Author Archives: TVD HQ

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.

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Honolulu, HI | The world’s best record shops #135: Hungry Ear Records, Hawaii: …Hungry Ear’s racks boast collections of rare reggae and rock classics (the huge Beatles mural that covers the back wall of the store may give that away), but their bread and butter is Hawaiian and local music: from disco by Nohelani Cypriano to smooth, jazz-tinged grooves from Momi Riley. To Yamashita, this is music he wants to hand down to another generation. “I remember the days when a record store was not only a repository of great music, but also a place where you could meet like-minded people and hang out,” Yamashita says. “A lot of kids aren’t on a professional path and I’d love to give them the tools to integrate into the world outside school, friends and parents, without feeling they have to lose themselves. We’d love it if kids rediscovered the pleasure of spending afternoons after school at our store.”

Racine, WI | Records live here: Longshot Vinyl Lounge opens in Downtown Racine: To Jada Pfarr, those ones and zeros of digitized music cannot compete with good old long-play vinyl records. Now, the Kenosha woman has turned that love of records into a new Downtown Racine store, Longshot Vinyl Lounge, at 324 Sixth St. “I’m a record collector, and my husband is a record collector,” Jada said Monday. “This is what we would be doing on Friday night: putting on records and looking through all the stuff, and we love to record-shop. “And we — especially me — just don’t like record shops,” she said. “They’re dusty; there’s a million records. You have to spend hours of time.” With one particular Milwaukee record store in mind, Pfarr continued: “There’s nowhere to sit down, there’s no bathroom — not a public bathroom, anyway. They have live acts, but it’s cramped, it’s small. They have DVDs; they have all this other stuff in there.” Jada owns the business but said that she and her husband, Jeff, “just kind of came up with the concept of: Let’s make a record store that you’d hang out in…”

Berlin, DE | Berliner Meister Schallplatten direct to disc recording: The Berlin-based Label Berliner Meister Schallplatten is producing live recorded vinyl using Direct-to-Disc methods. Up until the 1950s, most recordings were made direct to vinyl but, with the emergence of new technology, direct-to-disc became marginalised until it nearly vanished from professional recording practices. In 2012 sound engineers Stephan Flock and Rainer Maillard founded the Label Berliner Meister Schallplatten. They made a name for themselves thanks to their bespoke methods of recording and producing an unmistakable quality for the artists they represent. When the opportunity came up to buy a lathe cutter that was destined for destruction, they had a vision not only to preserve the knowledge and the technical know-how but also to establish a new tradition of professional direct-to-disc recording.

Michelle Obama Talks Stevie Wonder, Jackson 5 and Other Childhood Music Memories With Questlove: …Discussing her earliest albums, Obama recalled the first record she received as a gift was Stevie Wonder’s Talking Book, which she was actually given twice one Christmas. “That’s how good an album it was,” she said in a clip premiering exclusively with Billboard. One copy came from her parents and the other from her maternal grandfather, Southside, who she described as the “musical core of our family.” That version included the lyrics in braille, which she studied while she listened to the music, hoping to better understand the artist behind it all…That was the first album she ever owned as a child. But as music fans know, there’s a big difference between the first album you ever received and the first one you bought for yourself. Those early purchases were reserved for the Jackson 5, whose “ABC” and “The Love You Save” she bought on 45 RPM single vinyl records and mostly only played in her bedroom, dancing and singing along.

Vinyl Edition Of Queen’s ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ Film Soundtrack Coming In February. The film soundtrack is already becoming one of the band’s fastest-selling albums throughout the world. Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody film soundtrack is set to be released as a 2-LP set on 8 February. The 22-song soundtrack album, produced by Brian May and Roger Taylor, features the first-ever release of audio tracks from Queen’s legendary performance at Live Aid as well as other rare live tracks and their biggest hits. Rolling Stone hailed it as “more than just a greatest hits,” praising it as, “a fun imaginative way to relive the band’s genius.” The Bohemian Rhapsody film soundtrack will come as a vinyl double album specially cut at Abbey Road Studios. Continuing the celebration of Queen’s iconic music, a special picture disc edition of the album, as well as a 7” single featuring the original ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’/‘I’m In Love With My Car’ pairing, will also be released on Record Store Day, 13 April 2019. While not featured in the film, ‘I’m In Love With My Car’ is joke-referenced several times in the film. Now the track gets its moment.

Baltimore, MD | True Vine owner says he is being forced out by Golden West: The True Vine Record Shop, a Hampden-based record store that has been recognized as one of the nation’s best for its eclectic offerings and shelf space for experimental genres, says it is being forced out of its Hickory Avenue storefront by an unlikely foe: the Golden West Cafe, a funky Tex-Mex restaurant around the corner, on W. 36th Street. True Vine posted the news on its Instagram account Sunday, saying the popular Hampden eatery bought the shop’s sublet lease and plans to use the space as part of an expansion. As Baltimore Fishbowl reported last month, Golden West has taken on a new investor to start a vegan-focused bakery and open other Golden West locations, as well as expand its current footprint to include an events room and a space for live performances. “We cannot stay because golden west’s new investors do not find us to be a financially lucrative business compared to what they envision as financially lucrative, which is an extension of golden west,” the post from True Vine said.

Columbus, OH | Craft & Vinyl offers records, beer, live music in one-stop shop: At Craft & Vinyl, the name says it all. After only three months in business at 1806 W. Fifth Ave., Columbus, between Grandview Heights and Upper Arlington, the store is making a splash as a haven for fans of records, craft-beer aficionados and songwriters. “It’s built to look like an art gallery,” said owner Troy Stacy. This description holds true at the vibrant new shop. Upon entering Craft & Vinyl, one sees a record store that pays homage to the days of classic rock and metal. The walls are crowded with concert posters — all of which are for sale — designed by renowned poster artist Mike Martin. The record shelves are stocked with the likes of everything from Iron Maiden to Jimi Hendrix. Customers also are greeted by a bar that boasts local craft-beer selections and that feels conducive to the environment Stacy seeks to promote.

Harrisburg, PA | Mr. Mike’s Record Store going out of business: The end of an era is approaching for a downtown Harrisburg record shop. Mr. Mike’s Record Store will be closing its doors after nearly 33 years. Michael Albert opened his business on South Third Street in 1986. Over the years, the shop specialized in R&B and rap, but Albert was known for getting records or tapes from his distributor that weren’t available at other record stores in the city. Albert also promoted live concerts at the Forum and other city venues, and he hosted autograph sessions in his store that included some of the biggest names in the business, including MC Hammer, Kid ‘n Play, and the Fresh Prince, Will Smith. Albert says close at the end of the month was a difficult decision. “It is the toughest decision I made,” he said. “These last two years, I didn’t make any money and I had to dig into my own pocket to keep the store open.”

Vinyl Collecting 101: Properly Maintaining Your Wax: If you are reading this, you probably have a new-found or existing respect for vinyl records and all that they have to offer. Truly, vinyl is making huge strides in renewed popularity, partly because of a format that allows listeners to enjoy an emotional connection with the experience of listening to warm sounds generated by oversized discs housed in colorful covers. While the appeal of owning a vinyl collection, large or small, varies in importance according to the collector, the methods for buying, transporting, playing, and storing are relatively set in stone. Keep reading to learn more about how to preserve your music collection for many years…Checking the condition of a vinyl record begins by carefully taking it out of the cover and visually inspecting it. While dust is to be expected, ground-in dirt is not. Use these tips to avoid problems…

The Prince Estate in Partnership with Legacy Recordings Announce First Wave of Physical Titles (CD/Vinyl) in Definitive Catalog Rerelease Project: The Prince Estate and Legacy Recordings, a division of Sony Music Entertainment, are pleased to announce the first round of physical titles set for release as part of the ongoing and definitive Prince catalog project first announced in August. Three essential full-length Prince albums, Musicology, 3121 and Planet Earth, will be available on CD and – for the first time ever – on vinyl beginning Friday, February 8, 2019. Each of the vinyl titles will be pressed on highly collectible, limited edition purple vinyl. In addition, the albums will be available in both CD/LP form alongside new exclusive merchandise corresponding to each album era via the Official Prince Store.

Albany, NY | After 70 Years, Blue Note Record Shop Still Going Strong: Blue Note Record Shop has been in the community for 70 years. Located at 156 Central Avenue in Albany, the music store specializes in vinyl and sells modern albums too. Blue Note was founded by the current owner’s parents, and he says generations of families make their way down to the store as a tradition. The business booms even more during the holidays thanks to iconic Christmas bops that are still alive today. Owner Biff Pock says there’s no coincidence sales are higher during the holidays. He says listening to classics is even better on vinyl. “That’s what mostly what the holidays are about. You know, being with your family, reminisce about the wonderful memories, and enjoying the holiday spirit. And that’s the beauty of vinyl. And it becomes a wonderful memory,” said Pock.

Essex, UK | This vinyl shop stocks one of the largest vegan wine selections in the UK: A couple has opened a vinyl record and organic, biodynamic vegan wine shop in Manningtree, Essex. The shop, appropriately named Winyl, is the brainchild of duo Whilmari Swift and Steve Tattam. Local news source East Anglian Daily Times reports that Tattam has more than 20 years experience selling vinyl, starting back in the late ’80s, when he worked for Virgin Megastore. Tattam eventually moved on, but said that the resurgence of vinyl prompted him to consider other career options. According to a report released by global data firm Nielsen last year, record sales have been on the rise for 12 consecutive years, with vinyl representing 14 percent of all physical album sales last year…Why unite records with vegan wine? Last September, Swift told the Harwich and Manningtree Standard that both are a passion of her husband’s.

Juneau, AK | Hit records: Vinyl shop sells out fast: Pop-up shop draws record-hungry crowd. The tartan tarp in the Alaskan Brewing Co. tasting room might as well have been a matador’s cape. Once it was lifted, a stampede started toward the boxes of records present for KXLL’s Pop-Up Record Shop Thursday evening. “When we started, we’d have eight boxes, and there’d be people throwing elbows,” said Annie Bartholomew, program director for KXLL. For the most recent shop, Thursday, Dec. 6, there were multiple rows of boxes and plenty of space in the new tasting room, although vinyl vultures made their passes through the wares in tight clusters. McLean Steadman was one of the collectors on hand before the shop opened. He’s been collecting records for about 20 years, he said. Most recently he came into record-playing equipment when a friend upgraded what they had and old gear found its way to Steadman.

Trinidad and Tobago | Cleve’s music store owner dies at 72: Cleve Calderon, founder of Cleve’s One Stop Music Shop, has died. Calderon, 72, started working in the music business at his cousin’s shop, Rhyner’s Record Shop at age 11. In 1994 he opened Cleve’s after giving up a career as DJ Nutcracker 2000. Since then, the popular music store continued to be the go-to place for music lovers to get local and international CDs and used records. The store remains operational on Frederick Street, Port of Spain. Calderon’s daughter, Krisann Calderon, told Sunday Newsday her father was ill and in and out of hospital for about a month before he died at the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex, Mt Hope on Friday at 3.30 pm. She said he and his family were prepared for the inevitable. “He was a very simple person. You tell him this is what it is and he just accept it for what it was. He was at peace.”

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Harrisburg, PA | ‘I’m just a guy who owns a record store.’ Mike ‘Mr. Mike’ Albert remembers 33 years in business: The secret to a good pop song, as anyone who’s ever fallen in love during the three minutes and thirty-four seconds it takes to get from triumphant beginning to the often melancholic end, is the beauty of the memory it holds. Births. Deaths. First loves. Break-ups. First cars. First jobs. First and second marriages. The pop song, disposable by design, becomes something more permanent: A soundtrack for our lives. As he looks around the store he’s operated in various spots on South Third Street for 33 years, Mike Albert hears echoes in every corner. The friends he’s made. The musical legends he’s met. And, perhaps, most of all, the usual Saturday morning crew of regulars who have given shape to his days. But on Dec. 29. the needle will run out on the groove, as Albert, owner of Mr. Mike’s Records, puts the key in the door a final time.

Fort Worth, TX | Christmas Wax: Fort Worth suddenly has a glut of record stores for your holiday-buying needs. “Do people still buy records?” This is a question I’ve heard asked by Boomer dads at Off the Record (the Near Southside record store/watering hole where I tend bar on Sundays), and I think it’s an odd thing to ask when, in plain sight, directly opposite the bathrooms, there’s a shelf about 2 feet deep, 4 feet high, and 15 feet long stocked with vinyl albums festooned with price tags… As of December 5, 2018, Fort Worth proper has five stores dedicated to selling vinyl records, and that’s not even counting Truth Vinyl and Growler Records in Arlington, Vintage Freaks in Bedford, Forever Young in Grand Prairie, the three Half-Price Books locations in Tarrant County, nor Record Town on South Main Street, which mostly sells CDs. Since the holiday shopping season lies upon us like a cheerful, pine-scented fog, what follows is a rundown of Fort Worth’s record stores, should a vinylphilic music fan be on your list of gift recipients.

Boulder, CO | Absolute Vinyl hopes to find groove in Longmont: Shop is city’s second old-school record store. An oversized cut out of “Aladdin Sane”-era David Bowie peaked out from behind a dozen or so boxes of vinyl records marked “Bluegrass, Country & Americana. Ambient & Electronic and Hip Hop A-K” inside a downtown Longmont storefront Tuesday afternoon. Mr. Bowie awaited his place on the walls inside Doug Gaddy’s most recent incarnation of Absolute Vinyl Records & Stereo, opening a mere eight months after he shuttered his Boulder location that served vinyl fans for nearly a decade. At the time, it seemed Gaddy was making a permanent exit from the realm of the brick-and-mortar record shop, a rarity in this age of online retail. The closure left Boulder with only two record stores, Bart’s Records and Albums on the Hill. When Absolute Vinyl opens on Friday, Longmont will become a two record shop town. The other shop is Recycled Records LP.

The Ruts’ Debut Album ‘The Crack’ Set For 40th Anniversary Vinyl Reissue In February: The legendary punk album’s new edition was remastered at Turan Audio and cut to vinyl at Abbey Road Studios. Trailblazing West London punks The Ruts’ legendary 1979 debut album The Crack has been remastered and is set for reissue on vinyl via Virgin/EMI/UMC on 8 February 2019. The album’s new edition was remastered by Tim Turan at Turan Audio and cut to vinyl at Abbey Road Studios. Released in September of 1979, the band’s one and only studio album The Crack was an extraordinary statement of intent. As the energy and attitude of punks first wave started to dissipate, here was a band that exploded onto the scene with everything to offer. The Crack includes twelve power-packed songs brimming with invention and energy and it featured an outstanding run of hit singles – ‘Babylon’s Burning’, ‘Something That I Said’ and ‘Jah War’ – alongside some of the best adrenalized rock music to emerge in that decade’s closing.

‘Dawn to Dusk’ Music Playlist #28 – White Label Records’ co-founder Darren Tan: Discover the permanent record chart by this vinyl maestro. Every Wednesday we ask a creative, artisan, or musician to share what music gets them going from dawn to dusk. This week, Darren Tan—co-founder of e-commerce music platform#vinyloftheday and the recently-opened White Label Records at Ann Siang House (together with Kurt Loy)—name his mood fixers for an entire day. So you’ve heard Loy’s picks last week. Dig it? You may like Tan’s choices too. After all, the duo has a matching frequency in music. As a fellow DJ and vinyl buff, Tan dedicated his time to celebrate vinyl culture through audio-visual online project #vinyloftheday. “Vinyl records attach more ‘sentimental’ value to music than digital formats such as MP3”, Tan expressed. “More fans in their late teens getting into vinyl because a lot of popular indie bands nowadays are putting out their releases on vinyl.”