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Music lover makes a business of funk 45s

Teacher Terry Cole has started Colemine Records, specializing in soul and funk music.

$Terry Cole, a musician and Middletown High School teacher, sits with his recording equipment at his home Wednesday, March 17, in Middletown. \uFEFF Staff photo by Nick Graham$

Nick Graham/MBR Terry Cole, a musician and Middletown High School teacher, sits with his recording equipment at his home Wednesday, March 17, in Middletown. \uFEFF Staff photo by Nick Graham

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By Eric Robinette, Staff Writer 12:58 AM Monday, March 22, 2010

MIDDLETOWN — If a guest in Terry Cole’s house set a drink on top of one of his coasters, they might miss something.

A close inspection of one of those coasters reveals it to be the centerpiece of a 78-rpm record — Hank Williams’ “Lost Highway,” backed with “You’re Gonna Change.”

And that’s not the only way Cole, 24, is old school. He has started a company called Colemine Records, specializing in soul and funk music, which is one of the few that still presses 45s.

“Forty-fives do a lot of things for you. You stand out immediately. There are thousands and thousands of funk CDs, but there are less than 100 45s (made per year) in the entire world,” Cole said.

He didn’t create Colemine just to revive vinyl or funk, but to shine a light on making new music in old ways. Cole has a recording studio in his basement that uses equipment that’s not quite modern.

“Funk shouldn’t sound clean. It should be really dirty, with a lot of grit,” he said. That means music from the likes of James Brown, Otis Redding and many others who recorded for Motown, Stax and Atlantic.

Cole has long been a music aficionado. He lives in his parents’ former house, which had a basement full of 45s. That sparked his interest in everything from jazz to hip-hop.

After being exposed to rap, he heard what other groups were doing and thought, “I should be able to make beats like these other guys.” Eventually, he said, that line of thought evolved to, “Why don’t we make up our own label and have people think it’s legitimate?”

Colemine got going with his venture in October 2008. Using his connections, he signed bands like Ikebe Shakedown, The Soul Companions and his own outfit for which he plays bass, the Jive Turkeys.

Andrew DeRoberts, guitarist for the Jive Turkeys, also has found success on his own — he’s on tour playing guitar for last year’s “American Idol” winner, Kris Allen.

“I’m extremely excited and impressed to with everything about how Colemine is doing. Terry is definitely the fearless leader, and he’s got a deep knowledge of music,” DeRoberts said.

Cole also hopes to parlay Colemine into his day job, as a teacher at Middletown High School, from which Cole graduated in 2003. He teaches biology but would like to run an after-school program on the history of hip-hop. However it can be done, it’s his mission to “move soul music forward,” he said.

The label’s Web site, on MySpace, is www.coleminerecords.com.

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