Barcelona, ES | New record store and community hub The Underground Music Network opens in Barcelona: The space was launched earlier this month by Subwax Bcn founder Jimi Disko. Jimi Disko has opened a multipurpose music space in central Barcelona. Located at Sant Bernat 8 and spread across two floors, The Underground Music Network encompasses a record store, radio station, booking agency, networking space and recording studio. It also offers production and DJ classes. Jimi Disko, who founded the label, record store and distribution service Subwax Bcn, opened the new space on June 1st, leaving Subwax Bcn to focus on distribution moving forward. “The Underground Music Network is more than a record store,” says Jimi Disko, “it’s a collaborative centre which will shape and reshape itself with projects and artists involved on many different levels. The project has great meaning to me as I want to use my experience to give something back, mainly by helping young producers and DJs get started and also to make the whole Barcelona scene stronger, more versatile and less commercial.”
St. Augustine, FL | Dream comes true for man who bought his favorite record shop, St. Augustine’s Music Matters: Music Matters, St. Augustine’s oldest record store, has a new owner and a new name: Music Matters Remixed. Eric Wenstrom was “passed the torch” about six months ago by original owner, Casey Kelber, who opened the store in 1989. Wenstrom turns 50 in November, and has been shopping at Music Matters since it opened. He remained a loyal customer over the years, stopping in to buy music every time he returned to town to visit his mom. Wenstrom was furloughed during the COVID pandemic in 2020, and called Kelber at Music Matters to “order a curbside music pickup,” when Kelber handed him a yellow paper flyer stating that the business was for sale. An avid music fan and music memorabilia collector, Wenstrom said he went back to his mom and asked her what she thought about him buying the store and moving back to St. Augustine. After a long career in hospitality at theme parks, he decided it was time to go after his dream of owning his very own music store.
Shawnee Mission, KS | Brothers Toys and Collectibles opens in Mission selling new, vintage items for buyers ages ‘4 to 45’ Kyle and Cole Maggart, the brothers behind Brothers Music KC, a vinyl record store on Johnson Drive in Mission, have a new venture: toys. And their loyal customers won’t have to go very far. Brothers Toys and Collectibles opened earlier this month at 5810 Johnson Drive, right next door to the Maggarts’ record store, which relocated from another spot just up the road more than a year ago. Kyle Maggart sees the new toy store as an attraction for “everyone from 4 year-olds to 45- and 50-year olds.” Brothers will sell new toys, like Marvel, Star Wars and Transformers action figures and accessories, as well as vintage items from the 1980s and 1990s, when the Maggarts themselves were kids. “We have brand new stuff for kids, things that are current that they won’t be able to find at Walmart,” Kyle said. “And we’ll have stuff for older collectors, who may want stuff they had as a child or items to round out a collection.” …Mission residents and Johnson Drive shoppers may already know of the Maggarts through their record store, Brothers Music KC, which opened in its original location in 2015. They’ve built up a loyal following selling new and used records, along with guitars and accessories.
Columbia, MO | Mid-Missouri Vinyl Lovers Gathered in Columbia to Celebrate “Record Store Day” On June 12, vinyl music fans worldwide descended on their neighborhood record stores for Record Store Day. Folks stood in lines throughout downtown Columbia to snag a special release: Maybe the live six-LP box set from the Grateful Dead or the acoustic set by Prince – pressed on purple vinyl, of course. All in support of their favorite artists and local record stores, including: Hitt Records and Slackers. Due to social distancing and global production issues, there are two Record Store Days this year. The next one is July 17. Kyle Cook, co-owner of Hitt Records: So, I’m one of the two owners and here we are on “Record Store Day.” “Record Store Day” is great for independent record stores – it drives business to a lot of places that have a hard time in the past, getting a lot of people to come in, and it’s just one of those things that started small and now here we are almost 20 years later. And it’s really cool to see how many people come out for it – both locally and from far and wide. For us, it’s a really big deal.
Las Vegas, NV | Things get spinning again at On the Record this weekend: On the Record, Park MGM’s distinctive speakeasy and club, will reopen on weekends starting Friday, July 2. Created by Houston Hospitality and inspired by several musical eras, the nostalgic venue will operate after 10 p.m. Friday and Saturdays. Guests must be 21 or older. Industry Nights at On the Record will resume Wednesdays next month, as well. “On the Record offers visitors a unique twist on the Las Vegas nightlife experience with its iconic spaces, including the double-decker DJ booth, the karaoke rooms and the Vinyl Parlor,” said Ann Hoff, president and COO of Bellagio and Park MGM. The 11,000-square-foot, three-room venue includes a record store (with vinyl available for purchase), a patio bar and three hidden karaoke break rooms. Behind a secret entrance, the intimate Vinyl Parlor features special guest “star-tenders” (or bartenders-in-residence) and a cocktail program.
Denver, CO | How Mutiny Information Cafe Survived The Pandemic: …“We were like, we have all these books by local authors, records by local musicians, coffee, stickers, zines and patches. So let’s make a booty box,” recalls Megysei. The box was a hit, and sales of it to Denverites picking up their coffee was what kept the store alive. This enabled Mutiny to reach the next stepping stone to stability when the comic book industry started to rev back up. The store opened up a small section for subscribers to come in and pick up their weekly comics and slowly were able to bring their staff back in through a PPP loan. Mutiny Information Cafe was even able to commission new murals to be painted on the sides of the boarded-up storefront and pay the artists who created them. Through all the hardship, Megyesi and Norris realized that they were sitting on a proverbial gold mine of things that people needed the most during the pandemic.
