the rock relic, chuck hinson

Last week I had the great opportunity to connect with Chuck Hinson, the builder and promoter of The Rock Relic site and he agreed to do an interview.

Kim: Chuck, you’ve obviously got a great command of the history of vinyl music and bands from the ’50’s on. Can you elaborate on your inspiration, or inspirations, to build this site?

Chuck: There’ve been a lotta questions as to why I built the Rock Relic site, but the answer is plain and simple: Our generation’s rock made music what it is today. Not only that, but, if ya look at the stuff on the FM dial now — from pre-school pablum and pulverizing, pounding punk to mindbending metal — you’ll see where rock music’s lost a lotta the elements that made it big to with.

On the side, more people are gettin’ interested the sounds of the Sixties (and, btw, in England the Merseybeat sound is beginning to re surge), so it’s time to get the music, the feeling, the elements back to the attention of the world. We’ve gotta keep the momentum goin’ …

Kim: Okay, I’m dying to hear your background.

Chuck: Now, I’ve been a columnist and writer for almost a quarter-century, an audio producer and researcher of classic rock for 35 years (of course, they weren’t really “oldies” back then … not anyway …). Before that time, and prior to a stint in the Army, I was a performer (guitarist and lead vocalist for different bands) and recorded a few songs. From 1975 to 1977, I also DJ’d for a coupla radio stations. Putting together all these elements (with the exception of the Army, natch!), the Rock Relic emerged.

Kim: One of first things I noticed when I first found your site was the amount of traffic you are getting. It’s obviously very popular no. So where do you go from here?

Chuck: As with every writer/blogger/webmaster, I’d like to see the site hit the top. But, actually and more importantly, I wanna see the appreciation of the music — the excitement of it — get into the minds and spirits of every person Across the Universe!

Y’know, there’ve been psychologists and medicos who’ve said that “our” music has a very therapeutic power. Well, that and aspirin. Actually, it’s lively, sets a tone of (as Gerry and the Pacemakers sang) “It’s Gonna Be Alright”, and the 4/4 beat, the basic rhythms used and the 25-50 Hz listenability (hertz puts you in the driver’s seat!) makes it (sorry … wrong “hertz”!) can soothe a lot of nerves and allow any healing process to begin more easily!

Kim: I appreciate you time and would really like you to send me updates on what’s next on your blogging agenda.

Chuck: It’s an honor to promote the music!

Kim: Well, there you have it. Chuck Hinson, the brains and passion behind The Rock Relic . And he does have passion, so get over there and hit the RSS button!