Nashville, TN | R.A.P. Ferreira Establishes a New Outpost of Soulfolks Records and Tapes: Checking in with the master MC about building community through his shop ahead of its Beat Invitational. If you head up to Madison via Gallatin Pike and hang a right on East Old Hickory Boulevard — just before the intersection with Old Hickory Boulevard proper—you’ll find Soulfolks Records and Tapes. The new shop serves up hard-to-find hip-hop albums and hosts some of Music City’s more innovative music programming. Soulfolks, a welcome and needed addition to Nashville’s assortment of indie record shops, is the brainchild of R.A.P. Ferreira, a widely traveled but locally based MC and producer looking to bring a new community hub to the city’s vibrant rap scene. Ferreira first put down roots in Nashville in 2019, and this iteration of Soulfolks opened for business in early May. Since then, Ferreira says the shop has already attracted a crew of regular customers, as well as vinyl-loving out-of-towners hoping for their next big score.
Richmond, VA | Vinyl Conflict celebrates handmade art of zines: As part of First Friday, the local record store will host its first zine fest. For 15 years, Vinyl Conflict has been a haven for Richmond punk-rock fans and music lovers of all kinds. Last year, the store moved from its original location in Oregon Hill to a larger space in downtown Richmond: 300 E Grace St. Store owner Bobby Egger said in addition to having more space for the store’s extensive collection of punk ephemera and general music merchandise, the Monroe Ward location provides a better connection to community events. Now, the store also hosts monthly events on the first Friday of each month. Janine Bell, vice president of the Richmond Arts District Association, wrote via email that First Friday events provide significant financial support for local artists and businesses: “Art is business, and the Richmond Arts District is at the center of how our city moves.”
Dallas, TX | Ladylove Lounge & Sound opens in Bishop Arts: The grand opening of Bishop Arts’ first vinyl record listening lounge took place Friday, July 7, at 7:00 p.m. Ladylove Lounge & Sound was conceptualized by music lovers David Grover and Kate Siamro, who currently own Spinster Records and Reveler’s Hall. The lounge will take over the former Grilled Cheese Co. space at 310 W. 7th, and the Advocate reported last year that Grover and Siamro have plans for the alley behind the lounge, as well as a bakery/brewery in the adjacent storefront. Vinyl record listening lounges are a Japanese bar concept, a statement about the grand opening said, and have emerged in recent years across New York City, L.A. and Mexico City. The lounge will boast a cocktail menu of eight signature drinks and three cocktails, and tapas style small bites to munch on. Fresh popcorn, watermelon salad, sliders and more will range from $5 to $16.
Austin, TX | Only Austin Earned a Warmhearted Lucinda Williams In-Store at Waterloo Records: Celebrating her new memoir and LP, as well as shop owner John Kunz. Lucinda Williams lists Louisiana, Mississippi, and Mexico City among the many places she’s lived in her April memoir Don’t Tell Anybody the Secrets I Told You, but only her former home of Austin received a one-off, no-cost performance and book signing. The singer’s appearance at Waterloo Records, untied to any area concert like typical in-stores, attracted a line down the block in Monday’s hot evening sun. As the comforting Q&A host, KUTX radio vet Jody Denberg knew enough to point out the memoir’s omission of Williams’ Nineties stint in a house here on Cherrywood Road. He ended the quick discussion with a “love you, we love you,” which best captured the sweet old store’s warmhearted buzz. Alongside the book, the rare duo show to almost 300 attendees honored self-explanatory new album Stories From a Rock N Roll Heart, with noted ties to Tom Petty like set opener “Stolen Moments.” Further clarification, Williams shirt read “FILE UNDER ROCK.”
Glasgow, UK | Remembering the time when Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker turned up at a Glasgow record store: As Pulp get set to return to Glasgow for the first time since 2002, iconic frontman Jarvis Cocker is no stranger to the city having made an impromptu visit to Monorail Music on King Street in 2018. He last performed in the city as a solo artist in 2009 at the sorely missed O2 ABC but will be headlining TRNSMT with Pulp on Friday night with George Ezra, Paul Heaton and Jacqui Abbott also on the bill. The band announced that they would be reuniting at the end of October last year with this being the only date in Scotland confirmed up till now. To promote his latest book release ‘Good Pop, Bad Pop’, the legendary singer sat down to relfect on his unique life, Pulp, 20th century pop culture, the good times and the mistakes he’d rather forget at Glasgow’s Tramway theatre last May. Cocker stunned fans who had queued up outside the city centre record store as he declared Monorail Music open for business for the day with it likely that he knows the venue’s co-founder, Stephen McRobbie who was part of indie legends, The Pastels who shot to fame in the 1980s.
B-Side Babies bundled into a book: A flip sided history of pop. B-sides, as fans of Warren Kurtz’s Fabulous Flip Sides column will tell you, are one of the unexpected highlights of any singles collection. Yes, we all know the hits (and misses) that lurk on the a-side, but the b-side is often where the real meat lives and – so long as it’s not just another track from the album – some of the most vivacious surprises, too. Flip Cockney Rebel’s “Judy Teen” and space out to the remarkable “Spaced Out.” Turn over Sparks’s “This Town Ain’t Big Enough,” and go balls out with “Barbecutie.” Up-end London Suede’s “We Are The Pigs,” and catch “Killing of a Flash Boy.” Plow through all those remarkable treasures with which the British Invasion filled its flips and then expand on through (almost) any genre you like. Off-cuts, out-takes, live tracks, experiments, anything could be nestling on the back of a single, and—at least until remixes came along—half the fun of buying a single was seeing what lay beneath.
Soft Cell Announces Two New Albums *Happiness now extended and *Happiness now completed for July 2023 Release: Synth pop pioneers Soft Cell follow up 2022’s acclaimed top 10 album ‘*Happiness not included’ with the release of two expanded editions via BMG on 28th July. “Happiness now extended” is a limited-edition double vinyl album, featuring longer versions of all the twelve tracks from the original version, and including the single releases – airplay smash ‘Purple Zone’ (with Pet Shop Boys), ‘Bruises On All My Illusions’ and ‘Nostalgia Machine’. It also sees the inclusion for the first time on vinyl of one of the album’s highlights ‘Nighthawks’, with New York performance artist CHRISTEENE. The double 12″ LP is restricted to 1000 copies only. The plentiful original ‘*Happiness not included’ sessions that the CD version of the album features ten brand new Marc Almond and Dave Ball tracks, plus unreleased mixes, remixes, and single-only tracks. The new 75-minute set fits into the rear section of the existing CD book format. Both formats feature brand new sleeve designs.
Black Sabbath announces ‘Hand of Doom’ vinyl box set: Eight LP box set is due this summer: In 1968, Black Sabbath was formed by Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, and Bill Ward. The quartet created a fierce sound that was beyond anything that had been heard before. Throughout the 1970s, the band produced an array of metal classics that set the standard for heavy music and inspired countless generations of fans. Comprising some of Black Sabbath’s most powerful albums ever produced, Hand of Doom features the Complete Original Black Sabbath 1970-1978 collection on picture disc for the first time. The highly collectible set contains the band’s 1970 self-titled debut, as well as the multi-Platinum 1970 Paranoid, the Platinum albums 1971’s Master Of Reality, 1972’s Vol. 4, and Sabbath Bloody Sabbath from 1973, the Gold-certified Sabotage from 1975, alongside 1976’s Technical Ecstasy and 1978’s Never Say Die! Hand of Doom 1970 – 1978 will be available August 18th and is limited to four thousand copies in North America only. The set is exclusive to the Rhino and Warner Music Canada stores.
