Annville, PA | New used books and music store in Annville boasts thoughtful inventory and interesting stories: Inside the front door of Salamander Books & Music in Annville sit shelves of classic books, vinyl records, CDs, and music gear, while old-fashioned posters and assorted knick-knacks hang from the walls. The cool factor is undeniable, but don’t be tricked into thinking it’s all surface level — what’s for sale is just as compelling. Michael Cantor, a recently new resident of Annville himself, is the owner of the store, which opened at 1244 East Main Street at the beginning of September. “I want [the books] to be good solid reading material,” Cantor told LebTown in a phone interview, adding that “[the store] is particularly geared toward people that might have any specific interests they might want to look into.” The range of genres and content is diverse, with everything from theology to philosophy to science fiction and more represented.
Cornwall, CA | Bud’s Records and Kool Things reopens its doors: A beloved Cornwall record shop is reopening – a turn of events that will be music to the ears of music fans from near and far. Bud’s Records and Kool Things officially reopens on Saturday, October 31st, offering music lovers a one-stop shop for vinyl, CDs, cassettes, band t-shirts and other music-related accessories. “We’ve got all kinds of genres of music. There’s pretty much something for everyone,” said Jason Lavoie, the new owner of Bud’s along with his partner Emily. The road to the Halloween reopening at Bud’s is one of great tragedy and heartbreak mixed with love, legacy and friendship. Opened in 2019, Bud’s was the creation of Bud O’Byrne, a Cornwall resident with a great personality and a deep-rooted passion for music. That passion eventually translated into a massive record collection. After doing online sales for a while, O’Byrne decided to make the full dive into entrepreneurship and open his own record shop.
McKinney, TX | Nostalgic Shopping Through the Decades: Red Zeppelin Records. …Red Zeppelin opened earlier this year and celebrated its grand opening in September. So far, they’ve enjoyed a smashing success. The quixotic allure of vinyl requires some explaining. Vinyl’s popularity seems to reach all ages from today’s teenage punk fans to Gen Z and X-ers to Baby Boomers. Vinyl albums offer a physical experience that music streaming doesn’t. Browsing album covers encourages exposure to new artists and genres. People use tactile senses to hold an album, appreciate the cover art, and turn it over to find other details — song titles, lyrics, band members’ names, and more. There’s also the possibility of surprise when looking inside a vinyl album. The record’s color, the printed label or inner sleeves, posters, lyric sheets, and booklets offer a context for discovering new music. Used CDs, stickers, refrigerator magnets, posters, patches, pins, and T-shirts sell alongside the long, browsable shelves of vinyl albums. Red Zeppelin’s potpourri of music genres represents a variety of retro music.
Dublin, IE | Freebird Records – Hidden in plain sight: If you like music as much as I do (or anyone else in the world, because let’s face it, it is the first thing we mention when people ask about our tastes or interests) I got you covered. Freebird Records in Dublin is the perfect place to get lost among CDs and vinyls like in that iconic scene from 500 Days of Summer. Plus, it’s also a book store! There are all kinds of second-hand books at a good price, from the newest to the most classic. At Freebird Records, you can also find many cool vintage things like postcard books set in the 1920s or copies of old magazines and pamphlets. What I like the most about Freebird Records, The Secret Book and Record Stores is, as its own description indicates, how secret and mysterious it is. Walking down Wicklow Street a couple of buildings before the street ends and Grafton Street begins you will find this little gem. But pay attention, otherwise its small entry could go unnoticed. Don’t worry, the secret sign outside the secret store that reads The Secret Book and Record Store will give you a hint about where to find Freebird Records…
Colorado Springs, CO | Independent Records closes another store: Independent Records & Video has closed its store at 8108 N. Academy Blvd., leaving the eclectic Colorado Springs-based chain with three locations after having a total of seven only five years ago. The North Academy store closed Sept. 17 after opening in 2015. The building’s lease was up, sales weren’t doing well and the lease wasn’t renewed, said Lewis Lambert, co-owner of Independent Records with his older brother, Orville. In recent years, Independent Records also has closed locations in Fountain, downtown Colorado Springs and the city’s west side. It continues to operate its main store at 3030 E. Platte Ave., the next-door annex at 3020 E. Platte Ave. and a location in Pueblo. Independent Records, which the Lamberts opened in 1978 after coming to Colorado from California, is one of the last locally owned record stores in the Pikes Peak region. It’s remained in business while Borders Books & Music, Blockbuster Video, Media Play and other regional and national music and entertainment chains have folded.
Cork, IE | Clicks over bricks: The surge in businesses moving online: Your online offering may be the key to success in a Covid Christmas. With just eight weeks to go until Christmas Day and at least five of those weeks prohibiting most outlets from opening their brick and mortar stores, many businesses across Munster may be thinking about the value of investing in their online offering, or even setting up a digital presence for the first time. Indeed, many have already taken the plunge. So far this year, Local Enterprise Offices have paid out in excess of 9,000 vouchers under the ‘Trading Online Voucher Scheme’, with more than 1,000 of these approved by the three LEOs in Cork city and county. This is more than seven times the amount given out last year. The vouchers, designed to assist small businesses (up to 10 employees with turnover of less than €2m) who have either a limited or no e-commerce presence, offer financial assistance of up to €2,500 with co-funding of 10% from the business. The funds can be used to set up an e-commerce site, develop a digital marketing strategy, add payment facilities to an existing site, develop an app for your customers and more.
Bury, UK | New plates for Record Store Day at Bury music cafe: Devotees of vinyl got their fill when Record Store Day came to Bury. Supporters of the annual beano had bumped the event itself from its usual berth in April to late October because of the pandemic. But aficionados were still queuing patiently outside Wax & Beans on Saturday morning. Bosses at the shop, which relocated to Market Street earlier on this year from the Old Picturehouse, reported plenty of sell-outs for special Record Day store releases. Others like Endless Music, which used to have a store on Bury New Road, Prestwich, looked to do a brisk trade online. U2, Manic Street Preachers and David Bowie had releases in aid of the War Child charity.
