Missoula, MT | Local record company holds ‘fire sale’ after fire damages records: A record company in Missoula said they’re turning lemons into gold after the building their storage unit was in caught fire in January, causing water damage to dozens of boxes of records. Ear Candy Music salvaged most of their new vinyl and now they’re holding what they call a ‘fire sale.’ Saving the records was a long process. They had to take the shrink wrap off of each record, separate the jacket from the record and inner sleeve, and air dry them with fans for about a day. They said the records haven’t been played and are essentially brand new, despite varying degrees of water damage to the covers. Some of the records would have been around $300 but now cost less than $100 because of the damage. Owner of Ear Candy Music, John Fleming, said he had the records in storage to save space in the store, but that wasn’t the only reason.
Palmerston North, NZ | Mobile record store comes to Palmerston North: Palmerston North has a dedicated record store again – albeit briefly. A mobile music store, a van jammed with vinyl and CDs, has pulled up in the city for a weekend for a spot of trading and no doubt a few conversations about favourite bands. The city has been without a dedicated record shop for almost a decade. Marbecks devolved into a cafe in 2013, while Mango Music closed in 2010. Herb’s Mobile Record Store is the creation of Benjamin James, the former owner of Evil Genius and Deathray Records in Christchurch. He bought a truck, loaded it with records, and has set off across the North Island. Herb’s is parked up at the corner of Taonui and Cuba streets. It looks like an old green Mitsubishi box truck from the outside. But inside, it’s a record store worthy of Auckland’s K Road or Cuba St in Wellington, with a vibe and atmosphere that is fiercely independent. And the range of music reflects this.
Kernersville, NC | Once nearly obsolete, records see huge increase in sales: As the sound of un-boxing, price punching, sorting and taping rings throughout a small room in downtown Kernersville, Jon Witteveen’s smile reaches to the end of his face. That small symphony might not sound like much to you, but to Witteveen, it’s like music to his ears. No pun intended. “It changed my life,” he said. ‘It’ being music. One specific song to be exact. “In the late 80s, I was introduced to alternative rock and my cousin actually brought a cassette down from Michigan, from a college radio station,” Witteveen said. “She played me a song by the Dead Milkmen.” The music industry hooked him. You can even see it in the way he accessorizes as he sports a pair of sleek glasses.
Golden Valley, MN | Boom in vinyl records goes bust for Minnesota acts facing delays in manufacturing: A rise in demand has stymied acts like the Cactus Blossoms, who hit the road next week without LPs in tow. Minnesota’s favorite recording artists are starting to pay for the resurgence of vinyl. That includes the Cactus Blossoms, who have a new album out Friday and are anxiously returning to the road to promote it after two years of tour postponements from COVID. One more problem, though: Vinyl copies of the record won’t be available from the pressing plant until May. “We hope a lot of our fans still have a CD player in their car,” said Page Burkum, co-leader of the retro-country harmonizers. Delays in vinyl manufacturing are stymieing the music industry worldwide. Pressing plants — many of them antiquated or shut down altogether during the heyday of CDs — have been maxed out due to the renewed popularity of 12-inch LPs.
Stafford, UK | New micropub and vinyl store coming to Stafford: Ship Aground will be serving alcohol and playing music: A new micropub and vinyl shop can now open in a former Stafford town centre shop unit – more than eight months after it was granted a licence. The Ship Aground was given permission to serve alcohol and play music by Stafford Borough Council’s licensing sub-committee in May 2021. And a planning application for the change of use of the former shop unit in Lichfield Street was submitted almost a year ago, in March 2021. But planning officers at the borough council have only recently approved the proposals. Alongside the micropub, a vinyl record store is planned for The Ship Aground, including a “listening library” with turntables, a planning officers’ report said. The proposed opening hours are 10am to midnight.
Sarnia, ON | Sarnia record show planned Feb. 19: Record collectors will soon have some of their vinyl on display – and available for purchase – at Sarnia’s Royal Canadian Legion branch. The Front Street venue is hosting the 2022 Sarnia Record Show on Feb. 19 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., following a similar event in late 2019, organizer Paul Partington said. He and 15 to 20 others will have tables of records for people to browse, he said, estimating about 200 people checked out the 2019 show. Masks and vaccination proof are required to attend this year’s event, he said, noting the Branch 62 hall is large enough to fit in several people at a time, even with a 50 per cent capacity restriction. “I’m not sure about attendees and how many we’re going to have. I just know I’ve got a lot of records sitting in my basement that I need to get rid of,” said the Strathroy record collector and former Sarnia resident. “I’m hoping there will be enough people that show up that want to add some stuff to their collection.”
Wigan, UK | Wigan grandmother’s joy at being reunited with vinyl record she bought as a teenager: A grandmother was stunned to find the exact vinyl record she bought nearly 40 years ago on sale in a shop in Wigan. Now That’s What I Call Music II was the first record Lesley Puckering ever bought. Now That’s What I Call Music II was the first record Lesley Puckering ever bought. Amazingly, it turned out to be the exact copy that she had bought all those years ago and featured her maiden name – Lesley Griffin – which she had written onto the cover as a youngster. Lesley, who moved to Wigan at the age of nine and now lives in Whelley, said: “I noticed a box under a table with ‘80s pop’ on. I told my husband to look in there and he picked my album out that I had when I was 15. It had my name on that I wrote when I was at school.
Can’t Help Thinking About Me: Parlophone Announces Two David Bowie EPs on Vinyl, CD for Record Store Day: Record Store Day 2022 isn’t until April 23, but Parlophone is getting a head start with today’s announcement of two releases from David Bowie scheduled for release part of the annual event. Parlophone and ISO Records will offer two limited edition titles from the late superstar, both of which are de facto bonus discs to titles issued in 2021. The Brilliant Adventure EP and Toy EP (You’ve Got It Made with All the Toys) will both be released on vinyl and CD and premiere previously unreleased versions, live tracks, and mixes from the era covered in the recent Brilliant Adventure and Toy: Box collections.
Seattle, WA | Scarecrow Video: the world’s largest remaining independent video rental store: Scarecrow Video is Seattle’s last video rental store, with over 138,000 titles ranging from new releases to extremely rare films that can only be found in their collection. Scarecrow Video founder George Latsios was passionate about film. He had been collecting movies ever since he was a teenager. After a few years renting out his collection in a record shop, he opened Scarecrow in 1988 with his wife Rebecca. Latsios tried to get as many rare and eclectic titles as possible. He went to countries across the world to build up his collection, found films not available in America and even bought Japanese animated films on laserdisc. (It played higher quality video than VHS.) Try three issues of Film Stories magazine – for just £1: right here!
