Milwaukee, WI | Off The Beaten Path’s new South Milwaukee store is now open: Following more than six years on Farwell Avenue on Milwaukee’s East Side and just shy of three years on Howell Avenue in Bay View, Off The Beaten Path is on the move again. The independent record store now has a new home in the heart of South Milwaukee. The shop’s new location—its third site since the store’s 2011 start—quietly opened at 1219 Milwaukee Avenue last weekend. Off The Beaten Path’s last day in business at its Bay View shop was November 8 of last year. Originally expected to re-open its new space in time for Black Friday, the record store’s return comes after months of unexpected delays. However, owner Chris Kruse says he’s “especially looking forward to having some live music” in the store and that the new location will be worth the wait. Starting today, the shop will resume its regular hours of noon to 7 p.m. Wednesday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday. And yes, there will deep discounts on used records from time to time.
London, UK | New independent record store, Yo-Yo Records, to open in London: The store will break away from Cosmos Records London. A new independent record store is set to open in London. Placing a bigger focus on dance and reggae music, as well as 12″s and 7″ singles generally, Cosmos Records London – which originally opened back in 2015 – will re-launch as an independent store, Yo-Yo Records, in Hackney on 21st February. Posting on Instagram on Monday 17th February, owners said, “It is with a heavy heart that we would like to announce our upcoming split from Cosmos Records here in London as of closing time this evening, and we will reopen on Friday here at our same location on Hackney Road as a new independent shop.” They continued: “We have nothing but respect and admiration for Cosmos, and it has been an honour and a pleasure to represent the shop here in London for almost five years, but after my 20-year apprenticeship with Cosmos it is time we head out on our own.”
Loveland, OH | Loveland record label lands movie deal: Valentine’s Day was sweeter this year for a Loveland business who landed their part in the newly-released and very popular Sonic the Hedgehog movie. Adding to the love, Loveland-based Plaid Room Records, and their associated business, Colemine Records, a full-fledged record label with approximately 45 acts signed, celebrated their fifth year open here. The movie opened on February 14, stars Jim Carrey and had a $58 million opening weekend – finishing atop the weekend box office. With this movie release and other happenings, it’s safe to say Plaid Room Records co-owners Terry Cole and his brother, Bob Cole, would like to curl up into a ball and run at supersonic speeds, just like the iconic hedgehog from popular Sega videogames and depicted in the movie – just to keep up. “It’s a big deal. It’s cool,” Terry said.
Saratoga Springs, NY | Annual Record Riot offers music memorabilia for shoppers to explore: Record Riot returns to the Spa City this weekend with thousands of LPs, CDs, 45s and other music memorabilia for shoppers to explore. The event is scheduled for 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 23 at the Saratoga Springs City Center, located at 522 Broadway in downtown Saratoga Springs. Early admission begins at 8 a.m., for those who want to be the first to browse. This option costs $10. Admission during regular show hours is $3 per person. Skidmore students get in for free. Some lucky eventgoers will win surprise door prizes. Sunday’s event will feature about 25 vendors, who plan to bring a total of 40 tables filled with merchandise. Record Riot organizer Stephen Gritzan, who owns a small record shop in New Jersey, began presenting events like this about 15 years ago. Today, he organizes Record Riots throughout New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Connecticut, in “places that meet certain demographics of arts and culture,” he said.
Fayetteville, AR | John Cusack coming to Fayetteville in April for High Fidelity screening: For fans of John Cusack and High Fidelity, a visit to Championship Vinyl would definitely make a “top five” list. Join Hollywood icon John Cusack when he makes his way to the Walton Arts Center for a screening of High Fidelity. The show begins at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 9, followed by a live conversation and audience Q&A. With four decades’ worth of roles in over 70 films, Cusack will share stories from his career, answer audience questions and give a behind-the-scenes look into High Fidelity. Tickets go on sale Friday, Feb. 21, at 10 a.m. and range from $49 to $79 plus applicable fees. A limited number of VIP seats, which include a post-show photo op with Cusack, are available for $250 plus applicable fees. [WTF? —Ed.] Purchase tickets in-person at the Walton Arts Center Box Office, by calling 479-443-5600 or by visiting waltonartscenter.org. Tickets will be available for purchase via the WAC Tickets app on Friday, Feb. 28.
‘High Fidelity’ Soundtrack: The Story Behind Songs from Season 1 of the Hulu TV Show: A team of music supervisors (including Questlove) worked to find songs from every continent to soundtrack the show’s romantic travails. It would have been very easy for the Hulu adaptation of “High Fidelity” to stick to a narrow set of musical ideas to help tell its story. But at the end of the show’s opening season, not only did series co-creators Veronica West and Sarah Kucserka look back on a show that had stretched its musical taste in a number of different directions, it had done so on a global scale. “These people sit in a record store all day every day. They’re listening to everything. To make it feel like there’s one genre of music or, or one time period of music that is all that we’ve listened to, would feel inauthentic,” West told IndieWire. “It was very cool that at the end of the season, we had a song from every single continent.” The search for far-reaching songs spanning time zones around the world — “except Antarctica,” West jokingly pointed out — was the result of a collaborative process headed by a whole team of music supervisors…
How Long-Lost Records Are Found and Restored: A young boy fishing with his father on the banks of the Milwaukee River spies a glinting object in the dirt. It is round, metal, and old. It could be any number of things: a hubcap, a large lid, the flat side of a pie pan. The boy thinks it looks like a record though. He and his dad go to take a closer look—and just like that, a piece of history is uncovered. They had found a metal master for Coot Grant and Socks Wilson’s “Uncle Joe,” originally released by Paramount Records in 1929. How could such an important label have been so careless with its own legacy? When you start to dig into the history of lost records, you realize quickly that Paramount was not alone in its carelessness. Ever since recordings have been made, they’ve been misplaced, cast aside, or intentionally erased—sometimes because the labels simply needed more tape, and other times for more nefarious or foolish reasons.
CD Baby Is Shutting Down Its Retail Store: As if the name “CD Baby” weren’t already an anachronism, the independent distributor announced late last week that it is shutting down its retail store, although it will continue to distribute physical product through other channels. “CD Baby’s mission is to help artists monetize and promote their music in the best ways possible,” a message on the company’s website posted Thursday reads. “In order to provide the tools and services you need to succeed in an evolving music ecosystem, we’ve made the decision to retire the CD Baby retail store on March 31st, 2020. We’re going to focus on what is making a difference for musicians today: our distribution, monetization, and promotion services … 20 years ago, when CD Baby launched the online store, it was revolutionary to help independent musicians gain direct access to their fans and the market. By 2009, sales through our store accounted for only 27% of the total revenue we paid to artists every week. By 2019, sales on our store comprised less than 3% of our clients’ total earnings. With a few exceptions, the store is no longer a money-maker for most of our artists…”
