Cincinnati, OH | Old OTR record store gets new life … Oh, and hemp products: Another Part of the Forest, the record shop on Main Street in Over-the-Rhine, is re-opening with a new owner and new focus. Jerry Stepp is taking over the operation and renting the storefront from Julie Fay, who owns the adjacent Iris Book Café. Stepp ran Another Part of the Forest for Fay until a few months ago when it was closed and the business switched over to Stepp. Stepp’s changes include renovating the space and paring down the stock. What made the former incarnation of the store so interesting was also what made it so difficult: there was stuff everywhere. Nowhere did the vinyl-shopper’s phase “crate digging” more fittingly apply. Another Part of the Forest opened in 2010 with Mike Markiewicz running the operation. He gave it its name, taking the phrase from the Shakespeare play “As You Like It.” Merkiewicz died in 2014. Fay, the landlord, was left in charge and had help from Stepp and others.
Gastonia, NC | Record store opens in Gastonia: In a world of streaming music services, there’s still nothing quite like vinyl. Just ask Ron Davis. “It’s the ritual of it,” Davis said. “It’s just like for a cigarette smoker. It’s taking a cigarette out, tapping it, lighting it, that first inhale. It’s the same thing with sliding the record out of the jacket, spearing the hole with the spindle, and then dropping the needle down. It’s the ritual of it.” Davis is far from the only person who feels that way. And last month, he and business partner Speight Byrd opened Revolver Records on East Franklin Boulevard. It’s Gastonia’s first record store in decades, and it’s a dream come true for Davis. “I’ve always wanted to operate a record store,” Davis said. The shop, which opened in May, is full of vintage and new albums. Prices are varied, but Davis says his selection is cheaper than what folks might find in record booths or in sections of big-name stores. Vinyl in general has seen something of a revival in recent years.
Milwaukee, WI | Inglenook, a new store in Menomonee Falls, sells homemade products and plays vinyl records: Whether the record player is spinning Queen or Madonna, the unique physical vibrations from vinyl records will be the first impression of Inglenook, Menomonee Falls’ newest homemade items store. Inglenook, on the outskirts of downtown Menomonee Falls at N89 W16338 Main St., features homemade products such as self-care products, perfume, pottery and macrame. “Records have the perfect feel to the store,” business owner Tanya Kapp, who owns the business with her partner Angela Roberts, said. “It makes you feel as if you are at home.” They also stock the vinyl records played in the store, Kapp said. Requested records can be special ordered, she added. Inglenook, a Scottish word meaning a nook near a warm place, has a homemade faux-lighted fireplace where customers can chat or just listen to records. “Records are not a thing of the past,” Kapp said. “Vinyl records never went away.”
Chicago, IL | Tone Deaf Records Opens Saturday In Portage Park, With 12,000+ Punk, Metal, Indie, Jazz And Soul Albums To Choose From: Why don’t you do what you’ve always wanted and open a record store? his girlfriend said. So, owner Tony Assimos has been renovating the storefront at 4356 N. Milwaukee Ave. After months of preparation, Tone Deaf Records will open to the public Saturday (6/15). Tony Assimos, the store’s owner, decided to take the plunge and open a shop of his own at 4356 N. Milwaukee Ave. after he was priced out of Logan Square and the neighborhood’s other longtime record shop, Raffe’s, shuttered. “I’ve been busting my ass for the last two months to get everything up and running,” Assimos said. “I think it looks nice and the shelves are full of stuff. I think we’re presentable enough. “I’m going to open the doors at noon and have some cookies, coffee and other snacks,” he added. Assimos said his dad had a “killer record collection” and growing up, he’d sit with him and listen to albums from artists like Jimi Hendrix, Creedence Clearwater Revival and The Stones.
Previously unheard Miles Davis album Rubberband set for vinyl release: The shelved 1985 LP gets its first airing. Miles Davis’ previously unheard Rubberband album is set for its first ever release, via Rhino / Warner Bros. Records this September. Recorded in October 1985 following Miles split from Columbia Records, the album marked another radical shift in direction for the trumpet player, enlisting musicians from across the funk and soul spectrum. It was even due to feature vocalists Al Jarreau and Chaka Khan. Originally produced by Randy Hall and Zane Giles, and engineered by Reggie Dozier, brother of Motown legend Lamont Dozier, Rubberband was finished off by Davis’ nephew Vince Wilburn Jr., who also played on the initial sessions. The finished edition now also features new vocals recorded by Lalah Hathaway and Ledisi, and follows the release of a four-track Rubberband EP for Record Store Day last year. Miles Davis Rubberband is released on 6th September.
Frank Ocean confirms that ‘Channel Orange’ vinyl is coming: His debut album will finally be released on wax. Frank Ocean has confirmed that ‘Channel Orange’ will finally be released on vinyl. The star’s debut album was released in 2012 and featured the tracks ‘Super Rich Kids’, ‘Pyramids’, and ‘Bad Religion’. It won a Grammy for Best Urban Contemporary Album in 2013. In a new interview with Dazed, Ocean was interviewed by the likes of Rosalía, John Waters, and Nile Rodgers. The latter asked when ‘Channel Orange’ would be available to buy on vinyl, to which its creator succinctly replied: “ASAP.” Earlier this year, Ocean denied that his visual album ‘Endless’ would be arriving on all major streaming services soon. The record has been exclusively available on Apple Music since its release in 2016, but was reported to be expanding its reach.
Square-Enix Announces a Final Fantasy VII Vinyl Record: Everything old is all the rage nowadays, and this is a two-fer. Old game, old medium as Square-Enix announces a FINAL FANTASY VII VINYL record. A joint project from Square Enix and Sony Music Masterworks is announced today. The two companies bring fan-selected tracks from the long awaited “FINAL FANTASY VII REMAKE” and timeless masterpiece “FINAL FANTASY VII” packed into a limited-edition 2-LP picture disc release. FINAL FANTASY VII REMAKE AND FINAL FANTASY VII VINYL (title subject to change) will be available for pre-order on July 7, 2019, with an official release date set on the 23rd anniversary of the original Final Fantasy VII game – January 31, 2020.
