September 18, 2023 by jayneanastasia Leave a comment

Recently I had the opportunity to discuss a topic that is near and dear to my heart. Let me give you a little background…

As the Covid lockdown fell upon us, I began to focus my online time to things that would make me happy. I started to rediscover my love of music (it never really left, just had been neglected for quite some time) and in doing so, I stumbled upon the Bee Gees and their extensive music catalog. I have always been a fan of the group, but whether it was the dark days of isolation due to Covid or whatever reason, the timing became perfect for me to take on a deep dive to know everything I could about the Brothers Gibb. I began watching every YouTube video, scouring every website, and haunting all of the social media platforms. I started purchasing their music on CDs and when I got past that point, I started collecting vinyl. I purchased all sorts of books, and then the memorabilia started. I couldn’t get enough. I will be the first to admit that even during non pandemic times, I have a “collection” personality. I want it ALL!

So, imagine my joy when I found someone who not only had the collection gene as well, but that they were also focused on my current obsession, and yes, I will go that far! And that’s where this Feature begins.

David Fedor is an avid Bee Gees fan, collector, podcaster, and all around good egg. Bee Gees and Me is his podcasting and YouTube channel, as well as various social media accounts. I discovered him early on in my never ending scouring of all things Gibb related. Asking him if he would consider doing a Feature was a no-brainer. Indulging your own personal interests is one of the perks of running your own blog. So here’s my chat with David, I hope you enjoy this Feature as much as I do!

Hello David! Please tell us a little about yourself.

Married to a wonderful and tolerant-of-my-Bee Gees-addiction woman, we have two boys currently aged 7 and 3. I’m currently a television producer outside of Pittsburgh, PA and make programming that features the awesomeness of Western Pennsylvania. Before this I was working in marketing and got laid off during the pandemic, so that’s when I started my Bee Gees And Me things to keep my creative side active when the world was shut down.

When did you first realize your love for the Bee Gees – was there a specific song that pulled you in?

It was a specific moment, a Wednesday in the autumn of 1993. I heard Paying The Price Of Love on the radio and it stopped me in my tracks. It was played during a block of songs, and the DJ never mentioned what the song was called or who sang it, so I became obsessed and determined to find out. A few weeks later I discovered it was the Bee Gees and it blew my mind.

How surprised were you when you realized their history and extensive catalog?

Their careers weren’t a surprise to me. I knew of the Bee Gees before I “heard” them. They were always in pop culture when I was growing up in the 80s. My first exposure was probably the movie Airplane or Short Circuit actually, since I was still too young for SNF (Saturday Night Fever.) Around the same time I knew Andy Gibb (the Bee Gees younger brother) from the tv show Punky Brewster. The line from the show, “Every time I think of him, my heart does a breakdance,” was frequently quoted by my siblings and me. So since I was familiar with their hits, I gravitated towards learning their lesser-known albums and tracks.

Your main platform seems to be your YouTube channel, Bee Gees and Me, where you post fun videos consisting of unboxing, sharing collectibles, and discussing anything new in the fandom. You also have a podcast of the same name with a variety of interviews and general discussion as well (available to stream on most podcast platforms.) Tell us a little about your Social Media journey – how it all came about and how you got to this point.

I’ve always been a writer and performer. I went to college for television production and graduated with a communications degree. So over the years I’ve always had creative projects and jobs that I was working on. A couple decades of theater shows, comedy groups, short films, various TV and movie scripts. And when the pandemic shut everything down and I wasn’t able to do any of those projects, I looked at what I could do by myself and/or over video conferencing. That’s how the channel happened, I was able to combine two of my passions into that project.

I personally, am particularly interested in your amazing Bee Gees collection of music and memorabilia. When did you start collecting? Was it a conscious choice or did you suddenly look around and realize you had a lot of stuff, LOL?

My collecting is out of control. Haha. It started as a kid with GI Joes, baseball cards and comic books. In the 80s and 90s it was stressed that we needed to preserve these things because they’d all be worth money someday. The generation before mine lamented the loss of their collections. My Dad frequently mentioned how rich he would be if his Mom didn’t throw away his Mickey Mantle baseball cards. So all of my generation kept things, a lot of things. I’d frequently buy two copies of a comic book so that I’d have one to read and one to keep sealed in its wrapper so it would be worth money someday. Of course since EVERYONE did this, most of my things are now worthless since so many survived. Haha.

The Bee Gees collecting was more gradual, actually. It’s been 30 years, so it accumulated. But only in the past 10 years or so have I started going after some of the bigger ticket items. It is probably a combination of these items becoming available and me not bouncing around apartments as a bachelor in the city.

Did you focus on anything particular to start out, such as vinyl, CDs, posters, etc?

When I first started as a teen it was pretty much all vinyl at the flea markets. I was already going there for comic books and trading cards, so it was second nature for me to thumb through stacks of records looking for the Bee Gees. I pretty much had their whole catalog on beat up vinyl that I got for $.25 or $1 from dusty bins. I had a blue crate that went with me to my college dorm. And then over time I started getting better copies on CD to listen to more conveniently. But there’s nothing like the thrill of the hunt, the dedication it took to find stuff back then. If it wasn’t released recently, there’s little chance you could walk into a mall and find a copy. I remember visiting relatives in Philadelphia and going to a huge mall out there and finding a longbox High Civilization in a store. It was a magical moment. Still have the memory, still have the longbox.

How active are you when it comes to shopping for finds?

I keep an eye on auction sites, but I’ve slowed down considerably as of late. At one point I wanted to get every album on every form of media it was released, so some of them I have on vinyl record, cassette tape, and compact disc. A couple on 8 track, then I found out about reel-to-reel tapes and foreign releases. I had to bump the brakes on some of the unnecessary duplicates of things. Not only am I running out of space in my house, I’m running out of space on my credit cards. Haha.

Where is your go-to treasure hunting? Online, thrift shops, garage sales?

All of the above. Sometimes it bothers me how quickly and easily I can buy things online. But I still get that initial jolt of excitement when I find something newly listed, and then again too opening up the boxes in the mail.

Have you set limits for yourself timewise, moneywise, etc.?

I don’t. I should, but I don’t. My bank takes care of my limits.

What is your most prized item?

That’s like asking the Gibbs their favorite song, I can’t choose. Haha. I like the bizarrely rare stuff because of its uniqueness. Like one of the belt buckles that were given out by the Brothers to their team for Christmas in the 70s. I really value the still-in-package poster and marker set. I have a few things, like a Sing & Play, that I haven’t shared on my channel yet. I actually have something coming in the mail that I just bought over the weekend that I never thought I’d be able to obtain. I enjoy getting the records and CDs and things, but my favorites are the odds and ends that deserve to be behind glass.

What did you work hardest to get… whether it was difficult to find, had a bidding war for it, or even cost-wise?

I’m pretty vigilant. I’ve set alarms to wake myself up in the middle of the night to be there for the end of eBay auctions before. I only remember a couple times getting upset at myself for overpaying on something to win a bidding war. As a collector, I need to remove emotion from the transaction, but as a fan it’s hard to do that sometimes. That being said, I’ve seen some insane prices lately and I’m not cool with that. Haha. Nobody should be paying hundred and hundreds of dollars for some of these things like lunchboxes and necklaces. I got my necklace for $30 two years ago. It’s about keeping an eye out and making smart decisions.

What is still on your dream list?

There’s a couple of Maurice‘s cars trading around out there. Haha. Maybe a microphone or guitar or something. Gold records or awards? I don’t know.

Did you ever see the Bee Gees in concert?

Nope. One of my biggest regrets is not seeing the three of them perform live. Of course there wasn’t much opportunity by the time I was a fan in the 90s. Their Full Size tour was cancelled (April 1994, due to Barry‘s health.) I was a kid so it wasn’t realistic for me to get to any of the ONO (One Night Only) concerts. And of course I had no clue that I would only have a small handful of opportunities. We were all robbed of another two decades of magic, IMO.

Have you met any of the Bee Gees‘ family, and what about other fans?

Not at all, actually. Part of my story is being lonely and secluded as a Bee Gees fan as a straight male teen in the 1990s. My friends thought I was weird, I knew of no other fans and if anyone had much recognition it was my friends’ moms. Haha. And I was always having to apologize for their disco stigma and wanting people to appreciate them for their whole body of work. For a while there I made it my mission to unknowingly convert my friends into fans. It worked on a few of them, for others I’m sure it was annoying. Haha.

What does your family, friends and co-workers think of your Bee Gees obsession?

See above. I’m a weirdo. Luckily it’s awesome to be weird these days.

You recently aided the authors of Decades: The Bee Gees in the 1970s book by providing some photos of your collection. How did that come about?

I befriended Andrew Mon Hughes on some Facebook groups. I interviewed him for a non-Bee Gees podcast that I was working on at the time and we stayed in contact. When the 60s book (Decades: The Bee Gees in the 1960s) came out, I had them on my Bee Gees And Me Podcast to help them promote and to talk about the book. It was so great, for as much as made it on the show, the four of us talked twice as much more. Haha.

Andrew reached out to me because he knew I had some of the stuff they were looking to include in the book, but he also knew with my production background I would be able to get high resolution photographs at the correct angles. I had my studio lights and all-white background, took the photos and touched them up a little in photoshop removing the shadows or any glaring dust or glaring imperfections. It was a thrill to see some of my items in there. I hope they contact me for the 80s and 90s! I know I got some good stuff from those eras too! Haha.

Do you have interest in or collect any other things?

I’m trying to cut back, I really am. Haha. I have all my cards and comics still from when I was a kid. Got into action figures a good bit. Lots of Pittsburgh sports stuff, some pro wrestling stuff. Got back into trading cards recently thanks to my son’s discovery of Pokemon cards. But as my kids are getting older, I’m looking to liquidate much of my collections so they can start their own if they want to. Or use the basement for a video game room instead of boxes of my old junk. Plus my wife insists she doesn’t want to have to deal with it all after I’m dead, so I got to cash out before I cash out.

And now for a little thing I like to call Fast Five – Questions for Fun!!

Favorite food indulgence?
Fudge brownies, or some sort of cookie dough ice cream.

Favorite guilty pleasure?
The TV show Castle.

If you were a t-shirt, what color would you be and why?
Dark Heather – it’s the dark grey that has the speckles in it. Pretty much goes with any color pants, and virtually any print design on it works fine. And it’s not as hot to wear as black, and the speckles help with beard dandruff and/or dust and stains. PLUS any heathered shirt is a cotton/poly blend which makes the shirt much softer to wear and doesn’t wrinkle as badly as those thick 100% cotton shirts. (I used to work for a t-shirt company, so I know my stuff. Haha.)

Which superhero would you choose to be?
Superman

Define Happiness in one word?
Passion

Wow, thank you David, for sharing your thoughts with us! To see more of David’s amazing collection, be sure to check out his Instagram for Bee Gees and Me!! And all of his socials are all linked in the text of the Feature, as well as at the bottom of this page. From one Bee Gees collector to another, keep looking for those treasures!

As a footnote, David may not have officially met any of the Bee Gees, but he did have an encounter of types at one of Barry‘s performances while on the Mythology Tour! Check out this wonderful footage capturing David in the audience from behind, as he and Barry (up on the stage), exchange acknowledgements.

You can find David at…

Bee Gees and Me Linktree