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JENN D'EUGENIO
@jennn_erator
Jenn is one of the most recognisable female record collectors on Instagram and is interviewing women for her blog and side project ‘Women in Vinyl’, which highlights women working in the vinyl industry. The Instagram Vinyl Community wouldn’t be the same without the women involved. I love that Jenn is working tirelessly to get more women sharing their stories about how they got into the vinyl industry!
Interviewing Jenn was a really big deal for this project for me, as she was high up on my list of collectors I had wanted to be involved and I’m so happy she said yes!
How long have you been collecting records?
I started buying records when I was in high school, that’s when I got bit by the vinyl bug. That was twenty years ago now.
How many records do you have?
Between my partner and I we have about 4,000 records we think, and that's not counting seven inch or ten inch records or box sets. He and I have both been collecting a long time. That said, we haven’t stopped buying either and don’t plan to. Our recent home search included finding a place with enough space for the record collection, that was a big priority.
Why vinyl and not another format? How did you get into vinyl?
Besides being that person that says it sounds better, which in my opinion it does, I’ve always been a collector of things I love; from books, art, antiques, and Halloween décor, to vinyl. I had cassettes and CDs as those were the common mediums of the time, but moved into vinyl after my first experience buying and listening to it. Buying it felt like adding a time capsule into my home, back then vinyl wasn’t being manufactured as commonly as it is again now so most of what I had was used. Thinking about someone who had owned it before me, wrote their name on the label, shared it with friends before everyone sat around the TV, that was special. Drop the needle on it and that sound, there wasn’t anything like it. Vinyl is the perfect tangible way to own and enjoy music. Like everyone else I had an Ipod when they came out, and I use Spotify if I’m going on a road trip or working out, but that to me is not a way to collect and enjoy what I love. The fact that I come from an art background as well I appreciate how vinyl really allows for the design of the album to be showcased with cover art and liner notes.
Were there records in your family growing up?
Yes! My parents had records, and I loved that they’d kept them through their moves coast to coast. We didn’t sit around listening to records, but I was definitely introduced to them at home before I started collecting them. Along with my first purchases I started moving some of those records into my room as part of my now collection.
What’s your thoughts on Instagram as a way for sharing our record collections?
I have found such an amazing vinyl community through Instagram, a lot of those people have become actual friends, without it we may have never crossed paths. I think the negatives can be the competitive nature of it, it’s not a collection race or competition to who has more of what. I hear sometimes that people are buying records and not listening to them but buying them to post, which is very odd to me. The other bad part is of course the trolls, those people that say things like “you’re only posting your boyfriends collection”, or “funny how these girls post records they don’t know anything about”.
What’s your favourite ever record?
That’s an impossible question, there are so many factors and moods it changes constantly, but Black Sabbath “Master of Reality” is my most collected.
What set up do you have?
We have five Technics 1200’s, all still with shure cartridges though we know we’ll have to find a replacement we like soon. Ray used to fix turntables when he was working at a record store, and has been a DJ since the ‘90s, so he has two set up in the record room to spin, I have the one I use set up down there too then the others are packed for gigs. We also have a VPI Player in our main living space with an Ortofon red cartridge, and that one is played through old Klipsch speakers which sound amazing.
What does your partner think of your record obsession?
Well, we are partners in vinyl for sure, we met in a record store, we travel to visit record stores, we work at a record pressing plant and are both big time nerds about it. I’m thankful for that, it would be hard to explain about a record in the mail arriving a couple times a week to your partner if they didn’t love it too.
Where do you shop for records usually?
I like to support the people that are committed to bringing us music on vinyl, they are so knowledgeable and do it for the love of vinyl because let’s be honest it’s not a high paying job and in current times it’s even more important to support small business. If there is something I absolutely can’t find, then I typically go to Discogs. We used to like to go to record fairs too, but haven’t been able to go to any this year.
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