JAIMIE VERNON – TO PRESERVE AND PROTECT

Long before I considered myself a profession record label weasel I worked in a government bunker as a data librarian. My job title was Records Management Assistant and my duties included archiving government documents, maps, tax records and all matter of ephemera – including name tags from VIPs who visited City Hall and ribbon cutting scissors from shopping mall openings attended by our politicians.

JAIMIE VERNON – TAKIN’ CARE OF BACHMAN (PART 1)

Excerpted from the forthcoming book “Bullsography: The Bullseye Records Story 1985-2010”

JAIMIE VERNON – SO MUCH MUSIC, SO LITTLE TIME

Back at the turn of the Millennium (which was 14 years ago!) I worked at Sam The Record Man’s flagship store at 347 Yonge Street on the third floor. I was the content editor of their fledgling on-line shopping store. It was my job to review the newest releases coming in from the record labels – most specifically Canadian content. I had been hired to deal with CanCon due to my online presence with the Canadian Pop Music Encyclopedia. It was usually kept to a few dozen albums. It was a dream job.

JAIMIE VERNON – SAM THE UBIQUITOUS MAN

This week, the legendary music retailer Sam Sniderman – the ‘Sam’ in Sam The Record Man music stores – passed away at the age of 92. The outpouring of tributes to one of the Yonge Street’s last retail mavens has been endless. He was a hero to Canadian musicians, an ally to record labels and a hard-nosed employer to his staff and franchisees. [see selected quotes from Facebook and the Twitterverse below]. I got the rare opportunity to deal with Sniderman on FOUR levels – media writer, musician, record label rep, and employee.

Segarini: Sam the Record Man

Sam Sniderman: For our readers from the U.S and the rest of the world, Sam was to record retail stores what Col. Sanders was to fried chicken. Someone who not only loved what he did, but did it better than anyone else. The only difference between him and the Col. was that Sam never sold out to big business and closed his stores rather than cheapen the product and sell out. He truly was one of a kind. I say was, because Sam passed away either late last night or early this morning, surrounded by family and friends, in his sleep. He was 92.

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Jaimie Vernon – Life’s A Canadian Rock: The Making of Takin’ Care of Christmas

We interrupt the chronological saga of my musical come-uppance to bring you a tale of Christmas future –  some 20 years from where my band The Swindle had long been forgotten. Though for you, dear reader, it is a tale of a Christmas, or two, past.

It’s no secret to many who know me that I would go on from being a snot-nosed guitar player in a punk band to CEO and resident curmudgeon of my own label called Bullseye Records. That all started in 1985.