Montreal, CA | Mile-Ex’s Death of Vinyl on keeping records alive: Co-Owner Daniel Hadley speaks on the history and future of vinyl in Montreal: Whether it’s older collectors looking for a hit of sweet nostalgia or younger shoppers looking for a deeper connection with the artists they love, increasingly more people are coming to appreciate owning physical copies of music. When record store Death of Vinyl first opened in the early 2000s, some may have been unsure of vinyl’s longevity. “Many headlines at the time were asking ‘is this the death of vinyl?’” said co-owner Daniel Hadley. He said that Montreal vinyl shops, tailored for style-specific DJs that fueled the era’s nightlife, were closing left and right. In 2006, Hadley and his business partner, Steve Ludvik, were running a vinyl import and distribution business out of a warehouse near the end of Beaubien Street West. All of a sudden, they found their business model collapsing. Both their distributors and the stores they sold to were closing up shop, leaving their business directionless. However, as one door closed, another one opened.
Bastrop, TX | ‘Love and Vinyl’ offers Bastrop audiences an immersive experience in Bastrop: This November, the Lost Pines Theatre Guild will present the romantic comedy play “Love and Vinyl” at Astro Record Store on Main Street. Exploring the challenges of love, loneliness and friendship, the play offers audiences the chance to be a “fly on the wall” to the characters’ relationships and conversation, play producer Christine Long said. Each performance is limited to 25 audience members, ensuring an up-close and intimate experience. “Because the play is in real time, and because it’s immersive, you’re really just watching all of it unfold in front of you,” Long said. A prolific playwright from Maryland, Bob Bartlett is known for writing site-specific plays. Bartlett’s previous works have taken place in a laundromat and the middle of the woods. A regular at Astro Records, Long said that after learning about the play, she decided the store was the perfect backdrop. “I just think that all of the characters are so charming and that you can identify yourself in all of them,” Long said. “The challenges that they’re having are all challenges that all of us have.”
College Park, MD | How WMUC’s record librarian is keeping Zambian rock alive: Amid gray iron shelves stacked high with dusty sleeves and carefully preserved vinyl at the University of Maryland, senior information science major Jake McInturff holds court as WMUC’s record librarian. But his true passion lies outside this university, the state and the country. The preservation of zamrock, a nearly-forgotten rock subgenre that emerged from Zambia during the 1970s, occupies most of McInturff’s mind. Once lost to time, zamrock was pulled from obscurity by California label Now-Again Records. The label’s re-issues of WITCH albums and other Zambian works reignited interest in the genre, leading vinyl divers and record raiders to the nation in search of these records. McInturff’s journey to zamrock started when he stumbled across the niche genre on YouTube his freshman year. “[Zamrock] absolutely blew my mind and I became obsessed with it,” McInturff said. “I wanted to be one of the people that was bringing it to life.”
Durango, CO | Four Corners Record Show Extravaganza returning to Durango: Vinyl records alive and well in the Four Corners; event will be held Saturday. The Four Corners Vinyl Record Club’s annual Fall Record Show Extravanganza will return to downtown Durango this weekend. The event will be held Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Holiday Inn & Suites, 21636 U.S. Highway 160. Club founder and president Phil Gallacher expects a strong turnout, as the club is rebounding after the COVID-19 pandemic. Gallacher said the club has been doing record shows in the spring and fall for over a decade. “Vinyl records are alive and well in the Four Corners,” Gallacher said. “(The record show) started through Southwest Sound in Durango around 2010 or 2011.” Gallacher took over organizing the show when Southwest Sounds closed. He said a lot of the vinyl records vendors are part of the “boomer generation who are not on social media.” “So I created the club as a bridge, a platform for us to indulge in sharing our record hobby and also be able to communicate with a group of people,” he said.
How to get the most value from your second-hand records: Louie Newlands, Used Vinyl Manager at Rough Trade gives insider tips on getting the best value from your vinyl. According to a recent report, vinyl sales are up 13.2 percent this year, thanks to vinyl LP sales from artists such as Taylor Swift, Blur and Kylie Minogue. While this is great news for the independent music industry, an increase in sales inevitably means more vinyl records will be produced and discarded. It’s not all bad news though, as the resurgence has also increased the value of pre-loved vinyl, with a study revealing some collectibles can fetch over £1million at auction. To limit wastage and get extra pennies for Christmas, here are our top tips for valuing and selling your pre-loved vinyl.
Manchester, UK | Manchester United’s new clothing collection contains a secret message inspired by Peter Saville: Created in collaboration with sports branding agency Homeground, this new chapter of the Manchester United x Peter Saville collection builds on the first release dropped in April 2022. Whereas it previously took inspiration from Saville’s Unknown Pleasures album artwork for Joy Division, this time, the collection references the iconic colour wheel that appears in his New Order album covers. This design influence can be seen on items such as the statement tracksuit, long sleeve jersey top and shorts. Each is emblazoned with the symbols that appear on Saville’s famous sleeve for Blue Monday, which notoriously spawned the tale that it was so expensive to produce that it actually lost the band money upon release. Far from being just an aesthetically pleasing set of design hieroglyphics, these shapes and colours designed by Saville corresponded to a colour wheel he created that appeared on the back of New Order’s second album, Power, Corruption & Lies.
Opeth announce 20th anniversary vinyl edition of Damnation album: To mark the 20th anniversary of Opeth’s groundbreaking 2003 album, Damnation, a special vinyl reissue project has been meticulously crafted to pay homage to a pivotal and trailblazing moment in the band’s illustrious history. Originally recorded in the serenity of Mikael Åkerfelt’s native Sweden, with additional production from Porcupine Tree’s Steven Wilson, the album acclaimed by fans and critics alike has since received a remix and master in 2015, pressed to vinyl on a double LP together with the dichotomous Deliverance. The 20th Anniversary version sees the 2015 remix and remaster pressed to standard black vinyl, as well as being available on deluxe and limited colour finishes, and for the very first time available on an exclusive picture disc that highlights and reflects the album’s ethereal and bleak visual world.
Avatar Release “Afterbirth” Liquid “Blood-Filled” Vinyl Version of Dance Devil Dance: The heavy metal ‘n’ roll, dark, madcap visionaries collectively known as AVATAR—vocalist Johannes Eckerström, guitarists Jonas Jarlsby and Tim Öhrström, bassist Henrik Sandelin, and drummer John Alfredsson—are releasing a creepy cool collector’s vinyl version of their latest album Dance Devil Dance, out now. Only 250 numbered and hand-crafted copies of the blood-filled “Afterbirth” vinyl will be produced. The packaging will include an additional standard red opaque vinyl; a 2-pocket silver board gatefold vinyl with platinum Dance Devil Dance vinyl; 24-page photo book; and an autographed 5×7 post card. The vinyl will be exclusive for purchase to Avatar Country Citizens starting tomorrow, October 31, at 12PM ET. Any remaining piecers be available for purchase for everyone on the band’s website starting on Friday, November 3.
