those old vinyl records sitting around?

A music-lover by nature, Jim Warner has developed a passion for the sound that comes from vinyl records. He invites other vinyl-lovers to spin music with him on Tuesday nights at the Paper Kite Press, Kingston.
CLARK VAN ORDEN/ THE TIMES LEADER
Let Jim Warner and his pals at Kingston’s Paper Kite Press help.
Get your records together and head over to their Main Street studio at 7 p.m. Tuesday for “Vinyl Night,” at which Warner will be happy to spin some of your – and his – favorite tunes.
“Listening to vinyl is an experience compared to CDs or MP3s,” Warner, 32, said. “It’s way more physical. It’s big and warmer sounding. I don’t know if people would be nearly as excited to go out and spin CDs somewhere for a night compared to going out and spinning vinyl for the night.”
Warner said he often buys vinyl records – primarily from the Gallery of Sound or Horizon Records in Greenfield, S.C. – and stops to visit his friends at Paper Kite Press afterward.
“We just thought it’d be a wonderful thing to have him spin some of his collection once a week and let people bring in their own,” said studio co-owner Jennifer Hill-Kaucher.
Warner, the assistant director of the creative writing program at Wilkes University, and Hill-Kaucher plan to make vinyl Tuesdays ongoing.
He considers himself somewhat of a “music geek” and noted his passion for vinyl records.
“When I started getting really into music, records were already on their way out,” he said.
But once he heard the smoother sounds from the vinyl, he was hooked.
“There’s no comparison,” he said.
Usually used vinyl records cost between $1 and $5, but once Warner spent $150 on one. He’s bought so many he’s lost count.
These days, he buys old albums such as Jimi Hendrix and Bob Dylan favorites and some newer ones as well, such as a recent Wilco album, which he purchased on both vinyl and CD.
“I played both back to back on the stereo, and it’s a world of difference,” he said.
The vinyl album artwork is usually more “sumptuous,” he said, and adds to the experience.
Warner welcomes those of all ages and all musical genres to attend his Tuesday sessions.
“I listen to everything across the board, from John Coltrane to Albatross,” he said. “I was a punk-rock kid growing up but studied jazz and percussion.”
The most important part of “Vinyl Night?”
“It gives people an opportunity to be turned onto other music,” Warner said. “It’s an experience to come out and talk shop about vinyl.”
And about his relationship with music.
“Music is my oldest friend,” he said.
What: Vinyl Night
When: 7 p.m. Tuesdays
Where: Paper Kite Press, 443 Main St., Kingston
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