Sarasota, FL | Ready to Start—or Expand—Your Record Collection? Here’s Where to Go: Drop the needle and boogie on down to a new record from one of the local stores on our handy list. Ah, vinyl. Despite the incredible technological advances in the way we listen to music, for many a fondness for records remains. We get it: we love the ritual of picking an album, placing it on the record player and dropping the needle. Luckily, for local collectors, record stores abound in our area. Here’s a list to help keep your collection stacked—or, if you’re new to vinyl, introduce you to it for the first time. Rocketstar Records: Rocketstar Records, which opened in 2017, is where record lovers can buy and sell vinyl and CDs from a wide range of genres. From rock ‘n’ roll spanning the ’40s, ‘50s and ’60s, to metal, punk, country, blues and gospel, this store stocsk it all. Just getting started with your collection? Shop owner Peter Anthony stocks new and used turntables. Record prices range depending on rarity, age and condition…
Madison, WI | Sugar Shack Records to close in April: The Atwood Avenue shop is the latest Madison record store to face displacement. After 41 years and six Madison locations, Sugar Shack Records on Atwood Avenue will close its doors for the last time at the end of April. That is if there’s no buyer for the business. We’ll get to that in a minute. Owner Gary John Feest’s decision to close, he says, “wasn’t really mine.” The store’s landlord called Feest last September to say the building, at 2301 Atwood Ave., was for sale. Soon thereafter, realtors appeared in the store, showing prospective buyers around the space to the sounds of Miles Davis and Dave Brubeck. In January, the building owner accepted an offer and told Feest to pack up and move out by April 30. There’s talk of the storefront becoming a wine shop. “I kind of figured it would be coming sooner rather than later,” the soon-to-be-70-year-old Feest says. “I’m kind of resolved, but it’s also bittersweet.”
Chicago, IL | Black-Owned Record Shop On South Side Riding Vinyl’s Resurgence To Worldwide Sales: Perhaps you’ve heard vinyl albums are making a big comeback, even as we stream music on our phones. A couple of African American entrepreneurs are riding vinyl’s renewed popularity to worldwide sales from their small store on Chicago’s South Side. When Cliff Muhammad earned his MBA from the University of Chicago, he did not envision owning a small record store. “My career after business school had been mostly about helping businesses to make money, to get their return on investment,” he said. Cliff, working with multi-national companies, inherited The Record Track, at 87th and Burnham in the South Chicago neighborhood, from his Uncle Wister Adriane, who had died. Uncle Wister had a treasure trove of old vinyl LPs and CDs, and Muhammad planned to get rid of them all. “First thing I tried to do was sell the whole business, and then after trying to sell the whole business, we said we’re selling inventory. Put a big liquidation on the front, and tried to get as much money out as fast as possible…”
Wakefield, UK | Vinyl countdown… Wakefield record shop’s move to make it ‘one of the best in the UK:’ Wakefield’s independent record shop is moving to bigger premises, and owner Alan Nutton is confident it will become one of the best in the UK. Wah Wah Records is bucking the trend when it comes to high street trading, and will move from its small Brook Street premises to Cross Square in the coming months. Taking over the former Wool N Stuff shop, it is a stone’s throw from the current shop. Owner Alan Nutton says there it will double the space he has at the current shop, and will fill it solely with vinyl records. He told the Express: “It’s really exciting, we’ve got a blank canvas to start again. It’s going to be pretty epic for a record shop. “It will be a treasure trove to pull people in from all around. “I’ve never known a record shop that will be this extensive. “Record stores are different now (selling games and phones) but this will be all music. It will be one of the most fantastic in the UK, and I’ve been to many.
Chicago, IL | Petition seeks to make former Wax Trax! Records store a Chicago landmark: For nearly 15 years, the two-story building at 2449 N. Lincoln Ave. served as the epicenter of an underground musical, social and cultural movement that spread across the globe. Now, nearly three decades after Wax Trax! Records moved out, the daughter of one of the shop’s co-founders is leading a charge to designate the storefront an official historic Chicago landmark. The designation will ensure that the building will not be demolished or the exterior altered. “Wax Trax! was instrumental in putting Chicago on the map for a certain type of music,” says Julia Nash, who was 9 years old when her late father, Jim Nash, opened the business with his partner, Dannie Flesher. “The store itself was an underground cultural mecca for people from all over the city, statewide and internationally to discover new music (like) punk and electronic. At the time they were frowned-upon genres, but they became very important in music culture.”
Wiltshire, UK | Baila Coffee and Vinyl suddenly shuts for good: A popular Old Town club and coffee shop has suddenly shut. Bail Coffee and Vinyl on Victoria Road will no longer host music nights or serve up caffeine and cocktails. The owners said on Instagram: “This is a difficult post to put into words but after nearly eight years we closed our doors for good last night. “Unfortunately, as many are aware, the last couple of years have been very tough for our industry and despite our best efforts, we were unable to continue to make it work. “We would like to send a big thanks to everyone in our little BAILA community for all the love and support over the years! “We have had some unforgettable times and will miss it very much.”
Lansing, MI | Jacob’s Jazz: Bargain bin vinyl records: Collecting vinyl records can quickly become a hobby. Later this week I will have a story out about the Vinyl Record Club at LCC. I figured there would not be room in that story to talk about why I personally love vinyl records, so I wanted to share some of those reasons here. One fun aspect of collecting records is the strange and wonderful bargain bin finds. Most cheap used records are in such a poor condition that they are almost worthless, but the savvy shopper can pick up some absolute gems. A word of warning though. If you are planning on looking for cheap second-hand records, it helps to be able to inspect the actual surface of the record for scratches before purchasing. I have found some very cool records in places like second-hand stores and antique stores. Some genuinely great albums I have added to my collection through this process include Steve Miller Band’s “Fly Like an Eagle,” Quiet Riot’s “Metal Health” and Michael Jackson’s “Thriller.” Greatest hits albums can be a great find, too. I have a two-disk set of Beach Boys hits that is always a blast to hear.
Edinburgh, UK | BY GEORGE! Beatles fan amazed as George Harrison appears in wife’s apple core: A Beatles fan who is set to open his dream first record shop has received an unexpected endorsement from one of his heroes – after George Harrison appeared in his wife’s apple core. Mark Thorne, 42, owes his obsession with music to his lifelong love of the Beatles, so he was taken aback when his wife Lottie bit into her lunchtime snack – and spotted something which looked like the late lead guitarist looking back at her. Mark, who is preparing to open Thorne Records in Edinburgh’s Bruntsfield this month, told her to stop eating immediately. Now he hopes the remarkable find is a good omen for his business, which will of course stock the Fab Four. He said: “Lottie just said ‘the core of my apple looks exactly like George Harrison’. I just said ‘stop eating the apple’. I had a look and said ‘oh my God, it’s George’.
