Rico Potzelt is 32-years-old and lives in a farm in a small city in East Germany. It's safe to say that the guy is probably the only person in his village that knows—or even cares about, for that matter—Turning Point test pressings. In the early '90s, Rico's parents began organizing outdoor music events, and in 2004, they met the guys behind a famous club in Leipzig who thought their location would be perfect for Endless Summer, a yearly event that has welcomed such bands as Cock Sparrer, Slapshot, and Madball.
Being around all of that cool music has rubbed off on Rico, so he's obviously made for the Record Collector club.
How long have you been collecting records?
In 2007, Ignite played on the Endless Summer Open Air and I felt the pure energy. I spoke to some friends about hardcore, bands, vinyl, the sXe scene, and a guy said that the best LP is Agnostic Front Victim In Pain. I then walked through the festival area and I spotted a merch table with vinyl. I bought my first LP, and of course it was Agnostic Front Victim In Pain [laughs]. I was addicted to the music from the first second on because it was something special to me, not just like a normal CD, or something like that. I saw all of the work that went behind a little piece of plastic, and at after that point, I started to collect vinyl.
Where/how do you usually find your records?
At the beginning, I bought my records at shows or festivals, later I discovered the social media community (Facebook, eBay, Discogs, Dead Format, Instagram). It's very nice to trade with collectors from all over the world. Sometimes, if I'm in Berlin for example, I'll go to a record store like Core-Tex.
What is the most you paid for a single album,where/how did you obtain it, and what was it?
I payed $250 for a Floorpunch New Jersey test press (SFU Records) and I found it on Discogs. That is the highest price I have ever paid for a record. OK, my The First Step What We Know test press that was almost just as expensive ($230) as the Floorpunch record.
What is your most prized (most important to you for personal reasons) record and why?
I think it is Something Inside Lionheart.
I listened to a lot of sXe/Youth Crew hardcore, but Something Inside was the only sXe band (for me) I could see almost every weekend. Before I went to hardcore shows, I saw a lot of little concerts in my hometown, where they played punk and Oi! music. Most of the time the people were drunk, stoned, or both. I never liked that and when I met Something Inside, I found out that there was a better way for me to live my life. I was fascinated by the straight edge lifestyle. No drugs, no alcohol, that was my personal ideology, and I just didn't know before that there was such a great scene in my region. Of course, I was already listening to bands like Minor Threat and Youth of Today before, but Something Inside was physically available to me, because they're also from Saxony. In 2010, Floorpunch played with True Colors and Something Inside at a show at the Riot Lichtenstein. That show was legendary! The positive energy was amazing!
What frustrates you about the current record collecting scene?
I hate the enormously high shipping costs [laughs]. Also, many people are frustrated that people buy new rare records and only to then sell them on Discogs/eBay for a higher price. That's not cool and we should ignore such people and refuse to buy their shit!
Which albums are still on your want list that you've had a tough time tracking down through the years?
I still want a lot of rare records. I still need a few The First Step and True Colors records. My biggest wish is to get a copy of Floorpunch's Division One Champs on gold vinyl! I've seen that verison of that record on eBay and Discogs, but it's always for $1200 to $1500. That's too much for me. I hope every day that I'll find a cool guy who wants to trade with me, or that the price is under $1000 [laughs].
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Follow Rico on Instagram, and for crissakes, if you have that Floorpunch record, work some kind of deal out with the man!
Tagged: hardcore, record collector
