Vinyl gets a Main Street ‘Revival’: There’s plenty of comfort food on “The Menu” posted inside downtown’s latest business opening downtown. But the only bowls inside Vinyl Record Revival are those crafted out of over-loved LPs. The good stuff — ‘60s British Invasion, ‘70s rock and hefty samplings of jazz, country, hip hop and classical records — is served up in the thousands.
Sunday Q&A with Jim Bland of Plan 9 Records: Ask nearly any musician, music fan or record buyer in Richmond from any generation who the good guys are on the local music scene, and Jim Bland’s name is always near the top of the list. He’s the co-founder and owner of Plan 9 Records. From selling records to releasing his own to hosting bands for in-store concerts, he has long been one of the city’s biggest champions of local music. He’s also a survivor who has weathered the “death” of the record store business and lived to see the resurgence in interest in vinyl albums.
Vinyl’s Vivacious Resurgence: How Records Are Making a Comeback: There’s something to be said about getting a new record and playing it for the first time. “Putting the needle down on the wax… Ah, can’t beat it,” said Rick Ellis. Ellis was in good company with that comment Sunday, as hundreds of fellow audiophiles flooded the Leonard Post VFW for a bi-annual record show. Fifty-seven tables were lined with the hits of today and yesteryear, plus everything in-between. “You come out here and there’s people and it’s crowded and you’re looking for one thing. Definitely satisfying to find something in the sea of records,” said Matthew Nowak.
Vinyl revival alive and spinning: Stan Sykes’ love of vinyl began as an teenager in ‘70s England. He would spend countless late nights listening to legendary DJ John Peel, who is often credited for breaking era-defending bands like Joy Division and The Smiths. “I would lay with a pen and scribble down songs I heard in the night,” Sykes said. “Then I’d go to the record shop on the weekend and go ‘do you have such and such’ and they would order it in.” Music consumption is a completely different experience in 2016. The Australian Recording Industry Association released figures this month for 2015 showing online streaming accounts for 62 per cent of the market. Sales in digital downloads and CDs both decreased by 13 and four per cent respectively.
