photo courtesy of fuzzimo.com
Record Store Day returns this year on Saturday, April 18, growing steadily and reaching more and more music fans each year. Record Store Day was conceived in 2007 at a gathering of independent record store owners and employees as a way to celebrate and spread the word about the unique culture surrounding the nearly 1,400 independently owned record stores in the US and the thousands of similar stores internationally. There are Record Store Day participating stores on every continent except Antarctica.
“Music is an important part of our culture,” says Chuck Berry, “and record stores play a vital part in keeping the power of music alive.”
This is a day for the people who make up the world of the record store—the staff, the customers, and the artists—to come together and celebrate the unique culture of a record store and the special role these independently owned stores play in their communities. Special vinyl and CD releases and various promotional products are made exclusively for the day and hundreds of artists in the United States and in various countries across the globe make special appearances and performances. Festivities which are programmed independently by each store include performances, cook-outs, body painting, meet & greets with artists, parades, djs spinning records and on and on.
“Record stores keep the human social contact alive it brings people together,” says Ziggy Marley. “Without the independent record stores the community breaks down with everyone sitting in front of their computers.”
A Record Store Day participating store is a stand alone brick and mortar retailer whose main primary business focuses on a physical store location, whose product line consists of at least 50% music retail, whose company is not publicly traded and whose ownership is at least 70% located in the state of operation. In other words, we’re talking ’bout real, live, physical, indie record stores, not online retailers or corporate behemoths or chains.
“Record Store Day is really important for our clients,” says JAM President Jeff Jampol. “We all grew up digging through record stores to find the latest music and share with our friends, and we think it is crucial to keep that tradition alive.” Music icons The Doors, Otis Redding and the Ramones are all releasing special items for this year’s Record Store Day under the direction of Jampol Artist Management, Inc. (www.wemanagelegends.com), and the artists’ music will be available in record stores as part of the event that celebrates independent music retailers worldwide.
The Otis Redding – Otis Blue: Otis Redding Sings Soul, 50th Anniversary Edition is a 2-LP (1 stereo, 1 mono) set pressed on 180-gram vinyl, in a Limited Edition of 7,500 copies, priced at $44.98; it includes a bonus mono 45 on blue vinyl – “I’ve Been Loving You Too Long” b/w “I’m Depending On You.” This double mono/stereo version is being released for the first time on vinyl. The bonus 45 is a replica-like reissue of the original 1965 single.
There are a lot of stores that participate in Record Store Day and those stores are all INDEPENDENT, which means not only are they not owned by a corporation, they aren’t run or influenced or told what to do by the folks at Record Store Day either. They have complete control over their stock, store policies and which promotions they participate in. Any piece (commercial or promotional) on the Record Store Day website is available at some stores, but other stores have probably chosen not to carry them. Which is totally their prerogative.
Be sure to CALL AHEAD and CHECK WITH YOUR LOCAL STORE. Being mentioned on the Record Store Day website should not be taken as a guarantee that something will be available at all stores listed on the site. Grimey’s biggest celebration of the year features over 450 RSD releases, an all-day concert festival in the back lot, food trucks, craft-brewed beer, and a Sidewalk Sale with thousands and thousands of $1 LPs and CDs. The Groove will also have concerts and food trucks, as many participating stores will have live music.
Here’s a list of Record Store Day participating stores in the Multicultural Media Group newspaper readership areas across the state:
NASHVILLE AREA
Ernest Tubb Record Shop Nashville, TN
Fond Object Records Nashville, TN
Grimey’s Nashville, TN
McKay Books Nashville, TN
The Great Escape Charlotte Nashville, TN
The Great Escape Nashville Nashville, TN
The Groove Nashville, TN
Third Man Records and Novelties Nashville, TN
CD Warehouse Madison, TN
The Great Escape Madison Madison, TN
CD Warehouse Hermitage, TN
CHATTANOOGA AREA
For The Record Chattanooga, TN
Inherent Records Chattanooga, TN
Leo Gallery & Boutique Chattanooga , TN
Mayfields all killer no filler Chattanooga, TN
McKay Used Books & CDs Chattanooga, TN
Compact Discovery East Ridge, TN
CLARKSVILLE
Oddball Music & Media CLARKSVILLE , TN
KNOXVILLE AREA
Basement Records Knoxville , TN
Disc Exchange Knoxville, TN
Hot Horse Knoxville, TN
Lost and Found Records Knoxville, TN
Mckay Used Books, Music & More Knoxville, TN
Raven Records & Rarities Knoxville, TN
Wild Honey Records Knoxville, TN
Compact Discovery of Cookeville Cookeville, TN
Backdoor Records Johnson city, TN
Classic Music Company Johnson City, TN
The Rhythm Section Gatlinburg, TN
GROOVE RECORDS Maryville, TN
Ernest Tubb Record Shop Pigeon Forge, TN
MURFREESBORO
Little Shop of Records Murfreesboro , TN
