Author Archives: TVD HQ

Banbury, UK | Banbury’s only independent record shop to host series of events after moving location: Banbury’s only independent record shop will host a series of events to celebrate moving to a new premises. To celebrate moving to Unit 29 on the Cherwell Business Village, on Southam Road, Strummer Room Records is hosting three special events. Starting with Vinyl Saturday on Saturday July 1, staff have raided the shop’s storage unit for hundreds of vinyl records that have not yet made it to the shop or website for the day. Following on from this is the grand opening of the new premises on Saturday July 22. This will feature live music from The Long Time Dead and The Pink Diamond Revue, a licenced bar, free parking, and free entry. Finally, the shop is hosting Banbury’s first record fair in many years on Sunday October 22, at Banbury United FC’s ground. The fair will feature over 10 specialist dealers selling a wide range of vinyl records, CDs, and collectibles.

Woodland Hills, CA | Forever spinning the wax: The best record stores around Woodland Hills: …Irrespective of who or what started the vinyl resurgence, both turntable and vinyl record sales have been up like almost never before, though if you ask those who are seriously vested in the hobby and format, they will tell you it’s all about the differences between digital (CD) and analog (vinyl), and how there’s something so magical about gently dropping a stylus down into the first groove of a record. Luckily for vinyl enthusiasts, a plethora of privately-owned shops selling both new and used vinyl have sprung up in major cities across the U.S. catering to those who “get” the satisfying emotional connection a true music lover has to the record-playing routine. Indeed, Los Angeles has not been immune from the vinyl fever still burning high in 2023, and if you’re a record aficionado in Woodland Hills, you’re in for a real treat.

Kent, UK | Elephant Music, in Harmer Street, Gravesend, opening vinyl store hoping to be a mini Camden Lock: A town’s only music shop is opening its own vinyl store – which will be the first in the area. Elephant Music, in Gravesend, is hoping to make it more accessible for people to get into music by diversifying their stock to create a “mini Camden Lock.” Co-owner Rob Sherwood said: “We really just wanted to do something a little bit different and bring a different crowd in too. “Vinyl is coming back in a big way so we are trying to incorporate that into the business. “We want to create a mini Camden Lock without the water.” …He added: “I wanted to give the store a new lease of life.” …It currently sells musical instruments but will now also be stocking a range of records from new, old and local artists, artwork and secondhand vinyl.

Brighton, UK | Feelin’ ‘Hot’ at Dream Wife’s Resident in-store show: It’s always lovely to see Brighton bands who’ve gotten big return to our sunny shores. Later this summer, we’ll see Royal Blood wiggle their way back down here for a day festival on the beach, and today, the ever-loyal fans of punk trio Dream Wife were treated to an intimate show at the record store Resident. The art school friends turned DIY punk deities are on their third album now, but there’s no sign of fatigue in the album tracks they shared with us tonight. Perhaps the only tolerable thing about living in a supposedly post-feminist world in which harassment and misogyny are still rampant is that it gives plenty of writing inspiration for bands who want to call this discrimination out. Dream Wife have never been shy about their strongly-held feminist beliefs, but this album’s a bold step even for them: here, the band turn their weapons to the music industry itself.

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Charleston, WV | Sullivan’s Records relocating to Downtown Charleston: A mainstay of the Kanawha County small business community, Sullivan’s Records has announced plans to relocate to the Downtown Charleston area. The establishment, known for its selection of vinyl records and vinyl accessories, was established in 2013 and has since been situated at its current Washington Street location. On Tuesday morning, Sullivan’s announced that renovations are currently underway at its future site in Downtown Charleston near Slack Plaza. In the meantime, hours at the Washington Street shop have been modified in order to accommodate the approaching move. Hours for Sullivan’s Washington Street location for the month of June will be as follows…

Brighton, UK | Brighton: The Record Album store boss George Ginn dies. A long-standing record shop has paid tribute to its former owner, who ran the business for over half a century. George Ginn ran The Record Album for 56 years up to his retirement in 2018 and was revered as one of Brighton’s best record dealers. George, 93, died at his care home in Patcham on Sunday evening, and now the current owners have praised him as a “steadfast champion” of vinyl in an era of digital streaming. Keith Blackmore, co-director of the Terminus Road store, said: “The great vinyl revival of the last 20 years may have caught many of us by surprise but not George Ginn. “When I was his customer, his advice on what to buy (and, just as importantly, what not to buy) was invariably right and like many people over the years I heard new things in new ways whenever I visited his shop.”

Peckham, UK | A new ‘hi-fi audio bar’ is opening in Peckham: Jazu will have bespoke horn speakers and and all-vinyl line-up. A new venue offering a bar, cafe and hi-fi audio is opening in Peckham this week. Jazu, which is in Market Peckham on Rye Lane, opens with a weekend roster of vinyl DJs from June 16 to 18. It previously operated as a pop-up in Shoreditch before moving to Camberwell for six months last year. The venue will open to serve coffee from 8am before operating as a cocktail and music bar in the evenings. “At Jazu, we’re using a vintage aesthetic with modern components. Solid wood speaker cabinets, a solid Elm Horn and state of the art drivers will give us a clear, full, un-compromised sound – with the room being able to talk freely about clay throwing, scoby growing and sourdoughing,” says a post on Jazu’s Instagram account. “A retro futuristic approach – we’re magpieing from the past and copy and pasting from the future – into the present.”

Verona, PA | Inner Groove Brewing Celebrates Four Years with a Disco-Themed Extravaganza in Verona: Party in the Park with live music, DJs, yoga, food trucks, vinyl record vendors, and six beer releases. Inner Groove Brewing is thrilled to announce its upcoming fourth-anniversary celebration, taking place on Saturday, June 17, 2023, at Railroad Park, located at 737 E. Railroad Avenue in Verona, across the street from their Verona taproom location. This all-day party in the park promises to be a sensational event filled with live music, food trucks, free yoga, DJs, six exclusive beer releases, and over seven vinyl vendors. …Music enthusiasts and vinyl collectors are in for a treat with over seven vinyl vendors setting up shop from 4:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Discover a treasure trove of records from vendors such as Chocolate Milk Mountain, Flipping Records, The Government Center, Humancat Vinyl, Mostly Records, Pittsburgh Recordfest, “STRANGEWAYS” Vinyl, and more. Prepare for some vinyl record retail therapy and find that perfect addition to your collection.

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Jackson, MS | This record store wants to prove that downtown Jackson, Mississippi, is a destination: While national retail sales have remained fairly strong, local economies can vary based on many factors, like population. That’s a major concerns for Phillip Rollins, owner of OffBeat, a comic and record store in downtown Jackson, Mississippi. “What we’re dealing with now is a lot of shrinkage in the population,” he said. “And that’s probably playing a big effect in our business.” The state capital is the fastest-shrinking city of its size in the country and has dealt with a number of infrastructure issues, including a breakdown last year that left residents without water for weeks. The city recently received $115 million from the Joe Biden administration to fix its water system, but retailers like Rollins are also making a pitch to attract visitors. He recently participated in an event called 601JXN, which aimed to bring people downtown.

Teesside, UK | Tom Butchart: Tributes pour in after death of ‘loved and respected’ Sound It Out Records owner: Hundreds of messages have been posted online paying tribute to Tom Butchart. Tributes have been paid to the “heart and soul” of a much-loved record shop. Teesside’s music community has been left devastated after Tom Butchart, the owner of Sound It Out Records, died suddenly in his shop on Friday morning from a suspected heart attack. The 50-year-old leaves behind his wife Clare, his parents, three younger brothers and hundreds of friends who adored him. Tom grew up in Eaglescliffe and attended Egglescliffe School before opening his vinyl record shop on Yarm Street in Stockton in 1998. Since then the shop has grown massively and is one of the most beloved vinyl shops in the North East. Tom’s wife Clare said she has been left “utterly devastated” by his passing and thanked the community for their messages of support.

Blackwood, UK | Blackwood record shop owner creates unique collection of every major Welsh band since the 1960s: Alun Kent has created a Gallery of Welsh Greats featuring rare original vinyl records. Record shop owner, Alun Kent, is much more than a vinyl collector and enthusiast. The self-styled ‘trusted custodian of rare recordings by Welsh bands and singers’ says he is providing a unique international service for vinyl collectors to fill gaps in their personal collections. Alun’s Heart of the Valleys record shop in Blackwood, Caerphilly, north of Newport, is a treasure trove of rare and iconic records going back to the early 1960’s. In total, Alun’s collection exceeds 17,000 vinyl records – from R&B, soul, Motown, rock, heavy metal to northern soul and jazz. Responding to new global interest in bygone Welsh bands, Alun has created a Gallery of Welsh Greats featuring rare original vinyl records, many in mint condition, from the early 1960s to the present day.

Oakham, UK | Metallica bassist Robert Trujillo, who performed at Download Festival, visits Rocka-buy Records in Oakham: A music-lover was overwhelmed when “rock royalty” visited his record store. Metallica bassist Robert Trujillo dropped into Rocka-Buy Records in Oakham on Friday while staying in the area for Download Festival. Shop owner Dean Poole was visited out of the blue by the band’s management team during the morning and by 1.30pm the rock star was browsing his shelves. Dean said: “Metallica are the biggest rock band in the world. They are rock royalty and no one else comes close. It has made my year.” The band’s management team told Dean they follow him on TikTok and were keen to visit the shop while staying in the area. Knowing Dean is a big Oasis fan, they initially chatted about managing the band when they broke America before conversation switched to Metallica. Although Dean admits the band isn’t his cup of tea, he was keen to hear more about their history and their two headline performances at Download Festival in Castle Donington.

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Wellington, NZ | Scratching an itch – NZ’s vinyl junkies are joining the rush to records: As vinyl sales hit record levels overseas New Zealanders are also doing their bit to keep the music alive, forking out $8 million on records last year. According to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), 41.3m EPs/LPs were sold in the United States last year, outstripping sales of CDs for the first time since 1987. Vinyl albums earned US$1.2 billion, compared to $483m for CDs. It’s a similar scenario here, albeit on a much smaller scale. Figures just released by Recorded Music NZ​ show overall physical sales of recorded music here increased by $1.7m to $11m in 2022, driven by a significant increase in vinyl sales, at $8m, up from $5.9m in 2021. That was offset slightly by a small decline in compact disc sales.

Fort Worth, TX | Best of Fort Worth: Doc’s Records & Vintage: Doc’s Records & Vintage has been a main contributor to our vinyl-buying habits for years, going back to its very first shop in Hurst, nearly two decades ago. Some of us even remember when Jerry Boyd, the father in the pop-and-son team that owns Doc’s, used to sell vinyl at record conventions in Dallas. Us and Doc’s, we go back a ways. But it’s the latter part of its name — the “Vintage” part — that has always set Doc’s apart from other record stores. And over the years, and the course of four stores, each one bigger than the last, it has become a major component to its business model. The current incarnation of son Jenkins and pop Jerry’s store, located in The Foundry District, is split evenly between record shop and vintage market. On the music side of the store, Jenkins guestimates there’s at least 4,000 records in stock, plus a virtually uncountable number of CDs.

Westport, CT | At the Westport Library you can check out books, and record an album too: Public Libraries are constantly evolving, searching for ways to serve their communities with new programs and new technology. “Libraries are institutions of life-long learning and knowledge,” said Bill Harman, executive director of the Westport Library. “What we are trying to do is evolve, so we’re using technology so we can connect with a broader segment of the community, people who are interested in books, but other means of knowledge and information.” To that end, the Westport Library rolled out a new, independent record label last year. Verso Records’ mission is to give talented musicians a leg up in the music industry, as well as give library members the chance to learn about sound production in a state-of-the-art facility.

CN | The sound of music from before: People may wonder about the reasons why someone would pay for a secondhand copy of a scratchy plastic disc that plays only on a costly turntable, when he or she could stream the same song or the same album on digital platforms at a much lower price. “It’s a minority taste but we’ve seen an increasing number of people, especially the young generations, who are embracing the vinyl records,” says Chen Huina, deputy director of the Classic Books Reading Department of the National Library of China in Beijing. “Vinyl records stand in opposition to today’s rapidly innovative, digitally driven world. Nostalgia’s role is crucial. It is like an escape from the busy modern life. “The experience of discovery, acquiring and listening to music is now so easy and commonplace. But the value of music should not be diminished…”

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Chicago, IL | Loud Pizza Records scores with an inviting appeal, brilliant marketing strategy and perfect location: The Record Store Recon edition of the Goldmine Podcast visits Loud Pizza, a record store in Chicago, IL, with special guest Liverpool Neil from the podcast Punk Till I Die. Listen in on how Loud Pizza Records scores with an inviting appeal, brilliant marketing strategy and perfect location. The Record Store Recon edition of the Goldmine Podcast visits Loud Pizza, a record store in Chicago, IL, with editor Patrick Prince and roving (somewhat anonymous) reporter Dr. Disc. Also, special guest Liverpool Neil of the podcast Punk Till I Die joins the episode for a fun discussion about this new, exciting record store in the Highland Park area.

London, UK | VDS London: East London’s paradise for Japanese vinyl collectors: …VDS, short for Vinyl Delivery Service, is a two-pronged enterprise built on vinyl exchanges between Tokyo and London. Established as a base office in Tokyo in 2018, the store cast its net further afield with the opening of the Columbia Road location three years later. Headed up by the VDS London director Scott Pelloux and founder and director of the Tokyo and London branches, Rintaro Sekizuka, the store has been serving the interests of a growing niche of Japanese vinyl collectors across London for two years. VDS London got its humble beginnings at a pop-up store at Hidden Sounds’ old space in Bethnal Green. Here, Scott met Rintaro and was introduced to his extensive record collection. “I kept in touch with Rintaro after that and he wanted to open a branch of VDS in Europe or the UK, more specifically,” Scott explains. Two years later, Scott was made redundant and a plan came together.

Asheville, NC | Psychic Hotline pops up at Citizen Vinyl: There will be specialty LPs and merch, Burmese tapas, and a DJ set from one half of Sylvan Esso. Psychic Hotline, an artist-run record label from Durham, has big plans for its two-day stop in Asheville. The label will host a retail pop-up, featuring special releases from NC artists like The Dead Tongues, Kieran Hebden & William Tyler, Flock of Dimes, and Peach Fuzz from 12 to 6 p.m. on Wednesday, June 14 to Thursday, June 15 at Citizen Vinyl. While the vinyl releases (which are pressed at Citizen Vinyl) are undoubtedly cool, there will be much more than albums for sale. On Wednesday, chef Paul Cressend will serve small plates, with aThokelay slinging Burmese tapas the following evening. Music heads can also expect natural wine from Pink Moon and a line of a Psychic Hotline-inspired craft cocktails from Session Cafe & Bar. For all the Sylvan Esso fans out there, the pop-up will also include a DJ set from Nick Sanborn (who is one half of the indie electropop band), as well as Helado Negro, DJ Lil Meow Meow, and SHWNxSBTG.

Forest, VA | ‘Bring the fun back to Forest:’ Twice Records store brings vinyl back: Vinyl is BACK in the Forest! Twice Records has officially opened its doors as your one-stop shop for everything records, CDs, cassettes, and more. The owner, Spyros Theodorides, that there’s been a huge demand for the store and they have something for everyone to enjoy. “Twice Records has just blossomed into what everybody’s been looking for, Theodorides said. “So we’re trying to bring fun and records back to Forest. We have our first class section, we have our business class and our economy. So you can fly in one or you can fly in all three.” Theodorides said that people of all ages and from all over have been stopping by. The store is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 to 5.

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UK | New study finds growing vinyl sales are essential for a healthy music industry: A recent study has found that healthy vinyl sales go hand-in-hand with a healthy music industry as the format is essential to helping artists particularly at a grassroots level. The study by Components found that vinyl sales are “strongly positively associated with the amount of money that artists make on the platform [Bandcamp], and that among all types of objects sold, this association is strongest with vinyl records.” Furthermore, it explained that “the purchase of physical objects becomes increasingly common among buyers as they spend more money overall, with vinyl alone encompassing more sales than all other physical objects combined. In other words, the format is a disproportionately important channel of spending.”

Vallejo, CA | Vallejoan takes over Suisun’s Retroactive Records and Games: Steve Santa Maria makes a career change as the new owner. Twenty years into a satisfying teaching career, Steve Santa Maria wasn’t necessarily looking for a sign. But on an otherwise rather uneventful trip to the record store with his wife, there it was. For sale. Santa Maria didn’t miss it, which is why the longtime record collector is now the proud owner of Retroactive Records & Games in downtown Suisun City. “It was totally not a planned new profession at all. It just is something that just kind of happened,” says Santa Maria, who sparked up a conversation with the owner and both agreed to keep the store’s integrity and classic setup: Vinyl and video games. “It’s always been a passion of mine. I’ve always collected records since I was in my teens and my kids now think it’s pretty cool.” The shop has a variety of video game consoles, from Atari to Nintendo, PlayStation and many more.

Sequim, WA | Sequim gears up for first record show: That first record? Oh yeah. Boston’s self-titled, circa 1976, the one with the spaceship on the cover. “Great album, front to back,” said Gary Butler. “I still play it once in a while.” Butler and fellow vinyl aficionados are hosting what’s believed to be the first record show in the Sequim-Port Angeles area later this week. The community is invited to the Sequim Record Show, set for 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, June 10, at the Guy Cole Convention Center at Carrie Blake Community Park, 202 N. Blake Ave. The free show features vinyl records, both old and new, plus other music mediums. Butler said he’s participated in Port Townsend’s record show the past six years and it sparked an idea to host one a little closer. “[Port Townsend] did an amazing one down there. I thought I’d like to try and see how it would go hear,” Butlers said. “We have a great venue.”

Lochgelly, UK | Owner of record shop in Lochgelly reflects on first year: It has been a life-changing year in the hotseat of a vintage clothing, vinyl, art and collectibles shop in Lochgelly. David Hopkins, a man of music and sound engineer by trade, opened Emperor’s Attic in 2022 after taking a leap of faith. The Times told you in March last year that David was unemployed and searching for answers when he decided to take on the challenge of owning his own store. Reflecting on the past year, he said the job has had its challenges but it has made him feel nostalgic for his youth. He told the Times: “My life has changed 100 percent. “I actually feel like an enthusiastic teenager again with my passion back for music, clothing and art. I just feel sorry at times for customers seeing a hyper 46-year-old blasting music and waving clothes about. It’s been very encouraging and probably more of a success than I could have expected mainly because of the support of people locally.”

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