Ottawa shop dropped from Record Store Day vinyl release promotion: Vertigo Records owner Darin Tomlin’s decision to scale back his investment in an industry group’s annual Record Store Day promotion has resulted in his Rideau Street shop being denied exclusive vinyl releases…In response, the Record Store Day organization dropped Tomlin’s shop from its official merchants’ list, effectively denying his customers access to the exclusive records major labels such as Warner, Sony and Universal have lined up for the one-day only event.
Echo Park’s Beloved Record Shop Origami Vinyl Is No More: Origami Vinyl, the beloved neighborhood record shop nestled on Sunset in Echo Park, will cease to exist as we’ve known it today. Instead, it’s been taken over by Chicago-based Permanent Records and will now operate as ‘Permanent Records Echo Park.’ This will be the second Permanent location in Los Angeles; the first opened in Eagle Rock in 2011 (it’s now in Highland Park).
Urban Outfitters to curate and press their own vinyl: Mega fashion retailer Urban Outfitters has announced that they will be curating and pressing their own line of vinyl in collaboration with Domino Records. In the past, the brand has featured a selection of wax and even full record pop-up shops in their flagship locations. With long, steady involvement dabbling in the music world, natural progression has led the fashion and lifestyle company to present their own audio trademark. The first installment of Urban Outfitters branded pressed vinyl ‘Urban Outfitters Compilation Series One’ will release April 1 and feature Bob Moses, The Range, Hot Chip, Blood Orange and more.
Russell bringing vinyl expertise to Underground record store: In addition to being a gifted musician, Kirk Russell has been collecting records for over 20 years. The 32-year-old, best known for his work with the three-piece rock band An Abstract Theory, recently started working at Underground Art and Sound, the downtown record store beneath Mefford’s Jewelers. In addition to helping to run the store for owner and University of North Alabama student Carter Cothren, Russell is the store’s go-to guy for grading the condition of used vinyl LPs.
Art and music are perfect ingredients for The Record Cafe: The vinyl records, ale and ham at a Bradford bar have been joined by the paintings of an artist from Cleckheaton. Peter Robson is displaying seven pieces of work upstairs at The Record Cafe, on North Parade, for the next five weeks. The paintings – which include a depiction of the trenches in World War One and a critique of Britain’s foreign policy in the Middle East – are on display alongside the venue’s records-for-sale.
New generation gets into groove of vinyl: Emily Sayers thumbed her way through a trough of vinyl Sunday, looking for an old LP that interested her. The 16-year-old North Side High School student’s taste tends toward The Beatles, Led Zeppelin and The Doors. Her sister, Sydney Sherwood, 14, came to browse the bins with her. “I just kind of found my way into it,” she said at the Classic Cafe on Sunday for the Fort Wayne Record and CD Show…“I don’t really listen to the radio much anymore. I stick to vinyl and CDs,” Sayers said.
Vinyl Records, Record Players Singing New Tune: Back In Groove: It seems like Bob Seger was being prophetic when he sang the opening lyric of “Old Time Rock and Roll”: “Just take those old records off the shelf.” Vinyl records are making a comeback. The old “8 records for a penny” Columbia House Record Club and its parent companies have gone through bankruptcy, but the newest owner has plans to relaunch a record service, as hinted at by the “coming soon” on the columbiahouserecordclub.com website. (Competing record subscription services cost about $30 a record, so don’t expect “8 records for a penny.”)
