Last year, vinyl LPs and EPs outsold CDs for the first time since 1986.
This trend was unthinkable 25 years ago.
By the turn of the century, vinyl appeared in the twilight of its years and seemingly marked for death. Cassettes and CDs dealt devastating blows to the format and it shied away to irrelevancy in the digital age. But it never reached extinction. The 12 inch 33 1/3 rpm vinyl LP has lived to see its 90th birthday this year.
Some may be quick to dismiss vinyl’s newfound popularity as a hipster trend. However, it’s not simply the number of vinyl records sold that indicates its permeation into the mainstream; it’s where it is being sold.
Department stores like Kohl’s, Target and Walmart have sold vinyl records for a number of years, the later of which launched its own “Vinyl Mania Week” last month, during which it sold exclusive releases, primarily color variants of popular titles.
On June 1, Rough Trade, a UK-based independent record store group with shops in the US, moved its New York location out of chic gentrified Williamsberg, and into the ground floor of the 30 Rock building, NBC’s cultural hub of broadcasting and mainstream late night entertainment in the heart of Midtown Manhattan.
While big players have found ways to ride vinyl’s newfound success, small mom-and-pop shops brimming with used vinyl records is what kept the format alive.
Suffolk County is home to nine of such shops at the forefront of the 21st century revinylization. From multigenerational family businesses to players starting out in the past decade, these stores are reacquainting experienced islanders with vinyl and introducing it to those born and raised in the information age.
Some of Suffolk’s shop owners think Record Store Day deserves some of the credit for vinyl’s survival and booming independent record store sales.
The holiday began in 2008 as an way to drive music consumers back into independently owned record stores. On Record Store Day, indie music shops receive vinyl releases, as well as some CDs and cassettes, exclusive to their stores. Lines wrap around the shops for colored vinyl, picture discs, new remasters, first-time vinyl pressings and long sought out-of-print rarities, all of which are generally limited to a few thousand copies.
The celebration of mom-and-pop shops is typically a single Saturday in April. There is also a RSD Black Friday event, in which indie stores receive another batch of exclusive titles the day after Thanksgiving. Last year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the releases intended for April were spread out over three RSD Drop Days. This year there will be two dates: June 12 and July 17.
A complete list of titles that will be available on these dates can be accessed here.
We’ve rounded up the record stores around Suffolk County in time for the first RSD drop. While three of the shops on this list will not carry RSD titles, all of these stores are worthy of a visit.
Record Stop (Patchogue): Best for new LPs and 45s
There are two kinds of crowds that pour into Record Stop just off Patchogue’s W. Main St.
The first are shoppers of all ages looking to score the newest releases pressed on wax and scrounge around the shop’s used bins.
The second are the bar-hopers and dinner-daters who begin to spill in after 6 p.m., according to two of the shop’s employees. “The night crowd peruses,” Izzy said from behind the shop’s counter. “It’s as if it’s an art exhibit or a museum.”
Despite the 21st century vinyl resurgence, record shops, particularly those in walkable areas like Patchogue, encounter many passers-through unware that record stores still exist and that plants pump out new pressing of old albums. “They don’t understand that they never stopped pressing vinyl,” Kap, one of Record Stop’s managers, said, toiling at an office desk brimming with used records.
Each of the store’s employees know a lot about a little, according to Kap. He is a self-professed soul, reggae, and hip-hop head, while Izzy is well-versed in 70s rock. They help guide customers looking for new discoveries in their respective expertise.
The mid-size shop is Record Stop’s third location change since it first opened in Lake Ronkonkoma in 1974. The floor space is dominated by new LPs, with used LPs and CDs shunted to the walls and endcaps. The store’s organization and display method for new 45s is its standout feature and surpasses that of other shops, where they tend to be sequestered in a separate section. At Record Stop, the shrink-wrapped seven-inch records occupy natural wooden cubbies mounted to the front of the LP bins of corresponding genres throughout the store.
Record Stop is a wholesaler, and as such, offers many items at slashed prices under the “Vinyl under $20” tab on its website.
The Patchogue shop, one of the company’s two brick-and-mortar locations, the other in Charleston, South Carolina, offers sales as well. On the twentieth of each month, 13 new LPs make their way to the bestsellers wall shelf, where they are discounted for $20. In the past, the wall has boasted a myriad of repressed classics, from Nirvana’s “Nevermind” to “Led Zeppelin II” and Nas’ “Illmatic” to Miles Davis’ “Kind of Blue.” This month, the wall boasts Judas Priest’s “Painkiller,” Lana Del Ray’s “Born to Die,” Nina Simone’s “Little Girl Blue,” and 10 others.
Record Store Day veterans and ordinary Patchogue Villagers are likely familiar with Record Stop’s celebration of the holiday. From lines around the block, to eating and drinking in the street all scored by live performances, the shop pulls out all the stops. Last year however, the shop limited its celebrated due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Record Stop will carry RSD releases this year, but the shop has yet to announce the extent of its festivities for either drop day.
Sunday Records (Riverhead): Best for trying new things and new wave nostalgia
As the name may imply, Sunday Records is only open on Sundays. Owner Brian Volkman, a lawyer by trade, works during the week. He said the Riverhead shop, which opened its doors is 2018, is more of a low-pressure hobby than a business.
A frequent record store shopper in his youth, Volkman said he enjoyed getting home from a record store with new albums he had never even heard of before. His goal is to instill his passion for discovery in his customer.
“I can always sell a copy of Dark Side of the Moon, or A Night at the Opera,” he said. “But I want people to get beyond that and really dig into the crates and discover new music.”
Volkman foments this discovery through the help of Universe Publishing’s “1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.” The three-inch-thick reference book is open for customers to read and learn about music beyond their purview. Any of the book’s albums that Volkman has in-stock are marked with a “1001 Albums” sticker so customers can read up on the release before they purchase.
Sunday Records is one of two stores on this list that has a listening station with a turntable and headphones, completed by a leather chair so clients can listen comfortably before they make their purchase.
The small shop is the most curiously organized of all the entries on this list. All the artists are arranged according to the Long Island radio stations Volkman would tune into growing up on Long Island.
“If I wanna hear Led Zeppelin of Pink Floyd, I’ll turn up WBAB,” he said. “I want to hear anything new or more mainstream rock, I’ll turn on WEHM.” The former section resides on the left-hand wall, with the latter placed in the middles of the shop.
The New Yorkers who dared to be different in the decade after disco will feel nostalgia at the sight of the 45s that veneer the right hand wall, boasting Talking Heads, U2, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts and yellow and purple Sire Records labels. This is the WLIR section, honoring the station that helped introduce the nation to all sounds punk and new wave.
The station was famous for its “Screamers of the week,” tracks nominated by its staffers and decided after listeners called in their votes. Volkman has print-outs of all the station’s Screamers from 1980 to 1997 available in the store, and each screamer in the shop has a numbered sticker boasting when that hit was crowed victorious.
Sunday Records will not participate in Record Store Day. But if anyone asks Volkman, “every Sunday is Record Store Day.”
Looney Tunes (West Babylon): Best for nick nacks and autographs
From its inventory to its decorum, West Babylon’s Looney Tunes is a necessary pilgrimage for Long Island metal heads.
The entirety of the store’s first two aisles are devoted to metal CDs, and there is no shortage of metal found on freshly lathed wax.
The 50-year-old shop is famous for housing live performances and in-person signings. “That’s been pretty much a backbone of our operation the last 25 years,” said Karl Groeger Jr, who, alongside his brother Jamie, owns and operates the shop his father started.
Groeger Jr. said he hopes to get back to in-person autographs this summer.
Supporting evidence of these star-studded events are plastered throughout the store. The red walls and supporting pillars around the shop are adorned with autographed acoustic and electric guitars and signed LPs grace a beam which runs the length of the store.
Most of the signatures come from world-renowned metal acts, from Ozzy Osborne, to Megadeth, and Slipknot, to Slayer, the later of which is no longer visible. A Stratocaster that once bore the names of Tom Araya and Kerry King was engulfed in a fire at Looney Tunes’ previous location. Its blackened and melted remains are on display nonetheless at the entryway of the shop.
Every aisle and wall is also overrun with Funko pops, ReAction figures, t-shirts, posters, puzzles, books, mugs and a wealth of other giftable novelty items for any music fan.
Long Island’s largest record store in terms of square feet, Looney Tunes will carry RSD titles this year. It is also the islands oldest record store, celebrating its gold anniversary this year. Groeger has yet to set a date and announce festivities, but said he plans to have a celebration this summer or fall, and teased that “some really big, legendary artist is doing a free show for us.”
Mr. Cheapo CD and Record Exchange (Commack): Best for CDs
Completists pining for a foreign edition of their favorite CD with an exclusive bonus track or a bootleg show of their favorite band will likely find it in Mr. Cheapo’s CD bins, which inhabit a wall the full length of the shop, plus floor bins.
The stockpile of CDs is but one of the changes the Goldman family’s record store underwent during its 40-year-history. Stu Goldberg started the shop in 1981 in Flushing Queens and named it after his wife’s nickname for him. They opened a Mineola location in 1983 and relocated the Queens location in 1986 to Commack in where it is today.
Josh Goldberg, Stu’s son, has worked in the shop since he was 13, and is now officially an owner of the shop. For four decades, Mr. Cheapo specialized in the buying and selling of CDs and second-hand vinyl. “The record business now is as good as when we started,” Josh said. “If not better.”
The young Goldberg remembers more difficult times and transitions, citing the burgeoning popularity of sharing and streaming music digitally in the early to mid 2000s as a “brutal.” “The main thing was it took away so much of the sales of CDs, which was our main driving force.”
By the end of the decade, the turntables turned. The RSD revinylization began, and Mr. Cheapo survived and even expanded. “We used to never carry new vinyl,” Goldberg said. “We used to have two rows, now we have 20 rows of new vinyl.”
Mr. Cheapo will carry RSD releases this year.
Record Reserve Inc. (Northport): Best for starting a used LP collection
Record Reserve Inc. in Northport is the smallest shop in Suffolk County, but the 10-year-old store still attracts a range of shoppers. “I’m catering to the deep collectors,” Tim Clair, the shop’s owner, said. “And the people who just wanna have fun with it and come in and buy a $5 record and enjoy the hobby.”
The spare space and single staffer, long-haired Clair in a black t-shirt and blue jeans, make for an inviting atmosphere, especially for new collectors that may feel intimidated in one of the larger, more populous stores.
On a recent Saturday afternoon, Clair, was visited by two of his newest regulars: a pair of 16-year-old boys who dusted off their parents collections and caught a knack for the wax. One of them was puzzled by a copy of A Hard Day’s Night he was considering adding to his collection. Clair then taught him the differences between the U.S. version of “A Hard Day’s Night,” which he was holding, and U.K. version to which he had been accustomed.
Clair, a life-long guitarist, aims to acquire, set-up and sell second-hand guitars in his shop soon. He is beginning to dip his toes in the secondary project, with two guitars hanging in the shop awaiting some TLC.
Record Reserve will not participate in Record Store Day.
Infinity Records (Massapequa Park): Best for puppies and kitties
After 31 years in the business, Infinity Records owner Joe Ostermeier said his biggest challenge is finding and retaining knowledgeable employees with expertise in various genres. “When customers come in a lot of them have questions. You can learn what their taste is, turn them onto music that fits their picture.”
He believes his current staffers in his Massapequa Park shop are up to the task. The mid-size store has a more expansive classical record stock than the other shops on this list. Luckily, for classical music expertise, as well as knowledge of jazz and psychedelia, he can introduce customers to Corey, one of the shops managers of more than 10 years.
The shop’s metal and punk wall boasts some interesting finds for collectors, including Ramones and Skid Row firsts prints, as well as a 12″ version of Iron Maiden’s “Women in Uniform” non-album single.
Infinity Records celebrates Record Store Day a little differently than the other shops on this list. Instead of offering sales or hosting live shows, Ostermeier said the store donates 10% of its proceeds from each RSD Saturday and the following Sunday to local no kill shelters.
“We do due diligence, so we actually check them out and make sure they’re legitimate,” he said of the shelters he chooses. “It’s something I do in memory of my parents. My parents were big animal advocates. So I just try to give back.”
This year, Infinity Records is donating to Last Hope, Inc. Animal Rescue & Rehabilitation in Wantagh and All About Cats Rescue in Freeport.
Ostermeier said the shop also gives away posters, buttons, t-shirts, CDs and DVDs throughout the weekend.
High Fidelity Records and CDs (Amityville): Best for weekly trips
Perhaps the most jam-packed of all the shops on the island, High Fidelity Records and CDs has served Amityville for 17 years.
Despite the scarce walk room, it is not uncommon to find a several of the shop’s several dozen regulars browsing the bins. The store’s backbone is its inventory of used vinyl and CDs. To help those on the prowl for a particular album and his regulars who like to keep up with his latest inventory, owner Marc Sendik puts his latest stock into 15 new arrival bins. After three weeks, he cycles those albums out into respective used sections to unveil fresh second-hand batches.
The store’s ever-growing inventory of used products is it’s backbone, but owner Sendik said he fulfills many requests for new releases, lately for millennials and zoomers. “Good music is good music no matter what generation its from,” Sendik said. “They’re buying a lot of Hendrix, Floyd and Zeppelin and stuff. But they’re also coming in for War on Drugs, The Black Keys, Greta Van Fleet, newer acts like that.”
Record stores were not immune to the COVID-19 pandemic, and Sendik says closing down during that time was the greatest challenge he faced as a business owner of nearly two decades. Like many of the islands shops, he digitized his inventory for online sales, shipped orders to customers’ homes and towards the end of his time closed down, fulfilled orders for curbside pickup.
High Fidelity will carry RSD releases this year and Sendik said he is offering 20% off all other new and used projects, including RSD titles from previous years.
Innersleeve Records (Amagansett): Best for a trip out east
For many Long Islanders, Innersleave Records is a bit out of reach for regular visits, and owner Greg Wright empathizes with them. He said he fairly compensates any westward islanders who travel to the island’s most eastern record store in Amagansett. “We’re out here in the sticks so we like to give a little extra incentive for coming the extra miles, the extra time,” he said. “And it’s beautiful, it’s a great day trip to take out here, not to mention the potential to rub shoulders with a celebrity or musician in here.”
After working in record stores since he was 12, Wright opened Innersleeve in 2012 and said he is looking to open a second location elsewhere on the island, an effort sidetracked by the COVID-19 pandemic.
He said the pandemic also made acquiring and maintaining inventory difficultly, an issue he had not experienced his first eight years in business. It also became difficult to acquire and sell second-hand guitars and new gear, and Wright closed the listening station he had set up for customers.
While most record stores on this list separate their stock of new and used records, ring worn old pressings and freshly wrapped new pressings of the same albums rest back to back in the same bin.
“We have found that people will sometimes surprise themselves and buy something they didn’t expect to buy because it was in front of them,” he said “I think its better mentally to see the full catalogue than to think you have to look in multiple places to get it all taken care of.”
Outside the shop, passers-by are welcome to take from the free record bin. They may not find the best selection there, as Wright explained it is filled with items he “can’t even get a buck for,” mostly beat-up easy-listening records. However, he said various community members find a way to turn the trash into treasure.
“We have a big artist community here and people grab covers and made artwork and collages,” Wright said “Somebody took records and painted them and put them up on all these telephone poles with different messages. Some people get really excited about it.”
Innersleeve Records will carry new RSD releases this year.
Vinyl Bay 777 (Plainview): Best for box sets
Despite the mural of artists and band logos painted on its front-facing roll-down doors, Vinyl Bay 777 is Suffolk County’s most elusive record store, located in a commercial lot detached from the road in Plainview. Its high ceilings house one of the county’s largest record collections.
The store is a must for those who collect lavish limited edition CD or Vinyl box sets, most of which are arranged at the counter just beyond the front door.
Frank Napoli, owner of Vinyl Bay 777, said his store focuses on vintage items of all formats, including cassettes and 8-tracks. While the shop is dimly lit, collectors can still find gems in throughout the massive collection, particularly in the punk section located just left of the door. On last look, it contained several hard-to-find first pressings of punk classics.
Napoli said his six-year-old shop’s large selection of new and used hip-hop records many of his younger shoppers purchase sets his store apart from other shops as well.
Vinyl Bay 777 will not participate in this year’s Record Store Day.
"time" - Google News
June 12, 2021 at 10:01AM
https://ift.tt/3xieZJA
Guide: Record shops to hit up on Long Island in time for Record Store Day - GreaterMoriches
"time" - Google News
https://ift.tt/3f5iuuC
Shoes Man Tutorial
Pos News Update
Meme Update
Korean Entertainment News
Japan News Update
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Guide: Record shops to hit up on Long Island in time for Record Store Day - GreaterMoriches"
Post a Comment