“The sound, the feel, the art. Pulling out a record and dropping the needle is an experience.”
“It’s physical, like playing music. Records move with the music, and that music moves us. Our music is modern, but our sound has always been inspired by our favorite records. In the studio we record live on tape, straight to vinyl, because it helps capture that classic spirit.
The first record I remember was Jimmy Reed at Carnegie Hall. The sound was heavy, the groove deep, and the cover spotlights a guitar and harmonica, the same instruments that inspire me to play. Those old blues records from my Dad’s collection hypnotized me growing up. Records have depth and a spectrum of sound, they pull you in and if you’re lucky they’re just a little bit warped, reminding you of the physical experience.”
—Troy V., guitar / vocals
“For me, it’s tough to claim a favorite record. I’ve been collecting and DJing for a long time and have had so many great experiences acquiring and listening to different records.”
“If I had to pick a favorite I’d have to say that it’s whatever record I got most recently, right now that happens to be Wu-Tang Clan’s Enter The 36th Chamber. Whether it’s a record I know and love and have been after for a while, a lucky find, a gift, a new band that I just saw live, or something totally random, I still have that same excitement and anticipation. I drop the needle and it’s Howlin’ Wolf or Hendrix blowing my mind all over again. That’s what’s cool about the vinyl experience, there’s always more to hunt and devour. It’s primal.
Manhattan, KS | Throwback: Local store feels the rise of vinyl sales: According to an article from Rolling Stone, vinyl sales have grown tremendously. The article claims that “CD sales were declining three times as fast as vinyl sales were growing.” Sisters of Sound, a local music store, has taken note of this trend. Sarah Cunnick, co-owner of Sisters of Sound, said they started their shop with 50 percent vinyl and 50 percent CDs. She said she noticed that vinyl sales began doubling around 2010. Although she agrees with Rolling Stone’s research, she believes the numbers may be more than they’re claiming. “The way they figure out how many sales happen, they’re only counting new vinyl,” Cunnick said. “There is hardly a way for them to track old vinyl. The reporting only takes place with the new vinyl.” Cunnick has been doing her own research throughout her store and noticed that for every one new vinyl purchased, nearly ten used vinyl records are purchased. These used vinyl records aren’t tracked when research is being done, which is why she believes the 
Canoga Park, CA | It’s A Shame, But Vinyl Manufacturer Rainbo Records Has Closed: Artists, record labels, and music trends come and go, but an unseen backbone of the music industry since 1939 has closed – vinyl manufacturer Rainbo Records. Rainbo has been the place to go for indies since there was such a thing. This was not only for artists trying to get their initial break like Husker Du, NWA, Kacey Musgraves, and Childish Gambino, but indie labels like punk stalwarts Epitaph and SST; rap imprints Death Row, Priority, and Sugar Hill; early dance labels Moonshine, Mushroom and Thump; and Concord Jazz, Rhino, and American as well. Along the way the company pressed records for the U.S. War Department for messages from home to servicemen overseas, to General Mills for records built into Wheaties boxes, to Disneyland to describe its attractions. That’s why it comes as a huge surprise that Rainbo has gone out of business. Even as vinyl has seen a healthy resurgence, that hasn’t been enough to offset 
Dallas, TX | After 46 years, Hit Records will close, take its final spin this weekend: Say goodbye to Hit Records at a two-day closeout sale this weekend. Hit Records was anything but a one-hit wonder. The record store in the Casa View Shopping Center will close after 46 years in business. Owner Ron Ross said on Facebook that the store’s lease is up, and he doesn’t agree with the new terms. He would rather sell than try to move, according to the post. A two-day closeout sale will take place from 3-8 p.m. Friday and Saturday at the record shop at 10253 Ferguson Road. “Come see Ron and buy a piece of record store history,” the Facebook post said. Ross began working at Hit Records in 1974, and bought the store in 1986, CultureMap reported. Over the years, rock bands, such as The Ramones, AC/DC and Aerosmith, have come through its doors. Every inch of Hit Records is covered in memorabilia, from Chuky dolls to baseball cards to a pair of Chuck Taylors signed by Marky Ramone. Oh yeah, the store 
Minneapolis, MN | Tes de Luna and Jason Hughes: The Curators: Tes de Luna and Jason Hughes’ introduction sounds straight out of an indie-rock rom-com. The owners of south Minneapolis record store/art boutique Rock Paper Scissors Goods initially crossed paths in Seattle, where de Luna was a regular at Hughes’ Sonic Boom Records. After hitting it off at an Elliott Smith concert in 2000, they went on their first proper date. Eventually, they would run small businesses next door to each other, get married, and have kids. De Luna, a Minneapolis native who graduated from MCAD in 1999, wanted to move the family back home. So they sold their Pacific Northwest shops and opened Rock Paper Scissors in 2018—a shop that combines their shared love of art and music under one roof. “We just wanted to use the knowledge from our former shops to start something new,” de Luna says. “Starting small in a new city made sense, and we hoped that creative folks would appreciate 
NEW RELEASE PICKS: Squarepusher, Be Up a Hello (Warp) When I learned Tom Jenkinson (the Englishman who is Squarepusher) had a new record out, I was surprised, excited and worried all at once. Surprised, because there hasn’t been a Squarepusher record in five years, excited because Jenkinson was amongst the first artists (along with Aphex Twin, Autechre, Boards of Canada and a couple more) to turn me around to electronic stuff, and worried because such a long hiatus can foretell a diminishment of inspiration. Well, my fears were misplaced, as this set is a total success. Much of this is like video game music marinating in caffeine and adrenaline, but the anthemic pop angle in opener “Oberlove” is a cool twist. “Detroit People Mover” blends Nintendo and Moroder and offers contemplative regality. A-
Ross Goldstein, Timoka (Birdwatcher) Composer Goldstein’s latest continues the progressions established on his prior LP, 2018’s The Eighth House, specifically a change in direction away from psychedelia. 2017’s Inverted Jenny struck me as an orchestral pop record, and so, a transitional work, perhaps. Timoka definitely has moments, like right out of the gate with “Obsidian Cat,” that one could describe as orchestral (a digital version of the Mellotron is being used), but pop it is not. Instead, like The Eighth House, it exudes a soundtrack-like sensibility, in part through the record’s non-vocal nature, but also because Goldstein’s work is reminiscent of developments in creative film scoring from the ’60s-’80s, but without coming off like a faux OST. This last observation is very important to Timoka’s success. A-
Jason McMahon, Odd West (Shinkoyo) Here’s the solo debut of a Brooklyn guy who’s been in a lot of bands, most prominently The Skeletons (not the rootsy and defunct Missouri Skeletons), and if a first effort on his own, in large part due to experience it lacks in the tentative, which is doubly impressive as it finds McMahon, already an accomplished guitarist, diving into the deep end of the pool that is advanced fingerpicking technique, and with gusto. I said this was doubly impressive, but the achievement grows as McMahon offers more than Fahey-disciple moves. There are certainly flourishes of string glisten descended from the more ornate end of the American Primitive spectrum, but Odd West reminds me more of post-rock, and I really dig how McMahon integrates vocals into his scheme. A-
REISSUE/ARCHIVAL PICK: Jolie Holland, Esconidida (Cinquefoil) When I heard that Holland’s second album from 2004 was getting the first-time on vinyl treatment (through her own Kickstarter), I danced a little jig. It’s quite the special set, and in some ways her solo debut, as prior effort Catalpa was a demo that burst out beyond its original intention through sheer force of quality. Esconidida, first released by ANTI (who also gave Catalpa a wider pressing), avoids even a trace of a letdown; in fact, it’s even better, and a sterling example of quality in the Americana style. A major reason why has to do with her lack of politeness/ affectedness as she rewrites “Old-Time Religion” as “Old Fashioned Morphine” (and references “Billy” Burroughs) and drops a “motherfucker” at the end of “Do You.” A classic. A
