Summit, NJ | Local music fans are sad about record shop’s closing: After nearly 70 years in business, Scotti’s Record Shops is coming to an end. The store was first opened in Summit in 1956 by Anthony Scotti. There were also additional locations in Madison, Morristown, Chester and Gillette. Through the years, the stores were consolidated and the Morristown shop closed in 2011. Anthony’s son, Gary, has been running the Summit store since the early 1980s. In addition to thousands of vinyl records and compact discs, the store also carried turntables, cleaners, receivers, speakers, rock T-shirts, books, posters, vintage memorabilia and recycled vinyl crafts. They also sometimes had live music at the store and participated in Record Store Day since it officially began in 2008. …There is no specific date for the store’s closing, but Scotti anticipates near the end of February.
Saskatoon, SK | 100 per cent used Resurrected Records opens in downtown Drinkle Mall: “We’re trying to bring in the big names, the ones that people look at and go, oh damn, I can’t believe this is here.” Businesses and non-profit organizations regularly open and move in Saskatoon. Today, the StarPhoenix talks to Nicholas Kucey who opened Resurrected Records downtown in the Drinkle Mall in December. Kucey bought a turntable about five years ago, which ignited a passion for records. He has travelled all over Western Canada tracking rare records down and decided a space to buy and sell records would be ideal. His store now features over 5,000 records of all varieties. Kucey shares a space in Drinkle Mall with Lindsay Scarrow, who opened Replacing You, selling a wide variety of clothing. Watch for a feature on Replacing You in next week’s New Faces, New Places in the StarPhoenix.
Watford, UK | Looking back at a much-loved Watford record shop: Finding the latest music from your favourite group or singer can be as simple as picking up a mobile phone and searching an online streaming service but for plenty of people it will always be a much more physical act. Visiting a shop and browsing through rows of records or CDs was an essential part of growing up for so many of us—and it continues to this day for some readers. While stores such as HMV, Our Price or Virgin would have been the preferred destination of some music fans, others opted for a trip to an independent retailer—and in Watford there was one that will hold fond memories for plenty of readers. Located in St Albans Road, Past & Present records had a big selection that catered for virtually every genre imaginable. This picture was taken by a Watford Observer photographer on 23 years ago on February 1, 2002 when, sadly, our photographers’ diary records the shop was closing.
UK | On side A, our baby’s first words! The vinyl-carver sparking a craze for cutting records at home: Using a diamond needle, lathe-cutters can turn blank vinyl discs into your very own record—with a pressing run of however many or few you fancy. We report on a booming business. If you want to buy a bespoke, brand-new machine to cut your own vinyl records at home, there seems to be just one man who can help you. Ulrich Sourisseau’s workshop is in a disused railway station in a remote part of the Black Forest in Germany, and he is in extremely high demand. He’s selective about who he sells his machines to, and if he does agree to make you a bit of kit, he’s a little old-school. “He’s cash-only, so I had to travel there with €7,000 on me,” recalls Jon Downing, who bought one back in 2017. Downing then began running his own micro record label in Sheffield, Do It Thissen (that’s “do it yourself” in Yorkshire dialect), specialising in music from his home region.
Ballard, WA | This Ballard venue spins listening to vinyl into a calm, curated experience: Two years ago, when Brian Rauschenbach and Quentin Ertel listened to “Flamenco Sketches” off Miles Davis’ “Kind of Blue” over the 1976 Klipschorn speakers they’d soon own, they were stunned by its deeply beautiful resonance. It was a record they’d both listened to countless times in the background while answering late-night emails or winding down with some online poker, but it was there, in Seattle’s Hawthorne Stereo shop, where high-fidelity audio struck a chord and inspired them to create a slowed-down, warm and analog music-centric nightlife venue. Enter Shibuya HiFi. On the corner of Leary Way and 17th Street in Ballard, through the signless building’s heavy door, tucked past the bar’s hallway, is their HiFi Room for A-to-B side album listenings. Despite its enigmatic exterior, a push through the door reveals an inviting environment. A bar to the right and lounge to the left glow with warmth from floor-to-ceiling cedar to the light buzz of Haku Vodka, old-fashioneds, lychee kisses and salted rims.
IE | Vinyl sales continue to surge in Ireland: We talk to some of the major players and offer artists a “how to” guide ahead of Record Store Day. Rage Against The Machine’s Live On Tour 1993, Gorillaz’s Demon Days Live From The Apollo Theater, Prince’s Live At Glam Slam, Beabadoobee’s Live And Acoustic In London, The Killers & Bruce Springsteen’s Encore At The Garden, Van Morrison’s Be Just And Fear Not, Tori Amos’ Diving Deeper Live, David Bowie’s Ready, Set, Go! and Talking Heads’ Live On Tour. Those are just some of the treasures we’re hoping to add to our collections on Record Store Day, which takes place on April 12 with a comprehensive list of releases and where to get ‘em available at recordstoreday.co.uk. “The importance of indie stores cannot be understated,” says RSD Ambassador Sam Fender. “Without them, we lose physical spaces for music fans to discover both their favourite new artists and to forge friendships with likeminded people.”
Westfield, NJ | Record Collector Lance Jacobs Presents Vinyl Revival at the Westfield Library: On Tuesday, March 4 from 7 to 8:30 p.m., Lance Jacobs, vinyl record collector, will explain how to “read” a record. According to Jacobs, we are in the midst of a resurgence of vinyl records. In 2022, vinyl record sales in the US outperformed CDs for the first time since 1987, and most of the record albums being reissued are from the early ‘60s up through the 70s and 80s. Record collectors are looking for the original copies of these reissues and as a result, values have increased significantly. Program participants are encouraged to bring a record they think may have some value. A self-described Junior Dylanologist, Jacobs has been an avid vinyl record collector for many years. A longtime resident of Scotch Plains, Lance developed this presentation as a tribute to the Baby Boomers who, despite the advent of the CD, held on to the records of their youth.
Tina Turner’s ‘Private Dancer’ celebrates 40th anniversary with re-release: Tina Turner’s Grammy-winning comeback album Private Dancer will celebrate the 40th anniversary of its debut with a new box set, set for release on March 21. Turner died in 2023 at the age of 83. Private Dancer was Turner’s fifth solo album, released in May 1984 after leaving husband and musical partner Ike Turner in the late ’70s. Her abusive marriage to Ike led to one of music’s greatest comeback stories, as Tina reinvented her career in her 40s – and became one of the biggest acts of the 1980’s. Private Dancer went to No. 1 worldwide and won several Grammy Awards, and was followed by sold-out world tours and other hit albums over the next couple of decades. The five CD and one Blu-ray box set will include B-sides, live tracks and unreleased songs from the era.
Boston, MA | John Cusack at Emerson Colonial Theatre: Experience the ultimate High Fidelity evening at a special screening of the iconic 2000 rom-com starring John Cusack, followed by an engaging post-show conversation with the star himself. Dive into the world of music and self-discovery as Cusack shares insights and a behind-the-scenes look into his Golden Globe-nominated role and takes audience questions. Based on the novel written by Nick Hornby, the story follows Cusack as the main character Rob Gordon, a record store owner and obsessive list-maker. Talking to the camera, rattling off his top five lists, Cusack’s character made every music nerd and vinyl junky feel like there had finally been a romance movie made for them.
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