SLO FILM FEST 2021 INTERVIEWS: Directors Kevin Smokler and Christopher Boone talk about their documentary VINYL NATION

Smokler and Boone’s documentary VINYL NATION does a deep dive into the record bying and record collecting and record listening culture. “Everything old is new again!” perfectly sums up the fascinating history of the vinyl record that seemingly vanished into relative obscurity in the 1980s, but is now one of the hottest trends again worldwide. But there’s just something about spinning vinyl, and VINYL NATION does an entertaining deep dive into what that something might be.

From putting us into the mix of a Record Store Day with people who line up for a block and cross days off the calendar until the next one, looking at the literal making of records within the pressing plants, and exploring the nuances of color vinyl or records literally injected with flowing liquids to give a truly groovy experience as the record plays on a turntable, the film is as thorough as it gets exploring the subject. Frankly, this is a beloved topic both from a collector’s viewpoint and from the nostalgia angle and likely will deliver exactly what you’ll be looking for, whether you have a wall full of LPs now or whether you have fond memories of playing 45s on a portable disc player.

In the interview, I take the opportunity to show off some random LPs I pulled out of my personal collection, then Kevin and Christopher discuss how they split their directorial responsibilities on this projects. We also talk about a favorite question of mine: “When was their eureka moment making the film?”