New Orleans, LA | Uptown Record Store Plans Revival of Historic Woolworth’s Counter For Pop-ups, Events: Peaches Records also considering a restaurant down the road. Peaches Records, a treasured, decades-long destination for New Orleans music lovers, hopes to use its historic F.W. Woolworth lunch counter to host pop-ups and events, and to potentially establish a daily restaurant in the future. Uptown Messenger reports that the Magazine Street record store’s owners outlined their plans for the counter at a neighborhood meeting Monday, June 3. The meeting was part of the process in their quest for conditional use approval to operate as a restaurant and serve alcoholic beverages. Lee Rea, son of Peaches’ owner Shirani Rea, clarified that they would use the counter to host local chefs for pop-ups and fundraising events, but that any plans for a daily restaurant are three to five years down the road.
Newark, DE | Beloved 40-year downtown Newark business moves off Main Street (kinda): Less than a month after Newark’s Main Street was reduced to one lane as part of an 18-month road construction project, Rainbow Records has moved away from its longtime home there for a spot just off the central thoroughfare. Their new location at Pomeroy Station, a mixed-use development next to Newark Shopping Center on the street’s east end, features free parking. And most importantly these days, it also features an entrance and exit off N. Chapel Street, allowing customers to bypass the jackhammers… “We found a sweetheart deal,” says Todd Brewer, who bought the record shop with his wife in 2013 and reopened at the new location last weekend. “We really were looking for free parking, No. 1. It’s getting harder and harder to find parking and in 10 years it’s going to be impossible.”
UK | Jays announces partnership with Sunrise Records and Entertainment Limited trading as HMV and FOPP in the UK: Swedish audio product developer Jays Group AB (publ) is partnering with Sunrise Records and Entertainment Limited trading as HMV and FOPP, a leading retailer of music, film, games and technology products with over 120 stores around the UK. Jays Group AB (publ) announces a new partnership for distribution in the UK with Sunrise Records (HMV and FOPP), starting from Q2 2019. The agreement involves Jays’ current and future product range including products from the a-JAYS, a-Six and m-Six series. HMV’s heritage as an entertainment retail specialist stretches back over 90 years to 1921 when its first store in London’s Oxford Street was officially opened. HMV offers a wide selection of new release and catalogue titles of music, film, games and technology products. HMV was acquired by Sunrise Records, a Canadian record store company in 2019.
Verona, PA | Inner Groove Brewing in Verona promises suds and sounds: A new brewhouse in Verona promises to be the place for sounds and suds. Inner Groove Brewing along East Railroad Avenue is expected to open at noon on June 15 with eight beers on tap…The “inner groove” on vinyl records is where bands would have hidden tracks and messages. Music is strong theme throughout the 4,000-square-foot shop, from glued cassette tape centerpieces with electric candles to vinyl records used as coasters. The business logo looks like a hop spinning on a record with the company name in white boxes with black lettering. “I think all of us have a passion for music,” said Tim Melle, a 1990 Deer Lakes grad who called the layout “cozy industrial.” “Our goal is to produce two things: great beer and a great environment.” …Karaoke, trivia and “bring your own vinyl” are among activity nights in the works.
Pixies To Release Seventh Studio Album With Special Vinyl Edition: …The album features 12 tracks that were recorded in December last year at Dreamland Recordings, New York, being their first new material since 2016’s album Head Carrier. Pixies have also gone all out with the power of social media for this record, even recording a 12-episode ‘Pixies Podcast’ where you can find out more about the process of making the record in its entirety including input from band members and special insights in and around the recording studio. The record is slated for release on 13th September and also features a special edition box set including 2 clear vinyl records, a CD, and hardback book to accompany everything. The second vinyl disc features 9 never heard before demo tracks that sounds like a must for any hardcore fans out there.
‘The Very Very Best Of Crowded House’ Set For Long-Awaited Vinyl Debut: The new reissue has been compiled & cut from original analogue master tapes at London’s legendary Abbey Road Studios. Originally issued on CD in 2010, The Very Very Best Of Crowded House is set to make its long-awaited vinyl debut on 12 July through Capitol Records/Universal Music. Due for release in a glorious gatefold sleeve including notes & printed inner bags, The Very Very Best Of Crowded House has been compiled & cut from original analogue master tapes at London’s legendary Abbey Road Studios to 2 x 180g heavyweight black vinyl LPs. Also due for release is a special Limited Edition Orange Vinyl version is available at key physical retailers across the globe, making for an essential compendium for both committed fans and first timers. Boasting 19 career-spanning tracks, the collection documents Crowded House’s legend-enshrining period with Capitol Records/EMI which began with their self-titled 1986 debut and concluded with their 2007 reunion album, Time On Earth.
IE | We speak to MathMan ahead of his appearance at Body & Soul this month: The DJ will be playing the Hennessy Sound Lounge and curating the festival’s Midnight Circus. “…My mam and dad (especially my mam) was a serious vinyl fiend. The house was always alive with her music – whether she was pumpin’ out her favourite Fleetwood Mac or David Bowie records, or my dad with the Dubliners. Actually, my mam used to buy me 7” singles of my favourite pop artists back in the day. I was around 6 or 7 when it started. She’d mostly buy me Michael Jackson singles. That later turned into my own vinyl obsession when I started to DJ. I had my first set of Technics at 15, but had been buying vinyl since I was 14. I used to play my club records on my mam’s old record player – one at a time before I bought my 1210s. I guess my obsession with club culture, hip hop and that whole lifestyle kept my passion for vinyl alive. Buying vinyl is a really enjoyable thing to do. Just diggin’ and diggin’ – looking for something you love or can find inspiration in.”
