Tag Archives: record store day

Not Just Another Record Store Day 2012 Report: TheRockFather.Com

I ran across this amazing blog post from a new-to-me blog called The Rock Father. This post covers Records Store Day 2012, but also gets into the highs and lows of being a music-loving maverick working in the corporate hells of Wal-Mart, Super K-Mart, and Sam Goody. And when I say “maverick”, I mean it. Here’s a quote found on the blog post–a caption from one of the photographs:

“Nearly 100 feet of releases from Victory Records, Fearless, Hopeless, Epitaph, and local bands? How many Sam Goody mall stores had that? Mine did.”

The idea that a local Sam Goody had a local scene evangelist working to promote the bands is pretty amazing, and just goes to show you that one person CAN make a difference. It’s a pretty inspirational piece that does eventually get round to discussing Record Store Day 2012 (the image to the left is part of that story) and unfortunately has to end on a bit of a downbeat note–apparently there aren’t any true indie record shops near TheRockFather.com central.

RockFather.com founder James Zahn works in a variety of creative disciplines, and is available to bands for hire for music video projects, album trailers and much more. I haven’t had a chance to get acquainted with the rest of his site, but the Record Store Day post was great fun to read and I hope there’s more musing about vinyl, record stores, and indie culture there…

–Joe Wallace

Record Store Day 2012

Record Store Day 2012 was, for Turntabling at least, a great success. Scoring rare/weird and unusual vinyl isn’t something we limit ourselves round here to one day a year, but it seems that some vinyl sellers like to save some of the REALLY good stuff (RSD exclusives aside) for the big day.

In Chicago, RSD started quite early thanks to Dusty Groove America’s 8AM opening time. That might sound too early on a Saturday morning, but when the lines are forming outside Chicago record stores at 7AM and many of the stores not opening til 9 or 10, the Dusty Groove plan is actually quite nice for hardcore vinyl lovers.

RSD exclusives were definitely what these people were after, though some of those exclusives are pretty bewildering. An RSD re-issue of The Breakfast Club soundtrack? Are people CLAMORING for a brand-new version of this on vinyl? So be it…

Unfortunately, the most lust-worthy exclusives can’t be found on these American shores, and many were disappointed to learn about that. ‘Tis true–those UK editions stay in the UK, friends. If you’re after that Phish RSD vinyl, you’ve got a good chance of scoring one on RSD (you can have ’em all, jam bands don’t really float the Turntabling boat) but if you were hoping to score the Satanic Rites of Dracula/Dracula A.D. 1972 limited edition, you went home with a great big death metal-style frowny face.

There are some, including our very own Chicago Reader, who feel Record Store Day has jumped the shark because of all the “who cares?” reissues, long lines and general hullaballoo associated with the day. But when it comes to supporting your local record shop, Record Store Day is a crucial event.

Never mind the goofy re-releases you can still buy used for more affordable prices and all that–Record Store Day is something the shops have needed for quite some time and as such you’ll never hear us dissing it. If you want to continue having a record store in your area, events like this can’t be marginalized. It’s like getting cranky about the price of a Guinness at your favorite band’s live show–if you want to see ’em perform, you’re going to pay that extra two bucks for the stout. It’s just part of the biz, is all.

Here are some of the sights the Turntabling camera caught on Record Store Day 2012 in Chicago:

Laurie’s Planet of Sound was nice-n-orderly on RSD 2012, thanks to a pretty savvy head-counter/door opener setup. No fire marshall problems for THIS record shop. Also, some really excellent rare stuff in the stacks for the eagle-eyed crate digger.

Bravely manning the door at Dusty Groove America. We salute you, DGA crowd control volunteer–hope you survived the onslaught with no incidents to report!

All the crap nobody wanted from last year?

The people below were waiting outside at 7AM-ish. The hardcore vinyl junkies of Chicago, waiting outside Reckless Records in Wicker Park. Directly across the street was a different line of people outside a shoe store, waiting for god knows what.

Where Will You Be On Record Store Day 2012?

This Saturday, April 21st, is Record Store Day, which in our view should be a national holiday. There will be a glorious Turntabling excursion around Chicago hitting plenty of favorite haunts including Laurie’s Planet of Sound, Dusty Groove, Reckless Records, and many others.

There is so much goodness on vinyl for sale in Chi-town, and so many wonderful shops that it’s impossible to count them all. Granted, not all of them choose to participate in Record Store Day madness, but many do and we are quite grateful for that.

Support your local record store this Saturday, and if you’re on the fence about buying vinyl this weekend, perhaps you’d be convinced by none other than Mister Johnny Rotten himself, in this interview clip courtesy of TheQuietus.com. Lydon still knows how to stir things up, and employs the blarney quite well here. He goes on and on about Record Store Day but manages to loop in Julie Andrews, Guy Fawkes, riots, and his mum & dad.

See you in the shops on Saturday!



Record Store Day 2011: The dB’s Play Amplifier at Criminal Records

Record Store Day 2012 is fast approaching–we are 52 days away from April 21, 2012 at the time of this writing. There is always plenty happening nation-wide on Record Store Day, and this is just one little sampling. The dB’s did an in-store performance at the mighty Criminal Records in Atlanta, Georgia as part of Record Store Day 2011, and since “Amplifier” is a favorite around here…well, watch the clip, mark your calendars and get in the mood to buy some vinyl!