TURNING LEMONS INTO CHAMPAGNE

When does collecting become something more than just having too much shit? Before you run out to ask a collector of vinyl from Urban Outfitters, mind this— imagine everything you collect is a piece of history, a moment frozen in time that will be referred back to for all eternity. So while some might have called Michael Och’s collection of old photos a junk pile, he had the last laugh. And thank God for him.

If the name Ochs rings a bell, it’s because Michael grew up with an older brother named Phil Ochs—the late-’60s/’70s folk singer associated so closely with the counterculture and antiwar movements of the time. The music bug ran through Michael’s veins as well, but he pursued it in different ways, getting his big break one day due to the absentmindedness of another. “After graduating from OSU in 1966 I headed out for western skies, ending up in L.A.,” recalls Ochs. “I had no idea what I’d do for a living, till one night I went to a concert, and when the official photographer didn’t show up, I was offered $50 to shoot the concert. Realizing I could make a living shooting rock ’n’ roll, I immediately had biz cards made up and started hustling.’’