Record Store Day 2018 Ambassadors Run the Jewels
Record Store Day is the annual global celebration of the culture of the record store, and this year it takes place on Saturday, April 21. The Record Store Day Ambassadors for 2018 are Run The Jewels, a duo comprised of rapper Killer Mike and rapper/producer EL-P.
“Indie stores fostered my love of rap,” says Killer Mike. “Super Sounds in Atlanta (and Decatur) were my havens as a kid That’s where I heard new music, argued about our favorite artists and even met some artists there. I lived for the day I was a poster on the wall.”
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 nearly 1400 independently owned record stores in the US and thousands of similar stores internationally. The first Record Store Day took place a decade ago, on April 19, 2008, and today there are Record Store Day participating stores on every continent except Antarctica.
Record Store Day 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. Festivities include performances, cook-outs, body painting, meet & greets with artists, parades, DJs spinning records, and on and on.
In 2008 a small list of titles was released on Record Store Day and that list has grown to include artists and labels both large and small, in every genre and price point. For several years, 60% or more of the Record Store Day Official Release List came from independent labels and distributors. The list continues to include a wide range of artists, covering the diverse taste of record stores and their customers.
The list of musicians who have taken up the duties of Record Store Day Ambassador has grown impressively long over the past decade, boasting such music makers as Metallica, Dave Grohl, Iggy Pop, Ozzy Osbourne, Jack White, Chuck D, and St. Vincent. Record Store Day Ambassadors for 2018 Run The Jewels, i.e. EL-P and rapper Killer Mike, have a history with Record Store Day, having released a 12″ in 2015 as a Record Store Day First release, and unique offerings for both Record Store Day and Black Friday in 2017.
“I am so excited to have these guys as Ambassador, and it makes so much sense!” says Carrie Colliton, a Record Store Day co-founder. “I’ve seen how hyped up and just flat out joyous people get when they’re around, at in-stores or at live shows. HUGE crowds of all kinds of different people, with diverse musical backgrounds coming together for Run The Jewels, and I can’t help but think that it’s just like hanging out at a record store–nobody’s musical tastes are the same but there’s something there to bring them all together.”
A Record Store Day participating store is defined as a brick and mortar retailer whose main primary business focuses on full time, stand alone physical store locations, with a major commitment to music retail, and whose company is independently owned, and not publicly traded. In other words, we’re dealing with real, live, physical, indie record stores—not online retailers or corporate behemoths. Get out and visit one or more of these official Record Store Day participating stores in Nashville: Third Man Records and Novelties, Ernest Tubb Record Record Shop, Fond Object Records – Downtown and Eastside, The Vinyl Bunker, Mckay Books, The Museum Store, The Great Escape – Charlotte and Madison, Grimey’s, Boulevard Record Shop (on Belmont campus), The Groove, New Life Record Shop, Vinyl Tap, and Alison’s Record Shop.
For example, The Great Escape celebrates Record Store Day at ALL locations; all locations will be open 3 hours early for this awesome event at 7 a.m. (Except for their Louisville store- which opens one hour later- at 8 a.m.). Celebration includes: Limited and indie-store-only releases from bands and artists including The Cure, David Bowie, Grateful Dead, Taylor Swift, Steve Earle, U2 and many more.. FREE MERCHANDISE: CD Samplers, Stickers, Posters & more; 20% OFF all USED LPs & CDs and 50% OFF all USED 45s, 78s & Cassettes.
