Creativity rarely follows a straight line. Its not always good at following directions, either. Instead, it likes to wander, curious about what comes next.
Eric Dicksteins creativity is a case in point. One day he was talking to Chin Injeti, a local musician and music producer whos worked with Eminem, Drake and Pink. Injeti needed a recording space in Vancouver and Dickstein happened to have a lot of space in the brick-walled basement of Dutil.denim, his jean store in Gastown. Injeti moved in.
Dickstein used to be a musician. He uses the term failed musician in quotation marks because he never made any money at it, but music remains a big part of his life. So does an appreciation for style. He co-founded Dutil, which also has a store on Torontos trendy Queen West, and is the Canadian representative for Oliver Peoples, Stella McCartney and Paul Smith eyewear.
As much as he loves being creative, he knows that being pragmatic is the best way to pay the bills.
Money is not necessarily the most important but I want to have a value for something, he says.
Which is why, when he and Injeti started talking about Dicksteins dream of creating a record company Dutil.records and recording its first album, Dickstein decided to make it a real album, as in made out of vinyl. Apart from loving the depth of sound you get on vinyl, you cant download it, and you certainly cant download it for free.
It kinda sucks no one pays for music any more, Dickstein says. A vinyl record forces people to buy into the culture.
He thinks most people dont really think about the impact of downloading music for free. You wouldnt go into a store or a restaurant and expect not to pay. You understand that the person making the clothes or preparing the food needs to earn a living, too. So why not pay for music?
The labels debut album, Serotonin: To Long For You, features a varied mix of performers, including three of Injetis. Theres Derek Rhys, Drawn Ship, Sophia Denai, Omar Khan, Partizans, SuperNova and TheBig RedGiants, Actors, Of Giants and Deutshe Banks. Instead of an A and B side, theres Side Clean and Side Dirty, starting off with the spoken word tract and ending up with punk rock. The cover image is a blurred photo of a billboard on Sunset Boulevard in Dicksteins home town of Los Angeles. He took it in the 80s on a Polaroid camera, photographys equivalent of vinyl.
Dickstein doesnt expect to make money off the first album and Injeti has already helped him with ways to lower the next ones costs. Hed be happy just to break even and hopes to be able to release a single a month until he dies, which hes pegging at around 80.
Hed also love to re-introduce the concept of Skytrain concerts, which he did in the 80s with his band Young Robots as a way of bringing music to the people.
Meanwhile, if you want your own vinyl copy of Serotonin, it retails for $22.32 at Dutil, 303 West Cordova or you can buy it online at DutilDenim.com.
