Jazz Record Mart Closes in Chicago: The famous Jazz Record Mart in downtown Chicago has closed. Signs were posted on the doors of the city’s oldest record store Monday. “Thank you for your patronage,” one sign read. General Manager Kent Richmond said the shop was sold to Wolfgang’s Vaults Monday morning and doors were “closed forever” at 11:30 a.m. “JRM’s closing leaves a giant hole in the cultural fabric of Chicago,” Richmond said in a statement.
Vinyl obsession: Q&A with Guestroom Records co-founder Justin Sowers: Guestroom Records began as an unlikely dream for then teenagers Justin Sowers and Travis Searle. It began with a shared love of all things vinyl. Now, 13 years later, the fiercely independent record store continues to serve a fiercely loyal customer base in Norman. The entrepreneurial duo has extended its reach to Oklahoma City and is still living the dream. NTown caught up with Sowers to talk about high fidelity sound, brick and mortar retailers and the future of one of Norman’s hippest institutions.
Too Many Record Stores? No Way: Vinyl Market Booms in Wicker Park: With Monday’s closure of Jazz Record Mart in River North and Shake Rattle & Read’s final days looming in Uptown, Chicago is losing some of its beloved record stores. But in Wicker Park and the surrounding area, something completely different is afoot. Instead of scaling back and closing, record stores are sprouting, growing, adding on. A Vinyl District of sorts is booming, giving shoppers many options within walking distance from the Damen and Division Blue Line stops. There are five stores in the cluster: Reckless Records, Shuga Records, Permanent Records, KStarke and Dusty Groove — and hints of more to come.
Vinyl Resurgence Draws Dozens to Binghamton Record Fair: But why in 2016 are so many people returning to the medium, or discovering it for the first time? “A lot of it is nostalgia. The other thing is that it’s something that when you hold it in your hand, and the cover, you can read the things about the record that when you download you don’t get,” said Jack Skutnik, Record Fair Organizer. Just under 12 million vinyl albums were sold this past year.
Vermont’s vinyl revival continues: Burlington based D.J. Craig Mitchell says he understands the reemerging love affair. “I would sit when I was a kid, or even older, and put on a piece of vinyl and stare at the record. Like stare at the record cover and just try to absorb the story. You don’t get that with CD’s and you can’t get that with an MP3,” he said…Many musicians who seem to be glad about the exposure that services like Spotify and Pandora provide, are also frustrated with the lack of revenue that trickles down to the musician.
RIP ‘Wild Bill’ Deaton, Raleigh music addict with 10,000 records: In his 72 years, Bill Deaton haunted Raleigh record stores as a garishly dressed gadfly, gathering a music collection so vast it swelled to 10,000 vinyl albums and just as many compact discs – the soundtrack to his curious life. For years, he made a Sunday afternoon pilgrimage to Schoolkids Records and took up his perch at the counter, holding court on his favorite bands, which spanned five decades and ranged from Shep and the Limelites to the Dog Faced Hermans.
