Record Store Day

“I have watched independent record stores evaporate all over America and Europe. That's why I go into as many as I can and buy records whenever possible. If we lose the independent record store, we lose big. Every time you buy your records at one of these places, it's a blow to the empire.” –HENRY ROLLINS

April 19 2008 - go to a record store and buy something. Its pretty simple. Im going. To a few. I might even go the week before as a warm up. And maybe the week after to reminisce.

My itinerary:

10am - RedEye on King St
1130am - the one on York St who's name i always forget
12pm - Ashwoods on York St (website seems to be down)
1pm - lunch somewhere on the run
130pm - RedEye secondhand on Pitt St
230pm - spend an hour or so in the mixed bag of second hand record stores on lower Pitt St. At least whats left of them
4pm - Utopia on Broadway
5pm - Grab a drink in the Broadway shopping centre and then head home to enjoy the goodies purchased on the day

Do it.

Oh how I remember previous trips to record stores. As a kid with $40 id spend a whole day in Phantom Records, Kings Comics, RedEye Records, Utopia Records, HMV, Blockbuster Music, Sanity, Virgin Records, Grace Bros and the various second hand music stores in the Sydney CBD. Most of these have sadly gone now. And only RedEye and Utopia have kept selling vinyl. The rest have shithouse music departments selling top 40 crap. Fuckers.

And then there was the time I spent $AUD600 in the Virgin Records in Shinjuku in Tokyo. In 15 minutes. That was hard to explain to Yvee. But she got it. I think. And then trapsing through the backstreets of Tokyo stumbling across the record stores they had there. I stumbled upon AIRS in Shinjuku back in January 2003. And lets just say that I was impressed. Id heard about the store via a Jimmy Page interview. They stock the best collection of music bootlegs known to man. In fact, Jimmy was there a few weeks before I got there. He collects Zeppelin shows from them. His photo was up in the store. In fact, most bands visit the store when they are in Tokyo. Their www site has a stack of photos of the bands who visit. Im the proud owner of a rare Foo Fighters 1997 UK gig and a Helmet show from 1997 in Milwaukee. - both purchased from the store. On my second trip I purchased a video of Bon Jovi playing at the NHL Kickoff in Times Square in 2001. Nice. Taylor Hawkins once posted on the Foo www site that he spent a few hours there and listed the Queen shows he purchased. Total fan boy. I can relate.

And then there was the time I got lost in Bleecker St in New York City. Man, the hours I spent in Bleecker Bobs, Bleecker St Records, and the other great records stores I stumbled upon in the Bowery / Greenwich Village area of the city back in October 2005. Just an amazing shopping experience. One that my American Express card and I will never forget.



I read Tony's story about the Paul McCartney show at Amoeba Records Los Angeles back in June 2007. That sounded like a cool show, and an even cooler record store to visit. And I will when im there in July.









Anyway - Record Store Day

On Saturday, April 19, 2008, hundreds of independently owned music stores across the country will celebrate “Record Store Day.”

On this day, all of these stores will simultaneously link and act as one with the purpose of celebrating the culture and unique place that they occupy both in their local communities and nationally.




And this:

Metallica to Launch Record Store Day

March 14, 2008

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST COMMUNIQUE:
METALLICA CONFIRM IN-STORE SIGNING AT RASPUTIN MUSIC IN CELEBRATION OF RECORD STORE DAY

March, 14, 2008: Austin, TX: While here at this SxSW 2008, organizers of RECORD STORE DAY in conjunction with Warner Bros. Records are pleased to announce that Metallica will officially launch Record Store Day on Saturday, April 19th, with an in-store signing and fan meet and greet at Rasputin Music’s Mountain View store near San Francisco, California (www.rasputinmusic.com). The event, the band’s first in-store appearance in nearly a decade, will also celebrate the 180 gram vinyl re-release of the band’s classic albums "Kill ‘Em All" and "Ride The Lightning" on April 15th.

The already heavily anticipated RECORD STORE DAY celebration will include the participation of hundreds of independently owned music stores across the country. All of these stores will simultaneously link and act as one with the purpose of celebrating the culture and unique place that they occupy both in their local communities and nationally. The support from musicians, fans, customers and the record industry by and large has been overwhelmingly evident from mash book entries. Visit: (www.recordstoreday.com)