Johnny Winter Interview [Audio] plus Heinz Rohrer (CEO of Thorens Turntables [Print]) [Listen 26:42] – S02 Ep09 Climbing Up Curtains and Cutting Off Fingers with Johnny Winter

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S02 Ep09 (1 of 1) Climbing Up a Curtain with Howlin' Wolf and Johnny Winter

Interview Date: May 4, 2012 @2pm EDT

Special Guest: (Audio) Johnny Winter (Part 1 of 1) - Johnny Winter is one of the biggest names in blues; this Texas born blues guitarist has played with all the greats and was a leader in the 1960's blues revival. He has produced and played on four records for Muddy Waters and one for Sonny Terry (often winning a Grammy). He blew people away with his performance at Woodstock, and has jammed with people like Jimi Hendrix, Michael Bloomfield, Eric Clapton, and Stevie Ray Vaughan. It's been reported that he received the biggest signing contract and advancement ever given to an artist at the time. Winter's impact runs deep. He was gracious enough to give GoingThruVinyl an exclusive interview about his latest release and offer a peek into the history of the blues. http://www.johnnywinter.net/

On May 1, 2012 he released his newest album "Roots" (latest release in seven years), a record that brings together many of the artists and songs that he grew up listening to and admired. Winter and I cover the tracks on "Roots" and talk about the blues men that he has known (both on the album and throughout his career). Winter, known as not being one of the most talkative persons, got pretty animated at points in this interview and revealed some amazing stories and insight into the blues legends from a insider perspective.

Special Guest: (Print) Heinz Rohrer CEO and Owner of Thorens Turntables (Part 1 of 2)- Started in 1883 by Hermann Thorens in Switzerland,  the company Thorens and their Phonographs (Turntables) have been innovating and pushing High-end audio into the 21 Century. Recently they have been designing some of the most elegant, beautifully sounding, and desirable record players on the market today.  I was lucky enough to land a rare interview with Mr. Rohrer and he was kind enough to answer my questions (Translated into English. His native tongue is Swiss German). http://www.thorens.com/

Thorens Turntable Interview - GoingThruVinyl's conversation with Heinz Rohrer

I have been thinking about turntables and which one I would buy in today’s market for quite some time. The list of excellent turntable manufacturers is long, and the technological breakthroughs and improvements over the past couple of years are nothing short of extraordinary. The advancements in technology, design, quality, and jaw-dropping style that you can get these days from the high-end stereo market compared to ten years ago is greater than imagined. Which brings me to this company and the turntables that impresses me the most these days: the Swiss brand “Thorens” and their new acrylic turntable lines (TD 2015, TD 2035) and the TD 309.

I was lucky enough to get a written interview with the CEO of Thorens, Heinz Rohrer. We talk about what design decisions go into making a Thorens turntable and their long history of their company being a key component in refining the classic record player.

GTV - Thorens’ history goes all the way back to Switzerland in 1883 and its musical roots were planted right from the beginning. The late 19th century was a time when Swiss engineering had established itself as being known for their quality and craftsmanship with precision made objects like watches and clocks. Can you tell me what kind of man Hermann Thorens was, and about how the company came into existence?

Heinz Rohrer - Mr. Thorens was born some 3 or 4 generations before I was born, therefore I did not know him well (joke) and documents from this time are not available anymore in detail. He founded his family business 1883 with the purpose of manufacturing musical boxes and movements. The place he lived with his family and where he founded his company, the region called Jura at the French part of Switzerland is still known as cluster with many watch making and precision engineering companies. No doubt he was known as an excellent entrepreneur running a leading company in the region at that time.