Isle of Wight, UK | Ventnor Exchange celebrating 10th anniversary with special event: Ventnor Exchange is celebrating its 10th birthday this November. The community hub, which was established by a group of Ventnor locals to provide a permanent home for the Ventnor Fringe, has grown significantly over the years. The space is now a bustling centre with a record store, performance area, co-working space, and a café and craft beer bar that’s open seven days a week. Co-director Mhairi Macaulay said: “Today Ventnor Exchange is a thriving hub of workshops, clubs, socials, a record store, a performance space, and co-working space. “The organisation also reaches out across the whole Island with a mission to create cultural experiences available for all.” Since 2014 Ventnor Exchange has gradually refurbished the Post Office building in Church Street, and has hosted hundreds of events across the Island, welcomed creative clubs and groups and commissioned new projects
San Antonio, TX | You’re one of the family at Del Bravo: San Antonio, a city known for its rich history and landmarks, is also home to an iconic location on the West side of town. Opened in 1966, Del Bravo Record Shop is a family-owned store with a beautiful exterior and festive decor alongside endless racks of CDs, vinyl records and cassette tapes. The history of this business starts with Salome Gutierrez, the father of Iva Gutierrez who runs the front of the shop nearly full-time, and his passion for creating and selling music. He founded the independent record shop and composed his own songs at the same time, working with Grammy winners and recording artists. His work has been passed down to the next generation and is still thriving for all to visit. While Tejano music might be what Del Bravo originated with, they sell a variety of genres—including the latest pop and rap. With such a wide range of music filling the store, it is impossible to not find an appealing song or artist.
Harrogate, UK | Much-loved Harrogate indie record shop’s big role in Britain’s great vinyl revival: A Harrogate independent record shop whose reputation is so high that a punk legend popped in is playing its role in the country’s vinyl revival. As the UK embraces the return of 7inch singles and 12inch albums—sales rose by 11.7% to 5.9 million units last year—Evil Eye Vinyl is keeping the flag flying with its diversity of stock and commitment to high quality. After sharing a space with Space Vintage retro shop for years on The Ginnel in Harrogate, Evil Eye Vinyl successfully moved to larger premises in the beautiful Westminster Arcade. Although more than four-fifths of recorded music is now consumed via streaming, vinyl has made a huge comeback, not only for nostalgia reasons but among young music fans, as have cassette tapes. Evil Eye Vinyl specialises in both.
NJ | DJ Alex Kaynes Record Store Raid II: Roamin’ around New Jersey: So this Record Store Raid did not happen all in one day as both my previous treks through North Carolina and California did. My New Jersey romp happened over a few weeks as it is closer to home, which affords me more time. For those who missed the first Record Store Raid: I am a professional DJ and record collector for nearly 50 years, so it’s safe to say I have a fair amount of experience in this field. I am looking for heavy metal, so the reviews are with that in mind. Jack’s Music Shoppe: Jack’s has a long, well-known local history of being open since 1970. It’s smack in the middle of Red Bank, a town filled with boutique eateries and “shoppes.” The store is quite long and about four long rows wide, the front of the house displays new vinyl releases. The used wax is towards the back, and a boatload of CDs are in the middle…
Little Rock, AR | Recorded history: NLR record shop marks 40 years in business: Arkansas Record-CD Exchange, located at 4212 MacArthur Drive in North Little Rock, has been a cornerstone of the Central Arkansas music scene for 40 years, a milestone the disc emporium achieved on Oct. 12. Owner Bill Eginton said it’s overwhelming to think about. “It all happened so fast,” he reflected recently. The store features an impressive library of 80,000 vinyl records and more than 20,000 CDs. Additionally, it offers a wide range of T-shirts, vintage magazines (including many collectable issues of Mojo and Playboy), DVDs, books and other music-related memorabilia that Eginton has spent the last four decades collecting. What has kept him in business since the Reagan administration? “Customer service,” Eginton said. “I hate asking somebody who’s sitting on their can whether they have a particular album or artist and they have no idea. What kind of help is that?”
Athens, OH | Yabba Dabba Doos to ROAR their music Dec. 8: About every month, Republic of Athens Records (ROAR) at 30 E. State Street hosts a local band or musical act for patrons’ listening pleasure. Store manager Isaac Slater said it’s the store’s way of helping Athens’ small yet busy Arts District to thrive. ROAR, which specializes in vinyl record sales and gets involved in listening parties when new records are debuted, will host the Yabba Dabba Doos, a local band, from about 2-5 p.m. on Dec. 8. The Yabba Dabba Doos dive into what front man guitarist/vocalist Zach Fuller describes as “Ohio rock” appropriate “for all occasions.” The Flintstones-monikered band consists of members of two local bands, Weird Science and Supernobody. Along with Zach Fuller, the other Yabba Dabba Doos members are Matt Box on bass; Matt Toledo on lead guitar; and Alex Neff on drums.
Edinburgh, UK | Plans for abandoned Edinburgh record shop to become Japanese BBQ restaurant: Plans for a new restaurant in Edinburgh that incorporates ‘interactive dining’ have been submitted to the council, which would see the eatery opened up in an abandoned record shop. An abandoned Edinburgh record shop may be transformed under new plans. The unit, which sits on South Clerk Street, once operated as Hog’s Head Vinyl – though closed down back in 2017. They had served the city for 25 years at the time. Since then, the building has remained empty. Previous plans for a restaurant were put to Edinburgh Council in January, though were later withdrawn. Now, the vacant site is the subject of plans to become a Japanese BBQ restaurant named Yakiniku. Those behind the scheme claim it will be the “first of its kind” in the capital. Angus Architecture, who submitted the plans, stated: “Proposed change of use from a now vacant music record shop to a new restaurant.”
Northampton, MA | Former Jamaica Plain record store coming to Market Street: A former staple record store from Jamaica Plain has officially moved into Northampton, with plans of opening the store by Halloween. Deep Thoughts Record Shop, which is run by owners Nick Williams and Alaina Stamatis, has officially moved into downtown Northampton on 5 Market St. after spending 11½ years running their shop in Boston. The shop will be taking over the spot where Joe’s Albums resided for the last few years, which is right next to The Roost. “It feels incredible,” Williams said, regarding his feeling on moving the shop to Northampton. “It feels good to be able to be in this community that I’ve been a part of for 21 years on and off.” In a social media post announcing their move, Williams and Stamatis expressed great appreciation for their time in Jamaica Plain, but a commute of almost two hours became too much for them to handle.
