In rotation: 2/19/19

Missoula, MT | Rockin Rudy’s, a cornerstone of Montana music scene since 1982: The accessibility of listening to and buying music online is certainly different from the days when fans lined up to buy Elvis Presley records. Brick and mortar record stores have closed all over the country. But in Missoula there’s one shop that’s weathering the changes and even opening channels to music in new and old ways. It was a bitter cold Saturday when we visited Rockin Rudy’s. The wind chill hadn’t dissuaded customers from coming in. In her vintage platform tennis shoes, 13-year-old Amelia Mudd was doing what girls her age did years ago. She was buying a vinyl record.

South Cape, FL | Revolution Records: Owner’s dream becomes reality with opening of store in South Cape: One of the most familiar things Jason Handy remembers hearing from his parents is, “Why do you have to spend so much money on records?” From the time he turned 9 years old, he was always buying them. And for the past 30 years, the Englishman said the idea to open a store has, “been in the works in his mind.” About five weeks ago, that became a reality. “Now with vinyl coming back and being popular again and now being older and being able to afford to put money into the business as opposed to being a reckless 20-something, it made more sense now.” Some people say records went away, but Handy disagrees. “It didn’t really to the people that collected it. It didn’t actually go anywhere. It attracts a wide audience from 15 year olds to 75-80 year olds,” he said. “There’s no shoe that really fits. It’s all over the place and everyone can enjoy it.”

Augusta, GA | Pyramid Music: An Augusta Legacy: The journey begins in 1972 with Big G’s Platter Shop, at the time it only sold records. Noura Gordon says her mother wanted more for her culture. Two years later, Pyramid Music opened. “My mother started Pyramid Music, a lot of people thought my father did,” said Gordon. “She wanted to sell more cultural items. Pyramid Music started in 1974; it was a spin-off of Big G’s Platter Shop. The record store has been a staple in the Augusta area for more than 40 years. It’s been passed down to Noura who is continuing her parent’s legacy. “It couldn’t be a better job to talk to the everyday person about the music that is going to make them cry, laugh and bring back memories,” said Gordon. “I help people go through the soundtrack of their lives, and that’s a beautiful experience every day.” In a world where everything is becoming digitized, one customer told NewsChannel 6 reporter Devin Johnson, browsing through the store’s selection is like walking through memory lane.

Ankara, TR | Collectors of rare vinyl LPs find treasure trove in Turkey: While most millennials have never even laid eyes on a vinyl music record, many older collectors travel the world in search of rare albums. According to record sellers in Ankara, Turkey is a treasure trove of hard-to-find 45 and 78 RPM (rounds-per-minute) records, also known as LPs, from a range of musical genres. “Because Turkey, unlike the U.S. and Europe, hasn’t produced that many vinyl records, many of those that were made here are considered rare,” longtime collector Süleyman Özyıldırım told Anadolu Agency. Having grown up listening to vinyl records, Özyıldırım now owns and manages “Shades,” a shop in Ankara’s Cankaya district that sells cassettes, CDs and vinyl LPs, many of which are relatively hard to find. “Vinyl albums produced after the 1960s are especially coveted by collectors,” said Özyıldırım, 55, whose private collection of records numbers more than 50,000.

Newcastle, UK | Your guide to buying Vinyl Records in Newcastle: It’s taken us a while to write this piece. We don’t know about you but we’re still pretty torn up about the loss of The Edwards, in particular, the loss of the Edwards shop. The question we’re still asking ourselves is… but where do we get our records from? We’ve put together a list of our hot hits and where to get your vinyl fix: The Mosh Pit – Cardiff: Established in 2012 this independent record store fills a big giant hole in all of our hearts. Stocking both new and used vinyl, it’s a pretty bloody great place to get your hands on some tunes. They also stock a great selected of CDs and tapes if that’s the kind of thing you fancy too…

Twickenham, UK | Twickenham record shop launches music label: A Twickenham record shop is embarking on a new venture, by launching a new label. Eel Pie Records have launched Eel Pie Records: The Label. The first release, Buffalo Blood, comes out tomorrow (February 15). Buffalo Blood, the album, was born in the heart of the New Mexico desert, recorded on location at La Plaza Blanca, Echo Canyon, and around Georgia O’Keeffe’s Ghost Ranch in Abiquiu; where Breaking Bad was filmed. The songs and music of Buffalo Blood are the musicians’ response to the area where it was recorded: of living and working in the place. Eel Pie Records co-owners Phil Penman and Kevin Jones first began working together to promote live events in Twickenham for artists on Penman’s former label. Putting on live music together was a key stage on their road to opening a record shop. Both being Twickenham residents, they are dedicated to keeping the town’s historic spirit as a hive of music alive.

Newark, DE | Record store-cafe coming to Newark: The Long Play Caféis slated to open in the spring in a portion of the former Fusion Fitness site at 280 E. Main Street. The business’ website said Long Play will serve as a meeting place, with simple dining fare. A lease was signed for the fusion space late this year, with a collection of thousands of records last year. Fusion closed in December after more than a dozen years as a fitness center and organizer of running events in the Newark area. Owner Nic De Caire is expected to focus on the event side of his business, the Newark Post reported. The café is the latest sign of a revival for vinyl records, which have become popular with millennials as well as baby boomers who stuck with their record collections. Over the decades, there have been periods where LPs have seen a revival, with specialty stores opening and closing. Independent music stores have also stuck around in college towns like Newark and big cities.

UK | In a spin: Brexit spells trouble for UK vinyl industry. For vinyl lovers the act of placing the needle on a record and anticipating the crackle before the first bars ring out is a sensory and sensual thrill. A no-deal Brexit could nip that in the (ear)bud. Rob Mudge reports. “I see you’ve sent my letters back, And my LP records and they’re all scratched.” So sang The Police on their track “Can’t stand losing you” — or should that be EU? In the context of Brexit and a possible no deal, it may be more than a surface scratch for vinyl in terms of sales and exports from the UK to the EU and vice versa. A decade ago, vinyl was essentially on its deathbed. The industry and consumers had embraced the CD as their format of choice. In 2007, a paltry 205,000 units were shifted, picked up mostly by analogue-craving aficionados who were in a, er, spin about music going digital. Fast forward to today and vinyl sales in the UK have increased twentyfold

Yoko Ono and John Lennon’s Wedding Album Reissue Announced. The couple’s third collaborative LP is getting re-released in March, 50 years after their marriage. Today, on her 86th birthday, Yoko Ono has announced a reissue of Wedding Album, her 1969 collaborative LP with John Lennon. It’s due out on March 22 via Secretly Canadian and Chimera Music. The release date falls fifty years after John and Yoko’s marriage, which took place on March 20, 1969 in Gibraltar. It’s part of the labels’ ongoing Yoko Ono Reissue Project, a series launched in 2016 that aims to remaster and reissue all eleven of Ono’s recorded works. Originally released in 1969, Wedding Album marked the couple’s third collaborative LP, and came in a box filled with mementos from John and Yoko’s nuptials, including photographs, drawings by Lennon and Ono, a copy of their marriage certificate, a picture of a piece of wedding cake, and more. Secretly Canadian and Chimera Music have recreated these details, and will reissue the LP in limited-edition white vinyl, CD, and digital formats.

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