Vinyloscopy with Chris McCrimmon of Widow's Peak

Widow's Peak

Let's get down with Widow's Peak. That name brings up two things in my diseased brain:

Totally Metal...and my mom.

My mother has a widow's peak. She's always had it and hates it. I'm totally jealous, because I have a receding hairline. One of us looks way more metal with our hair pulled back into a ponytail...or in my case a man bun like the Ginger Ale dude.

Anyway Widow's Peak is more of the former than the latter, or my mother hasn't been totally open with me.

My newest favorite Calgarians (who aren't Brian Sutter) are about to hit the road all the way across Canada. Though there's only ten provinces in their home and native land, they're going to pound the holy living hell out of all them with their death metal.

Alberta is getting 8 shows. EIGHT SHOWS in Alberta. Widow's Peak is doing this the old fashioned way. 

In the meantime, check out their debut EP, Graceless, which will only cost you $5 CAD ($3.75 USD) via Bandcamp.

The best shredder this side of Medicine Hat, Alberta, talked to us about some records. 

Check it.

1. Listening to Black Sabbath's eponymous debut the night I got it blew me away. What's the album that sounds the best on vinyl compared to digital sources?

Hmm... maybe Random Access Memories by Daft Punk. It's got this really juicy bottom end, that doesn't sound over-hyped like a lot of modern recordings. 

Maybe Bitches Brew by Miles Davis, on the other end of the spectrum. I've got an original pressing of that and it sounds incredible.

2. I was laying in bed one night and couldn't sleep and I figured, it was time to start buying records. How did you come to the idea that it was time to start buying vinyl instead?

Well I like music on all platforms, vinyl is just another one with it's own merits. I like the artwork, the booklets, and running the racks at thrift stores and stuff.

3.For my old stuff, it's vinyl worthy, for new stuff, it's all vinyl if available. Do you buy everything on wax or do you have a vinyl worthy category?

It depends on the release. For new albums, I usually don't wanna drop $40 on a record, so I'll wait to see if it makes the list. 

I have a back catalogue of albums I'm still hunting for, so they get priority. Hit me up if you have a spare copy of Marvin Gaye's What's Goin On!

4. My second living room is where I keep it all. Upstairs, my early 70's Sherwood Receiver, with a 70's turntable and 70's 5 way speakers. Tell us all about your vinyl set up.

I've got an Edwards turntable with an upgraded Shure stylus, a 1978 Marantz integrated amp, and some hi-fi speakers from the 2000s, but I can't recall the manufacturer. 

They've been refinished in white.

5. Do you read the lyrics and go over the inserts when you're spinning?

Oh yeah! That's half the experience, man. Seeing extras thrown in, like art-covered sleeves, posters, bonus tracks, or inserts are a big factor in the records I buy. 

Shout out to bands who go that extra mile for vinyl hounds like me.

6. When someone says, I'm stupid for buying records, I tell them, thanks, more limited edition colored vinyl for me, what's your answer?

Man, if you think that's the dumbest thing I've bought recently, I'll have you know I bought a $70 squirting dildo and $20 worth of hardware just last month to make a guacamole-dispensing penis. 

Sadly, it didn't win the honours of Guacfest 2019, but it came damn close.

(Wow. Just wow. No follow ups.)

7. My first album ever was Live Evil by Black Sabbath, so I'm stuek on live albums. What's the best live album on vinyl?

Damn, that's a tricky one. Maybe Performing This Week At Ronnie Scott's by Jeff Beck, or Nirvana's Unplugged In New York., but that's only because 98.12.28 by Fishmans has never been released on vinyl.... yet.