16 LOUISVILLE MAGAZINE 12.14
thebit
S PACE S
nuyale.com
Photos by Krista Walker
A Clifton
record
collection
Relaxing
With the
Shellac
Nathan Salsburg bought his frst
record, Run-D.M.C.'s Raising Hell,
when he was 7, at Musicland in
Oxmoor Mall. "I remember bringing
it home and playing it on my little
yellow Fisher-Price turntable," he
says. "I cannot believe my mom let
me get that record." He has been
buying music now for almost 30
years, and tall shelves in his Clifton
studio hold some his collection: more
than 3,000 78s, 3,500 LPs and 1,000-
plus CDs.
Salsburg, 36, spends most of his
time with his dog Ruby in his studio,
which was once a small grocery, then
a barbershop. An old-school stove
burns logs. It's here where Salsburg
oversees the digital archive of Alan
Lomax, often described as one of
America's greatest "feld collectors of
folk music." (The Library of Congress
stores Lomax's physical collection.)
Salsburg, himself a guitarist, says,
"After a day's work, I like having
a drink, sitting on my sofa, and
listening to music. Seventy-eights are
great because they only last two and
a half minutes, so you really have to
tend to them, which I like."
— Krista Walker