Peoria/Bloomington, IL | Bloomington native spreads magic of music with old-school flare: With the music industry becoming almost exclusively digital, items like records can seem like a thing of the past. But one local man is bringing back the magic of music with the old-school flare. Bloomington native, John Anderson was 14-years old when he started to get into music. “The Police were my first favorite band probably when I was a kid,” he said. “I thought they were so cool.” While you can play music in different forms, Anderson says it’s records that truly bring the art form to life. For the past seven years, he says he’s been living out his dream as the owner of Reverberation Vinyl. “I get to listen to records all day. You know this is my second home basically,” said Anderson.
Cleveland, OH | Brooklyn-Based Label Will Open Record Store and Warehouse in Franklin Castle: When Miriam Linna, who previously lived in Ashtabula and Kent before launching the independent Norton Records with her late husband, Billy Miller, attended a private party at Franklin Castle last year, she was so bowled over by the local band Archie and the Bunkers that she signed them to her retro-minded label and released a single by the group. Hanging out in Cleveland and working with the talented organ/drums duo triggered a renewed interest in Northeast Ohio, and Linna has just announced that she’ll move the Norton Records warehouse from Brooklyn, New York, to the Screw Factory (the old Templar auto factory)…“We want to bring rock ‘n’ roll things we would typically do in New York to Franklin Castle,” says Linna. “And I really want to focus on things that are Cleveland centric and work with [the locally based vinyl pressing plant] Gotta Groove as well.”
Round Top, TX | Listen to records and watch the sunset at Texas’ chic new shipping container hotel: A unique new hotel has been created in Texas that sees recycled shipping containers being transformed into bohemian lodgings packed full of rustic charm. Complete with cosy furnishings such as hammocks and fire pits and offering guests undisturbed views of the state’s stunning sunsets, the rustic getaway is the perfect destination for travellers seeking some peace and quiet. Called Flophouze, the distinctive hotel is located in the town of Round Top, and was created by owner Matt White to showcase how salvaged items can be repurposed for everyday use…In place of televisions, each house has a record player with a handpicked vinyl collection, as well as stacks of books to keep visitors entertained.
The North Face is releasing two limited edition record bags. There’s one for 7”s and another for 12”s. Purveyor of fine outdoor garms The North Face has teased a new, limited edition collection of record bags on Instagram. Though little information can be found about the new range online yet, DJ KOCO a.k.a. SHIMOKITA shared previews of the two bags – a 7” size and a 12” size – on his social media, captured during a shoot inside Tokyo used vinyl HQ Record Station. Available at TNF’s Standard shops in Japan, each size is apparently limited to 300 pieces worldwide and will go on sale 15th June. Here’s hoping for a wider international release soon come.
Lost John Coltrane Recording From 1963 Will Be Released at Last: “Both Directions at Once: The Lost Album” was cut by the saxophonist’s classic quartet two years before “A Love Supreme.” Then it was stashed away. If you heard the John Coltrane Quartet live in the early-to-mid-1960s, you were at risk of having your entire understanding of performance rewired. This was a ground-shaking band, an almost physical being, bearing a promise that seemed to reach far beyond music. The quartet’s relationship to the studio, however, was something different. In the years leading up to “A Love Supreme,” his explosive 1965 magnum opus, Coltrane produced eight albums for Impulse! Records featuring the members of his so-called classic quartet — the bassist Jimmy Garrison, the drummer Elvin Jones and the pianist McCoy Tyner — but only two of those, “Coltrane” and “Crescent,” were earnest studio efforts aimed at distilling the band’s live ethic. But now that story needs a major footnote.
