Catherine Vericolli Resurrects the Funk: Org Music, Westbound Records, and the Pursuit of Perfecting the Imperfect | The Sharp Notes Interview

The Archivist Provides an Inside Look at the Restoration Process Behind Org Music’s Reissues

Teamwork - as they say - makes the dream work. Over the last several years, Org Music has been quietly amassing a catalog of well-produced reissues and original recordings in all genres. On the reissue front, however, the label has reached its goals by employing a select group of audio specialists all working toward the same goal: to find forgotten music deserving of a second chance to reach an audience, and to approach its restoration with straightforward respect and sincerity.

Org Music GM and COO Andrew Rossiter has assemble an A-Team for the most recent batch of reissues that includes mastering engineer, Dave Gardner - who was interviewed here at The Tracking Angle in November of 2023 - and archivist, Catherine Vericolli, who you’ll meet today.

Catherine has had much experience within the recording industry as a studio owner, engineer, and educator. Established in 2006, she created Fivethirteen recording studios in Phoenix, Arizona. She also directed the Archival Department at Nashville’s Infrasonic Sound. Catherine has also taught classes related to analog tape machine operations and maintenance at The Conservatory of Recording Arts and Sciences. Currently, she owns and operates Central Audio Archiving also based in Nashville where her archiving and digitization work led her to this current collaboration with Org.

The role of audio archivist is a curious one, maybe even a bit mysterious, but - as is the case in many fields - each link of the audio chain is as important as the ones that come before and after it. Roles of the audio archivist may include cataloging and taking inventory of tapes, restoring items that have been damaged over time, digitizing recordings, researching what is available (and discovering what might be missing) and - perhaps, most importantly, overseeing the analog tape transfers. It’s the audio archeology that takes place before final mastering is even discussed.

Detroit’s Westbound Records has partnered with Org Music to relaunch the label with a series of remastered funk and soul classics. The campaign began with Ohio Players’ Pleasure (1973) and continued with albums from The Counts, Assemblage, Dennis Coffey, and Eramus Hall. Most recently in the series is Denise LaSalle’s Trapped By A Thing Called Love (1972) which marks that record’s first reissue in 50 years. The album features LaSalle’s No. 1 hit of the same name and is currently available in multiple formats, including black and “Heartbreaker Red” vinyl, CD, and streaming.

In the interview that follows, Catherine describes the good, the bad, and sometimes ugly world of restoration and how she and Dave forged a strong bond and friendship during their time working - in the field - digging through the Westbound catalog and bringing key parts of it back to life. She also shares some further details and hints about what listeners can expect regarding what might be Westbound’s most revered label members: Funkadelic.

Audiophiles love their audio provenance, but how far down the rabbit hole do you really want to go? That all depends on who you are; but if you’re ready for a deep dive into Org Music's Westbound reissues - or, just the reissue field in general - then read on: Catherine’s got the secrets you’ll want to learn.