Toledo, OH | Record Store Recon reviews Culture Clash in Toledo, Ohio: The Record Store Recon edition of the Goldmine Podcast takes a look at the record store Culture Clash in Toledo, Ohio. The Record Store Recon edition of the Goldmine Podcast takes a look at the record store Culture Clash in Toledo, Ohio, which will be featured and rated in the Dec/Jan 2023 issue. Goldmine editor Patrick Prince and anonymous record store reviewer Dr. Disc detail the experience of shopping at this clean and well lit store. Listen to the podcast episode.
Los Angeles, CA | The 5 Best Independent Record Stores in Los Angeles: We narrowed down our choices around Los Angeles County, from as far South as San Pedro to as far North as Atwater Village. Record collecting has existed for nearly a century now but in the past few years, vinyl sales exploded. In 2021, vinyl records outsold CDs in the United States for the first time in 30 years, with 38.3 percent of album sales coming from the unstoppable medium. Thousands joined those among us who demand the tactile feel of a record and to own the album art and liner notes, or prefer that warmth of sound and crackle of a needle on wax, and of course, look forward to the weekend trip to a local record shop to dig through their crates—keeping an unlikely format alive and kicking. …Los Angeles is no stranger to a trend, and soon enough, record shops began popping up again all over the city. Vinyl sales also grew in the city’s flea markets, with special booths dedicated solely to records now occupying nearly every market.
Rochester, NY | Selling nostalgia: Rochester businesses bring low-res comfort into a high-res world. In the Rochester of not so long ago, pop culture nostalgia hits had to be collected piecemeal — through toy baggies at Savers, album bins at Salvation Army, VHS pits at Goodwill, and clothing racks at all three. Today, entrepreneurial collectors provide the city with curated nostalgic immersion. From vintage toys and comics to retro tech and long-thought-dead fashions and media formats, even a handshake from the voice actor behind a favorite childhood cartoon character — the era you long for is not far from reach. A handful of Rochester’s nostalgia-inducing shopping destinations…
Stroud, UK | Sean launches new record shop with a Klang: Owner Sean Roe explained the choice of name: “Klang means ‘sound’ in German, and a friend suggested Klang Tone and I loved it.” The logo has been designed by Sean’s Son, Akira and features a cat, loosely based on Enid the resident cat at Sound Records, a business started by Sean and Tom Berry. “The ‘klanging’ sound means that the music I’ve got is a little bit more abrasive or a little bit more edgy.” Sean and Tom went their separate ways earlier in the year, with Tom opening a new Sound Records store in George Street, Stroud. “Tom and I achieved great things over the four years we were together – Tom’s amazing energy and social media skills helped make the shop extremely popular – but I reached a point when I needed to concentrate on the music that was closer to my heart and so we agreed to amicably split – with Tom continuing with his plan to grow the Sound Records brand – and he’s doing remarkably well now at his new location,” explained Sean.
Tarboro, NC | Music store to sponsor record show in Tarboro: In what might be a first, a record show is coming to Tarboro from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Oct. 15. That’s right, records. As in vinyl on a turntable. According to the Recording Industry Association of America, vinyl records accounted for 62 percent of all revenue derived from American music sales in the first half of 2020. It was the first time record sales were greater than CDs since the 1980s. “Vinyl has never totally gone away,” said Jon Treneff, who, along with his partner, Lydia Hyslop, own Country Feedback Vintage & Vinyl at 420 N. Main St. in downtown Tarboro and will be sponsoring the record show to be held at Tarboro Brewing Company. Admission to the show, which will feature some well-known vendors from the Triangle and the Coast, is free. “I think it will be a good mix of vendors as well as styles and genres of music,” Treneff said. “There will be thousands and thousands of records to check out.”
Tampa, FL | Smashing Pumpkins’ Billy Corgan stops by Seminole Heights Microgroove, leaves with a ‘nice stack’ of vinyl: ‘Totally normal small talk,’ Ulrey said before laughing and saying, ‘I didn’t even ask for tickets!’ The Smashing Pumpkins are in Tampa tonight for a headlining show with Jane’s Addiction, but frontman Billy Corgan made some time to go record shopping before the gig. “He shopped the whole store, man, A-Z,” Keith Ulrey, founder and owner of Seminole Heights record store Microgroove, told Creative Loafing Tampa Bay. Ulrey, who also runs Best of the Bay-winning Tampa label New Granada Records said he noticed Corgan immediately when he came out of the minivan that brought the songwriter and two others to the store, located at 4906 N Florida Ave. “He bought a nice stack,” Ulrey added, saying Corgan spent a couple hundred dollars during the 30-minute trip. In the haul was lots of ’70s soft-rock and pop, some Glen Campbell, Canned Heat and even a record by Rhode Island ’60s and ’70s harmony-driven family band The Cowsills.
Green Bay, WI | Vinyl Word: Escape to Gonerfest rekindles fire for GB music scene: Because of circumstances beyond my control, I am forced to throw you, the readers of the Vinyl Word column, yet another curve ball this month. I won’t be reviewing an album released on vinyl, but rather two different albums released on cassette (my favorite format before I got a turntable). But first, I have good news — my faith in Rock and Roll has been restored by the aforementioned circumstances — namely an escape to Memphis, Tenn. to attend Gonerfest 19. The upshot will be an influx of great up-and-coming musical artists coming to play Green Bay. Allow me to explain. I have been setting up bands in Green Bay since 1986, and it’s always been a labor of love — something that I had much enthusiasm for — until the pandemic. I must admit that global scourge broke my spirit when it came to booking and promoting shows. Now I’m back to booking shows, but something was missing.
How to Store Your Vinyl Records and Maintain Their Quality: Most people are unfamiliar and uncomfortable with vinyl. They know that analog audio is fairly fragile, and are often too terrified to hold a record in their bare hands. But what happens when a record goes back into its jacket? Suddenly, it’s not such a fragile thing—it ends up in a big pile, collecting dust or absorbing sunlight like a cold-blooded animal. Improper storage, rather than mishandling, is often the thing that destroys or damages a vinyl record. If you want your record collection to last a long time, you need to learn how to store this stuff. Why Is Proper Vinyl Storage Important? Analog audio needs to be treated with care. Over time, simply playing a vinyl record will reduce its fidelity. So, in order to extend the life and preserve the quality of vinyl, you need to eliminate any external sources of wear and tear—you need to store your records properly.
Alice in Chains Sold A Ton Of Dirt Vinyl Last Week: Dirt turned 30 and people were stoked. Alice In Chains’ Dirt was reissued for its 30th anniversary last week and people really showed up for it. According to Billboard, Dirt re-entered the Billboard 200 chart at No. 9 with 26,000 equivalent album units earned. This marks a 641% increase in sales week over week, and was mostly fueled by selling 22,500 copies of the album on vinyl. Which is an insane amount of vinyl, even for a band the size of Alice In Chains. Billboard notes that Dirt has spent a collective 103 weeks on its Billboard 200 chart since its release, making it the band’s longest-charting effort. And in case anyone is wondering, Harry Styles currently holds the record for the biggest first-week vinyl sales with 182,000 copies of Harry’s House going out the door. But still – 22,500 copies for a record that’s 30 years old is solid!
