Sydney, AU | How a Sydney record store keeps defying the odds! Whether it’s from behind the store counter, in his rave days, or advocating for change in the industry, Stephan Gyory has watched Sydney’s music history from the sidelines. And he’s got a lot to tell us about it. In our latest episode of the Stoney Roads Podcast, we speak to Stephan Gyory, a Sydney record store owner and long-time music lover. He’s been slinging vinyl since the ’90s at BPM Records, and since 2003, he’s been running his own at Record Store in Surry Hills. It’s one of a handful of inner-city record stores that lived to see the second vinyl boom of the 2010s. It’s run day-to-day by a rotating crew of local artists, DJs, and music lovers and remains one of Sydney’s best destinations for a crate dig.
Lancaster, PA | An ode to Mr. Suit Records as the store prepares to close its doors: Monday, Oct. 3, was a gray, miserable day. Not just because of the rain, and not just because it was a Monday — no, this was the day that my fears came true. Mike Madrigale, owner of Mr. Suit Records, a fine purveyor of vinyl, horror movies and niche T-shirts, announced on Instagram that he’ll be closing his shop after 15 years in business at year’s end. The move was not unexpected, per se — in recent times, the building the shop is located in changed ownership and building neighbor Winding Way Books recently moved out, so while the writing was on the wall, the ink felt fresh enough that it seemed like there was still time for someone to scrub it away. It feels weird to speak in the past tense about a place I visited once or twice a week, every week, for six years. …Every business goes the way of the dodo at some point, but there’s certain businesses that felt like a living ecosystem unto themselves, and Mr. Suit was…was…certainly that.
Houston, TX | Best Of Houston 2022: Best Record Store: Cactus Music has long been the sort of shopping destination record buyers from anywhere would eagerly scratch onto their Houston to-do list. It’s known and loved for stacking its racks with vinyl, cassette tapes, CDs – whichever the popular medium of the time over its long history. One thing it’s done well over recent years, including pre-pandemic ones, is connect its patrons to live music events. 10-18Before you-know-what happened, the city’s oldest independent music store frequently held popular in-store shows, afternoon concerts boasting local and touring acts, with free beer to boot. Those shows came to a halt during COVID times and have been slow to return, but Cactus is still urging its faithful record buyers to take in live shows with concert ticket giveaways.
Burlington, IA | ‘Still weird after all these years:’ Burlington record store celebrates 50 years: Music has changed through the years, and so has the way we buy and listen to it. But one thing that’s remained constant is Weird Harold’s. The record shop in downtown Burlington is making plans for a 50th anniversary celebration on Saturday, Nov. 19. Weird Harold’s opened in a tiny building on Central Street in 1972, a time when the likes of The Rolling Stones, David Bowie, and Stevie Wonder ruled the music charts. Danny Bessine was Weird Harold’s original owner. He said he started out selling 8-track tapes because only one other store in town was selling them. He also had some vinyl. Bessine said he was not a huge music fan when he opened Weird Harold’s. “Nope, not at all. I was just an entrepreneur looking for a business, and I felt that this was a business that we needed in this town,” he said.
Gainesville, FL | Local brewery hosts Gainesville Record Fair: Vinyl sales have increased every year since 2006. Cypress and Grove Brewery played host to the Gainesville Record Fair Sunday. Record lovers piled in to sift through and find some gems. Even in the digital age, the love for vinyl records is extremely high. “It’s something that you can hold and you can put on a record player and actually it’s kinda magic that this little piece of plastic plays this great music,” said one of the fair’s organizers Douglas Bliton. Vinyl sales increased for the 16th consecutive year in 2021 to 41.7 million copies, according to Billboard Music. It has become especially popular among young people, who have reverted to vinyl despite the emergence of streaming. “It’s so much more meaningful than digital media and I really enjoy being able to–like a tri fold you get more art,” said Dallas Lanius. “And there’s just more content there, it’s nice to hold something physical.”
Barrie, CA | Vinyl lovers spin through Allandale Rec Centre in search of gems: ‘It’s the warm sound you grew up with,’ says well-known vendor John Ritson. There was vinyl and milk crates as far as the eye could see Sunday at Allandale Recreation Centre. Plenty of people, too, found time to take in the Barrie Vinyl Record and Collectibles Show. Record albums new and old, battered and pristine, were for sale, along with music posters, tapes and even compact discs, which replaced vinyl records in the 1980s, only to be replaced themselves with the new and improved LPs. But for Jessie Woodrow of Moonstone, attending this show is just a different experience than buying music in a store or online. “You get to meet people with similar interests and find music you might not see in the stores,” she told BarrieToday flipping through albums. “Sometimes I like the used records because they have a story to tell. You see it on the wear on them (the LPs).”
Neil Young Announces 50th Anniversary Edition of 1972 Album ‘Harvest.’ The new release will be available on December 2. Neil Young announces plans to release his 1972 album Harvest with a 50th Anniversary Edition. Young’s fourth solo album remains one of the most beloved in his catalog and is dense with songs that have long-permeated radio waves. The 50th Anniversary Edition Box Sets will be released December 2nd on Vinyl and CD, boasting the original album, three studio outtakes on CD/7″ vinyl, an unreleased live 1971 BBC solo performance on CD, LP and DVD. The film Harvest Time is a previously unseen 2-hour documentary filmed in 1971, documenting the Harvest sessions. Also included in the package is a hardbound book and fold-out poster. The vinyl box sets include a lithograph print.
