Vinyl Artist Mike Dixon (Episode 73)

If you collect vinyl, you understand the power of tangible,
physical media. You know the thrill of finding a new record,
staring at the cover art, pouring through the liner notes, and, of
course, the disc itself. Holding sound. Looking at the grooves, the
labels, the wax. The record is truly a piece of art far beyond the
music contained within.  There is perhaps no one who practices
this craft with more skill and dedication than Michael Dixon. Based
out of Tucson, Arizona, Mike expands the boundaries of vinyl art
through creativity, collaboration, and innovation. He views a vinyl
record as a blank canvas which will hold unique one-of-a-kind
artifacts that are both beautiful and will play music for
perpetuity. Drawing from lifelong loves of education, records,
outsider art, and re-purposing junk, Mike uses 1940s record cutting
lathe machines to handcraft sonic objects. He has made records out
of up-cycled plexiglass, laser discs, picnic plates, cd-rs
(playable on both turntable and standard CD player), mirrors, place
mats, x-rays, and even 90% cacao chocolate. He has made records
that use multiple sides, holes, groove patterns, locked grooves,
and overlapping or concentric circles. He has made records that are
absurdly entertaining and visually stunning.  On top of this,
he runs a record label called People In a Position to Know that
focuses on putting out records by artists that he believes in and
records that are as individual as the bands. He has made
ultra-limited releases for a huge range of big name indie artists
like The Flaming Lips, Dr Dog, Ariel Pink, Mike Watt, the
Microphones, and Grandaddy as well as making essential music
available to fans from bands that you should know like The Graves,
Sugar Candy Mountain, and Golden Boots. He has also put out music
by several of this podcast’s favorite artists including Wooden
Wand, Simon Joyner, and Luna.  Oh and when he’s not doing
that, he does short run lathe cuts for bands, fixes lathe machines,
is a DJ specializing in private press and bizarro honky tonk, and,
coolest of all, educates kids at schools and libraries about the
science behind sound and the evolution of sound
recording.    We were fortunate enough to spend some
time with Mike talking about his passion and his art as well as
some mutual interests. We strongly encourage you to check out his
process and his products by visiting his websites,
michaeldixonvinylart.com and piaptk.com. We guarantee you will find
incredible unique music and records that you cannot find anywhere
else. Now, it is another chapter in our continuing series of
interviewing people who are truly vital to the vinyl record
industry and the fans of vinyl records all over the world. Here’s
our conversation with lathe master, label owner, and vinyl artist
Michael Dixon. People in a Position to Know Vinyl Recordings
(PIAPTK) Michael Dixon Art Highway Hi-Fi is a proud member of the
Pantheon Music Podcast Network - Home of the Finest Music Podcasts
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