Kansas City, MO | Beloved Missouri Record Store Closing forever after 50 years: There are few record stores in Missouri that are better known than this one and truth be told, it has been much more than a place to find your favorite vinyl. Sadly, it will now be closing its doors forever in November. I saw the Kansas City Star report this week that 7th Heaven which has been a part of the lifestyle of that area for five decades. 7th Heaven has always been a combination of many things—music, smoke shop and really a community that embraced it and made it the special place that it is for many. KSHB in Kansas City spoke with owner Jan Fichman about the decision to close and he seemed to infer that the passing years and friends who have had medical problems and even passed on played a role in his decision to close the doors. Both stories say that 7th Heaven plans to close sometime in November, but no exact date has been decided upon just yet. A lot will depend on how quickly their current inventory can be sold and there is even talk of a big party to celebrate its last day.
Chicago, IL | Music Community Rallies Around Gramaphone Records Owner Michael Serafini After Fall: In less than a week, the Chicago music community has raised over $47,000 to help pay for Serafini’s medical bills. The Chicago music scene is rallying behind Gramaphone Records owner and DJ Michael Serafini after he fell and sustained serious injuries. Serafini was helping his partner move into a new home that was being partially remodeled when he fell through a hole in the floor and landed on concrete in the basement. He suffered multiple rib fractures, spinal fractures and a lacerated skull that required 10 staples. After weeks in the hospital and extensive physical therapy, the medical bills and medication costs added up. Serafini’s sister, Tina Serafini, started a GoFundMe to help pay for Michael’s bills. In just one week, friends in the Chicago music scene, regular customers of the record store and others have raised over $47,000 to help Serafini get back on his feet.
Seattle, WA | Community rallies around West Seattle record shop after flood: A West Seattle staple is recovering after a flood caused potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage. A burst pipe in the apartment above Easy Street Records has destroyed an estimated 10,000 records and 500 hoodies, as well as other store merchandise. “We probably had three or four inches here on the floor,” said owner Matt Vaughan. “Then upstairs, that was just that was just raining down.” The pipe burst overnight Thursday into Friday. Vaughan estimates the water was running for several hours, before someone out on the street got a glimpse of it and called 911. “I really got to hand it to the Seattle Fire Department, because they found a way to get in here,” he said. “Busted through without making too much making too much damage, and was able to put tarps on most everything.” Vaughan still estimates the store is looking at roughly $200,000 in damage.
New Brunswick, CA | Longtime N.B. record store owner sells to Halifax-based Taz Records after 43 memorable years: Backstreet Records opened a Saint John shop in 1980, later expanding to Fredericton. Around 43 years ago, Gordie Tufts decided that after years of working in music retail, he was going to open his own used record store in Saint John. So off he went to Halifax to speak with the founder of Taz Records, the late Bob Switzer, and get some advice, as he owned a used record store at the time. And now, everything has come full circle. Tufts has decided to retire, and Taz Records is taking over ownership of the Saint John and Fredericton stores under a new name, Taz Backstreet. “It’s something after all these years to see it go to Taz,” Tufts said. The first Backstreet Records shop opened in 1980 in the Ritchie Building, a few doors from O’Leary’s Pub on Princess Street in uptown Saint John. But the store was destroyed by arson on Christmas Eve 1982. Two months later, Backstreet moved to a compact, 600-square-foot storefront at 124 Germain St., where it has been ever since.