The Los Angeles wildfires took many things, but one man, who lost his collection of over 8,000 vinyl records after the fire completely destroyed his home, is particularly heartbroken.
Many people lost their homes and other possessions after the wildfires ravaged California earlier this month. But American photographer and podcaster Scott Dudelson, 45, was especially devastated after losing his prized vinyl record collection, which he had built over 25 years.
“Before the fire was even reported, I went outside and smelled the smoke. Ten minutes later, I saw the smoke rising over my hills, right over my community. And I knew at that moment, this was very, very bad,” Dudelson recalled in an interview with the LA Times.
He said that having lived in the area for 20 years and having gone through other wildfires, he had prepared a box with some of his favorite and most valuable records for emergencies. With the help of his ex-wife Melissa, he managed to save about 450 records.
Even so, the loss of the others was hard to bear. “I lost all my Smiths records, the original, brand new, plastic-wrapped version of Slayer’s Reign in Blood. I mean, I lost everything. I had all the David Bowie records, all the Fleetwood Mac, whatever you want… it’s all gone,” he continued.
Thankfully, after posting his story on social media, where he has more than 55,000 followers, he received a lot of support and messages from people wanting to help. “A lot of people reached out to me, both from the vinyl community and record labels,” he said, noting that he hosts the LEGENDS podcast.
“Two of the first people who reached out were friends from Rhino Records and Universal Music Group… and they said, ‘We’re so sorry, tell me how I can help you rebuild your collection. Come pick up some records from us,’” Dudelson added, feeling hopeful.
“I’ll never rebuild what I had, but I’m okay with that. But I’m also a music addict. I’ll never stop buying music. I’ll never stop listening to music. I’ll never stop playing records all day long,” he concluded.
Photo and video: Instagram @alldayvinyl. This content was created with the help of AI and reviewed by the editorial team.
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