Madison, WI | What’s Happening With Madison’s Record Shops? Steve Manley is the owner of B-Side Records which has resided on State Street for decades. “I have no complaints, I’ve seen so many businesses get crushed by all that. And we’ve been able to hang on and we’ve been doing ok. We’re moving into a new spot, but hopefully we’ll be able to afford that by expanding our inventory. So, year. I feel like we’ve been pretty lucky.” And the move of his business due to a probable demolition of the Current B-Side building. Manley is also planning to move his business up the street, after being displaced by a plan to build a mixed-use development. While those plans haven’t been finalized, Manley decided to move anyway. “I went through the early stage of being upset about potentially being kicked out of a spot we’ve been at for 40 years almost.. To being kind of excited to start our next chapter in a new space, but also nearby. So we’re not so hard to find.”
Somerville, MA | Sip and Spin: Somerville’s vinyl index. expands shop, adds cocktail bar: You’d be surprised what an extra 165 square feet can add to a shop like vinyl index. Roughly 1,000 additional records, a cocktail bar, funky new subgenres — it’s all there, packed into the refurbished record store, which expanded its footprint at Somerville’s Bow Market earlier this spring. If Bow Market was designed to be a destination, then vinyl index. is a distinct watering hole within a destination, where you can shop, sip, spin, and socialize until 11 p.m. The expansion arrived with the shop’s relaunch of Plastic Dreams, its monthly series of “all vinyl all night” DJ events. “When we started vinyl index. we knew there would be a sum of parts that made the shop viable without strictly relying on in-store record sales, and [I] think these additional parts also make us stand apart from the rest,” explains owner Jeremy Sullivan. “Hosting DJ events in-house with drinks in hand fit right in and felt like a natural progression. We’ll always be a record store foremost but do also see ourselves as an event space and bar.”
San Diego, CA | North Park’s new Part Time Lover wants you to belly up to the bar and listen: North Park’s Part Time Lover listening-bar, opening June 8, will spin and sell vinyl from Folk Arts Rare Records. Arsalun Tafazoli’s hospitality company, CH Projects, has created some of the most high-impact food and drink spots in San Diego. But while the man behind the steak-centric “Born & Raised,” the sleek fishery “Ironside” and the swanky speakeasy “Raised by Wolves” is happy to talk about the refreshing Japanese high balls and tempting snacks you will find at North Park’s new Part Time Lover, what he is most excited about are the tasty sounds they’ll be serving on vintage vinyl platters. Located in the 30th Street space formerly occupied by the beloved Bar Pink, Part Time Lover — which opens June 8 — joins Longplay HiFi in Sherman Heights and the Convoy Music Bar in Kearny Mesa to bring Tokyo’s record-bar concept to San Diego. You can come to Part Time Lover for the croissants, coffee and cocktails, but Tafazoli hopes you will stay to hear complete sides of vinyl albums played on Part Time Lover’s custom high-fidelity sound system.
Philadelphia, PA | Vinyl Tap 215’s Duiji 13 on why he keeps spinning and bringing local DJs together: …Coping with the ups and downs, when people do try him brings us to Vinyl Tap 215, DuiJi’s self-described group therapy session cleverly disguised as an indoor DJ jam session and flea market. Rotating monthly between Common Beat Music in West Philly and Amalgam Comics & Coffeehouse in Kensington, DuiJi gathers his “Just-us” League of Disc Jockeys – vinyl avengers? – for an all-day spin-a-thon of breakbeats, B-side classics, back of the crate slept-on’s, and head rockers. The women and men on the ones and twos support one another in creating and maintaining the vibe and join one another laughing in harmony. The record collectors selling their vinyl time capsules are dungeon masters of funk with so many stories to tell. The artisans – shining with an inviting spirit as they sell their handcrafted wares – are equal parts engaging and entrepreneurial. And the host – Starfire – is a constellation too breathtaking to behold, too exciting to be missed.
Los Angeles, CA | How Hugh Hefner’s Personalized Record Collection Wound Up in DTLA: FOLD Gallery is the home to Hefner’s record collection, and they tell us how it went from the Playboy Mansion to their space. Tucked away on the top floor of the iconic and timeless The Last Bookstore lies FOLD Gallery, full of vintage postcards, film cameras, and globes—a testament to the classics that once occupied Los Angeles’ shop shelves. The gallery has been there for roughly 10 years, right after the time when the actual bookstore opened up. They’ve been entertaining guests for as long as the bookstore has, leading many to believe the two are a collective. However, FOLD runs its own operation separate from The Last Bookstore. Curation, sales, and inventory for the gallery are all done by their own staff. Regardless, Priebe notes that the two entities are still entirely happy to operate beside—or more so, vertical to—each other. “Now we’re all just good neighbors,” Founder Jena Priebe told Los Angeles magazine with a smile.
CCR debuts new “Travelin’ Band” music video in advance of special Record Store Day vinyl single: A new official video for the classic 1970 Creedence Clearwater Revival hit “Travelin’ Band” has just debuted on the Craft Recordings label’s official YouTube channel in advance of the limited-edition vinyl single featuring an unreleased live version of the song that will be issued as part of the June 18 Record Store Day event. The video features rare footage of CCR on tour in 1969 and ’70 both on and off the stage at various international locations. As previously reported, the vinyl disc will feature live renditions of “Travelin’ Band” and “Who’ll Stop the Rain” on the A side and B side, respectively, and will be available at participating record shops on June 18. …Only 9,000 copies of the vinyl single will be pressed. The packaging replicates the sleeve of the double-sided single Creedence Clearwater Revival released in January 1970 featuring the studio versions of “Travelin’ Band” and “Who’ll Stop the Rain.” The tunes peaked at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100, and both tracks also were included on CCR’s 1970 studio album Cosmo’s Factory.
Dame Olivia Newton-John Releases Vinyl Collector’s Editions of ‘Physical’ in Celebration of 40th Anniversary: Let’s get Physical – AGAIN! Four-time Grammy Award-winner, Dame Olivia Newton-John is proud to release remastered vinyl editions of her iconic album Physical: The 40th Anniversary Collector’s Edition in celebration of the album’s 40th anniversary of its original release in October 1981. In addition, Olivia set a GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ Title on October 20, 2021, which coincided with the release of the 40th Anniversary “Deluxe Edition” CD/DVD of Physical. The vinyl editions of Physical will include a standard black vinyl and, three exclusive releases in varying colors, with retailers Walmart, Target and Urban Outfitters (the latter will be available June 10), as well as full-sized posters. The vinyls will be released via Green Hill Productions, a subsidiary of Primary Wave, on May 27, 2022, and are available for pre-order here. The release will be available in non-USA markets on June 24.
