Gonzo – Back From Holidays & Ready For 2012

The title says it all.

I just got back from some very fun holidays in Vietnam and I’m all set to play lots of cool sounds in 2012!

Before I left to spend Christmas with my family in and around Hanoi I prepared two special Christmas and New Year’s 8tracks playlists.

I came back from the trip with some pretty cool photos, all taken with two different Panasonic Lumix compact cameras:

While I was there I looked around for some vinyl records.

I had prepared beforehand and had read up on the people I’d need to contact to find a fresh stash of records.

Unfortunately I didn’t get enough time to get in touch with the proper people and I ended up playing cat and mouse with various contacts.

Which is why I turned my attention to a little shop that was right behind my hotel around Hoan Kiem district.

The shop is small but packed full of old musical equipment: cabinet speakers, turntables, reel-to-reel tape recorders, and vintage pre-amplifiers line the walls of Mr. Pham’s shop.

At first I just stopped to admire all the equipment, but the more I thought about it the more a real vintage – and working! – reel-to-reel tape recorder would be the perfect Christmas gift to myself.

The more I talked with Mr. Pham (through his son Giang), the more I felt his love for maintaining and using old equipment that had endured the test of time.

I walked away with my own tape player/recorder, and I brought it all the way back to Singapore.

Catch me at the end of the month for the next Pushin’ On session!