Hot Takes with DJ Pup Daddy
DJ Pup Daddy will be hosting Bring Your Own Vinyl Night on Friday, February 21 at 7pm
DJ Pup Daddy (aka Tim Dupree) is an avid music fan and has been a vinyl hound since he was a pup. As a small business owner in the Berkshires, he shares his passion and vast knowledge of music and vinyl records via DJ gigs and music bingo and trivia event and selling quality used records.
***
1. What was the first record you ever bought?
The first record, 45, I ever bought with my own money, was back in January of 1976. I was 7 years old and started getting a weekly $1 allowance from my dad for chores. I knew I wanted to spend it on a 45 since they were .89 cents each at the Mammoth Mart in North Adams. I went to the store with my mom and walked up to the Top 40 display of 45s. I didn't know current music at that age so I simply picked the #1 song which was "Let's Do It Again" by The Staple Singers. I liked the cool looking Curtom label too. The record is a nice slice of mid-70s R&B written and produced by the late, great Curtis Mayfield. An artist I later learned so much about and still collect things related to his musical genius.
2. What is your all-time favorite record, and why?
For this question I again will choose a 45. Undoubtedly, my favorite song/45 is "In Dreams" by Roy Orbison from 1963. I discovered it as a young boy blasting from my Uncle John's Wurlitzer jukebox (which I now own) and it has always been the epitome of the perfect song. The spoken intro, the layered build up, the powerful lyrics, that amazing voice, the complex arrangement, and the big crescendo!
3. When did you first become a record dealer and what got you into it?
Most record dealers start as collectors first. I started collecting records (mostly 45s) at 4 1/2 years old and currently have 40,000+ records in my personal collection. When I turned 50, I figured I better start taking them off the shelves and share them with other music enthusiasts. So I quit my day job in 2021 and started doing vinyl DJing and record dealing full time. Over the past 50 years, I have accumulated a lot of duplicates, overflow and currently have over 10,000 records for sale from many decades and genres.
4. What was your first record player and what sort of equipment do you use now?
I acquired my first record player at age 4 1/2 while in the hospital during Christmas of 1973 while having my tonsils removed. My parents gave me a small beige and orange single play GE record player and some new 45s to keep me occupied in my hospital room. That started my passion for music and records. About 4 years later, I "upgraded" to a kids DJ record player with a microphone, headphones and a cue board. Fast forward to 2025 and I currently have 5 different record playing systems in my home. 3 specifically for mono 45s, one for stereo LPs and 45s, and one to transfer vinyl to a CD. For my vinyl DJ purposes, I use 2 Audio-Technica AT-LP120 direct drive turntables with an Audio-Technica AT-VM95E moving magnet phono cartridge.
5. What advice would you give to someone who wants to start collecting records?
My advice is this: Collect records of the music you enjoy, not what you think you should collect or are told to collect. Your collection should reflect your taste and your personality.
Collect records to actually play and enjoy, not just to be put on a shelf or on display as trophies. Listening to vinyl is a personal experience. The acts of putting it on the turntable, watching the groove patterns as it plays, reading the liner notes and lyrics, studying the cover art. And of course listing to the music in the order the artist intended!
Don't be cheap when it comes to buying a quality turntable, cartridge, stylus, amplifier and speakers. You might as well just continue to stream and rent the music if you don't invest in a quality sound system to play your vinyl records.
Treat your records/vinyl with respect. Store them vertically, always put the record back into the jacket after playing them, invest in sleeves to protect the covers from storage wear, and never touch the grooves!