Washington, DC | Skip Groff, record store owner who presided over a D.C. punk paradise, dies at 70: “…Sometimes you go into a record store, and the person behind the counter makes you feel like you have trespassed,” said MacKaye, who co-founded Dischord Records and led bands including Minor Threat and Fugazi. “And sometimes the owner, or the person behind the counter, makes you feel like he was wondering what took you so long. I put Skip in the latter.” Mr. Groff maintained a wide selection of country and western rarities, rock and new-wave classics, obscure metal singles from Britain and Canada, and a smattering of Top 40 hits. He had initially planned to specialize in late-’60s rock and psychedelia, but his focus shifted with the rise of punk rock in England, which Mr. Groff visited several times each year to buy records. “When you start selling 15 to 20 Buzzcocks or X-Ray Spex records and one Beatles record, your ideas get changed around pretty quickly…”
Washington, DC | ‘Skip, we love you’: Remembering a pillar of D.C.’s punk scene: My father took me there first. I was 11 years old when we visited Yesterday & Today Records, an inauspicious storefront tucked on the side of the Sunshine Square shopping center in Rockville, Md. A music-loving kid, I’d haunted plenty of record stores at the mall, but when my Dad and I walked into Yesterday & Today, I could tell that it was a different creature. The store was bursting with thousands of LPs and singles, its walls adorned with faded posters and other ephemera. Crate-diggers sifted through bins of rare records — a bounty of rock-and-roll, but also loads of jazz, R&B, and more — with prices handwritten on big orange stickers. The store’s owner, Skip, effortlessly dispensed knowledge about his inventory to customers as if he were feeding koi. They looked to him expectantly, waiting for advice on what obscure, limited-edition vinyl gem they should try next. It was my first proper record-store experience. And Skip Groff was at the center of it.
Vinyl Sales Grow 500% In 5 Years: It’s been said over the last few years that vinyl is making a come back. As music becomes more digitized and accessible, there are some who argue it loses its individuality. And apparently there is some truth to their opinion- at least on the market side of the music industry. According to DJ Mag, “research conducted alongside online record shop Norman Records” confirms a 500% jump in vinyl record sales since 2013. Whether this resurgence in vinyl is due to many individuals’ discerning taste in music or just the hype over vinyl is uncertain. But one thing is. There’s never been a better time for vinyl salesmen or die-hard old school vinyl heads. The ability to have practically any track pressed at the drop of a dime is undoubtedly helping as well!
Tampa Bay, FL | Rock Out: Record time. Surely you’ve heard the news that Daddy Kool Records is moving off downtown St. Pete’s 600 block, so why not help lighten their load at their sidewalk sale on Saturday? You’ll find tons of used LPs, CDs, old concert posters, books, magazines and other music-related stuff. They’ll have another sale on March 23, just ahead of their closing on March 31. The store reopens in the new location in the Warehouse Arts District (2430 Terminal Drive S) on April 13, which is Record Store Day. Noon to 5 p.m. Saturday at 666 Central Ave. daddykool.com. Make a day of it and head over to Planet Retro Records’ St. Pete Punk Rock Flea Market. The curated indie flea will feature instruments, posters, books, ‘zines, collectibles, vintage clothing, decor and toys and art. It’s a family- and pet-friendly party with live music and DJs, food (vegan, too!) and drinks. Noon to 5 p.m. at 226 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. St. N. planetretrorecords.com.
Stereolab to reissue seven albums on vinyl: Stereolab have announced plans to reissue seven of their albums on to limited edition vinyl this year. The massive reissue campaign will kick off on 3rd May through Warp and Duophonic UHF Disks as Stereolab roll out new editions of 1993’s Transient Random Noise-Bursts With Announcements and 1994’s Mars Audiac Quintet. The news comes in conjunction with the band announcing their reunion with a massive world tour. In August, album Emperor Tomato Ketchup, Dots and Loops and Cobra and Phases Group Play Voltage in the Milky night will be re-released. Rounding off the massive series of releases, Sound-Dust and Margerine Eclipse will become available in November along with additional material, demos and unheard mixes. Each record will be pressed on triple clear vinyl and come with a poster and liner notes by Gane.
Vinyl Reissues Of Two Landmark Cocteau Twins Albums Set For Release: Widely critically-acclaimed, ‘Four Calendar Cafe’ and ‘Milk & Kisses’ were originally released in 1993 and 1996 respectively. Two landmark Cocteau Twins albums, Four Calendar Café and Milk & Kisses, are set for vinyl reissue through UMC/ Mercury Records on 29 March. Though they recorded for the influential 4AD imprint for much of their career, the Scottish indie icons signed a new recording contract with Mercury Records subsidiary Fontana during their international tour supporting 1990’s successful Heaven or Las Vegas. The first fruits of the new partnership, Four Calendar Café, was released late in 1993 and took its title from William Least Heat-Moon’s book Blue Highways, in which the author considers the quality of a restaurant by how many calendars it has hanging on its wall. Unlike many of the band’s previous releases, Four Calendar Café, the sound is much more pop-oriented and less ambient, though the record’s overall sound maintained much of the band’s trademark ethereality.
New Vinyl Edition Of Kate Nash’s ‘My Best Friend Is You’ Due In March: Originally released in 2010, ‘My Best Friend Is You’ was the follow-up to the singer-songwriter’s chart-topping debut, ‘Made Of Bricks’. Kate Nash’s second album, My Best Friend Is You, is set for vinyl reissue through UMC/Polydor Records, on 29 March. Originally released in April 2010, My Best Friend Is You, was the follow-up to the London-born singer-songwriter’s chart-topping debut, Made Of Bricks, which won the award for Best British Female Artist at the 2008 BRIT Awards. Commercially, My Best Friend Is You, followed in the footsteps of the platinum-selling Made Of Bricks, peaking inside the UK Top 10 and also making a strong showing on North America’s Billboard 200. The album also featured three official singles in ‘Kiss That Girl’, ‘I’ve Got A Secret’ and the Bernard Butler-produced, Ronettes-inspired ‘Do-Wah-Doo’, which climbed to No. 15 in the UK.
LeAnn Rimes to Release Record Store Day-Exclusive Live Album: …Rimes: Live at Gruene Hall will feature a collection of ten live performances celebrating Rimes’ love for all music, ranging from rock and pop to soul, country, gospel and blues. The album finds Rimes performing stripped-down versions of songs like Stevie Ray Vaughn’s “Pray and Joy” and Willie Nelson’s “Always On My Mind,” live from what a press release calls “the oldest continually run dance hall in Texas.” “There is a moment when performing live when all you need to have is a great PA, a great band, a great song for a beautiful connection to happen with a wonderful audience. That is what I always wanted to capture in a live record and what better way share it than a vinyl in honor of Record Store Day,” says Rimes. “Growing up, and even to this day, I love going into a record store, flipping through records and listening to the magic that comes through. There is an organic love affair in doing that and we need to celebrate the indie record stores.”
Resident Evil 1 and 2 original soundtrack vinyl records announced: The RESIDENT EVIL games are known for their chilling soundtracks that to this day send shivers down your spine. Unfortunately, none of the OSTS have made their way to VINYL, at least until now. LACED RECORDS, in collaboration with Capcom, are releasing the Resident Evil remake and original Resident Evil 2 SOUNDTRACKS as two, 12-inch 33 1/3 LP double albums. Longtime fans of the series will be pumped to know that the vinyls include almost the entirety of the games’ soundtracks…This is 44 of the 60 tracks found on the Biohazard HD Remaster Complete Soundtrack previously released on CD and hits all the highpoints the game has to offer. Again, this album hits the high points of the Resident Evil 2 OST, and the tracklist mirrors that of the Biohazard 2 Original Soundtrack, which was released in 1998. Most importantly, it includes “Secure Place,” the iconic track played when you enter a save room, which is one of the most recognizable video game music arrangements.
Dark Side of the Moon continues to sell thousands of copies: It is 46 years old and seemingly as popular as ever. Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon remains one of the most popular vinyl records of all time and yet again has moved up the charts. In this week’s vinyl album top 40 chart the Floyd classic has moved back up the charts to number five beating all ends up classic albums by The Beatles and The Rolling Stones. The guitarist and vocalist David Gilmour, based in Hove, has every reason to celebrate along with his wife, the renowned author and lyricist, Polly Samson, as what is arguably Floyd’s greatest album continues to sell thousands of copies week by week…Who would have thought that after all these years since 1973 this will still be regarded as a record that people across the generations would still regard as one of the greatest records that has ever been made.
