VIA PRESS RELEASE | Three-time Grammy winner Tom Chapin and his daughters Abigail and Lily, aka the Chapin Sisters, offer 30 minutes’ worth of kid-friendly music with Mornings with Papa Tom Chapin and the Chapin Sisters. The show streams daily weekday mornings at 11:00AM EDST on Facebook and Instagram. All episodes are archived on YouTube.
Quarantined together in the elder Chapin’s Hudson Valley home, the three Chapins stream live from his living room, performing songs from Tom’s thirteen classic albums of Children’s Music as well as classics from the American Folk Music canon. The show provides lighthearted but intelligent entertainment for all generations, a perfect opportunity for families to gather and enjoy each other’s company.
Abigail and Lily both have four-year old daughters, home from pre-school and too young to be occupied by Zoom School, Google Classroom and so on and they have many friends in the same boat. “We saw a need for some entertainment for kids their age and older, engaging kids along with their parents. At first we thought this would be for a week or two, but we are kept motivated by the daily responses and requests. We’ve been asking people to share the names of loved ones who are Essential Workers, and we thank them live by name every day.”
“I wanted to keep busy,” adds Tom, “and share these songs that I’ve written with my amazing collaborators over the last 30 years. I’ve been a working touring musician for more than half a century, and being stuck at home is uncharted territory, but as always the music and a chance to sing with my daughters keeps me sane, healthy and happy.”
Williamsville, NY | Williamsville record store owner: ‘Who knew keeping vinyl alive would be so hard?’ Things were looking good for Joe Igielinski and his fledgling independent record store, Hi-Fi Hits, since the store opened its doors in August 2019. A veteran of the Record Theatre chain, Igielinski had wisely purchased much of the remaining inventory when those stores closed for good in 2017, in anticipation of going it alone. After securing some prime storefront real estate on Main Street in Williamsville, he immediately set to putting his several decades of experience to good use. By the winter holidays, he’d built up a considerable inventory, plastered the place with posters, added memorabilia and rock T-shirts to the mix and organized a steady stream of trade-ins, both of used vinyl and CDs. Soon after, Igielinski installed an Iron Maiden pinball machine, built a small stage, and secured a license to serve beer and wine from a small bar area in the rear of the store. Igielinski had all his ducks in a row. But the coronavirus pandemic 
London, UK | Paul Quirk, ‘Prime Mover’ Behind Record Store Day UK, Dies at 71: Tributes have been paid to former Entertainment Retailers Association (ERA) chairman Paul Quirk, who has died at age 71 following a short battle with cancer. Quirk was chairman of ERA over three separate periods, beginning in 2007. His longest continuous reign at the helm of the trade group, which represents U.K. retailers of music, video, DVD and computer games, was from 2009 to 2014. Following a year off, he returned to the organization in 2016 when he served as co-chairman for a year. Alongside Spencer Hickman and Steve Redmond, Quirk is credited as one of the main drivers behind the launch of Record Store Day (RSD) in the U.K., which took place for the first time in 2008. Paying tribute, ERA CEO Kim Bayley said the British music retail sector owed a heavy debt to Quirk. “Not only was he a strong and passionate voice for music retailers for more than three decades, he was the longest-serving chairman of ERA itself, a prime mover behind Record Store Day in the U.K. and a mentor to countless people across the industry,” said Bayley. “He will be missed right across the business for his enthusiasm, humour and 
UK / AU | Australia’s indie record stores celebrated in interactive map: The small retailers are currently doing it rough. Australia’s independent record stores have been highlighted in an interactive map as part of a larger campaign to support the industry amid the coronavirus pandemic. The online map is hosted by Beggars Group, which owns labels 4AD, Matador, XL, Rough Trade and Young Turks. Users are able to filter between stores by those that deliver locally, offer pickup services and mail out orders. Stores are listed for all states and territories with the exception of Northern Territory. View the map 
Lansing, MI | Record Lounge opens online shop to stay afloat during COVID-19 outbreak: Heather Frarey, owner of the vintage Reo Town vinyl store The Record Lounge, is staying home these days. One of her customer’s sons built her a website so she could keep up an online storefront during the coronavirus outbreak. She said that she received three orders right when the site went live. “He needed some credit because he’s going to computer engineering school, so he said he’d make a website for me,” said Frarey. The Record Lounge also posts new inventory on their Facebook, Instagram and Twitter pages. She’s still ordering new records from distributors two times a week. Frarey said that, since the state went on lockdown, most folks have preferred to order their records through the mail, though she does still offer delivery for local orders. “You know, people are scared,” she explained. Regulars have still been messaging Frarey on Facebook, asking her questions like if the new Pearl Jam is available to buy. Frarey has been trying to get all of the new releases online, but the used records aren’t there quite yet. She emphasized that if someone wants a particular record — new or old — 
Nashville, TN | How Taylor Swift Is Helping a Small Nashville Record Store Survive: “This assistance from Ms. Swift helps give us a real shot at coming back on the other side of this,” Grimey’s co-owner Doyle Davis says. Like most small businesses that have had to shut down or alter their operations during the coronavirus pandemic, record stores have been forced to completely change the way they operate. Over the past two weeks, Nashville retailer Grimey’s New & Preloved Music, for example, has had to send its employees home after the city’s mayor issued a stay-at-home order. This week, though, they got 
This new turntable can cut vinyl records: “I hope people will use this machine to create records with their own music or voices.” A new turntable called the Easy Record Maker cuts vinyl records, which can then be played on it. Designed by Yuri Suzuki in collaboration with Japanese company Gakken, the Easy Record Maker comes with 10 5″ inch discs. An audio source can be connected via its aux cable, from which you can “engrave sound directly from the recording stylus,” Suzuki shared. Once cut, you can instantly play the recording the device’s tonearm and built-in speaker, as well as design your own labels and sleeves. “I wanted to create a machine that makes it easy and cheap to create your own bespoke record without pressing a whole batch,” explains Suzuki. “Recording your voice message or your music onto vinyl and sending it to someone 
UK | Coronavirus: Paul Weller encourages music lovers to help local record stores get out of The Jam of lockdown: Record store owners in Tayside have welcomed a campaign by Paul Weller calling on music lovers to support their local shops while the country is on lockdown. The former frontman of The Jam has launched the Love Record Stores initiative, which encourages people to use their local shops’ online shopping services to keep them afloat. It comes as Record Store Day, the busiest single day in the independent music retail calendar, has been postponed from April until June. Keith Ingram — owner of Assai, on Union Street — closed on March 21 but the business is still operating through its website and online marketplaces such as eBay and Amazon until the outbreak is over. Mr Ingram said: “Record Store Day would typically give us something to work towards at a time when there isn’t usually as many big releases, although this year there are new albums from Pearl Jam and Dua Lipa. “It’s great what Paul Weller is doing. He’s always been 
Sacramento, CA | 15 Minutes: Augie Maravilla, owner of Rocket Records: It’s safe to say nearly every music lover has dreamed of owning a record store. Rocket Records opened three years ago in a low-visibility storefront in West Sacramento, but owner Augie Maravilla’s recent move to Midtown has led to increased foot traffic, growing his base of already-loyal customers. SN&R talked to Maravilla about movie scores, Mexican music and record labels. “I think every store has its own flavor, and every store will cater to their clientele in some way. In some stores it’s metal and punk … there are some that are more into jazz. I’m kind of all over the place because that’s the record stores that I grew up with and because 
