This Saturday (1/28), Sockets Records holds its 2012 Showcase at the Black Cat, featuring performances by Protect-U, Imperial China, Buildings, and Cigarette.
The prodigious local indie label, specializing in “experimental, incidental, minimal and arranged sounds” since 2004 (anyone ever heard of those Bluebrain fellas?), will be joining us all week at The Vinyl District. Artists from Sockets will be sharing their love of vinyl and music as a preview to Saturday’s blowout.
First up, Evan Napala of Cigarette, who reminisces about sorrowful female vocalists played on ’60s suitcase turntables in New York City.
After purchasing a 1960s Motorola suitcase record player, I was rather excited to explore the record shops of New York City. I could only think of one artist I truly wanted to hear. I anxiously searched through the concentrated selection of female vocalists. There was a soft purple sleeve peering through the mess of LPs. I had a moment as I lifted the welcoming color, greeted by non other than Little Miss Dynamite, which happens to be the title of a “hits” record by Miss Brenda Lee.
As the cover suggests, 22 sensational hits, which made it easy to ignore the price tag. Being one of the many artists who influenced the way I write music, I’ve identified with the sorrowful subject matter of female vocalists of the mid-century modern era. I’ve found a sense of comfort through their timeless feelings of yearning. These female voices of the past have always found common ground within our group’s view of love and sound.
—Evan Napala
