Interview with Beastienut

[ Conducted in July 2002 ]

You may have seen him outbidding you on that rare korean promo on ebay, or you may have even had the pleasure of trading with him, but chances are you don't know everything about Beastienut and his collecting ways. Although this interview isn't about to reveal the whole story, it should help you to understand one of the main players on the Beastie Boys collecting scene a bit more. Meet Beastienut...

Brief description about yourself (age, location, etc.)
I was born and raised in Corpus Christi, Texas on February 14, 1975. I now reside in Houston, Texas with my beautiful girlfriend Jessica, where I work as a Project Coordinator/Draftsman for a civil engineering firm.

How did you first get into the Beastie Boys?
When the Beastie Boys first hit it big in 1987, I was in the 6th grade. At the time, music was not an interest to me.

It wasn't until 1991 when my brother Aaron, who was very big into the music scene, introduced the Beastie Boys to me. He had bought the cassette single "Hey Ladies". When I listened to it, that is when my interest for the Beastie Boys and their music began.

I had a friend in high school that had the tape of Paul's Boutique. He let me borrow it for the weekend and I clearly remember sitting in my room all weekend, reading the lyrics as the Beasties sang. I thought the music and lyrics were amazing. After playing Paul's Boutique over and over, I was hooked. Something about them made me feel as if I had something in common with them. Maybe it was their 'nasal-style' voices and silliness, I'm not really sure.

During this time, I was collecting US coins, but since my interest started to become more profound with the Beastie Boys, I decided to concentrate fully on them. From then on I started to research their music and what items that had previously released.

By this time it was early 1992. The Beasties released the single 'Pass The Mic', this is when the serious collecting began.

Favorite Beastie Boys album and track?
Being that Paul's Boutique was basically the first album I was introduced to; I would have to say this is my favorite. 'Check Your Head' and 'Hello Nasty' is up there as well. As far as my favorite track goes, I really wouldn't be able to name just one.

Favorite non-Beastie Boys album and track?
I very rarely buy any other music besides the Beastie Boys, which is odd. But I do like bands such as Minor Threat (Fugazi), Jane's Addiction, and The Dead Kennedy's (Jello Biafra).

How long have you been collecting Beastie Boys stuff for?
I have been collecting Beastie Boys stuff for 11 years and will never quit.

What do you collect? (Vinyl, CDs, tapes, videos merchandise)
When I first started collecting in 1991 I was collecting CDs and records. I eventually progressed to collecting magazines (Beasties on the front cover only), commercial type (24'x36') posters and promotional items. Every once in a while I'll pick up a T-shirt and/or video.

For a while I was collecting live factory pressed bootleg CDs but decided to put an end to that due to the fact that people where making and selling bootleg copies of original bootleg CDs. I ended up with about 45 original factory pressed bootleg CDs.

How many Beastie Boys CDs, vinyl, etc. do you own?
This is the overall breakdown and does not include items I have ordered and am waiting on:

Official CDs (Standards, Promos and Acetates) = 165

Vinyl 7', 10', and 12' (Standards, Promos and Bootlegs) = 215

What are your main reasons for collecting?
I have several reasons for collecting the Beastie Boys, but I'll just name a couple. For me, it's all about finding new stuff that I had no idea existed. Researching and looking for items is the best part of collecting. Basically, the Beastie Boys are just a great band to collect.

Favorite item in your collection?
I could go on for days about this question. Right now my favorite item is my Japan pressed 'Licensed To ILL' LP with the colored Obi Strip. I had never seen this version nor had I ever heard of it. I also have a 'Pass The Mic' UK Etched 12' with signatures on the etched side of Mike D., MCA, Adrock, Ricky Powell, Keyboard Money Mark, DJ Hurricane, AWOL, and Mario C. This is a real gem (priceless). [See picture on the bottom]

Your 'Holy Grail', the item that keeps eluding you that you really want.
The item that keeps eluding me due to the price is those Beastie Action Figure / Dolls. Every time I see them for sale I ask myself 'Do I really want to pay that much for them?' It's a hard decision, but someday soon I'm going to 'bite the bullet' and buy them. I think it would be a good investment.

Best find? (Because of price or location, etc.)
I think my best find to date would be my 'Country Mike' LP. I have the black vinyl version. I found this in a record store in California sealed for $175.00. I don't think I've ever seen this go for less than this.

What other bands (or misc. stuff) do you collect?
At the moment, I'm not collecting anything else.

Tips for other collectors that might be starting out.
My tips for the 'serious' beginning collector would be to make sure you are dedicated to the Beastie Boys and are willing to drop a few dollars. If I would have known back then what I know now about all of there different releases, I would have been very overwhelmed.

Beastie Boys collectible items are not something you can get overnight. It takes a long time to find the highly sought after items.

What are your thoughts on Ebay ' good or bad for collectors?
Basically, when I first got 'online' in early 1999, I was amazed with the releases I had found. I had no clue these releases even existed. As far as Ebay goes, I think it is great for collectors. There have been items that have 'popped-up' that I didn't know existed as well. Ebay is an excellent source for the beginner or experienced collector.

What do you think of the Beastie Boys collecting scene?
Right now I think the Beastie collecting scene is in kind of a lull. Being that nothing new has been released in 3 years. For me, I'm always on the hunt for old releases, so there's not really a down time for me. My goal is to collect every old release before a new album comes out, because when the new album does finally come out, the serious collecting is going to start ALL over again.