Springfield, IL | Dumb Records announces move to Monroe Street: Black Sheep Cafe, one of the nation’s longest-running venues for all-ages shows, and Dumb Records, an independent record store, are moving from Springfield’s South Town area to the heart of the city’s downtown. The relocated operation at 416 and 418 E. Monroe St. will be known as Dumb Records, shearing the Black Sheep name. The move that was teased in a Facebook posting on Thanksgiving Day was confirmed Thursday at www.blacksheepspringfield.com. There is no opening date yet for the new space. The record store, currently at 1107 South Grand Ave. E., closes on Sunday…Brian Galecki, the sole owner of Dumb Records and one of four owners of Black Sheep, admitted he was initially”dragging his feet” about the move but said opportunities abound for the operation. “Moving to Monroe Street feels good,” he said Thursday. “We’re going to be right in the middle of downtown, and it’s exciting. It’s important for us to get our foot in the door downtown.
Howell, NJ | The Record Store in Howell is closing after 30 years in business: It’s the end of an era as The Record Store in Howell plans to close their doors at the end of January. It may come as a surprise that lack of business isn’t the reason for the closure of the Route 9 fixture. Jeff Laga, the owner of The Record Store, says that he’s simply “not interested in the business.” It’s sad because in this digital world we live in, The Record Store is a place you can go to discover and reminisce in a way you can’t while sitting in front of a computer. Many local music lovers are bummed by this news. If there’s ever been a time to get to The Record Store, it’s now. According to APP, most items are 20 percent off and that includes CDs, toys, books, and more. An official “Going Out of Business Sale” will start on Jan. 1. As far as the iconic cassette tape sign on top of The Record Store, the owner says on Facebook it’s something that would be great to save, but it’s going to be a difficult task.
Las Vegas, NV | On The Record unleashes ‘startenders’ program on Las Vegas Strip: On The Record is helping usher in a new era in beverage distribution. If it takes hold, those who sling drinks might find themselves on the side of Strip hotels, alongside such DJ headliners as Tiesto, The Chainsmokers and Calvin Harris. OTR, Houston Hospitality’s new speakeasy and nightclub at the Park MGM, is presenting a bartender-in-residency program, in the same tenor of DJ residencies in nightclubs on and off the Strip. Yes, these are the top cocktail creators and personalities in the beverage universe. These tenders of bar are to be featured at On The Record’s Vinyl Parlor as the club opens Dec. 28 with Lady Gaga’s official after-party celebrating her opening at Park Theater. Just announced is comic rap star Lil Dicky the as club’s New Year’s Eve headliner.
Cratediggers And Fashion-Heads Alike Will Find Something To Wear In Record Store Day Tees’ Interactive Online Shop! …Each Record Store Tee is fully-licensed and printed on high quality, premium shirts (men’s and women’s cuts available), featuring dynamic and colorful designs, with both vintage and modern record store iconography. Proceeds from each sale go directly back to the record stores, plants and businesses featured. Shirts are available individually, or better yet, as part of a subscription service, which allows you to customize shirts to your liking. Nearly two dozen designs are available right now, from beloved shops like Music Millennium, Anthony Able’s Record Shop, Darkside Records and Gallery, The Sound Garden, Dimple Records, Easy Street, Zia Records, Graywhale, Josey Records, Schoolkids, Twist & Shout, Electric Fetus, Vintage Vinyl, as well as Bong Load Records, Kindercore Vinyl and Furnace Record Pressing (whose logo was designed by Shepard Fairey) and the team at Record Store Tees is adding new designs monthly.
Virtual Garage Sales for Used Digital Music Are Barred by Court: Purchasers of digital music files from services such as Apple Inc.’s iTunes cannot resell them through a virtual marketplace, an appeals court said in a ruling that recalls an era dominated by vinyl records and CDs before streaming services reshaped the music industry. The decision, issued Wednesday, affirms a district court’s ruling that such sales infringe the exclusive rights of copyright holders. A virtual marketplace designed to resell digital music files as if they were secondhand albums runs afoul of copyright law, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled in a victory for record labels…The appeals court said that the transfers created duplicate copies of the music files and so were not allowed under U.S. law. Any change to develop rules for secondhand sales of digital files would be up to Congress, the court ruled in the closely watched case.
How stereo was first sold to a skeptical public: When we hear the word “stereo” today, we might simply think of a sound system, as in “turn on the stereo.” But stereo actually is a specific technology, like video streaming or the latest expresso maker. Sixty years ago, it was introduced for the first time. Whenever a new technology comes along – whether it’s Bluetooth, high-definition TV or Wi-Fi – it needs to be explained, packaged and promoted to customers who are happy with their current products. Stereo was no different. As we explore in our recent book, “Designed for Hi-Fi Living: The Vinyl LP in Midcentury America,” stereo needed to be sold to skeptical consumers. This process involved capturing the attention of a public fascinated by space-age technology using cutting-edge graphic design, in-store sound trials and special stereo demonstration records.
Jonny Greenwood’s score for ‘There Will Be Blood’ is getting its first ever vinyl release: Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood‘s acclaimed score for the 2007 movie ‘There Will Be Blood’ is getting its first ever release on vinyl. The music, which was nominated for a Grammy award in 2008, will be available via Nonesuch Records on January 18. The first ever LP release of the soundtrack will include bonus tracks ‘Proven Lands (Intro.)’ and ‘De-Tuned Quartet’.It was the first of a series of collaborations between Greenwood and Director Paul Thomas Anderson. The Radiohead man went on to produce music for Anderson’s ‘The Master’ (2012), ‘Inherent Vice’ (2014) and ‘Phantom Thread’ (2017). Greenwood took the score on tour with him across the UK in 2017 for a series of live performances. During the promotion for the film, Yorke told BBC Radio 1 that he was “jealous” of Greenwood’s ability when it came to writing music for film. “Jonny’s just so far ahead – he understands orchestration works, he can read music, he’s studied it all. I mean, he sits there studying scores,” he told DJ Phil Taggart.
Dark Horse Launches its Own Record Label, Dark Horse Coffee Records: Passions for music tend to run deeper in coffee shops than they do in most workplaces. San Diego’s Dark Horse Coffee Roasters, founded by musician and audio engineer Bryan Charlson, has always worn its music lust on its sleeve, literally. Its merch section includes a variety of t-shirts that ape the covers of records by such bands as The Clash, the Adolescents and the Descendents, among other music, TV and sports figures. Now the roasting company has taken that passion across the line from idolatry to actuality with a new, complementary sub-brand and product line: Dark Horse Coffee Records, an all-vinyl record label that will publish and sell fresh LPs of music by local bands. “There are a lot of musicians at Dark Horse, and in the coffee industry in general,” Charlson recently told Daily Coffee News. “I love making music as much as we love coffee.”
Treat yourself – or someone else – to icons on vinyl: If you were like me, you were too young or too poor gather the complete output of your favorite artists on vinyl in the ’80s and ’90s. Thankfully, we don’t have to go searching for rare or out-of-print LPs anymore. Record companies know what we want and have put so many coveted discs back on wax and bundled them. Buy these sets for your loved ones or buy them for yourself, you deserve it.
