“It was the summer after I graduated high school. I had my own car (1986 Mercedes I-90 E, basically a tin can) and three months of freedom before I moved to a different town to start college. I loved browsing through the local record stores and even if I didn’t buy anything, just the atmosphere inspired me.”
“That summer I returned to Luna Records on College Ave. in South Broad Ripple, or SoBro, looking for something to listen to while I cruised Indianapolis in my car (windows down of course because it didn’t have air conditioning). I bought Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros’ album Here on a whim and it became the soundtrack of my summer. I memorized all the words and I still consider “All Wash Out” to be in my Top 10 of fav songs ever. I’ve played that CD probably a hundred times since buying it and loved every second.
The great thing about CDs is that they’re accessible and familiar. I was born in 1994 so I grew up listening to my parents’ CDs and remember bringing the boombox outside to listen while we ran around in the yard or played in the sprinkler. It wasn’t until later that I was introduced to vinyl. My dad had a record player that we used sometimes to listen to Credence Clearwater Revival or Sgt. Pepper, among others. To me it seemed like listening to vinyl was more special than a CD or cassette tape.
When I was in high school our grandparents gave us their vinyl collection. Lily bought a compact record player with built-in speakers and played records in her room after school while she did her homework. Eventually that player got tired and unfortunately now it makes records sound weird and warped. We have yet to buy a new player, but we continue to collect vinyl so that someday we can listen. I think it’s really neat that vinyl is becoming more popular again. People will always love music and listen to it any way they can, but listening to it on vinyl is somehow a magical experience.
It’s almost like a live performance right there in your home. That’s why vinyl is so amazing.”
—Madeleine
“It was a really rainy Saturday in October of 2009 and I was 13 years old. My best friend and I decided to walk a couple of miles from my house into Broad Ripple, which is sort of like the hip, artsy area of Indianapolis.”
“I remember that day really well because it was the first time I’d ever been to an independent record store. Around that time, I was really getting into independent music and discovering what kind of music speaks to me and I was really obsessed with the Shins. When my friend and I went into the record store (Luna Music in SoBro), I bought the Garden State soundtrack which has songs by the Shins, Imogen Heap, Iron & Wine, etc. I still listen to that soundtrack all the time, it’s such a cool mix of songs.
On the walk home, my friend and I talked about what we wanted to do when we grew up and I said I wanted to be a musician, which at the time seemed like an impossible silly dream, but I was so inspired by the new music I was discovering that I just wanted to make some of my own music.
For my 16th birthday, my parents got me this awesome record player (which has since gotten broken, like Madeleine said). I still listen to it all the time even though it skips and distorts some songs.
I also got to have my grandparents’ vinyl collection when they moved down to Florida, and albums like Creedence Clearwater Revival’s Willy and the Poor Boys and the Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper have been perfect additions to my own personal vinyl collection. I go to our local record store, Indy CD and Vinyl at least once a month, and recently they put up a display for our album, Fumes. It really is a crazy feeling to see my own albums in my favorite record store.
I wouldn’t really have been exposed to a wide variety of music if it hadn’t been for our local record stores.”
—Lily
Lily & Madeleine’s full-length release, Fumes is in stores now via Asthmatic Kitty.
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PHOTO: JULIEN BOURGEOIS
Lily & Madeleine Tour Dates:
February 3 – Nashville, TN – Cause A Scene House Concert
February 5 – Dallas, TX – All Good Café
Febraury 6 – Houston, TX – McGonigel’s Mucky Duck
February 7 – Austin, TX /// Cactus Café
February 9 – Albuquerque, NM – The Cooperage
February 10 – Phoenix, AZ – Valley Bar
February 11 – San Diego, CA – The Loft at UCSD
February 13 – Los Angeles, CA – The Troubadour
February 14 – San Francisco, CA – The Chapel
February 17 – Seattle, WA – Triple Door
February 18 – Portland, OR – Doug Fir Lounge
February 20 – Salt Lake City, UT – Kilby Court
February 21 – Denver, CO – Daniels Hall at Swallow Hill Music
February 23 – Colombia, MO – Mojo’s
March 5 – Elmhurst, IL – York High School
March 6 – Minneapolis, MN – Bryant Lake Bowl Theater
March 7 – Madison, WI – The Frequency
