Waterloo Region, ON | The Beat Goes On in newly merged Waterloo location: Founder hopes to bring back ‘the experience’ with live bands, nostalgia. Combining two used record stores into one might seem to signal a downsize in the digital era. But for John Rocchetta, owner and founder of The Beat Goes On, more space is needed to move more inventory. “Our best year was last year, and our best year before that was the year prior,” said Rocchetta, sitting in the basement of his newly renovated, 2,500-square-foot location at 341 Weber St. N. in Waterloo, which will combine the recently closed Highland Road store in Kitchener with the soon-to-be shuttered shop on King Street North. The business, which actually started selling new cassettes and CDs out of a closet-sized store in the Stanley Park Mall back in 1991, has grown to nine locations across southern Ontario, including the one on Fairview Road in Kitchener, and one in Cambridge.
Casper, WY | Live shows at Sonic Rainbow come to an end: Sonic Rainbow has truly been a labor of love for owner Jude Carino and manager Brandon Schulte. After over twenty years of hosting hundreds of live performances, the local record shop is unplugging the mic for the last time. Following last week’s well-attended show, the Casper Fire Department brought the question of safety to the forefront. While the store is regularly inspected as a retail space, it was never inspected as a venue. And with Sonic Rainbow’s official capacity of a mere thirteen, it simply isn’t set up to be a safe gathering space for live music, according to Carino. The record store will continue to remain open as a retail space. By hosting events, Sonic Rainbow gave the Casper music scene a space to hold all-ages shows for free—something that’s hard to come by for underage fans and musicians just starting out.
Chicago, IL | Val’s Halla manager aims to continue Oak Park record store’s legacy after founder’s death: For 46 years, Val’s Halla Records in Oak Park was owned by Val Camilletti, a walking, talking encyclopedia of all things and genres of music. Camilletti died early early in the morning on July 24 after a two-year battle with breast cancer. Customers and friends packed the store Saturday for the opening of the two-day annual celebration called Hallapalooza. The store will continue; it will be business as usual, said Shayne Blakeley, the store’s manager. In fact, he said very little will change. Customers can still browse the bins of new and used albums carefully separated by genre and artists or the collections of 45s, CDs and videocassettes. “Val’s legacy is too big and too valuable to ever change,” he said. “I’m keeping it going. Anything within my power, I’m doing.”
Chelmsford, Essex, UK | The stories and secrets behind five of Chelmsford’s best-loved independent shops: You won’t believe what goes on behind the scenes. From being called a witch to having a bacon roll with David Bowie, the people behind Chelmsford’s independent stores certainly have some tales to tell. Chelmsford might be expanding and attracting huge name brands from around the world, but the city’s many independent shops have a huge part to play in its success. These are the little stores that been started by local people and have flourished through sheer hard work and passion for what they sell. Through blood, sweat and tears, these shop owners have faced the highs and lows of the retail industry and have had to face their critics along the way. We chatted to the owners of five of Chelmsford’s independent stores about their experiences.
Los Angeles, CA | Massive Travis Scott Head Installed Atop Landmark Music Shop In Hollywood: …Fans started reporting today about sightings of a massive Travis Scott head being installed on top of the classic Amoeba Music store in Los Angeles. A Hollywood landmark, the shop has been operating since 2001, advertising themselves as the world’s largest independent record store. If somebody wanted to get people talking, they would absolutely consider installing a giant representation of themselves on top of the building, which is exactly what Travis Scott just did. The golden statue features only Travis’ head and his personal photographer shared an image of it on his Instagram page. While this does not mean that Astroworld is on the way as it could just be something cool La Flame had in mind, it has started rumors among his fanbase that the long-awaited album could be dropping imminently.
The 10 best 90s rock albums you should own on vinyl: From Seattle grunge to Madchester, we select the best 90s rock vinyl every record collector should own. Whether you loved it or hated it – and we’re guessing, since you clicked on this link, that it’s the former – the 90s provided one of rock music’s most wildly influential decades. From the dive clubs of Seattle to the, frankly, equally as divey clubs of Glasgow, innovative and experimental rock music was at its prime. But with a genre which was busting at the seams with essential albums, how do you go about furnishing your collections with the stone-cold classics? That’s where we come in. We’ve assembled the quintessential collection of 90s rock jams which should form the foundation of every rock fan’s collection.
This new turntable is an analogue aberration. It also has mood lighting… A new “holographic”, wireless turntable called the Kozmophone has launched on Kickstarter, reports What Hi-Fi. At the time of writing, the project has reached over 4 times its crowdfunding goal. According to its curious promo video: “we’ve all inherited something, whether it’s looks, tastes, hobbies, passions, Thomas Edison has left us one of the greatest inventions of all time – the phonograph.” …The record player includes a small holographic device (inside a storage cylinder that looks like a coffee grinder), as well as an ambient lighting display, with a turntable that has an Audio Technical AT91 cartridge, headphone socket and built-in headphone stand. Like many all-in-one turntables, Kozmophone contains just one (in this case horn-shaped) speaker through which all of the music is directed, rather than stereo or multi-channel set-ups.