“I’ve been working in record stores for ten years.”
“Before then, I grew up in the country and radio was king for me. It makes me sound about 80 years old, but it’s true; oldies radio taught me the basics. The fundamentals of rock and roll were all there, but I knew there was more.
After high school, I started spending more time in the city and record stores (Ditch Records, in particular) were mystical to me. The people working in there were the sages. They knew more than me, so much more than me, and I loved it. Those dudes with huge beards and long hair, they knew something and they didn’t have time for anything else. I begged for a job every day until I got one and immediately began collecting records. I only listen to records at home to this day, and when I get asked to “DJ” I show up with a crate of records.
So why records? There is no one answer for me. It’s the look of them all strewn about the floor on a Sunday morning, and having to sort through and find all the proper inner sleeves, remembering things you played the night before in the process.
Records are memories; the red wine stain from New Years Eve on your cover of Exile on Main Street. The copy of Tonight’s the Night that you lugged across Europe thinking you’d never see it again. It feels real to pick up a record and take it out of the sleeve and put it on. You’re doing something in that moment. Selecting songs on iTunes to ignore over dinner lacks excitement. Choosing a record takes guts.
Records stores are different now. They don’t hold the power they once did because now people have options. You can download music and burn it and order it online and stream it. That accessibility is great in some respects, but talking to record store employees about good music and finding new records by digging through bins can be an invaluable experience. It is truly a classic pastime.
I have chosen so many wonderful records based on their covers while flipping through a dollar bin at a store. Year of the Cat by Al Stewart, Oh Lucky Man by Alan Price, City to City by Gerry Rafferty, these are great records and you can own them for next to nothing if you walk into a record store. You can also drop a hundred bucks on an original UK pressing of Revolver and hold it in your arms in that very moment, as opposed to praying it arrives in good shape from that eBay seller.
Some record stores are thriving these days with more people going back to wax but many still need help. So go to one and buy some records. I work at shop called Zulu Records in Vancouver, and if you come by, your first copy of Year of the Cat is on me.”
—Johnny Payne
The Shilohs’ self-titled sophomore album is on store shelves right now via Light Organ Records.
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NORTH AMERICAN TOUR DATES WITH THE FRESH & ONLYS
July 10 – Portland, OR – Mississippi Studios
July 11 – Vancouver, BC – Electric Owl
July 12 – Seattle, WA – Chop Suey
July 15 – Minneapolis, MN – Triple Rock
July 16 – Chicago, IL – Empty Bottle
July 17 – Detroit, MI – The Loving Touch
July 18 – Toronto, ON – Horseshoe Tavern
July 19 – Montreal, QC – La Vitrola
July 21 – Boston, MA – Great Scott
July 22 – Philadelphia, PA – Boot & Saddle
July 23 – Brooklyn, NY – Glasslands
July 24 – Washington, DC – DC9
July 25 – Chapel Hill, NC – Local 506
July 26 – Atlanta, GA – 529
July 28 – St. Louis, MO – The Demo
July 29 – Kansas City, MO – Czar Bar
July 31 – Denver, CO – Hi Dive
