Fort Worth, TX | Fort Worth’s Southside suffers musical loss with club and record store closures: live music venue on Fort Worth’s Southside is closing: Main at South Side, which was a popular spot to see local musicians, comics, and other artists, is closing after five years. Its final date will be September 23, with a show featuring Royal Sons, North By North, and Summit Valley. …Caught in the shrapnel of the closure is Dreamy Life Records and Music, a Fort Worth record label and store from owner Cameron Smith that was housed inside the club; they’ll close on September 23, as well. “Dreamy Life Records will continue our journey as we began, as a record label dedicated to nurturing the creation and sharing of vital music from North Texas and beyond, but after 8 years and four different store locations, we feel the time has come to close this chapter in our little legacy, but our story will not end here…”
Bristol, UK | “The metal will never die”, Bristol record shop blown away by public support after burglary: A lone male was captured on CCTV stealing cash and smashing electronics. A record store owner has been moved to tears by the public support shown after his shop was burgled earlier this week. Black City Records, on Trenchard Street in the city centre, was broken into on Wednesday 7 September, at around 11.30pm with a lone male captured on CCTV. A fundraiser was made following the announcement of the break-in which has raised £3,290 as it stands. In a Facebook post, owner David Savage wrote: “The sheer amount of support we have received from the metal and vinyl community near and far has been something we simply cannot put into words. “Reading your comments, messages and seeing your support since yesterday morning has genuinely had us in tears many times. “Even now I’m welling up as I type this. You are all the greatest community in the world.”
Santa Fe, NM | Young buyers and local purveyors are keeping vinyl fresh: Streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music may be the norm nowadays, but many artists are starting to or are still pressing their new releases on vinyl, like Taylor Swift’s folklore, which has nine vinyl color and sleeve variants, or indie duo I Don’t Know How But They Found Me’s 2020 release Razzmatazz, which was pressed on a glitter filled record. While vinyl sales were at their highest in the 1970s — when they accounted for 66 percent of all music format revenues, according to The Hustle — sales dropped dramatically by the 1990s as other formats like cassette tapes and compact discs came onto the scene. But in 2021, vinyl sales outranked CD sales for the first time since the 1980s. A 2021 study from MRC data suggests young people are aiding the boost: Around 15 percent of Generation Z consumers buy vinyl records, compared to 11 percent of millennials. George Casey, owner of Lost Padre Records in Santa Fe, has a few ideas why.
Boulder, CO | Closing day for Albums on the Hill brings mountain of music memories: You could call it a five-day marathon of 78 RPM love. Andy Schneidkraut called it “a living wake.” But in the final hours before closing Boulder’s iconic Albums on the Hill for good on Monday, Schneidkraut allowed himself a brief moment to idle in the sweaty, human traffic jam of friends and loyal customers who stopped by his beloved basement record store to pay their respects – and scoop up some sweet merch for up to 80 percent off. “It’s a bit uncomfortable to discover after all this time that you meant so much to so many people, especially when you may not mean enough to yourself,” a visibly moved Schneidkraut said as Elvis Costello’s “My Aim is True” appropriately spun over the loudspeakers. They came from across the street and across the country. Whether they had bought records or concert tickets there, or maybe caught a comedy set or jam session, they had to say goodbye to the man who lived in their music basement – whether they had ever met him or not.
Easthampton, MA | Easthampton’s Platterpus Records music store celebrates 40th anniversary: Platterpus Records is hoping their music store will continue to create interest from older and younger audiences as the shop celebrates its 40th anniversary. The record store started in Westfield in 1982 and later moved to Easthampton in 2010. Founder and owner Dave Witthaus said he’s been in love with vinyl since he got his first job at a record store when he was 15 years old and enjoys everything about the art from the unique sounds to the packaging of the material. “I can remember going into a record store when I was a kid,” said Witthaus. “And you can’t wait to get home and open the record and see what’s inside. See if there’s lyrics or whatever and of course playing the music that’s on the record.” Witthaus said records stores aren’t as popular as they were 20 years ago because people can find music in a variety of places now and only a handful of shops are still in business locally.
Camberwell, UK | Decades-old Camberwell record shop saved from becoming “chicken shop.” Record label Dash the Henge is taking the store over from Rat Records. A Camberwell record store that almost became a takeaway but will continue selling vinyl just as it has for 22 years. Rat Records on Camberwell New Road next to Camberwell Green, founded in 1988, span its last 12-inch earlier this year but new owners Dash the Henge are taking up the mantle. An application was made to convert it into a “hot food takeaway” but Southwark Council rejected it in June. It said it would lead to there being too many takeaways in the area and would harm efforts to tackle child obesity being just 400 metres from the Sacred Heart Catholic School. Dash the Henge, an underground south London record label, established in 2020 by Tim Harper, Nathan Saoudi and Rebecca Prochnik, is instead taking over the property. Co-founder Tim said: “We got the word that Rat Records was closing down and notification that it was turning into a chicken shop meant that we were doubly disappointed.”
Penticton, CA | Okanagan Vinyl Fest in support of community radio station looking for old records, audio gear: Penticton’s Peach City Radio, 92.9 FM CFUZ, is gearing up for its ninth annual Okanagan Vinyl Fest. They are holding a vinyl record and audio equipment donation drive outside their Cannery Trade Centre location on Fairview road this Sunday, Sept. 11, between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. The non-profit is hoping to get donations of rock, pop, soul and jazz vinyl records and any audio equipment in good working order. The donated items will be tested by CFUZ volunteers, then sold at Vinyl Fest on Sunday, Sept. 25 at the Seniors’ Drop-In Centre. It is a key fundraiser for the station, with all proceeds going directly to its operations. The station is entirely operated by volunteers, striving to promote volunteerism, social engagement, independent music, community capacity building, citizen journalism and diversity. Volunteers and donations are always welcome.
Missoula, MT | 10,000-plus records to go on sale at West Side Theater: One does not buy records by the U-Haul without intentions of selling them. “When it rains, it pours,” said Collin Pruitt, co-owner of Slant Street Records. “We’re constantly looking for records.” A recent windfall has led to a sale Sept. 16-17, where they hope to offload upward of 10,000 records at the West Side Theater. A slice of the proceeds will go to the venue, which hosts theater, events, music and more and is the home of Bare Bait Dance company. (See info box for dates, times.) It’s all vintage vinyl, with the newest clocking in at the late ’80s and the genres running from pop, country, folk, soul, jazz, classical, often with artists so obscure you might have to look them up yourself to figure it out. They’re all priced at $3 each. The reason for the sale is two big bulk purchases that Pruitt and co-owner Mike Steinberg made recently. The two collectors opened the shop last year, focusing on a curated selection of records with the majority being used, rather than new, pressings
Triumph Launch Vinyl Reissue Series With Allied Forces: Triumph has launched a vinyl reissue series with the September 9th release of their 1981 album, “Allied Forces.” “Allied Forces” is now available in multiple vinyl packages, including several limited-edition color options via the band’s webstore. Produced by the Canadian band, their fifth studio record – which featured the singles, “Magic Power”, “Fight the Good Fight” and “Say Goodbye” – delivered the highest-charting US album in their history when it peaked at No. 23 on the Billboard 200 on its way to platinum status in the region. The vinyl reissue series will also feature editions of 1977’s “Rock & Roll Machine” and 1982’s “Never Surrender”, with release plans for both to be revealed at a later date.
