The rain held out today thankfully, and I was able to actually get out of bed early, get on the road, and get to the Flea Market earlier than usual. My digging cohort Jack the Ripper had a late night last night, so unfortunately I went solo. There was a dealer at the spot who came up from Baltimore, MD that I had gotten a few good records from previously. It looks like he frequents the same spots as Vince from FuFu Stew. We spoke briefly about the Fire Hall Vince always talks about, and he told me about a Flea Market that has been around for the last 40 years, but recently was shut down for good. He’s kind of a hippie type, but always has some great stuff. He came yesterday, and apologized for not calling me, but has promised me that he’ll be up again soon with another load of 45s. This trip he brought his reformed feral cat that “he got out of a National Forest”, and has been to over 500 Flea Markets with him. The cat seemed sweet enough, although he did have it on a long nylon leash attached to the inside of his van. I love animals, but I’ll pass on the cat on the leash. I think the cloudy weather scared a bunch of people away, although the usual suspects were wandering about, and I thought I might have to give the elbow to Egg Beard. I mean it wasn’t enough that he got a Jimmy McGriff “Fly Dude” (I have it so I wasn’t that pissed, I do need a good cover though), and something else, but he had to peer over my shoulder like a dog waiting to get fed. I pissed him off by slowing down my digging. Now this is a cat who gets there at like 4am with a flashlight and stops guys coming in to see if they have records. He’s absolutely insane. Step off Eggy, can’t you see I’m digging here?
There were for sure some interesting characters today. A Spanish guy who was offered to sell me a BMX bike so I “could ride it back to Asbury Park”, a man spray painting his van white (see photo below), and a To Catch A Predator looking guy who was very interested in my portable. Here’s how it went:
Me: “How much for the records?”
To Catch a Predator Guy: “Dollar a piece.”
To Catch a Predator Guy: “What is that thing?”
Me: “A portable record player”
To Catch a Predator Guy: “What do you do with it?”
Me: “I listen to record with it.”
To Catch a Predator Guy: “Why?”
Me: “Because I like records.”
Now he’s lit a cigarette and come on my side of the table.
To Catch a Predator Guy: “Fisher Price eh?”
Me: “Mmm Hmm”, hardly paying attention, just digging, then listening to a record.
To Catch a Predator Guy: “What is that, who are they?”
Me: “World Famous Supreme Team. Some 80’s band.”
To Catch a Predator Guy: “Any good, I mean are their records good, worth any money?”
Me: “Just a dollar.”
Dude totally creeped me out. No Saggy Red today, no Mario Brothers (Meatball), no Johnny No Change, definitely no Stinky Steve. There was a good SS story from a few months ago though. Some of the guys get there really early, and they see Steve’s car, but no Steve. They do see a plastic bag on a table (or what they think is a plastic bag). Then the thing starts moving. It’s Steve underneath a garbage bag sleeping on a vendor’s table like it’s a bed. He doesn’t wake (and they don’t wake him), so while he’s off dreaming about his next life (He’s going to be a ballerina, a jazz ballerina in the Modern sense. I swear this was an actual conversation he had with my wife.), all the record guys go get records before he gets up and starts pulling his shady shit. Always a good story with that joker. I am going to try and work on another mix this weekend, so we’ll see where that takes me.
Digs this Saturday:
45s
James Brown – Ain’t That A Groove/ King
James Brown – ( Can You ) Feel It / King
Roy Head – Get Back/ Scepeter
Lee Dorsey – Go Go Girl/ Amy
Lee Dorsey – Working In A Coalmine/ Amy
Deon Jackson – You Said You Loved Me/ Carla
James Carr – Stronger Than Love/ Goldwax
James Carr – A Losing Game/ Gold Wax
Lloyd Price - Stagegr Lee/ ABC-Paramount
Lloyd price – Take All/ Jad
Otis Redding – Papa’s Got A Brand New Bag/ ATCO
Brenda & the Tabulations – Hey Boy/ Dionn
Inez Fox – Jaybirds/ Symbol
Sam & Bill – Beautiful Baby/ Joda
Baby Washington & Don Gardner – Baby Let Me Get Close to You/ Master 5
The Sandpebbles – Love Power/ Calla
Whisper – The True Reflection/ ATCO
Bunker Hill – Hide & Go Seek/ Mala
Howard Roberts - Color Him Funky/ Capitol
Lou Courtney – What Do You Want Me To Do/ Rags
Sunny – Talk to Me/ Tear Drop
Sleepy King – The King Steps Out/ Joy
Lps
Black Caesar Soundtrack
De La Soul – 3 Feet High and Rising/ Tommy Boy
The Word Famous Supreme Team – Hey DJ/ 4th and Broadway
Keep Diggin’!
