Lansing, MI | Five Places A Hungry Music Fan Should Visit in Lansing, Michigan: Lansing is the capitol of Michigan, but to be honest, unless you have business here, Lansing isn’t what you would call a “destination vacation spot”…Maybe it is just me, but about the best thing you can do with a belly full of Mexican food and lime Jarritos is hit up a record store. Yes, they still exist, and if you have been paying attention at all, vinyl is hip as hell these days. I’ve hit Flat, Black & Circular (naming win!) in East Lansing each time I have been in town. I always ask Jon Howard for a Lansing band recommendation, and of course purchase one vinyl for the trip home. FB&C has been slinging records since 1977, so they know what’s up (Howard’s recommendations make up most of the included Spotify playlist). It is dusty, cramped, and basically everything you want in a record store.
Florence, KY | Music lovers are enjoying a resurgence of vinyl–enough to support 16 record stores in the region. ‘A better way to listen to music.’ Music fills the rooms of Morrow Audio Records. Musical notes spatter the carpet where shoppers peruse bins of albums, flipping between an array of musical tastes as the vibrant sounds of vinyl fill the air. Teens search for new releases while a 30-something man searches through the ’90s rock. It is a day like any other at the Florence record shop where shoppers have taken a renewed interest in the once-outdated musical format…According to Nielsen’s 2017 year-end music report, LPs accounted for 8.5 percent of album sales in the United States. When accounting for streaming and downloads of single tracks, that number drops to 2.5 percent of total music consumption. Still, vinyl sales are impacting the music market and are enough to keep no fewer than 16 record shops in business in the Cincinnati area.
Frederick, MD | Former rocker’s record store to re-open, after days of flooding in Frederick. The small store on East Patrick Street is expected to open within the next month, with damage now cleared from the basement location. …The store’s days were once thought to be numbered, after furious floodwaters swelled through Frederick for a week this month. Mud, debris and storm water ruined 4,000 records within the aisles of Vinyl Acres, creating an estimated $15,000 in lost merchandise. But because of a GoFundMe campaign and local media reports extending from Washington to Baltimore, Berberich said Thursday he would be able to keep his store open. “It’s basically saved my family,” Berberich said in an interview. “It saved me from going to work in some dreary job that I wouldn’t like, because I have to keep working.” The small store on East Patrick Street is expected to open within the next month, with damage now cleared from the basement location.
Columbia, MO | Vinyl record dealers maintain steady market: Jack Hilgeford still remembers his first vinyl album. It was 1973 when he became the proud owner of “Around the World with Three Dog Night.” “It was such a big thing when I was a kid, getting a record,” Hilgeford said. “You’d mow lawns and go buy a record the second you got paid.” Decades later, Hilgeford has a personal collection of more than 500 records. For the past six years, he’s been working as a records dealer at Midway Antique Mall in Columbia where he sells an average of 300 records each month. He works hard to keep his inventory high. This means purchasing entire collections of records and scouring online sites to find rare albums. “Some people come in and buy records because they’re true collectors,” said Hilgeford. “But more and more, I’m seeing young people come in and buy records. It’s not a nostalgia thing, so I think they’re just looking for a new way to listen to music.”
Elgin, IL | Down to Business: Living the dream by sharing records: What is the most popular service you provide? “Face-to-face interaction with our shoppers. We have at least a working knowledge of several genres of music that we can share. It’s a two-way street as I’ve learned countless tidbits from customers as well. It’s a great dynamic we share as music fans. Customers interact with each other, too, which is awesome. We special-order new vinyl releases for people and they are grateful to be able to order from a place like Rediscover rather than a faceless dot com”…“With the business a bit of a niche market, there can be some slow times. But hey, even that has a silver lining — we get to listen to records all day.”
Grand Junction, CO | Triple Play has been spinning records for 30 years: “Looking back, it’s short,” said Rock Cesario, owner of Triple Play Records. For 30 years, people have been heading to Triple Play Records in downtown Grand Junction. “Every Saturday, my dad and I would got to Roasted and get coffee, and then we’d go here,” said Emily Werman, a longtime customer. “We’d shop for records. Sometimes, most of the time, he’d treat me to a record.” It’s a place for more than collecting just records. It’s a place relationships have grown. “It’s how we bonded,” said Werman. “It’s really how we connected was listening to music together.” Since 1988, Triple Play has been doing things just a little different. “The record labels kind of decided there would be no more vinyl, and it was kind of like, I’ll show ’em,” said Rock. His son, Matthew, helps Rock run the store, bringing in a younger perspective.
