Cross Plains, WI | Record pressing plant celebrates success in Wisconsin: For the first time in more than 90 years, Wisconsin is home to a vinyl record pressing plant. Owner Dave Eck said he’s always been a vinyl guy, even when many were throwing their records away. “All the labels, all the distributors, they wanted CDs; they didn’t even want to deal with the hassle of vinyl,” Eck said. “But I was just like, ‘We got to do the vinyl.’ You know, I was just always gung-ho about vinyl.” Eck was already in the business of mastering and cutting records as the owner of Lucky Mastering. He’s worked with some big-name talent, cleaning up their final studio recordings before the music is pressed into vinyl and mass produced. That’s where he noticed a bigger need. “The vinyl resurgence started getting so strong that my customers couldn’t get turnaround at the pressing plants,” Eck said. “It was literally 12 to 18 months turnaround for even 100 or 1,000 records.”
Troy, NY | The Roundabout Records Roundup—Sound House Records Edition: …Between online record-buying, parenting a three-year-old and the start of the school year, it took me until last Friday night to finally find an afternoon where I could take the 20-minute drive down to Troy to spend an hour browsing at Sound House. …Sound House, which opened in 2021, is the closest thing our area has to a true boutique shop. It is CLEAN and so are the records (used records are ultrasonically cleaned, which saves nitpicky collectors like me the trouble of doing so at home). The lighting is also ideal for checking condition, and the size of the shop is perfect for a two-hour dig. The shop had completely turned over its merchandise since my last shop, so it was cool to hit the bins.
Manchester, UK | The return of the Vinyl Frontier society: “There’s infinite potential for conversation.” From Nina Simone to SOPHIE, all manner of music gets a fair hearing at Manchester’s premier album book-club, and this year’s committee are looking to expand the weekly music discussion group even further. Like so many of Manchester’s smaller societies, Vinyl Frontier ceased to exist during the COVID-19 pandemic. …A self-described “book-club style music society,” Vinyl Frontier socials are pub meet-ups centred each week around a different album, a premise not well-suited to the guideline constraints of the COVID era. …Vinyl Frontier resumed activity in the 2021-22 academic year, hosting socials every few weeks with around 10 to 15 people attending. In the last year, however, numbers have exploded, with 35 to 40 people attending the weekly meeting, and more popular weeks packing the venue completely.
UK | Vinyl Destination: Tale Of Bus: Have you ever dreamed of packing in your day job and hitting the open road in a campervan? Dutch DJ, booker and collector Daan Donk got that same itch and made it a reality. Having entered the party scene at the tender age of 19 through a role as DJ and booker at beach club Woodstock ’69, Daan had worked in the events side of the music industry for nearly a decade before bureaucracy allowed him to take a step back. “I had helped to set up a beach venue in Berlin and my five-year plan was to be there every summer,” Daan explains. The venue’s license fell through, leaving Daan with hours to fill for the first time since he was a teen. “I always wanted to have a campervan, and I was jobless,” he says. “I wanted a van and to have decks in it so it would be the ultimate DJ camper for myself.”
Washington, DC | “Deadwax From The Vinyl House” Book Reading/Author Signing at Byrdland Records: Meet Vince Mallardi. the co-author of “Deadwax From The Vinyl House: Uncovering the Musical Hoard of an Era” and hear the incredible story about a hoard of record and tape masters found in a house abandoned by its owner. Deadwax from the Vinyl House is a slice of the 1960s recording business as discovered through a hoard of record and tape masters found in a house abandoned by its owner, a sound engineer from that decade. The purchaser who was not alive in the 60s seeks out the hundreds of performers, producers, labels and memorabilia only to learn that only a handful are not dead. Co-author Vincent Mallardi is chief among them as he founded and owned the record company that represeted the largest portion of the extraordinary collection.
Barrie, CA | Director, documentary subject to attend film screening in Barrie: Drop the Needle director Rob Freeman, record store founder Eugene Tam to take part in Q&A on Oct. 21. On Oct. 21, 2023 at the Galaxy Cinemas the Barrie Film Festival will welcome director Rob Freeman and the film’s subject, Eugene Tam, to a post-screening Q&A. In August 1990, a record store opened on Yonge Street that quickly began serving the needs of college radio and DJs who spun new sounds far from the mainstream. Through the contagious work ethic and guidance of founder Eugene Tam, organically, Play De Record became the hub for ‘dance’ music and the genres which emerged from under that umbrella, fuelling and fostering hip-hop and electronic culture. Today its impact on Toronto and by extension Canada is without question. From director Rob Freeman and producers Rob Freeman and Neil Acharya, Drop the Needle will explore the origin story of Play De Record.
Accrington, UK | Town’s record fair returns after successes of last two events: The independent Accrington Outdoor Market Record Fair is back with some great new traders. Located in Peel Street, at the side of Accrington Outdoor Market, 196 Records will be hosting a record fair with nearby parking and a food van, with everything from punk and reggae to blues and soul on offer. The store sells hand picked quality used and new vinyl records, CD’s, cassettes and music memorabilia. The owner of 196 Records, Matt Colbridge, said: “There used to be a record fair in Accrington run by a company called Real Deal, but when they left I asked to take it over. “Then it just grew from there. We are now involved in multiple events and pop ups, from Warrington to Whalley. “We have had three events in Accrington in the past. We were every two months but now we have gone monthly as we have had that much interest and a long list of stall holders wanting to book on.”
New York, NY | My Haul From the WFMU Record Fair: Rounding out a record collection with finds from the Beach Boys, Kraftwerk and Roberta Flack. Dear listeners, Over the weekend, I spent some time at the WFMU Record and CD Fair — a New York institution returning in person for the first time since 2019. A fund-raiser for the great, listener-supported radio station, this year’s Record Fair featured over 100 dealers hawking vinyl and other musical sundries at the Knockdown Center in Queens. I browsed for hours, and by the time I was done my back was sore from hunching over crates and my arms ached from all the records I was toting around. Who says record collecting isn’t a sport? That lingering pang in my shoulder, though, meant I left with a pretty decent record haul — which I used to create today’s playlist.
