This record shop is giving away 35,000 free records next week: Spend $20, get 100 records free. No, that’s not a typo. That’s five free records for every dollar you spend. Famed for its “Free Record Days”, LA emporium The Record Parlour is having another massive fire sale on 10th June for anyone looking to bolster their collection with a vast vinyl lucky dip. With over 35,000 LPs, 12″s, 7″s, 78s and cassettes to ship out the door, we recommend you get there early and get there ready, as previous year’s have seen queues form as far as the eye can see. Follow developments on The Record Parlour’s Instagram account and find the shop at 6408 Selma Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90028.
Dubai Gets A New Independent Record Store! Meet The Hero Behind It: When you think of Dubai, you might think of an international hub of culture, art, and activity. That might be true, but not so much for record collectors of the United Arab Emirates. Up until last week, Dubai didn’t have a single independent record store. Enter Shadi Megallaa, founder of The Flip Side record store and protagonist of the Dubai music and record collecting scene. The Flip Side opened just last week in Dubai’s up and coming art and design district, Alserkel Avenue. The shop promises to cater for all musical tastes and provide a meeting point for musicians and fans of all walks.
Sound & Vision Offers Vinyl Records and Music Expertise: Sound & Vision Vinyl, LLC, is the new record store in Salt Lake City. They opened on October 16, 2015. It is owned by Pam Lancaster and managed by Michael Maccarone. Maccarone has managed record shops for over 30 years. His interest in record collecting began by sampling his father’s rock n’ roll records and then by witnessing The Beatles perform on the Ed Sullivan Show in February 1964. In the 1970s, Maccarone’s interest in records was further inspired after being introduced to David Bowie records at a record shop. “[The employee] locked me in the store, made me buy The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust—I wasn’t allowed to leave until I bought the album,” he said.
Rosanne Cash Plots ‘King’s Record Shop’ 30th Anniversary Release, Legacy Recordings to issue 180 gram vinyl and digital editions of influential 1987 album featuring “Tennessee Flat Top Box,” penned by Johnny Cash: An early example of the burgeoning Americana genre, blending traditional country with rock & roll while delivering literate and incisive material, King’s Record Shop was also distinguished by its striking album cover photo. Taken by DeVito in front of the Louisville, Kentucky, record store owned by Gene King, younger brother of country songwriting legend Pee Wee King (“Tennessee Waltz”), the cover was the result of two photos taken separately, with Cash’s image superimposed on the location shot. The result was a 1988 Grammy win for Best Recording Package, awarded to album designer Bill Johnson.
Organizers don’t want a “record-breaking” auction in this case: Nazareth Attorney Gregory Reed has been collecting old records longer than he’s been practicing law. “I actually started collecting May 31, 1958 — 59 years today!” Reed tells us. That’s the day the gears began turning. “And it just became…an addiction…is that the word?” he laughs. Over the years, his collection grew…and grew…and grew. Why does he love them so much? “The sound…I mean, having a certain number is not important to me,” he tells us. (For the record, he has about 5,000) but they aren’t the vinyl records we know. Some of his are made of slate.
50 geeky facts about The Beatles’ ‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’: Half a century ago (June 1 1967), four mop-topped lads from Liverpool released one of the greatest records of all time. Stuffed with classics, from ‘Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds” dreamy psychedelia to the pioneering production of ‘A Day In The Life’, ‘Sgt Pepper’s’ broke boundaries at every turn. Despite its release now falling nearer to the First World War than the modern day, it remains one of the world’s best-known musical works. To celebrate the album’s enduring brilliance, here’s 50 geeky facts you might not know about it.
