Muncie, IN | The final verse: Village Green Records owner says goodbye to the Muncie community: “I think every city in America should have a record store,” Travis Harvey, owner of Village Green Records (VGR) said. Harvey started out as a business associate to the record store in 2006, but slowly found himself imagining what the store could be – which consisted of five or six crates of classic records at the time. “I had a sort of different kind of vision for the store,” Harvey said. “There were definitely qualities about it that I wanted to carry over, but that [also included] affordable records, kind of quirky stuff and hosting shows.” The five to six crates of classics has morphed into a home filled floor to ceiling in albums, records, and compact discs over the last 10 years. Not only is the house covered in music, but it exudes the feeling of music as well.
Los Angeles, CA | No Faking the Funk: Orange County’s Funk Freaks Keeps it Real: Sometimes music brings people together or saves them in unimaginable ways. For others, it evokes sentiment as a reminder of family and culture. For the Funk Freaks, a DJ collective and record shop based out of Santa Ana, funk music encompasses it all. Funk is a part of Orange County Chicanx culture, explains Funk Freaks founding member Ivan Marquez. He tapped into funk music from older siblings, and it echoed from neighbors’ homes, kickbacks and family gatherings. His younger brother, Robert Marquez or “Luer” affirms that the music, lifestyle and challenges are wrapped into appreciation and respect. Funk Freaks is a crew recognized internationally with chapters even in Europe, but more locally, the DJs welcome fellow crate diggers to their shop, Funk Freaks Records in Santa Ana. Rows of records are displayed next to men’s branded apparel and a women’s boutique a few doors down. On top of the record store, the crew also throws their seminal vinyl parties. The crew has a lot of projects in the works, but it all began simply, at a party.
Lansing, MI | Spaces & Places: Michigan’s female-owned, all-vinyl record shop, The Record Lounge: Michigan’s only female-owned record store is going from strength-to-strength. Now both a physical store in Lansing and an online shop, The Record Lounge has seen a boom in vinyl sales in recent years. DeWitt resident and owner of The Record Lounge, Heather Frarey opened the store in 2008. She started out in the now-defunct local record shop Michigan WhereHouse Records in 1979, where she worked while in high school. The Record Lounge is an all-vinyl shop with both new and used vinyl, posters, t-shirts, cassettes, vintage stereo equipment and local music and art. Specialising in collectable, new, used and rare vinyl, the music selection at The Record Lounge “graces every genre from the last 150 years of recorded sound.” Heather Frarey – who herself loves funk, soul, garage and psych – has always been into vinyl from a young age. “I grew up in the 70’s so my mom bought me a lot of 45s growing up,” she told Women In Vinyl. “When I got into Jr. High I bought my first album with my own money which was Van Halen‘s first LP.”
Cheshire, UK | Why Cheshire’s Manchester-themed music store is more than just a record shop: Proper Sound in Macclesfield is a haven for music lovers while offering a whole lot more. A popular Manchester-themed record shop in Cheshire has put its success down to being more than “a one trick pony”. Proper Sound in Macclesfield – recently visited by music legend Peter Hook – describes itself as a ‘concept store’ offering products and a service which is related to a specific theme. Lucy Wright, who runs the Chestergate premises, believes these types of venues are coming more into fashion and are the way forward for the high street, post Covid. As well as selling records, the store also has clothes and artwork available to purchase as well as its own bar and cafe – all linked to a Manchester music theme. For example, Proper Sound have ‘Hacienda Gin’ behind the bar and also serve their own musical-inspired cocktails. It’s also home to the town’s original mural of Ian Curtis from Joy Division in the courtyard, and even has an ‘Oasis Window’ where customers can interact with the window display, have their photograph taken and become part of the Definitely Maybe album cover.
Champaign-Urbana, IL | It sounds better on vinyl: A look at C-U’s record stores: I acquired my first record player this past winter. Despite being a newcomer, I have grown to thoroughly enjoy vinyl collecting. As a millennial who came of age as music went digital, I find it delightfully analog. Walking into a store without knowing what I want, flipping through the bins guided only by genre and alphabetical ordering, and making a discovery—an old favorite, someone I’ve been meaning to try, a name I had forgotten, even a so-bad-it’s-good guilty pleasure—is a joy and a rush. Then to take it home and put it on without the ability to pause and skip tracks, I can only sit back and enjoy the experience. In our digital music world Champbana is fortunate to have multiple stores which sell new and used records. I’ve put together my novice’s impressions to help fellow and would-be newcomers to the world.
Las Vegas, NV | Las Vegas club On The Record adds sizzle with Silk Sonic parties: With its record store theme, intimate spaces and hidden Vinyl Parlor bar, On the Record is the closest thing to an underground nightclub on the Las Vegas Strip (not including actually underground stalwart Drai’s After Hours). The Park MGM speakeasy-ish spot waited a bit longer to reopen than other casino clubs, finally coming back to life in July 2021. Since then it has been bringing back all the right vibes, boosted by hip-hop DJs and the energetic return of its Industry Wednesdays party, which hosted R&B faves 112 on May 11. In recent months, On the Record has been delivering extra sizzle by hosting afterparties for the Silk Sonic residency show at Dolby Live across the casino floor. “Those afterparties really brought it to the next level, at least in getting attention and people noticing what’s going on there,” says DJ Peter Shalvoy, who regularly spins from the double decker bus on the OTR patio, where he’ll next be on May 17. “There couldn’t be a better fit. It’s like the planets aligned; it’s just perfect.”
The Shirley Bassey record that changed Alex Turner’s life: Alex Turner from Arctic Monkeys’ musical journey is a peculiar one. He grew up on hip-hop before being seduced by the likes of The Strokes, but it’s a record by Welsh singer Shirley Bassey that he credits with changing his life. The way Bassey fell into Turner’s life was natural. He didn’t go searching for her soulful voice, and the ‘Diamonds Are Forever’ singer fell into his consciousness through happenstance. Although like most Britons, he was aware of her most notable work since childhood, however, it wasn’t until he got older that Turner began to appreciate the mercurial brilliance of Bassey. Bassey is a national treasure and quintessentially linked with the James Bond franchise. However, it wasn’t until his twenties that Turner began to grasp the full spectrum of her career and got lost scrolling through her heavenly back catalogue.
The Rolling Stones announce 1963-1966 singles box set: The new collection coincides with the 60th anniversary of the band. The Rolling Stones have announced the upcoming release of a box set featuring all their single releases from 1963-1966. ABKCO Records will release The Rolling Stones Singles 1963-1966 on June 10 in celebration of the group’s 60th anniversary this year. The limited-edition set includes reproductions of the first 18 7” vinyl singles and extended play records, which were originally released by Decca and London Records. The tracks have all been remastered by 12-time Grammy Award-winning engineer Bob Ludwig. The set will also come with a 32-page book with extensive liner notes by Stones expert Nigel Williamson, as well as rare photos and ephemera plus a set of five photo cards and a poster, all housed in a hard-shell box.
