sandman

I am the founder of eVinyl which I have built over many years, part-time at my own expense and with the help of a few friends and talented developers.  I always thought it would be fun to own a record store, so I built this virtual one to find out.  Music is and has been a source of great comfort and wisdom for me.

I have always loved music and fell asleep with the radio on for much of my life.    My passion started very young when my grandmother had given me a radio to help drown out the spooky noises that kept me awake. It worked like magic (partly because I thought the Beatles were little tiny people playing inside that radio so I wasn't alone) because the sweet sounds of late 60's Top 40 radio soothed my soul.  As I grew to young adulthood my tastes evolved as I found radio stations and DJ's who introduced me to artist and albums I fell in love with.  I also have an older brother who is several years older than me and shaped my tastes during my formative years (and beyond) I wanted to do that for others, so in college I hosted a weekly radio show, which only cemented my passion.   After graduating and a brief stint in public accounting, I landed my dream job (at the time) working for a major record company.   It was a great experience (both positive and negative) to learn about the inner workings of the music business.   My time in the business started at the end of the CD boom and ended at the start of the digitization boom (think Napster).   I left the industry for a career in software and consulting which revolved around media and entertainment, intellectual property and royalties. 

Somewhere along the line, my passion for music took a backseat to other interests.  After September 11 and subsequent wars, I found myself drawn into current events and trying to understand what happened and why.  I still loved to listen to music, it just wasn't as much of a priority as before.  Looking back, I think building this site is a way for me to rekindle the passion and fill the gaps in my knowledge/album collection.

It's important to add that my passion for music has been the seed for many of my best and longest lasting friendships.  Like other passions (sports, food, etc.) we are drawn to others who share ours.  Passionate folks are always up for a conversation (heated or not) about what makes a song or album great, what does it mean, how it compares to previous works.  If you are a member of this community, I assume you know what I am referring to.  So maybe building this community will help others connect to each other and for us all to be turned on a new record that we fall in love with.