“Junk in the Trunk” is marketed as a “Vintage + Artisan Market” market, which is fine by me. At least I know what I’m getting myself into. I know I’m not going to clamor through filthy boxes and creepy Chevy vans crammed with vintage porn, but I certainly will find a terrific Iced Americano to go with my $25 entrance fee. In other words, Junk in the Trunk is the kind of place you’d expect to find in North Scottsdale, where avocado toast is $15, and for $48 you can find a sweet-smelling, hand-poured candle, or a reclaimed mahogany cheese board engraved with the phrase “Brie Mine”.
I didn’t think I’d score a double-record Afrobeat-prog-jazz hybrid with 14-minute drum solos. And yet, there it was, buried between Night Moves and Rumors. And for just a sawski? I was all in. Which is the only reason to go to vintage and artisan markets.
The only thing I really know about Ginger Baker is he played drums for Cream, and he’s got a knack for punching people in the face. And sure, in the almost 50 years I’ve been paying attention to records, I’ve come across Ginger Baker’s Air Force more than once. It’s not a rare record. But it’s kinda undeniably cool. I especially like the way Martin Sharp designed it. I mean it took some balls for Sharp to hand ATCO Records a design with all the information about the record — including the band’s name — on its back cover. For the front? A weird, surreal wave-of-something crashing down on some exclamation points and a floating target and musical note with people running around God-knows-where. And are those brown things Ampersands? Who knows!? One thing’s for sure, ATCO had bigger balls for green lighting it.
One more thing. I’ve trimmed my collection down. I’m trying hard to stick to this self-imposed 10-record-rule. I went to Eastside and got some trade cred with the Billy Childish and Martin Frawley records, and I gave my niece Diet Cig as a gift. And here’s a piece of friendly, record-collector advice: if you’re around Tempe and into Billy Childish, I’d run down there ASAP and grab “Blues That Kills” by “Wild” Billy Childish and The Chatham Singers.
One last piece of friendly, record-collector advice: something tells me I’m not holding on to Ginger Baker’s Air Force for more than a listen…or half a one.
