For the past 11 and a half years, Mike Battaglia has sold only vinyl records at his Lower Haight shop Vinyl Dreams (593 Haight Street, SF). Thanks to the curation and charisma of Battaglia, who is a DJ and the lead singer of local psycho-bluegrass band Big Meat Combo, the literally underground shop has since become a store of international repute, a venue for special guest DJs and producers, and a local sanctuary for the celebration of the worldwide culture of electronic music on wax.
This week, Battaglia has both the honor and the tall order of presenting a sale of the most important private collection he’s ever handled. Owned by the late DJ Blackstone (Curry Brooks, Jr.), who passed away in 2022, it was brought to Vinyl Dreams by Blackstone’s friend Homero Espinosa, who founded the Oakland nonprofit Music Connects Foundation and The DJ Blackstone Grant with Joshua Smith and Robert Brown that same year. Proceeds from record sales will go to the annual grant…