Hawthorne, NY | Just for the record, new Hawthorne shop joins vinyl trend in Westchester, Rockland: …Big Jim’s Records opened in April, selling those big, round vinyl discs from yesteryear. A record store may seem as relevant in the internet age as a Fotomat, but owner Jim Gibson said business is cranking…Jon Meyers runs the record store website/app the Vinyl District out of Washington, D.C. He said the shops are a hot property. “I’m pleasantly surprised by the rejuvenation,” he said. “Shops are opening left and right these days.” …The Vinyl District co-hosts a record fair twice a year, which each attracts around 1,500 attendees. Meyers estimates that half of them are millennials or younger. “Everything got smaller and smaller and smaller,” he said of music formats, resulting in “invisible MP3s.” Young consumers tired of it. “You like this band,” Meyers adds, “you love to have a keepsake.”
Liverpool, ENG | The evolution of Liverpool’s iconic Jacaranda that ‘launched’ The Beatles: …reopening the Jac wasn’t easy, as Graham explained: “I’ll be honest when we first sat down and decided to reopen the Jac, I was very intimidated by it. “At that point you had 56 years of history and you had people all over Liverpool who had a really personal connection with the Jac, so it felt to me like no matter what you did you were going to get it wrong and someone would hate it, so I was really reluctant to redesign it. “But I thought we’ve got to reopen it we can’t carry on supporting it being closed.” This year Graham and the team behind The Jacaranda announced that a brand new 400 capacity gig venue, record store and bar opened in the city – just a stone’s throw away from the original Jac. Aptly named Jacaranda Records: Phase One, the Seel Street venue has its sights on becoming Liverpool’s newest musical institution…
Chicago, IL | ‘A great Oak Parker’: Oak Park trustee seeking honorary street sign for record store founder Val Camilletti: An Oak Park trustee has announced his intention to seek an honorary road sign as a tribute to longtime business owner Val Camilletti, who died last month after a two-year battle with breast cancer. If the effort is successful, village officials said it might be just the second such designation in Oak Park. Camilletti, who founded Val’s Halla Records in 1972, died July 24 at age 78. The weekend after her death, hundreds of customers flocked to the store’s annual Hallapalooza anniversary celebration, with many sharing stories about their friend. During the July 30 village board meeting, Oak Park Trustee Deno Andrews announced his intention to request an honorary street designation for Camilletti, possibly being placed in front of the original store’s location on South Boulevard.
Baton Rouge, LA | Party for free and catch a sale at the same time in honor of Lagniappe Records’ birthday. Downtown record store celebrates fifth anniversary: The Lagniappe owners say they’ve kept customers happy with a variety of stock that ranges from rock to jazz to hip hop to Cajun. They also stock most new releases of local music on CD. The couple has put their own music careers on hold. But they’re OK with that for record store success. “The first two years, we were still able to maintain playing music,” said Brunet. “But it got to a point where we couldn’t play our own music. “Even through we’re open 11 to 6, we’re here at 9 (at night) a lot of time. That’s just where we’re at.”
Seattle, WA | Sub Pop at 30: How a Seattle record label’s storied past prepared it for the future: Sometimes the best plan is not having one. This bodes well for Sub Pop Records co-founder Jonathan Poneman, who for 30 years has helped steer the company through an increasingly unpredictable industry, rolling with the punches that once nearly knocked Seattle’s big little indie label down for the count. “The music industry’s in a constant state of transition,” Poneman says. “Once you feel that you have things figured out, there’s a new scheme that comes in and upends everything that you felt that you knew.” In 1988, when Sub Pop became a full-time endeavor, Poneman was more concerned with jockeying for shelf space at Tower Records than plotting how it would remain one of America’s leading indie labels three decades later.
12 high-end turntables tested: which ones are Best Buys? High-end turntables are for those who aren’t just satisfied with excellent sound quality, but want a superior build that will last for years, too. We’ve tested models from all the leading manufacturers in this area, including Elipson, NAD, Pro-Ject, Rega, Teac, and Thorens, to find the very best premium models on the market. This is the biggest month at our turntables lab since we re-launched our testing following the vinyl revival, as we’ve reviewed the most expensive models we’ve tested in years. Not only are there impressive new premium Best Buys, but there are surprises in store as well, with some of the most popular turntables failing to earn top marks from our expert listening panel of music industry professionals.
