I can’t say that I’m the greatest digger. You won’t hear of me flying to Colombia or Angola to dig through long lost piles of LPs and seven inches that are piled from floor to ceiling in a mold-infested basement. However, at home or when I travel, chances are that I will find where the records are and spend some hours searching through bins trying to find gold in piles of crappy records. Then again, what I consider garbage is what others might consider gold. We all have different taste and that's what keeps record collectors constantly digging.

Not much bothers me when it comes to collecting. All the new people buying vinyl because it’s the cool thing to do now don’t bother me. Chances are, if they are only doing it to be cool, soon the trend will pass and they will stop. The next time they have to move or need money, those records will be sold or donated and they will end up back in the hands of people who really want them. Digital downloading and MP3 have been great for collectors -- so many great collections by name DJ’s have ended up back in the stores! Buying online doesn’t bother me. If you are willing to pay a hundred dollars for a rare LP on EBay, then more power to you. The person who sold it to you had more patience, found it in a thrift store and bought it for a buck. For their effort, they made ninety-nine bucks off of you.

If you find me on the floor at Amoeba, I have no problem with customers who ask the question, “What’s good in the vinyl section?” Sure, it's a vague question and you'll have to be prepared to be asked a barrage of questions by me such as, “Well, what do you like?” and, “What styles do you like?” and on and on until we can find you vinyl bliss. However, I do have a problem with the diggers that want me to hand them records. Doesn’t that defeat the purpose and joy of digging? I’ll lead the horse to water but I’m not going to pour water in its mouth. I’ll show you where the Cumbia records are; the rest is up to you. Keep digging and make magic happen.

If you're a regular shopper at Amoeba Music Hollywood, you may have already had the pleasure of crossing paths with the ever knowledgeable Monalisa. Maybe she helped you track down a rare hip-hop record or locate some soul CD you've been seeking for a while. Perhaps you sought her advice at the vast SoCal store's information desk and she ended up turning you on to some music or artist that you had never heard of but are now a converted fan of. Amoebite Monalisa has been an amazing asset to the Hollywood store since she began working there sixteen months ago. She's brought with her a vast knowledge of music -- from classic soul & golden era hip-hop up to contemporary hip-hop, to rock, jazz, funk, and more -- all accumulated over two intense decades of being deeply embedded in the music world as diehard fan/collector, DJ, and putting in countless hours working behind the scenes at important hip-hop record labels such as Loud, Delicious Vinyl, and Wild Pitch during their 1990's heyday.

While taking a break from work at Amoeba one day recently I caught up with Monalisa to ask her about her music history, about working with the Wu-Tang Clan in their formative days, what some of her all time favorite records are, and what she likes about working at Amoeba Music, among other things. "The first thing, of course, that I like about working at Amoeba is the music -- the musical atmosphere and all aspects of it," she said. "I like interacting with people and finding out what music they are into and helping them find the music that they are looking for." As for her history in the music industry, she informed me that she worked in the music biz "for about fifteen years. I worked at a lot of record labels over the years -- Loud, Wild Pitch, Delicious Vinyl, PMP [a subsidary of Loud Records], A&M, to name a few, and I held several positions, from local retail manager to street team coordinator. I also did national college and commercial/mixshow promotion and national street team accounts for corporations, clothing companies and entertainment firms." This included setting up her own independent promotions and marketing business to facilitate music and sports related "lifestyle marketing" projects, she said.

1. Jane Birkin & Serge Gainsbourg- Jane Birkin/Serge Gainsbourg (CD/LP)
2. Seu Jorge-Seu Jorge & Almaz (CD/LP)
3. Luis Miguel-S/T
4. V/A- The Afrosound of Colombia (CD/LP)
5. V/A-Afro-Beat Airways
6. Eydie Gorme Y Los Panchos-Cantan En Español
7. V/A-Pomegranates (CD/LP)
8. V/A-Let’s A Go-Go!
9. Enrique Iglesias-Euphoria
10. Jacky Chalard-Je Suis Vivant Mais J'ai Peur De Gilbert Deflez  (CD/LP)

There wasn’t much movement from last month’s top ten to this month. The only newbies were the funky prog-rock of Jacky Chalard’s Je Sus Vivant, Mais J'ai Peur De Gilbert Deflez (B-Music/Finders Keepers) and, on the other end of the spectrum, the latest by romantic Latin Pop singer Luis Miguel, which landed him in the third spot. Also, compilations such as The Afrosound of Colombia, Pomegranates and Afro-Beat Airways benefited thanks in part to Amoeba’s latest edition of the Music We Like book, with heavy praise given to each release by the staff from all three Amoeba stores. Get your copy of Music We Like at any Amoeba store or you can view it online.

A few September releases  worthy of mentioning that didn’t make the top ten are the latest from The Nortec Collective, Bulevar 2000, Natasha Atlas’ Moungaliba and Issac Delgado tribute to Nat King Cole, entitled L-O-V-E. On the vinyl front, we had the reissue of Milton Nascimento and Lo Borges' classic Clube Da Esquina. Original copies of the LP go for collector's prices. For fans of Peruvian Chicha, we have the limited edition LP of Ranil Y Su Conjunto Tropical, Ranil's Jungle Party.

 Speaking of Chicha, The long awaited Roots Of Chicha Vol. 2 comes out on October 12th and it's just as good as the first. The best way to describe Peruvian Chicha is as a mix of Cumbia rhythms and Andean melodies with surf and psychedelic rock guitar. It was performed by many popular Peruvian party bands played during the 60’s and 70’s. Some of those groups still exist today, playing updated versions of their hits. Outside of Peru, many bands are picking up the style and doing their own version of it, such as Chicha Libre (New York/France), Los Chinches (England) and La Chamba (Los Angeles), just to name a few.

I saw Joan Soriano a few years ago on the Bachata Roja tour. A bit younger than the older men he was touring with, he pretty much stole the show. His latest album, El Duque De La Bachata, is out and also comes with an hour-long documentary on Joan’s life and music. The sublime romantic songs on Soriano’s album are the perfect cure for all Pop Bachata currently being written for tweeners and housewives.

words by Daniel Tures
photos by Pia Alvendia

As it does every Autumn, the peculiar form of mental instability known as Amoebapalooza descended again upon the employees of Hollywood’s finest record emporium! Once again, the results splattered out upon the King King stage in glorious 3-D scream-o-rama for the delight/bafflement of drunken spectators! Did you have to be there? Yes, you did. Will reading this chronicle and perusing these photos do? For now, it must and shall.

Amoebites are, as you may know, an incorrigible, shameless breed of rockers, and they love nothing better than for their employers to enable this addiction by engaging the King King for the night of musical mayhem known as Amoebapalooza. On this night, Amoebites may strut the stage, tread the boards and wail out their rock & roll demons, which often take the form of a bunch of crazy tribute bands. Every year there is eye-popping rock insanity onstage, wailing guitars, felonious wigs, Goodwill glamour and crazy silver stuff taped all over one’s jeans. Was this year any different? A bit more rockalyzing, a bit more crazy, but in essence, about the same as hanging out with a bunch of Amoebites any night of the week, plus a lot more Manic Panic hair dye and big amps! Did I remember every little thing? No, my own vodka intake did not allow that, so if I leave anybody out, forgive me, and let me just say now that it was all completely awesome. And you’re probably in the pics!

The whole mad affair was kicked off with the tuff rock sound of the Cigarette Bums, helmed by Amoeba’s own Steven Carrera but dominated by the wild sax stylings of whoever that guy was.  Little did he know that he was lighting the match that would send the whole Amoebapalooza shithouse up in flames over the next few hours!

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