In rotation: 4/28/20

Los Angeles, CA | Amoeba Music won’t reopen original Sunset Boulevard store: ‘We have no choice’: Though you didn’t know it at the time, your last shopping spree at Amoeba Music in Hollywood was your final one. After a month of speculation, the famed record store has announced that it won’t be reopening at its original location at the corner of Sunset and Cahuenga. The spot, where Amoeba had operated since its 2001 opening, has been shuttered since the statewide stay-at-home orders were announced in March. Instead, it will devote its energy to opening in its new location, hopefully in the fall, at 6200 Hollywood Boulevard. In a statement, Jim Henderson, co-owner of Amoeba, said: “We are devastated for our run at this beautiful destination to end like this, but we simply have no choice.” According to a just-issued press release from Amoeba, “The plan was to close the Sunset location in the fall and then move to the new site as soon as possible while moving operations to its new space. That now will not be the case, with the Sunset store having served its last customer and housed its final performance.” Henderson declined further comment. The company had planned a summer-long farewell party to the old location. That will no longer occur.

Canton, OH | Shuffle: Independent Record Stores Spin Up a New Business Model in the Face of COVID-19: On what would have been the 12th annual celebration of Record Store Day on April 18, local music shops remained dark, empty and closed. The event is an annual celebration of independently owned record stores and brings crowds of music fans to these local businesses to buy exclusive or new music releases. Local record stores are experiencing the difficult effects of the COVID-19 pandemic—not only on sales, but also in missing the camaraderie that often comes hand-in-hand with small businesses and their regular patrons. David Sherrill, who co-owns Arrowhead Vintage and Handmade Goods in Canton with his wife Melissa Sherrill, said he took proactive measures, which meant entering self-quarantine early. “Within an hour they confirmed a Stark County case, we just locked the door and turned off the lights,” Sherrill said.

San Luis Obispo, CA | SLO record store keeps turntables spinning amid coronavirus pandemic with online transition: It’s no secret many people and local business are struggling during the COVID-19 pandemic. Boo Boo Records owner Mike White realizes that as he navigates the uncertain climate. “Everyone’s hurting,” White told New Times. “I don’t expect anything from anybody, but it’s nice when we get it and it’s super gratifying. We’re thankful.” As businesses in San Luis Obispo and across the state shut their doors for the foreseeable future as a result of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s shelter-at-home directive, creativity became the name of the game. Local establishments are coming up with ways to continue serving their customers while staying home. At Boo Boo Records, this means turning to online sales to keep selling records for music heads. While the store has maintained an online selling presence for the last 15 years, White said he and his employees have put more energy toward the website as a result of the pandemic.

Ventura, CA | Vans shoe with Salzer’s Records logo on sale thanks to support from Anderson .Paak: Ever since Salzer’s Records shut down due to the coronavirus, the Ventura retailer has been selling its music online. This week, there’s new merchandise — Vans shoes with a Salzer’s logo. The shoe, designed by record store co-owner Brandon Salzer, is part of Vans’ Foot the Bill program to help small businesses. Vans had approached rapper and singer Anderson .Paak to select a business to benefit from the program and he picked Salzer’s. .Paak, who grew up in Oxnard and Ventura, still returns to the area and shops at Salzer’s. His last two albums, released in 2018 and 2019, were named “Oxnard” and “Ventura.” When .Paak celebrated the release of “Oxnard” with a free concert at the Oxnard Performing Arts and Convention Center, he asked the team at Salzer’s to sell his CD and vinyl at the event. When the Grammy winner was getting his start, he did an in-store performance at Salzer’s.

Oakland & San Francisco, CA | Bay Area’s 1-2-3-4 Go! Records Starts GoFundMe To Stay Afloat: 1-2-3-4 Go! Records opened in Oakland in 2008 and opened a second shop in San Francisco in 2015. Now, following suit of Amoeba Music earlier this week, the Bay Area record store is looking for help from supporters to get through this tough time. 1-2-3-4 Go! has been a favorite of east bay punk rockers Green Day as the band has held a pop-up shop there, jumped on stage with SWMRS & Billie Joe’s side project The Longshot has played a gig there. So, it’s not just a record shop, but an all ages venue as well. The store is asking the community to help raise $75k to help keep it afloat amidst their closures due to the Coronavirus pandemic. The money would go to restocking the shops once open again, paying staff, and hiring additional crew.

Suffolk, UK | Iron Maiden’s Lowestoft roadie picks LP a day to ease lockdown: A man who calls himself “Britain’s most easterly-based roadie” has taken to sharing a record a day with his Twitter followers to get through lockdown. Colin Price, 52, of Lowestoft, Suffolk, was due to be touring Australia and New Zealand with Iron Maiden but the gigs were postponed due to the coronavirus. Mr Price, who has also toured with Marillion and The Darkness, has been posting images for the past four weeks. The latest featured was the album 4 by Foreigner, from 1981. “I’ve got a few hundred vinyl records to get through. Then I suppose I could buy some more,” he said. Mr Price has travelled around the world a number of times as a roadie, including flying on Iron Maiden’s Boeing 747-400 jumbo jet Ed Force One, piloted by Bruce Dickinson, of the band.

San Diego, CA | Thee Sacred Souls: analog champions: Vinyl releases call Daptone subsidiary Penrose Records home: “Our commitment to analog contrasts the quick-fire nature of many other artists within the increasingly digital industry,” says vintage soul-inspired trio Thee Sacred Souls. The band insists on recording their tracks on vinyl and debuting songs in their physical form, before later releasing on music-streaming platforms and YouTube. Bassist Sal Samano (Fake Tides) and drummer Alex Garcia were raised in Chula Vista, where they built up an impressive vinyl record collection of favored old funk and soul music associated with Chicano lowrider culture. Bands such as War and singers such as Al Green and Marvin Gaye were their main influences when they began writing instrumental music together in 2018. But a collaborator was needed to complete the mix… Daptone Records honcho Gabe Roth, aka Bosco Mann, saw them perform in Fullerton and signed the group to an old-fashioned label contract, one just as inspired by 20th century templates as the band’s music, allowing them to maintain their commitment to analog vinyl releases.

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