Charlotte, NC | Premium Sound, the little record store that could, closes up shop: Here we are in 2022, a year when it’s hard to make sense of things, so of course a small vinyl record store in east Charlotte is shutting down because business is too good. What’s happening: Luke Stemmerman’s Premium Sound store inside Tip Top Market spun its final sale this week amid its best year financially. The independent bookstore it shared a space with, I’ve Read it in Books, packed up and closed, too. Tip Top, the easy-going market with craft beer and wine and local goods, is still open, thankfully. Why it matters: Still, for regulars like me, the changes hit like a hard scratch in our favorite track. The combination of Tip Top + Premium Sound + I’ve Read it in Books — three independently owned businesses that shared the same space — gave us the divine trinity of music and books and beer. It was a communal space where you could spend an hour browsing alone in the peace and quiet, because everything you thumbed through had something to say.
Wellingborough, UK | New Wellingborough record shop ready for vinyl lovers with music for all tastes: The record shop opened last week. Music fans who prefer to own their records physically rather than as a download have been flocking to a newly-opened Wellingborough shop. Rotten Records in Midland Road opened its doors last week to fans of vinyl, CDs, and music memorabilia – a reaction to streaming and web-based consumption. Dad-of-three Warren Lee (known as Lee) started records dealing as a side hustle, a job he could do from home around childcare. He said: “I started from home when I was a stay-at-home dad. I bought some records from a charity shop and car boot and sold them online. “I was brought up with records. It was more music than TV. My punishment when I was younger was being made to watch Woodstock with my dad and his mates. They were all ex-hippies.” Even though his father had owned a record shop in the 1970s it wasn’t Lee’s first career choice, spending six years in the construction industry. He understood people’s love of vinyl.
Nashville, TN | Ernest Tubb Record Shop Building Sells for $18.3 Million: New owners include local developer, Tubb relative, Russian-born musician. The Lower Broadway building home to iconic retail business Ernest Tubb Record Shop has sold for $18.3 million — more than three times the figure for which it changed ownership hands 24 months ago. The new owners of the three-story structure are Nashville-based real estate investor and developer Brad Bars, Dale Tubb (Tubb’s grandson) and Ilya Toshinskiy, a Russian-born and locally based musician. The seller was an LLC affiliated with JesseLee Jones, who has owned Lower Broadway’s Robert’s Western World for 23 years. In August 2020, Jones bought both the building and the record shop business, located at 417 Broadway, for $4.75 million from longtime friend David McCormick (read here). For context, McCormick acquired the building and the 0.08-acre parcel on which it sits in 1992 for $128,000. Ernest Tubb Record Shop began operations in 1947 and has been located at its present site since 1951. The store specializes in hard-to-find CDs, DVDs, books, songbooks and vinyl LPs.
Fort Wayne, IN | “Neighborhood record store” turns 40: An Interview with Wooden Nickel’s Bob Roets: Fort Wayne’s iconic independent record store, Wooden Nickel, is celebrating its 40th Anniversary this Saturday, with a city-wide party at Baker Street Centre. Its co-founders, Bob and Cindy Roets, have been dedicated to filling the personal music needs of the community as well as promoting the local and regional music scene since their arrival here from Madison, Wisconsin in the early 1980’s, and are grateful for the continued support and the many connections they have amassed over the decades. Here WBOI’s Julia Meek talks with Bob about their early days in the business, the evolution of the industry and the adventures he and his wife Cindy have had along the journey. “…It just kept growing. I wanted to be the neighborhood record store, if I could make it happen. And we quickly went from a single outlet to we had six by the end of the decade.”
Tempe, AZ | Eastside Records: An Oral History of Tempe’s Legendary Record Store: It’s a blazing afternoon in July and temperatures are hot enough to melt the thousands of LPs inside The Ghost of Eastside Records in Tempe. With the A/C going full-blast, though, the vinyl platters are managing to keep it together. The same can’t be said for the store’s owner, Michael Pawlicki, who looks sweaty, disheveled, and wiped out by the heat. At the moment, he’s all smiles and doing what he loves: talking music and selling records. As the 60-year-old is ringing up a customer’s stack of records, Pawlicki pauses to comment on one of the selections. “Michael Bolton, huh? An inspired choice,” he says dryly. The customer, a local DJ, shrugs and says the singer’s 1989 album, Soul Provider, is perfect for his Sunday brunchtime session at a CenPho eatery. “I spin Bloody Mary music, so it’s going to fit right in,” he says. Pawlicki’s seen countless questionable choices cross his register in the four decades he’s been selling music. For the last 35 years, it’s been behind the counter of the Ghost of Eastside Records, formerly known as just Eastside Records.
Limited-edition colored-vinyl reissue of David Bowie’s ‘Heroes’ album due in October: A limited-edition vinyl reissue of David Bowie’s 1977 album “Heroes” will drop on October 14 in celebration of its 45th anniversary. Pressed on gray vinyl, the reissue will only be available at brick-and-mortar stores. “Heroes,” Bowie’s 11th studio album, was released in October of ’77 and is best known for its classic title track, which was one of four songs Brian Eno co-wrote on the record. It was released as a single and became a minor hit in the U.K. Though it didn’t chart in the States, it’s become one of Bowie’s most enduring and widely covered tunes. The album peaked at #3 in the U.K. but only reached #35 in the U.S. The “Heroes” album was the second of what is known as Bowie’s “Berlin Trilogy,” which also includes 1977’s Low and 1979’s Lodger, but it’s the only one that he recorded entirely in the German city. The album, which Bowie co-produced with frequent collaborator Tony Visconti, features the same group of musicians who recorded Low, with the addition of King Crimson guitarist Robert Fripp.
Manchester, UK | Happy Mondays release charity single on vinyl in memory of Paul Ryder: The single costs £10 and is available to pre-order ahead of its release in November. Happy Mondays are releasing a special 7-inch record in memory of their legendary bassist Paul Ryder, who passed away earlier this month aged 58. The limited edition single will see all profits from the release donated to a charity chosen by his daughter, Amelia. The ‘Tart Tart’ limited edition 7-inch contains the original of the track, which first appeared on Happy Mondays 1987 debut album ‘Squirrel and G-Man Twenty Four Hour Party People Plastic Face Carnt Smile (White Out)’. On the B-Side is a live version of the track from a BBC John Peel session. Money raised from the release will be donated to the Music Cares charity, which helps people in the music industry who are struggling with addiction issues.
Roxy Music to release ‘Best Of’ album on vinyl for the first time: Roxy Music is releasing their Best Of album on vinyl for the first time to coincide with their 50th anniversary tour of the UK later this year. The Best Of Roxy Music was first released in 2001 on CD and features at least one song from all eight of the band’s studio albums, including hits like Avalon, Love Is The Drug and Mother of Pearl. The eighteen tracks are arranged in reverse-chronological order and span the rock band’s career between the years 1982 to 1972. Now fans can get their hands on the iconic collection of songs in 180-gram black vinyl and limited yellow vinyl. Both LPs include restored and enhanced artwork and lyrics and have been remastered at half-speed by Miles Showell at Abbey Roads Studios. The album also features the song More Than This, which has garnered more than 123 million streams, along with Virginia Plain, Angel Eyes, Do The Strand and Street Life.
Liverpool, UK | Bookshop making the case for community in the age of Amazon: The West Kirby Bookshop promises something different for readers. Opening a new book shop in the current retail climate is a daunting task, but it is one that Jordan Taylor-Jones is embracing. Jordan, 30, opened the West Kirby Bookshop on Grange Road in the town on Saturday, July 23. A truly independent shop, it promises to be community driven and it stocks a more diverse range of books than you may find elsewhere. With his new shop, Jordan says he has no interest in taking on Amazon, nor is he wanting to compete with chain book shops. For him, it’s a passion project – giving West Kirby something that it lacked. After the first week of business, Jordan spoke to the ECHO about the new shop, what inspired it and what the future holds. Having worked for Waterstones for around a decade – first in the now-closed Bold Street branch, before running the children’s section in the Liverpool ONE store and a spell working for the chain in Deansgate, Manchester – Jordan moved into book publicity. As a freelancer, he worked in marketing for publishers across the country.
