Troy, NY | New record store coming to Troy – do you have these on vinyl? Shopping online can be quick and easy but there are some items you want to see, hold and hear before buying. For me, purchasing a vinyl record needs to happen in a store. If you feel the same we will have a new Capital Region shop to flip through by this Spring. Welcome Sound House Records, King Street in Troy! Saratoga Living reports that those behind Sound House Records chose Troy because they were drawn to the city’s walkable downtown area and its strong community vibe. As far as the vibe of the store, it is expected to be a place where “you’ll be able to walk into Sound House, whether you’re an avid collector or new radical, and not feel like you’re being put down or forced to buy the coolest new record or rarest, most expensive item.” I will never forget my very first vinyl. When I was about 10 years old I went to our local department store and purchased Destroyer by KISS and I never looked back. I used to stare at the cover and wonder if they were real people or super heroes or something. Hey, I was 10.
Peoria, IL | Open for Business: Peoria record store owner pushes back health blackouts, pandemic to spin the songs: At the age of 73, Craig Moore has always been surrounded by the sounds of music. His father bought him his first kindergarten record player. “It was magical, you know. What came out of those records was just amazing. And anyway, he stuck, “he said. The gift sparked Moore’s passion for playing music. He joined a rock and roll band in the 1960s. But it was where Moore went during this time that brought to light another of his passions. Moore said, “Any band I’ve been in – if we were going to a town, the first place I went was the record store. I would find the record store and go. It was then that the wheels began to turn for Moore. In 1984, he opened his own record store on Main Street in Peoria. In 1998, it expanded to University Street, calling the store Younger Than Yesterday. “I thought it would be cool to be that kind of cranky guy behind the counter who knows all about [records]. You know and maybe I’ll put up with you and maybe I won’t.
Waukesha, WI | New Store Sells Nostalgia And Music In Waukesha: Nostalgia Music & More specializes in old vinyl and ’90s video games. Break out the grungy flannel shirts from the ’90s and reminisce about the time you were all that and a bag of chips: Stephen Howitz has opened a store called Nostalgia Music & More, 321 W. Main St. in Waukesha. The store is a buy, sell and trade business featuring pre-owned video games and records in a variety of genres from decades past. “It always has been my dream. I worked in record stores when I was a kid until I was 23,” Howitz told Patch. Howitz now works as a lawyer by day but is also a music enthusiast with nearly 4,000 records in his home collection. He is slowly merging records from his collection into the store’s inventory when he feels ready to part with them. The feeling of nostalgia is a hard habit to break for Howitz. “We are always chasing that feeling. Like the feeling of opening up ‘[a] Zelda’ for Nintendo 64 on Christmas,” Howitz said.
Winston-Salem, NC | Alan “Phred” Rainey, owner of Earshot Music store in Winston-Salem, has died: After Alan “Phred” Rainey become the owner of the Earshot Music store in Winston-Salem, he reaffirmed his commitment to his customers and the music they cherished, a business associate and a relative say. “He (Rainey) loved his customers,” said Jane Buck of Winston-Salem, who as an independent contractor did marketing and bookkeeping for the music store. “He loved the community, and he loved his music. He loved bringing all of that together.” Rainey was a fixture in the city, Buck said. “He could find anything that people were looking for,” Buck said. “He connected people to the music that they were looking for. He was a special guy.” Phred Rainey, 56, died Tuesday after a long battle with leukemia, said his brother, Mark Rainey of Greensboro. “One of the things that touched me were how many people who were influenced by him,” Mark Rainey said. “Everybody said he was so kind. He had very strong passion for music, and he shared that.”
Waianae, HI | Waianae record store targeted with suspected Molotov cocktail: An arson investigation is underway at Waianae Mall early Friday. Honolulu police said a suspect threw what appeared to be a Molotov cocktail into High Royalty Records around 3 a.m. It started a small fire, police added. “Next thing I knew, I heard a flame crackling outside the door,” said owner Megale Cole, who was inside at the time. “I looked up, next thing I know, I saw an object going through the window that hit the wall.” Cole said he worked to put the flames out on his own before Honolulu fire crews arrived. The smoke also triggered the sprinklers inside his store. Police are now working to track down a suspect. There’s no word on a motive at this point.
‘Shake the Devil’: Album of unreleased tracks from sessions for the late Tommy Bolin’s last solo record due in February: A collection of previously unreleased recordings by Tommy Bolin from the sessions for the late rock guitar great’s second and final solo album, 1976’s Private Eyes, will be issued on February 12. The album, titled Shake the Devil: The Lost Sessions, features outtakes, demos and alternate versions and mixes of many of the songs that appeared on Private Eyes, including “Shake the Devil,” “Bustin’ Out for Rosey,” “Hello Again,” “Gypsy Soul” “Someday We’ll Bring Our Love Home” and “Post Toastee.” An alternate version of “Bustin’ Out for Rosey” that’s featured on Shake the Devil has been released as an advance single digitally and via streaming services. The album can be pre-ordered now, and will be available on CD, digitally and as a limited-edition colored-vinyl LP pressed on white, purple or red vinyl. The release features liner notes from respected rock journalist Dave Thompson.
Studio Ghibli 7inch Vinyl Record Box Set Pre-orders Open at Animate International: Online store Animate International has opened pre-orders for a STUDIO GHIBLI 7inch Vinyl Record Box Set. These 7-inch vinyl records are the ultimate re-release of famous music from the world-renown Studio Ghibli. The theme songs of films from Nausica of the Valley of the Wind, which premiered 35 years ago, Castle in the Sky, and My Neighbor Totoro are widely beloved to this day, and have even featured in musical theory textbooks. These vinyl record EPs are perfect re-releases of the originals, collected into a box set! They have been newly remastered, capturing the sound quality vinyl records are known for – something you must experience for yourself.
