Frank Cotterell
Mojo Records
By Millie Stein
Who you? I work with Neville [Mojo's owner], we're a two-man show, and we run a retail store that sells the history of contemporary music.
What is the essence of Mojo? We have no database - it's all in our heads. We only stock what we like. We don't have a huge clientele but they're passionate. There's no other store in Sydney like us.
Sounds very High Fidelity to us. It's a total High Fidelity thing. When my son was young, we toured with Nirvana - it's not a recommended way to make a living, not too many people in their 50s do what we do. We're not that wild, we just care.
Who do you care about at the moment? This month, we're in Mott the Hoople mode - we had a night playing rare Mott the Hoople stuff.
Are oldies the only goodies? People tell me there's good music around. I hear stuff on Triple J and it doesn't convert to anything I particularly enjoy, but people have to keep trying. We're still discovering great old stuff.
What does good taste sound like? Our taste is broad - we're into folk, we're into cranked up blues. It has to have a passion; it can't be watered down.
How important is it that Mojo rises? It's vital. It's all I've done my whole life. On Record Store day, which happened internationally for independent record stores, Tom Waits said, "you have to respect the keepers of the knowledge" and that's us. Without the knowledge, society would be a worse place.