Santa Barbara, CA | Record shops allow a space for music lovers to find community: When I place a record on a turntable and the soft static begins to play through my speakers, I let my mind drift and begin reflecting on the role music has played in my life. My family instilled a love of music in me at a very young age. My father played classical music and began taking me to concerts when I was three. He would pull out his old acoustic guitar and play trios and mariachi, while my mother would play cumbia and reggaeton. For as long as I can remember music was a form of expression. It was my love language. My love affair with vinyl records, however, did not begin until October of 2017, when I purchased “Joy Division – Roots (Live at the Roots Club)” at Just Play Music.
Hamilton, CA | ‘It felt like home’: After 40 years as a downtown landmark Cheapies is closing: ‘It feels like part of Hamilton is leaving,’ says long-time customer Stephanie Silva. As Brian Jasson looked out over the crowded aisles of Cheapies on Sunday afternoon, he was transported back to the days when his store was packed this way every day of the week, with music lovers poring over albums and picking through records. Outside the shop the iconic florescent sign with the offering of “Music, Games, Video” still flashed above King Street East, just as it has for the past 40-odd years. But the massive front windows, traditionally festooned with advertisements for the hottest singles were papered over with big red letters announcing “STORE CLOSING.” For some, those two words explain why the store was filled to the brim with shoppers hoping to score a final deal before the doors close for the last time at the end of March. But, if you listen closely, there’s another reason why so many devoted customers are making the pilgrimage to the downtown staple before Cheapies Records and Tapes shuts down forever.
Nightmares on Wax celebrates ‘Smokers Delight’ 25th anniversary with album reissue, announces upcoming tour: Nightmares on Wax has announced a reissue of his seminal LP ‘Smokers Delight’ with new music and he will be giving special shows in North America and Europe. English DJ and record producer Nightmares on Wax has given fans a host of things to look forward to in 2020: the studio album ‘Smokers Delight’ gets a full reissue, never-before-heard tracks and select special shows in North America and Europe. The news comes in celebration of the seminal LP’s 25th anniversary. You can check the tour dates and tracklist below. ‘Smokers Delight’ was amongst the genre-defining albums that inspired generations of music that would follow, such as Massive Attack’s ‘Blue Lines’, Portishead’s ‘Dummy’ and ‘Maxinquaye’ by Tricky. The downbeat club album mustered all laidback energies of after-hours nightlife with smooth bassy grooves in a fusion of soul, hip-hop and dub for which Nightmares on Wax has become renowned.
Cleveland, OH | Don’t call it a comeback: Music Saves space to be revived as Cleveland Rocks Shop on Waterloo: With the recent openings of Pop Life and Six Shooter Coffee’s new location, Waterloo Road seems to be hitting a high note lately—and Beachland Ballroom owner Cindy Barber has big plans to keep it rocking and rolling. This week, Barber plans to announce an ioby fundraising campaign to mount the Cleveland Rocks Shop, a retail space showcasing local music and honoring its past, present, and future. Housed inside the former Music Saves record store (which shuttered in late 2017), Barber sees the Cleveland Rocks Shop as the next step in creating a campus of sorts as an extension of the Beachland Ballroom. “The whole idea is to energize our music economy in Cleveland,” says Barber. “When I was a kid, I worked at record distribution houses, and back then, we were one of the top record markets in the country, thanks to [legendary DJs like] Alan Freed, Bill Randle, and WMMS. I’m hoping in some small way to recapture and honor some of that rich history and energy.”
