Washington, DC | Skip Groff, record store owner who presided over a D.C. punk paradise, dies at 70: “…Sometimes you go into a record store, and the person behind the counter makes you feel like you have trespassed,” said MacKaye, who co-founded Dischord Records and led bands including Minor Threat and Fugazi. “And sometimes the owner, or the person behind the counter, makes you feel like he was wondering what took you so long. I put Skip in the latter.” Mr. Groff maintained a wide selection of country and western rarities, rock and new-wave classics, obscure metal singles from Britain and Canada, and a smattering of Top 40 hits. He had initially planned to specialize in late-’60s rock and psychedelia, but his focus shifted with the rise of punk rock in England, which Mr. Groff visited several times each year to buy records. “When you start selling 15 to 20 Buzzcocks or X-Ray Spex records and one Beatles record, your ideas get changed around pretty quickly…”
Washington, DC | ‘Skip, we love you’: Remembering a pillar of D.C.’s punk scene: My father took me there first. I was 11 years old when we visited Yesterday & Today Records, an inauspicious storefront tucked on the side of the Sunshine Square shopping center in Rockville, Md. A music-loving kid, I’d haunted plenty of record stores at the mall, but when my Dad and I walked into Yesterday & Today, I could tell that it was a different creature. The store was bursting with thousands of LPs and singles, its walls adorned with faded posters and other ephemera. Crate-diggers sifted through bins of rare records — a bounty of rock-and-roll, but also loads of jazz, R&B, and more — with prices handwritten on big orange stickers. The store’s owner, Skip, effortlessly dispensed knowledge about his inventory to customers as if he were feeding koi. They looked to him expectantly, waiting for advice on what obscure, limited-edition vinyl gem they should try next. It was my first proper record-store experience. And Skip Groff was at the center of it.
Vinyl Sales Grow 500% In 5 Years: It’s been said over the last few years that vinyl is making a come back. As music becomes more digitized and accessible, there are some who argue it loses its individuality. And apparently there is some truth to their opinion- at least on the market side of the music industry. According to DJ Mag, “research conducted alongside online record shop Norman Records” confirms a 500% jump in vinyl record sales since 2013. Whether this resurgence in vinyl is due to many individuals’ discerning taste in music or just the hype over vinyl is uncertain. But one thing is. There’s never been a better time for vinyl salesmen or die-hard old school vinyl heads. The ability to have practically any track pressed at the drop of a dime is undoubtedly helping as well!
Tampa Bay, FL | Rock Out: Record time. Surely you’ve heard the news that Daddy Kool Records is moving off downtown St. Pete’s 600 block, so why not help lighten their load at their sidewalk sale on Saturday? You’ll find tons of used LPs, CDs, old concert posters, books, magazines and other music-related stuff. They’ll have another sale on March 23, just ahead of their closing on March 31. The store reopens in the new location in the Warehouse Arts District (2430 Terminal Drive S) on April 13, which is Record Store Day. Noon to 5 p.m. Saturday at 666 Central Ave. daddykool.com. Make a day of it and head over to Planet Retro Records’ St. Pete Punk Rock Flea Market. The curated indie flea will feature instruments, posters, books, ‘zines, collectibles, vintage clothing, decor and toys and art. It’s a family- and pet-friendly party with live music and DJs, food (vegan, too!) and drinks. Noon to 5 p.m. at 226 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. St. N. planetretrorecords.com.
REISSUE/ARCHIVAL PICKS: X, Los Angeles (Fat Possum) The first full-length and one of the cornerstone LPs in LA punk, its music hasn’t aged a bit as it provides a glorious barrage of lessons on how to seamlessly integrate aspects of earlier root forms into the punk equation without weakening or betraying a thing. There are sharp but exquisite harmonies, elements from C&W, even more from rockabilly and early R&R, an expansion of the instrumental landscape to include keyboards, and even a brief plunge into the indigenous LA sound from a generation prior through a wonderful transformation of The Doors’ “Soul Kitchen.” Billy Zoom’s guitar is suitably crunchy, the rhythmic foundation is hefty but lithe, and I can’t think of a better male-female rock vocal duo than John Doe and Exene. This is it. A+
Algebra Mothers, “Strawberry Cheesecake” b/w “Modern Noise” 7” (Third Man) Back in September, I gave a pick of the week and a grade of B+ to A-Moms = Algebra Mothers, Third Man’s archival collection of previously unissued material by these Detroit punks, noting that a repress of this 45, their sole prior released output, was forthcoming. Well, here it is. In September I called this baby superb, but that was based on memory. After getting reacquainted, I stand by that statement, but will confess that it’s not quite the double-sided monster that I recalled. I also said it was arty-wavy, and I really stand by that, and will elaborate that it’s a bit like Devo meets the Voidoids, though don’t go thinking it maximizes that description. Bottom line, this is an affordable way to own a worthwhile punk-era obscurity. A-
Brownie McGhee & Sonny Terry, Sing (Smithsonian-Folkways) Guitarist McGhee and harmonica ace Terry (usually credited the other way around) recorded a ton, predominantly because their folk-blues recipe had just the right measurements of authenticity and accessibility. I haven’t heard all their LPs (not even close), but I haven’t heard a flat-out bad one, though obviously some are better than others (a few have struck me as uninspired, understandable given the prolificacy). This, their first for Folkways from ’58 with drummer Gene Moore on board, is one of the best. Cut not long after the duo were co-leading an R&B band that knocked out sides for a variety of labels, traces of this activity can still be heard, with a few tunes bringing Jimmy Reed to mind and “Old Jabo” nearer to Bo Diddley than John Hurt. A-
Dave Van Ronk, Ballads, Blues and a Spiritual (Smithsonian-Folkways) Van Ronk is one of the indispensable figures in the ’60s NYC folk scene, and on his first album from ’59 he bursts forth with a booming, raw voice, fleet fingers and nary a trace of the tentative. Although the man’s rep has endured, his popularity was always limited, partly because he was more of a blues singer and songster than a protest folkie (though a solid lefty all the way). His singing style, gravelly and clearly derived from (some have said downright imitative of) African-American blues singers, was once considered controversial, but it steers far clear of minstrelsy and has held up well, mainly because of conviction; he felt it was the natural (and proper) way to tackle the material (and so, I disagree that he’s mimicking). A-
Orlando, FL | Brothers, Jazz Cats, and Smokers: Music and Cannabis at Florida’s Foundation Records: Cool is a loose ideology, set by those who stand at its forefront. But its core can be seen inside Foundation—a small, unassuming record store that specializes in vintage clothing, vinyl, and insightful conversation with two unpretentious brothers. Located in the College Park neighborhood in Orlando, Florida, Alex and Peter Cohen have curated a spot with 
Nottingham, UK | Historic CD and vinyl shop The Music Inn celebrates its 100th anniversary. The shop, formerly known as Papworth’s, used to be based in Alfreton Road: Whether it was on vinyl, CD or cassette, everybody remembers the first album they bought. For many people in Nottingham that piece of music would have been purchased from The Music Inn, or as it was previously known, Papworth’s, in Alfreton Road. The company has witnessed for itself the decline in physical music sales over the last few years but unlike many of its competitors has weathered the storm. Today, owner David Rose is able to take stock of his family-run firm, now based in the West End Arcade, as the company celebrates its 100th anniversary. He said: “Its marvellous to have that continuation of history. “I get people coming in every week saying ‘I remember buying this off your dad’ and that sort of thing. It is a wonderful thing to have and there can’t be too many businesses that can say that. It’s lovely to have 
Stroud, UK | Record shop to celebrate one year with acoustic duo: A record shop is celebrating its first year in Nailsworth this month with two exciting events. Ahead of the international Record Store Day in April, Sanctuary Music at 42 Nailsworth Mills is hosting an acoustic duo on Thursday, February 28 from 5pm to 8pm. ‘Wars Against Reality’ comprises fiancés Josh, who is 23 and has just completed as degree in music production, having been playing guitar since the age of 8, and Aria, who is 19 and has had a passion for singing for as long as she can remember. The store also has plans for Record Store Day 2019 itself on Saturday, April 13 – Sanctuary Music will be announcing its line-up of 
Queens, NY | CARIBBEAT: Queens-based VP Records marks 40 years of successfully spreading Caribbean reggae, dancehall and soca music around the world: Happy, happy 40th birthday to VP Records — the Caribbean-rooted mom-and-pop music store that grew into the world’s largest independent recording company for reggae, dancehall and soca music, based in Jamaica, Queens. The company — originally 
