Keller, TX | County Line Records moves to Old Town Keller: County Line Records relocated its store from Decatur to 148 S. Elm St., Keller, on June 24. The store, which sells new and used records, T-shirts, posters and other music accessories, had been open for a year in Decatur before owner Rodney Holder decided to move. “We needed a larger footprint than what we had in Decatur,” Holder said. Upon the urging of a friend who had a business in Keller, Holder and his family drove around to check things out. They stumbled upon their new location by accident—Holder took a wrong turn when he was driving around Old Town Keller—but he said it turned out to be the perfect location. “We decided to come where there’s a lot more folks and offer the same great service and kind of down-home vibe we had [in Decatur] here in Keller,” Holder said. Holder added going into a record store is really about the experience. …“We provide that experience in a family atmosphere. Grandparents can come in with their 14-year-old grandchild, and they all can find something, so it really does connect everybody.”
Canberra, AU | Records shops are not so RARE in Canberra these days: Is the Canberra market big enough for another record store? Of course it is. Is there a war of records shops in town? Of course there is. But not according to Tom Stockman, who has just opened Canberra’s newest record store, conveniently located in the heart of Old Kingston. He says there is always room for another shop because everyone loves music. “Of course there’s no records war,” he laughs. “No, not at all. There’s room for everybody. Absolutely.” RARE Records has opened in the Cusack Centre right on the corner of Eyre Street and Highgate Lane, Kingston. The store has its official opening launch this Saturday (15 July) afternoon with drinks, nibbles and maybe a few cheap records up for grabs. It’s a tiny shop full of mostly secondhand LPs with an added small selection of CDs, T-shirts, music books and memorabilia. RARE stands for Retro and Record Emporium and although it’s just opened it has a little bit of history.
Wheeling, WV | Nail City Record Hosts Early Listening Parties: Nail City Record is hosting official early listening events for “Barbie The Album” and for the upcoming new album from Greta Van Fleet. Taking place at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, July 18, attendees will have the exclusive opportunity to experience “Barbie The Album” before its worldwide release. This musical companion accompanies the highly anticipated event film “Barbie” featuring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling in the iconic roles of Barbie and Ken. Alongside the impressive musical talent, the listening party will offer exclusive “Barbie The Album” branded giveaways, available while supplies last. Attendees will also have the chance to pre-order the limited edition CD version, featuring an exclusive album cover. This CD will be the only physical release to include the track “Barbie Dreams” by K-Pop artist FIFTY FIFTY (featuring Kaliii). Additionally, fans can pre-order other album formats, including the hot pink vinyl edition, standard CD edition and retro-cool cassette.
Minneapolis, MN | Meet the Minneapolis salon owner helping make the music scene a cut above: Jon Clifford’s HiFi Hair and Records by Loring Park has rock-star clients and “the coolest waiting room in the world.” When he isn’t mistaken for Tommy Stinson of the Replacements—it happened several times in one night at last month’s Outlaw Music Fest—Jon Clifford has become one of the most recognized guys in the Twin Cities music scene. He doesn’t play music, though. Instead, the 58-year-old south Minneapolis native is in the business of trying to make other people stand out like rock stars. “I’m a goofy, skinny hairdresser who has a lot of really cool friends and clients,” is how he humbly put it. Through his HiFi Hair and Records near Loring Park in downtown Minneapolis — hair salon + record shop = genius — Clifford has become a beloved booster, cheerleader and benefactor within the local music scene. He’s sort of the Minneapolis equivalent of Los Angeles radio jockey Rodney Bingenheimer, a friendly fixture and superfan with a haircut as cool as his taste in music.
Audio-Technica AT-LP60 turntable review: A beginner’s turntable for the vinyl revival: With vinyl making a notable comeback, listeners everywhere are investing in turntables to spin their beloved records. Audio-Technica’s AT-LP60 is one turntable on the market grabbing a lot of attention, particularly among beginners. Design and Features: The Audio-Technica AT-LP60 is an automatic belt-driven turntable that perfectly encapsulates the nostalgia of traditional record-playing with modern-day simplicity. Its exterior has a sleek look, available in silver or black, exhibiting its balance of antiquity and modernity. One outstanding feature of the Audio-Technica AT-LP60 is the fully automatic function. With a push of a button, you can start your record spinning and listen to your favorite tracks without manual operation. It also sports two speed options: 33 1/3 and 45 RPM, accommodating most vinyl records. Sound Quality: Where this piece really shines is its sound quality. The AT-LP60’s tonearm automatically places the stylus on your records steadily, reducing risks of damaging your precious vinyls or decreasing sound quality due to skipping or repeating.
Hackney Wick, UK | A books and art market for music fans is happening in Hackney Wick: The inaugural Independent Print Market happens this August. Independent Print Market has announced its first event in Hackney Wick on August 5. The event, which runs in All My Friends from 12pm to 7pm, will bring together a collection of independent publishers to sell electronic music-related books, zines, prints, art, records and merchandise. Stallholders for the event include Velocity Press, Repeater Books, Four Corners Books, Disco Pogo, Dance Policy, 20k and a Dead Sheep, 140 zine, My First Book of Drum & Bass, the Museum of Youth Culture, Junior Tomlin, Music Mondays, Rendezvous Projects and Mixmag. Velocity Press owner Colin Steven says: “I love attending fairs and markets and running at a stall at them even more. Selling direct, meeting fellow stallholders and music fans… what’s not to like? I’ve been to a few over the years but never one dedicated to print for electronic music culture. I know so many like-minded publishers, shops and artists who feel the same way. The event celebrates the spirit of independence and the incredible range of talent within the industry.”
Brian May on the “magic in vinyl” and the unique box set of Star Fleet sessions: Brian May explains the unique music collaboration of the Star Fleet Project, the bond with Eddie Van Halen and why the revised recordings of Star Fleet deserved a box set. “…And of course it gives me a chance to put the thing out on vinyl. And there’s always a magic in vinyl. There’s no getting away from it. Something happens when you put a vinyl record on your record player, and there’s a connection somehow that is better than the digital connection in my opinion. So it’s lovely to be able to do that. And I love the paper—I love the fact that you can make large illustrations and enjoy a nice book. I put all sorts of goodies in, and it’s very important to me to put a badge in. I love a badge. We have a Star Fleet badge; you can join Star Fleet! Really, it’s just instinctive for me. And I know it’s been swept under the carpet for many years by the digital domain. But I think there is a resurgence of people who get into vinyl and box sets and artwork and stuff, right?”
Victoria, AU | Vinyl Station Launches Australian Made Sustainable Record Cabinets: Launched earlier this year, Vinyl Station manufactures record cabinets made from 100% recycled plastic designed to showcase your turntable and record collection. The Vinyl Station story begins in 2020 when the Geelong, Victoria-based company went looking for a record cabinet made sustainably and designed so you could flip through a few records and play at waist height. The fruitless search left only one option … build a solution themselves. “So, we played around with some of my own designs. And decided on two flipping buckets at the top was ideal, with a turntable bench, and two rows of storage space underneath to vertically stack vinyl. Another decision was to place two bookshelf speakers within the unit, to create a single storage, functional and visual solution. We worked on these sketches for a few weeks.” The early prototypes were produced from Builder’s Board offcuts sourced from a local demolisher. The result, says the company, was that “vinyl was played much more often.”
