Patti Smith, John Densmore Taking Part in NYC Event to Help Announce 2016 Record Store Day Release Lineup: Patti Smith and Doors drummer John Densmore will be on hand to serve as panelists at a press conference scheduled for March 8 in New York City where the lineup of the 2016 Record Store Day campaign’s special releases will be unveiled. The event will be held at the famous Electric Lady Studios at 1 p.m. ET, and will be moderated by Sam Calagione, founder of the Dogfish Head brewery and a huge music fan.
Dogfish Head Craft Brewery Releases 2 Limited-Edition Brews: The other highly anticipated new release is Beer To Drink Music To, Dogfish’s liquid tribute to Record Store Day, a celebration of the unique culture of independent record stores. It is a natural partnership for Dogfish, an independent brewery known to make ‘Analog Beer for the Digital Age’ to create the official beer for Record Store Day.
Redditch’s only record shop Vintage Trax celebrates first birthday: LAST year local businesswoman Ros Sidaway took a gamble when she re-located her record shop out of town to Headless Cross. But, 12 months on retro record specialists Vintage Trax, on Birchfield Road, is going from strength to strength. The store is preparing to celebrate its first birthday, as the popularity of vinyl records continues to grow.
The world’s best record shops #007: Rockers International, Kingston: Orange Street was the birthplace of reggae. From Sir Coxsone Dodd to Bob Marley, practically every Jamaican artist had a base on the strip. Dennis Brown and Prince Buster were even born there. Locals used to call it ‘Beat Street’, but now after decades of quiet, Orange Street is ‘Ghost Street’. Its studios, shops and vinyl wagons have all but vanished. Rockers International and Randy’s are the last remaining vinyl shops in downtown Kingston and quite possibly the whole of Jamaica.
Play it again: Toonerville Trolley Records still going strong: …after decades of competing with dozens of record stores — Williamstown alone once was home to three or four at any one time — Hal March is last music man standing. March is the owner of Toonerville Trolley Records, the last of its breed in the Berkshires. With the flood of online music options, most retail music stores have closed their doors. Even mall options like Best Buy and FYE have abandoned the Berkshires.
Corner Record Shop defies digital revolution: The place is a music fan’s dream. For Williamson, it was a way out of an undesirable situation. Before starting Corner Record Shop in 1999, he worked in a factory. “It was a time where everyone was getting laid off…or would get called back sporadically, and I’d had enough of it,” he says. “I thought I’d try this for a while and see what happens.”
It’s a record: vinyl’s resurgence continues as Glasgow welcomes music fair: VINYL’S amazing resurgence amongst music fans will be underscored at a big event taking place in Glasgow today…Rob Lythall of VIP Events, which is staging the Glasgow music fair at Bellahouston Leisure Centre, said: “It is excellent news that vinyl has come back into fashion so strongly after years of being eclipsed by other formats. We have dozens of dealers who specialise in vinyl covering every genre of music.”
Finding Haiti on Vinyl: I sorted and sifted for hours, previewed each record on my portable turntable, and then entered into lengthy and sometimes frustrating negotiations over cost. Among the stacks was a holy grail of Haitian music: the debut LP of les Loups Noirs—the Black Wolves—titled Jouent Pour Vous, recorded in 1970 when the group members were still in their early 20s. Les Loups Noirs became a key part of a rich musical tradition that few people off the island or outside the Haitian diaspora know exists.
