Liverpool, UK | Record store with a bar and live music opening in Liverpool: The venue is on Seel Street. Phase One in Liverpool officially opens its door next month following an 8-week refurbishment. The venue on 40 Seel Street is home to Jacaranda Records and as well as selling records it’ll have a bar with a “more mature” drinking environment. The idea originally started as a pop up in 2018 to expand the record shop above the city’s iconic music venue, The Jacaranda. The venue has now been transformed into a “shinier” and “grown-up” space with the record store making a permanent return under the new leadership of local DJ, Namina Koroma. The record store will greet you from the street and is chart registered, so every purchase of a new release counts towards its chart placing.
Salem, OH | Salem record store continues to grow: Music lovers looking for their favorite tunes on vinyl, wanting to find a classic record in any genre or even talk about music can visit State Street Records in historic downtown Salem. The old-fashioned record store is located upstairs at 417 E. State St. and not only sells records, cassettes, CDs, T-shirts and music memorabilia, but also buys records and more. Hours are posted on Facebook/ Instagram pages for statestreetrecords or call 330-942-0509. The business can also be reached via email. For owner Joshua Buck, it’s all about the music and providing a place where young and old alike can find that special record that makes them happy or evokes treasured memories or special feelings. “People are excited to have somewhere to go,” he said.
Nashville, TN | An East Nashville record shop is the latest example of a small business trying to gain ownership in a rapidly growing city: The Groove is a small record shop nestled into a modest house near Five Points. It’s got a reputation for being a community space, hosting live music and showing scary movies on a projector in the backyard. But their landlord is selling, and The Groove is at risk of becoming one of the latest victims of the city’s sky-high real estate prices. Part of their lease agreement gives The Groove an opportunity to buy the building before it hits the competitive real-estate market. Unfortunately, the price tag is about half a million dollars, say Jesse Cartwright and Michael Combs, who run the business. They need to raise the money by the end of January. “When you think about East Nashville, you think about the location, everyone says, ‘Well, that’s not bad for Nashville,’” Cartwright says. “And it, I guess, isn’t. But for a small business it’s just unimaginable, honestly. It’s just not something that is doable.”
Where Is America’s Oldest Record Store? Depending on who you ask, one’s in Pennsylvania, the other’s in New Jersey. Both places matter. In many ways, the folks who own and work in record stores are some of the most important keepers of recorded music history. Digital music helped wipe out the big chains. Thankfully we still have mom and pop indie shops. They’ve kept the torches burning for genres that predate streaming, for artists that never had mainstream success — or ones whose work was never reissued — for sourcing rarities from unexpected places, and for rolling with the times, while still holding reverence for what came before. About 90 minutes east of Pittsburgh is George’s Song Shop, in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. It is believed to be the oldest record store in America. First opened nearly nine decades ago in 1932 by brothers Eugene and Bernie George, the store’s current owner John George (no relation) has been behind the counter for six of them.
Hazard, KY | Queen City Records opens in downtown Hazard: The new vinyl record store opened its doors Monday, November 15. The business carries a variety of vintage and new records, ranging across several genres. “Everybody loves music in their own way,” said Queen City Records co-owner, Mary Everidge. “We have a little bit of everything from gospel, country, rap, even rock.” Everidge adds that her and the other owner, Joshua Miller, plan to use the business to showcase local talent as well. “We really want to help local music talent, even have local people coming in and maybe do shows, help sell their music for them, even help with the festivals they have out at the triangle,” said Everidge. “We really want to be a part of the community.” Queen City Records is located next to Fast Lane Discount Tobacco. It’s updated hours are from noon to 7:00 p.m. Monday through Friday and 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Saturdays.
Bolton, UK | Bolton record store boss works to celebrate legacy of Pete Shelley: A campaign which has been working to ensure the legacy of a Leigh-born punk icon lives on has teamed up with a record shop in Bolton. Pete Shelley, founder of the Buzzcocks, which first formed at Bolton Technical College, died in December 2018. But a memorial campaign wants to ensure he is remembered in his hometown and to inspire others from a similar background to him to achieve success. There have been live music fundraising events an online auctions which have raised nearly £20,000. Now the campaign has teamed up with X Records on Bridge Street in Bolton. Owner Steve Meekings was a fan of Shelley’s and is now selling merchandise and taking donations at the shop for the cause. The long term goal is to host live music events to raise more funds for the campaign. Shelley studies humanities at Bolton Tech, where he met Howard Devoto with whom he formed the Buzzcocks. Mr Meekings said: “I’ve been a big fan of Pete Shelley and Buzzcocks since the early days, and saw them live in Bolton when I was a young lad of 17.
Oshkosh, WI | ‘It’ll be hard to say it without him’: The Exclusive Company record store founder James ‘Mr. G’ Giombetti dies: “It’ll be hard to say it without him.” That’s how a music producer and one-time employee at The Exclusive Co.’s flagship store in Oshkosh described the death of his former boss, James Giombetti, whose signature catchphrase, “Say it with me,” marked the end of the record store chain’s TV and radio spots. Better known as “Mr. G,” Giombetti founded and owned The Exclusive Co. record store chain and sold music since the 1950s. He opened the first store in 1956 in West Bend before moving to Oshkosh, where he opened a second store a year later. Giombetti died Saturday in Opa Locka, Florida, according to a death notice from Vallés Funeral Homes & Crematory. The Exclusive Co. still operates seven stores across Wisconsin, including in Appleton, Green Bay, Janesville, Milwaukee, Oshkosh and West Bend, and bills itself as “America’s oldest full-line independent record store.”
Cincinnati, OH | Taylor Swift sends limited number of signed ‘Red’ copies to Northside store: Taylor Swift fans were in for a special surprise this week after the music icon sent a limited number of personally signed CD copies of “Red (Taylor’s Version)” to a Northside record store. Shake It Records, a record store located on Hamilton Avenue, posted on Instagram Monday that they had received a “VERY limited number” of the signed CDs from Swift. The record store said no holds were allowed and owners would not be mailing or shipping the CDs. They also limited the CDs to one per person and they could only be purchased in-person at the store. Fans were “burning red” for a copy. A short while later, the record store’s post was updated saying the CDs had been sold out. According to the store’s owners, Swift has sent signed copies of her albums to Shake It Records before. Could it be because the record store’s name resembles one of Swift’s top songs, “Shake It Off?”
LeBron James Is Getting Into Vinyl with a Vintage Canadian Stereo: Who will help the NBA icon restore his Clairtone G2? LeBron James made his move into Hollywood with this year’s Space Jam 2, but his love of music — from being A&R of a 2 Chainz album, to getting Kendrick Lamar to deliver untitled unmastered. — should not be forgotten about. Now, the NBA icon is entering the world high fidelity audio with an eye-catching vintage Canadian stereo. On Twitter yesterday (November 15), James shared a photo of the stereo setup seen below, a mid-century modern design marvel complete with spherical speakers, turntable, amplifier and record holder, all mounted on a single pedestal. James wrote of his find, “Purchased this vintage record(vinyl) player for the crib! Absolutely love it but it needs to be restored!” In putting the call out to Los Angeles gearheads in hopes of getting it fixed up, James revealed that the unit is a Clairtone G2, a hi-fi system designed and manufactured in Canada by the Clairtone Sound Corporation.
