Get ready for Record Store Day

Each Record Store Day has gotten bigger than the last, and it feels like this week’s Black Friday version is shaping up to be a whopper. All the usual rules will apply; first come, first served, no holding of products, only one per item per customer etc. There aren’t as many products as April, but there are way more than last year’s Black Friday. Here are a couple of the highlights;

-Phish-Party Time and The White Tape-two full length LPs by Colorado favorite Phish. Last April, the 7” they put out was one of the hottest items and the first to sell out.

-Pete Townshend-The Quadrophenia Demos 1- A sweet 10” with 6 demo versions of Quadrophenia songs, including one that didn’t make the final album.

-Tom Petty-Kiss My Amps Live- 7 live tracks from the 2010 tour on a 12”

-The Beatles-Singles Box Set-very nice package –individually numbered with 4 singles, a poster, and a 45 adapter.

-Pink Floyd-The Wall-singles Box set-this is the coolest package of the day-3 singles and “another brick in the wall” box to house it all.

-Janis Joplin-Move Over-7” box set w/6 unreleased tracks!!-a bonanza for collectors

-John Lennon-Imagine-40^th anniversary box-w/ Original LP, Sessions LP on white vinyl, poster and 2 postcards-beautiful.

-Iron & Wine-Morning Becomes Eclectic 12”-nice 11 song radio session.

-Syd Barrett-Octopus-Stunning Tin filled with a colored vinyl 7” and a whole book of Mick Rock photos

-Bob Dylan-Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window?-awesome box set w/ 4 mono singles in picture sleeves.

-Kings Of Leon-Massive box set with their first three lps and a fourth lp of rarities-very nice!

-Nirvana-Nevermind-The Singles-numbered-five 10” singles-a collector’s dream.

This is just a small sampling. There will be close to a hundred unique pieces on offer. Avoid the malls-go local! Besides you won’t find this stuff at the malls.

-Paul Epstein

For a complete list of what items Twist & Shout will carry check out our site here: 

 http://www.twistandshout.com/Category.cfm?CategoryID=322

Record Store Day 2011

When I got there at 8:30 a.m. there were about 120 people in line. The first guy had apparently gotten there at 3:00 a.m. By the time we opened there was north of 250 people waiting to get in. I’ve been in retail for nearly 30 years and I have never experienced what followed. For the first two hours of Record Store Day I can only describe it as a sales nuclear reaction. It was astounding! It dwarfed the excitement and volume of last year, or any Christmas, or any instore performance I’ve ever seen. People were just insane to get their hands on this stuff. The hottest items for us- The White Stripes, Phish, Panda Bear, Foo Fighters, Pink Floyd, Mastodon/ZZ Top split, Deftones and Ryan Adams among others blew out of there in minutes. Many items that we didn’t get what we ordered like The Fleet Foxes, or Phish or Grinderman we could have sold out of in minutes rather than seconds had we gotten what we ordered. What kind of numbers am I talking about? Well on many of the bigger items we brought in 75, 60, 45, 30 or 15. In total we are probably talking about 3,000 pieces of vinyl in addition to CDs, shirts, puzzles, comic books, plastic toys and all other official RSD schwag.  We had over 1,100 transactions that day with almost 300 of them coming in the first two hours. The average sale was 61 dollars. The average customer purchased 5 items although many people bought huge amounts. We attempted to source every single Record Store Day release, including (pretty unsuccessfully) getting Record Store Day UK releases. It seems like if I could have gotten them we could have sold potentially hundreds of copies of many releases. Some things underperformed for us as well; Ray Lamontagne, Mastodon Live at The Aragon,Tom Petty Reissues and most surprisingly Sonic Youth, Dylan and Springsteen all did less than I expected. 

 From the budgeting point of view this brings up the obvious conundrum for independent stores of; how do you afford to buy all this stuff, even though you sell through much of it, there are all the ongoing costs of doing business and quite a bit of additional staffing expense for the day and I don’t want to even think about the potential for theft on a day like this. We also will be left with about twenty percent of the stuff unsold. That stock has to be paid for as well and none of it can be returned. There were hours where we-the staff-could not get near the product. Many people stood in line for well over an hour, even though we had five registers going the whole time. The day did not slow down at all until late afternoon, at which point it felt like a typical Christmas Eve. It stayed that way until about 9:00 p.m. when it finally slowed down. As we have in the previous 3 years we had an all day program of DJ’s (Arturo Gomez, Brett Ericson (DJ Segue), Professor Mikey, DJ Sam, DJ PETER BLACK and SOLE & the Skyrider Band) who all did a fabulous job. With the crowds the way they were it seems unlikely we could have managed an instore on this day. Throughout the day I estimate about 2-3 thousand people came to the store. All told it was the biggest day in the history of the store by a long shot and about 30% bigger than last year’s RSD.

The crowd was overall very nice and cooperative. There were the usual complainers, and prima donnas who just can’t believe it’s not all about them. There are also those who scam to get multiple copies to undoubtedly resell. Overall though I feel very proud to have gotten so many copies of so many different releases into so many different hands, and we were all impressed with the sweetness and good cheer of our clientele.

The biggest things to ponder for me are as follows;

-I understand that the labels are trying to preserve the special nature of this event by making the items very limited. In a sense they are absolutely correct that this is the surest way to stoke demand. On the other hand, there were plenty of items limited to 1,000 or less and when one considers how many stores are participating in this event, and coordinate that with the number of people I described it seems like not enough are being made. I don’t know how it was for everybody else, but we could have sold much more of nearly everything to different folks. This is a difficult one to figure. I think building to order needs to be combined with some kind of cap on any given store so no one can hoard, thus getting the numbers a little closer to the demand. If many of these items end up being sold on the internet by the customers who get them from the stores then so be it-that’s the way of the world these days, but I have to believe that the majority of this stuff is going home to be cherished. I know I spent a good couple of hours listening to my acquisitions last night. There are so many great pieces this year, but I am going to give my top prize to Ryan Adams. His double, gatefold, heavy vinyl, multi-colored, 7” defines collectible to me. Four great unheard songs, a beautiful package, a lyric sheet and a sticker-damn, this guy does it right! The Dylan at Brandeis LP is really special-a magical point in his career. The Phish Soundchecks 7” is really a special release-very different musically, and something their obsessive fans will really enjoy. I am relishing the Vanguard Lost Psychedelic compilation, Built To Spill covering the Dead-very fun. The Decembrist live at Bull Moose CD is also a fun and loose show. And Rome, the supergroup featuring Dangermouse, Jack White and Norah Jones makes me excited to hear the whole album. It goes on and on.

-How will we pay for all this. In the future we will continue to try and hone our buying to be more precise, but I fear it is impossible at some level.

-How can we make the experience better for the customer next year? Shorter, faster lines? Physically controlling the hottest items to keep unscrupulous collectors from hoarding? Food? Drink?

The bottom line is we are all drained and exhilarated by this tremendous event, which flies in the face of the prevailing wind that the record store is dead. That was an extremely animated corpse on Saturday.

Paul Epstein

Owner-Twist and Shout 

Paul Epstein with Andy Guerrero of the Flobots

Record Store Day Wrap up - by Paul Epstein

So how does one really know when it is the best day ever!? Well obviously things like the marriage of your kids, birth of grandkids, paying off your mortgage - these sorts of things are really important milestones. However, I’m talking about in a professional sense. In the 22 years we’ve been in business (yes this weekend also marks our 22nd anniversary) I can not recall a day that felt quite like this one. All I can say is it was unbelievable. The only way I can get my arms completely around it is to break it into pieces.

1. The Stuff- This year there was some serious stuff - both quantity and quality. Close to 200 hundred unique LPs, 45’s, 12”, Books and DVDs guaranteed diversity. After seeing the growth from year one to year two, we decided to really try and step up the numbers we brought in this year. In spite of the economic climate of the last year I swallowed hard and threw away the budget. Our buyers did an incredible job of predicting what would be hot and we had sufficient quantity to get almost everybody what they wanted. As always there are a couple of items that are runaway hits and blow out in the first few hours. This year those were The Beastie Boys, The Hold Steady and Sharon Jones covering the Beatles. Those were the couple of items we ran out of. For the most part though we didn’t run out, and as a result sold huge quantities of The Flaming Lips, The Rolling Stones, John Lennon, The Raconteurs, MGMT, Them Crooked Vultures and on and on and on. The product mix was heavily leaning toward vinyl, which is pretty much the story of the music business in the last year. Not that vinyl sales have taken over CD sales, but the rebirth of the collector’s format is both surprising and rewarding.

2. The Folks- By 9:00 a.m. there were probably close to a hundred people in line. When we opened the doors, the store immediately filled up with approximately 250 people. It didn’t stop. They kept pouring in. By 11:00 a.m. the line from the register went all the way to the back of the store. It stayed that way until mid-afternoon. We had had four cashiers ringing them up as fast as they could, but it was just overwhelming. I stayed on the floor the entire day and I did not hear one cross word. I didn’t hear one complaint or one demand. As the customers clustered around the products I would hear people call out “Here’s the Black Keys 12” who needs it?” They were actually helping each other. I saw at least 20 ex-employees. Nothing makes me happier than that. I was also gratified by the number of customers just wishing the store well in a general sense; long time customers, first timers, a surprising number of out-of-staters who traveled for the event-people of all types just happy to be there and happy to see a real record store still in existence. One interesting demographical observation: the majority of the crowd was males 25-35 - the exact crowd that populated our store when we started 22 years ago. In spite of everything that has changed, some things remain the same.

3. The DJs- We had 4 DJs play throughout the day, as we did last year, and this formula proved to be absolutely the perfect thing again. Arturo from KUVO kicked things off with a rousing, danceable set of R&B, Jazz and World music that was just perfect, Next Sam from 1190 played a wild, high energy set of Hip Hop and Electronica, then our own A-What, who is one half of Pirate Signal (and a Twist employee) demonstrated his amazing turntable skills and burned it down playing rare grooves and old school rap. Then around 3:00 p.m. another crowd of about a hundred people started filtering in for DJ Bonobo’s amazing downtempo set. An incredibly unassuming guy, Bonobo slid in and quietly blew minds. His set was so natural and well-chosen people kept asking me when he was going to play. “He’s playing right now!” He was a natural fit and the perfect cap to our Record Store Day DJ sets.

4. The Staff- I’ve said it before, but it was so obvious again on this day - we have the best staff of any record store ever! Our people were so great, and so patient, and helpful. Lots of people showed up and helped, and everyone was in a great mood. It is tremendously rewarding to me, that the store doing well makes the staff happy. They were saying to me all day “I wish it could be like this every day.” From the bottom of my heart I thank them for what they do every day.

5. The Business- what can I say - it was the biggest day we have ever had. Last year in the depths of despair I remember saying to Jill, “we will never say those words- ‘best day ever’ ever again.” I believed the business was on the big downhill slide that would never be reversed. I’m not sure it will be reversed, but we can still do some honkin’ big numbers when the conditions are right. As I mentioned before, it was that same old demographic that always bought records still showing up. This is the generation that was supposed to be lost for good. And yet, there they were buying with gusto. Not just the RSD stuff - they were staying and shopping for everything. We sold so much new and used vinyl it was shocking. I don’t know what the future holds, but I for one, am going to wait for the fat lady to sing before I say “never” ever again.

So I guess it was a perfect day. The only negative I can think of was the fact that Jill had to go to California to visit her parents and wasn’t there. We talked on the phone Saturday night and I thanked her for helping me make my dream come true. I said; “Can you believe this is what has become of our little store?” Thanks folks.

-Paul Epstein

Paul's Friday Reflections on Record Store Day 2010

As the third annual Record Store Day approaches I am asked by the press, national and local, what it all means, why we are still here, and what the record stores' place in our culture is exactly. I always try to come up with positive, happy reasons for people to come in and buy, but am obviously left with these very same questions circling my own brain looking for a satisfactory answer. 2010 has proven to be another interesting, and believe it or not, hopeful year for us. In 2009 we saw a drop in revenue the likes of which I have never seen. It made the post 9/11 malaise seem like a walk in the park. It seemed that shortly after the bottom dropped out of the housing market, and shortly before Obama was elected the public just went home... and stayed there, for about a year. Around Christmas of '09 we started to see a few turtles poke their heads out. We had a pretty good Christmas season, and then sometime in January we realized that the turtles were still around. In fact it seemed that people were starting to act like their old selves again. Our best seller for the week started to sell 30, 40, 50 and upwards, more like the old days. The vinyl half of the store would fill up every day around three in the afternoon as though the cocoon of bad economic news was peeling away and folks were starting to pck up the pieces of their shattered lives. Of course, one of those pieces is always music and the comfort it brings. As the months started to pass it seemed this was not a temporary situation. We have continued to make up the lost ground of '09 and '10 is shaping up to be a fine year.

Which brings us to Record Store Day. As preparations for the celebration started to really gear up, it became clear to us that this year the labels were taking this shit seriously. Because of the relatively rare phenomenon of growth that they witnessed the last two years of RSD, the music industry has recognized that a big part of collecting music is having something to hold, cherish, pass on etc, and that the best, no, the only place to do that is in the independent record stores - not the chains - the independents. They have delivered a torrent of really cool collectible stuff this year that outnumbers by three times the offerings of last year (which doubled the amount we saw the first year). Our back room is literally swimming with boxes of product. It is unbelievable, the amount of mind-blowing special stuff back there. As a collector myself, with each new box that comes in I have felt that wonderful pulse quickening that only records can bring. It makes me wonder why the labels don't recognize the obvious, and give the people what they want. There are close to 200 items that we will have for sale on Saturday, and I think it is safe to say there is something for everyone. Let me talk about a couple of items I've previewed:

The Flaming Lips perform Dark Side of The Moon- wow, when I first heard about it I thought it had to be an unsubstantiated rumor, but here it is. I'm listening to it as I write this. Early reports were mixed. I heard some Floyd aficionados didn't like it because it was too modern, and I heard other people say it was great. I come down with the latter crowd. I think it is absolutely cosmic, original, modern and true to the original all at the same time. Ably assisted by Stardeath and White dwarfs, Peaches and Henry Rollins, it sounds like the original thrown in a sonic blender with some recent technology, a little 21st century angst and a dash of beat matching to come up with something that is both familiar and totally new and modern. With a great cover art, a mint green record and a cd thrown into the package, I anticipate this being the hottest item of the day. Don't worry, we bought lots. In fact it is worth mentioning at this point, that we bought LOTS OF EVERYTHING!! Because of the aforementioned growth we have seen in RSD, we stepped out big time this year. No guarantees of course, but I do feel like we will be able to take care of almost everybody this year.

I Need That Record DVD- What a great movie this was. It seems as though it started out as a documentary about the closing of a classic record store. Then at some point it looks like the directors decided to take it a bit wider and look at why so many independent record stores are closing. Then they started interviewing important musicians (Thurston Moore, Ian Mackaye, Mike Watt, an erudite Lenny Kaye and a bitter, foul-mouthed, absolutely hilarious Glen Branca) and looking at the overall problems with the music industry. The resulting film is a rambling journey through the underside of pop culture. It will have you alternately crying tears of laughter and sadness as you see one of the truly unique backwaters of American culture disappear before your eyes.

That's just a couple of things out of hundreds. There is the reissue of REM's classic Murmur on light blue clear vinyl, the Them Crooked Vultures 10" picture disc with unreleased material. The John Lennon 7" triple pack, The Jimi Hendrix Live at Clark University LP, The Rolling Stones 7" with two unreleased Exile era songs, The Wilco Kicking Television vinyl box set, The Raconteurs vinyl reissue of Broken Boy Soldier with copper embossed cover(we got almost a fifth of the entire amount made of this release), Beastie Boys 12' w/ surprise songs on it… need I continue??? It's big people and it's all for you!!
Click here for a complete list of record store day titles we'll have on Saturday

One other thing I must make mention of is the fine new book called Record Store Days by Gary Calamar and Phil Gallo. In the last few years there have been a number of books written about the life and death of record stores. Most of them have been flawed in one way or another. Record Store Days is finally a fully satisfying primer on record store culture. Packed with photos and anecdotes from most of the classic record stores (us included) it really captures the flavor of record store life. Less glossy, but equally enjoyable is James P. Goss' book Vinyl Lives which profiles many of the great record stores of modern times (again including us). These books offer a tangible reminder of what rare and wonderful places record stores are.

Because what this is really about is this: we, as a culture, occasionally need a gentle tap on the shoulder, a reminder of what, in our headlong dash toward the finish line, we leave behind. It's not just architecture and technology that are being affected by the breakneck acceleration of change in today's world, it is art, interpersonal relationships, matters of the brain and heart that start to recede over the horizon as we plug in to more and more devices. Maybe Record Store day is a speed bump on the culture highway, that after you hit your head on the roof of the car you look in the rear view and say, "what was that? I better slow down."

See You In The Aisles,
Paul Epstein

Thursday Reflections on Record Store Day

To celebrate Record Store Day, we've asked our staff - past and present - and a bunch of musicians, industry folks, and friends of the store to cough up some thoughts about what record stores mean to them. We'll post a few replies every day from now until Record Store Day. Check 'em out:

V.V. Brown (her album Travelling Like the Light streets 4/20 on Capitol Records)
"This 26-year-old Brit's debut album is a high-energy mash-up of genres and styles - it's doo-wop meets electronica meets Amy Winehouse. A sure-to-be-hit." –Glamour

•When was the last time you got that constricted blood-vessel
feeling of "Oh my God I can't believe it's here. I've been looking for
this record for..." In other words, is there a "Holy Grail" that you've
been searching for in every music store and thrift store all across this
great land of ours?
Little Dragon. It was an album that made me excited again about music.

•Is record shopping different, or do you get the same feeling
at a bookstore or at Checker Auto Parts?
Its different. I love looking at the art work, being excited by the journey. I usually spend hours looking. Especially vinyl.

•Do you ever buy for investment or is it all for the love of
music?
Mostly its all about the love. Love is an investment.

•Have you ever bought something and as you are handing the
money over you are saying to yourself "why am I buying this?!"
Some pop albums that I'm only buying out of curiosity rather than love that I know I wont really like but Im just curious due to the producer.

•What items did you say that about?
Cheryl Cole. An English singer. it was more a business purchase.

•Conversely, what's the worst case of remorse you've
ever had by letting something slip through your fingers?
I' m not sure....

•How do you hear about new music these days?
The internet is the only way I seem to discover new music.

•Do you have a favorite music blog? magazine? website?
I don't really have a favourite.

•Do you listen to the radio? Satellite or old fashioned?
I dont have much time to listen to traditional radio these days so Im a fan of the last fm and more internet radio stations.

•Who would you love to see performing at Twist & Shout (or the
local record store in your town)? Why?
Gorillaz. Innovative and their new album is amazing

•Anything random to add?
Check out my comic book out may 7th on www.thecityofabacus.com

Wednesday Reflections on Record Store Day

To celebrate Record Store Day, we've asked our staff - past and present - and a bunch of musicians, industry folks, and friends of the store to cough up some thoughts about what record stores mean to them. We'll post a few replies every day from now until Record Store Day. Check 'em out:

From Artist, DJ, Producer, all round amazing talent: Howie B

•When was the last time you got that constricted blood-vessel feeling of "Oh my God I can't believe it's here. I've been looking for this record for..." In other words, is there a "Holy Grail" that you've been searching for in every music store and thrift store all across this great land of ours?
I found a copy of Creedance Clearwater Revival covers done by a Bluegrass band the other week in a small record shop in Paris. Magic


•Is record shopping different, or do you get the same feeling at a bookstore or at Checker Auto Parts?
It is a unique experience that is unequalled my only comparison is buying a musical instrument

•Do you ever buy for investment or is it all for the love of music?
I will never sell my records !

•Have you ever bought something and as you are handing the money over you are saying to yourself "why am I buying this?!" What items did you say that about? Conversely, what's the worst case of remorse you've ever had by letting something slip through your fingers?
No

•How do you hear about new music these days?
I still am on word of mouth from mates, and shops and my kids now too

•Do you listen to the radio? Satellite or old fashioned?
I love listening to the radio, it is still for me the best medium to propagate music

•Who would you love to see performing at Twist & Shout (or the local record store in your town)? Why?
I would love to see a band called Lupen Crook they are a three piece from Maidstone they rock

•Anything random to add?
Thats it!

Tuesday Reflections on Record Store Day

To celebrate Record Store Day, we've asked our staff - past and present - and a bunch of musicians, industry folks, and friends of the store to cough up some thoughts about what record stores mean to them. We'll post a few replies every day from now until Record Store Day. Check 'em out:

Joel
Twist and Shout Employee

• When was the last time you got that constricted blood-vessel feeling of "Oh my God I can't believe it's here. I've been looking for this record for..." In other words, is there a "Holy Grail" that you've been searching for in every music store and thrift store all across this great land of ours?
It has been a week or so since I got excited about an LP I have been looking for. It arrived at Twist and Shout and was priced reasonably considering what it is. It is the Plasmatics 1st EP called Meet The Plasmatics. I had seen this once before at a record convention in Oklahoma many years ago. I beleive it was the black vinyl pressing and was out of my price range. The one I snatched up the other day is a clear vinyl pressing which I have tried to research and find out how many of each color were pressed: NO luck. I even emailed the main Plasmatics/Wendy O. Williams fan site and they couldn't remember. Anyway it was one of few vinyl pieces I did not have, so I was very pleased to hold it in my hands- in great condition at that! P.S. The 6th of April (1998) was the day Wendy passed away. R.I.P. W.O.W.

•Is record shopping different, or do you get the same feeling at a bookstore or at Checker Auto Parts?
Music shopping is WAY different. Shopping for things you have a major interest in is exciting and finding something you didn't expect to see (sometimes ever) is a great feeling.

•Do you ever buy for investment or is it all for the love of music?
Both. I will admit I have put time and effort into knowing what is rare and taking advantage of a valuable find. But it stems from my DEEP love of music and my continued widening of musical taste parameters. Music is #1 in my day to day interests and thoughts (doesn't hurt working around music every day)!

•Have you ever bought something and as you are handing the money over you are saying to yourself "why am I buying this?!" What items did you say that about? Conversely, what's the worst case of remorse you've ever had by letting something slip through your fingers?
No, I do not thoughtlessly buy music anymore. When I first started buying cassettes and LPs I did buy albums based on the album cover, name of the band and name of the album. Even then I was thinking and hoping it sounded good. Mostly it was a good choice. Remorse? I guess it was when I didn't come up with $500 for a Deadsy demo cassette on eBay. I have never seen another since or before!

•How do you hear about new music these days?
Work, internet, word of mouth. I see plenty of new music at work but VERY little sparks any interest.

•Do you have a favorite music blog? magazine? website?
I don't bother with magazines anymore. Website? Maybe Pitchfork.com or Antimusic.com

•Do you listen to the radio? Satellite or old fashioned?
I choose what I hear as much as possible. The only radio I ever play is KUVO for some good jazz late at night.

•Who would you love to see performing at Twist & Shout (or the local record store in your town)? Why?
Jonsi! He is the singer of Sigur Ros- who always amaze me live and has a new solo album out. He also is touring for it and should come do an intimate acoustic set for Twist!

•Anything random to add?
This Record Store Day is going to be massive! It just shows how some bands/labels still care about the art of Limited Editions and the resurgence of vinyl! I am looking forward to it quite a lot!

Mojiferous J. Colossus (Joe)
Twist and Shout Employee, wizard

• When was the last time you got that constricted blood-vessel feeling of "Oh my God I can't believe it's here. I've been looking for this record for..." In other words, is there a "Holy Grail" that you've been searching for in every music store and thrift store all across this great land of ours?
McLusky's Do Dallas on LP -- I didn't buy it when we had copies at the vinyl store way back when, because it was a relatively expensive import and I figured we would get more copies... Boy was I wrong -- It was proof that when you really like an album you should just buy it there and then. Anyway, the album went out of print and I couldn't find it anywhere, and copies on the internet were going for crazy amounts of money. And then one just kind of fell into my hands almost by accident through a friend. I actually did the double-take, look around to make sure no one was waiting in the corner to snatch it away from me.

•Is record shopping different, or do you get the same feeling at a bookstore or at Checker Auto Parts?
After 15 years in record stores, music shopping has become more like sleepwalking to me -- it's almost like I can smell a stack of weird records from across the room. I don't know how to describe it, but it is no longer an active thing, I will flip through a stack of moldy records at a thrift store and pick things I like out based on whether I've ever seen the record before. With music obscurity does not equal lack of talent (often the opposite is true,) one of my favorite 45s is "Lover Doll" by Wes Reynolds -- ever heard of him? Neither had I, but the song is amazing and I would have never heard it if I didn't spend so much time digging through random stuff no one had ever heard of. Shopping in a record store is more like an archaeological dig than a consumer experience.

•Do you ever buy for investment or is it all for the love of music?
Definitely for the love -- when I pass on and my relatives have to pick through my record collection they will wonder why grandpa owned so many records about cooking meat or the complete discography of so many mediocre 70s mustache rock bands.

•Have you ever bought something and as you are handing the money over you are saying to yourself "why am I buying this?!" What items did you say that about? Conversely, what's the worst case of remorse you've ever had by letting something slip through your fingers?
Remorse is easy -- the McLusky record was definitely something I kicked myself about for years. Regret, on the other hand, not so much. I'm old enough to not be ashamed in my terrible taste in music...

•How do you hear about new music these days?
Mostly work. There is so much just in this one place, and I already have a backlog of "stuff to listen to" that I would have to hire a staff if I got information from anywhere else.

•Do you listen to the radio? Satellite or old fashioned?
I'm not sure I even have a working radio in my house... There are many times that I'll be feeling indecisive and put on a podcast or a stream (often WFMU.) That's kind of like radio, right? Just without all the advertising and the 50 spins of the same song every day.

•Who would you love to see performing at Twist & Shout (or the local record store in your town)? Why?
That's a really long list... I would really like to see what a grindcore band (Cattle Decapitation, for example) or somebody like Merzbow would do for an instore.

Monday Reflections on Record Store Day

To celebrate Record Store Day, we've asked our staff - past and present - and a bunch of musicians, industry folks, and friends of the store to cough up some thoughts about what record stores mean to them. We'll post a few replies every day from now until Record Store Day. Check 'em out:

Michael Venutolo-Mantovani
Very Good Looking Sales Dude
Beggars Group/Matador Records

•When was the last time you got that constricted blood-vessel feeling of "Oh my God I can't believe it's here. I've been looking for this record for..." In other words, is there a "Holy Grail" that you've been searching for in every music store and thrift store all across this great land of ours?
I put out a record years ago. I look for it every time I'm at a record store. Yea, it's narcissism in action. Fuck you.

•Is record shopping different, or do you get the same feeling at a bookstore or at Checker Auto Parts?
If you have to ask this question or need to look for an answer to this question, then you've probably never been record shopping.

•Do you ever buy for investment or is it all for the love of music?
I've never sold a record. I occasionally trade some dollar bin, impulse buys for some stuff I really need. And I've only got one record that's unopened. They're made to be played. Not to be stared at.

•Have you ever bought something and as you are handing the money over you are saying to yourself "why am I buying this?!" What items did you say that about? Conversely, what's the worst case of remorse you've ever had by letting something slip through your fingers?
I recently re-alphabetized my collection only to discover that I have more albums by Pat Benatar than any other artist. This answers both of those questions.

•How do you hear about new music these days?
Around.

•Do you have a favorite music blog? magazine? website?
Brooklyn Vegan is great. The commenters are insufferable but the blog itself is so objective and informative. I don't want to hear your fucking bullshit, third-rate blog opinions. I want to hear who's playing tonight.

•Do you listen to the radio? Satellite or old fashioned?
Not really because I haven't had a car in years and that's where I did most of my radio jamming. Of course, I'll always listen to WFMU (mostly online now) and whenever I go back to my hometown I dig on WPRB (Princeton, NJ) if the signal is strong enough at the Jersey Shore. Yea I'm from the Jersey Shore. So what? Wanna fight about it?

•Who would you love to see performing at Twist & Shout (or the local record store in your town)? Why?
Nirvana.

•Anything random to add?
Butts. And faces. Buttfaces.

Arturo Gómez
Music Director and lifelong music collector and connoisseur
Jazz89 KUVO/KVJZ

•Is record shopping different, or do you get the same feeling at a bookstore or at Checker Auto Parts?
For me there is a huge difference shopping for music because besides purchasing a product, music deals with my emotions, it can soothe my soul or cause my juices to flow. Either way it is a rush of endorphins, a feel good experience.

•Do you ever buy for investment or is it all for the love of music?
I have been buying music since my adolescent and teen years in the 1960s and although overwhelmingly it is for the love of music, I must admit that several times while diggin' in the crates I have come across a record that is known to be collectable at a good price so I copped it with the hopes of selling it for a profit.

•Anything random to add?
Back in the mid-1980s when CDs began to enter the market, I didn’t fall for its hype and trade in, sell or get rid of my records collection. I continued to buy LPs and began to acquire CDs to add to my music library as a new format, similar to what others did when cassettes were released. I am not surprised that there is a so-called “resurgence” of LP manufacturing and sales as the warm sounds of a record in good condition played on a good system is superior to the tinny sound of a CD, records have a more earthy sound plus there’s no comparison of the artwork and liners of a LP cover to that of a CD. All it would take is a solar flare to wipe out all the data of all the discs in the world leaving them useless as already has occurred with the first generation of CDs, meanwhile I have 78rpm records nearly a 100 years old that sill play well as do my LPs and 45rpms, they playback through friction which will endure forever.

Julio Enriquez
www.CAUSEEQUALSTIME.com

•When was the last time you got that constricted blood-vessel feeling of "Oh my God I can't believe it's here. I've been looking for this record for..." In other words, is there a "Holy Grail" that you've been searching for in every music store and thrift store all across this great land of ours?
I found a Bryan Ferry record the other day that made my day. I've been looking for any Roxy Music on vinyl for the longest time. That, and completing my Rolling Stones collection on vinyl.

•Is record shopping different, or do you get the same feeling at a bookstore or at Checker Auto Parts?
Record shopping is more of a thrill. Nothing compares to opening up that new piece of music and putting on your turntable or cd player.

•Do you ever buy for investment or is it all for the love of music?
All for the love of music.

•Do you have a favorite music blog? magazine? website?
Favorite blog: Gorilla vs Bear Magazine: Fader Website: Perez Hilton

•Do you listen to the radio? Satellite or old fashioned?
Old fashioned-I listen to sports radio a lot, and NPR.

•Who would you love to see performing at Twist & Shout (or the local record store in your town)? Why?
PAVEMENT, because they're dreamy.

•Anything random to add?
More instore performances!

Paul's Friday Reflections on Record Store Day

I grew up in record stores.

The first retail experience of any type I remember was my grandfather standing with my brother and I in front of the record rack at the Macy’s department store in the Cross County shopping center in the suburbs of New York City. He told us in his Russian accent that we could each pick a record (that was a vinyl LP-this was 1964 after all). I remember distinctly agonizing over my choices. I believe my brother went immediately for Meet The Beatles but I went for The Chipmunks Meet Dr. Doolittle. It was hard to believe; I held in my hand something that brought it all together: TV, Movies, Music, and I got to take it home and have it for mine. It was the beginning of the beginning for me. My life really started right there and then. I wanted more. There followed many more trips to the record counter at various department stores in the New York City area. I remember my first 45 being Stop Stop Stop by the Hollies. For the next few years my brother Alan and I shared our collection…sort of. We were given albums by The Beatles, Stones, Herman’s Hermits etc, as a pair of kids. It was –“here’s a record for the boys.” So it was hard to really have a sense of ownership, but the fuse was lit.

In 1969 my father accepted a job at D.U. and we moved to Denver. I was 10. Within the first week of moving here, my brother took me to Underground Records on 724 So. Pearl St. Little did I know, but twenty years later, I would buy Underground at a tax auction and Twist and Shout would be born. If I’m not mistaken, we walked out of there with Bayou Country, still my favorite album by Creedence (listening to it as I write this). Over the next months and years I would return to Underground many times. I would also begin a quest for what Don Mclean called “the sacred store” in his song "American Pie". I would spend every, and I mean EVERY spare moment and dime I had from then until right now seeking out treasures rare and beautiful at the record stores in Denver and beyond.

At these record stores I received an education in many things. I learned much about music. It was the stores where they allowed you to listen to the used records that I learned the most. I was always drawn to used. First off it was cheaper and I could get more. Second, I could listen to it on the record player in the corner of the store, learning things and prolonging my trip. You see, I didn’t want to leave-ever. I wanted to spend all my time at the record store. I liked the smell of all the records and the incense and the old magazines. I liked the older hipsters in their leather jackets buying weird albums by people like The Velvet Underground, The Stooges and Nick Drake. I loved finding the hits that I had heard on the radio, but the real excitement was trying to get initiated into the cult of music intelligentsia. I wanted to know about music. Who played what, who produced what, what were the really cool albums by the guys who the musicians liked??? For a kid with a large imagination and limited social skills it was the answer to everything.

During the 70’s Denver was a great music town. There were lots of young people, several universities, and tons of record stores. Let me tell you about a few of them. On Colorado Blvd. and on Broadway, and in Cherry Creek and a few other locations was Budget Tapes and Records. Budget was a regional chain that became a retail and distribution empire before shrinking and fading. The last franchised Budget I know of sold to Angelo’s a couple of years ago. In its early days, Budget was a really great store. I frequented the Colorado Blvd. and Broadway stores because they were beautifully stocked with all the new releases, on sale and displayed right in your face. They also always had great promotions. I got a 6 foot Grateful Dead At The Mars Hotel poster with the purchase of the album for $2.99 which I still have. I also remember walking in and seeing a gigantic waterfall display of something called Frampton Comes Alive. I knew very little about him, but walked out of there with it because they made it so appealing. In spite of everything, I still love that album and have my original copy. The other great store for new releases was Peaches. On the corner of Downing and Evans, where there now sits a Walgreens, was the first great music superstore in Colorado-it was called Peaches. Peaches had everything. They had every new release-on sale, thousands of 45’s, the first real Jazz section I ever saw, opportunities to meet bands- I got to see Robert Fripp, Stevie Ray Vaughan, The Jefferson Starship and Flo and Eddie at that store. They also had an enormous cutout section. It was there, I discovered Ornette Coleman, John Lee Hooker and Doo Wop music. For .99 cents you could roll the dice and usually come up a winner. Peaches was also open until midnight. I have fond memories of leaving my job at the movie theatre on a Friday night at 11:15, rushing over to Safeway to cash my check, and then racing to peaches before they closed to buy the latest. I’ll never forget the night I bought Stevie Wonder’s Songs In The Key Of Life at midnight, and not going to bed until I heard the last notes of the “something’s extra bonus record” some two hours later.

Most of the time, however, I frequented the independent stores-by myself-with hours to kill. I remained true to Underground buying so many of my favorite albums there. The store was run by two Dutch women, Else and Mary who were always in some sexy, druggy fog and knew about all kinds of weird music and…other stuff. They had all kinds of imports that you didn’t see at other stores. Bands like Hawkwind, Gong, Can, and albums by bands that I knew, that were different, with shiny covers and different songs. They also sold other stuff. Shirts, magazines, posters, head shop stuff. It was a magical world. In spite of the poor lighting, the colors were so much more vivid inside the store than those of the outside world. There was also Kingbee records on Evans near D.U. It started in a really small location, and then moved into the space that is now Spanky’s Roadhouse. What a great place. It was small at first, and didn’t have everything-just everything important. I learned a lot about music and being cool from a guy named Chip Sullivan who worked there. I remember the time they put Baseball player Mark Fidrych (who I see as I write this just died-how fucking weird is that?) on the cover of Rolling Stone (which really meant something then). I said “Why would they put a baseball player on Rolling Stone?” Chip snorted at me “This guy has more to do with rock and roll than whatever it is you’re buying" (Van Morrison It’s Too Late To Stop Now). I didn’t agree with him then or now, but I was so impressed that somebody had such strong feelings about, well, rock and roll. Chip impressed me another time too. I was standing there holding a Roger McGuinn album saying “I don’t know, I’m skeptical of solo albums.” Chip jumped over the counter and walked up to me and looked me straight in the eye “look man, buy it, if you don’t think it’s great I’ll buy it from you." He meant, he would personally buy it. He didn’t own the store, he just loved the album so much, and wanted me to love it so much that he was willing to put his money where his mouth was. I also remember watching a PBS special on New Orleans Indian music, and rushing over to Kingbee hoping they might have some of it. I went in and did a poor job explaining what I had just seen. The guy- who was named Lyle and later owned Jazz Record Revival-went over to the racks and pulled out the EXACT album I was looking for-The Wild Tchoupitoulas. I couldn’t believe it. I cherish that album and that memory to this day.

There were so many more… The Malt Shop (for musical muchies), Julie J’s (where I bought tickets to my first concert-Jethro Tull at the Denver Coliseum 1971), Jerry’s which at one time was a mecca for books and comics as well as music (which it still is today), The Record Revival (which later became Jazz Record Revival)-man did I spend a lot of time in there learning about Jazz.

I went to college in Boulder in the mid 70’s and frequented Albums (later Albums On The Hill), Doors of Perception and another great Budget (which I ended up buying out years later). Those college years were perhaps the most important for my collecting. That was where I really had time to study music-instead of hitting the books- and develop taste that was mine and not my brother’s or the radio’s. The record store also filled so many gaps in my emotional life as well. It was a safe, accepting and totally compelling place.

After college I almost immediately began a career in teaching. I moved to Aurora, cut my hair and tried to fit in. Uh..yeah, that didn’t quite work out. On many nights, I was racing out after school, and every weekend was spent at Wax Trax, JB and H, Double Play, and the by-then dying Underground, replacing my record collection with CD and getting into punk, hardcore, new wave, reggae, and everything else on this new format. These were also exciting years, there was the fun of collecting both formats for different reasons-punk just seemed right on 45, classical was made for CD, and there was still a vibrant community of people collecting their favorite bands on all formats possible.

In 1984 I became a partner in Trade-a-Tape in Boulder and my career on the other side
of the counter began. In 1988 my Wife Jill and I bought what had been Underground Records, and I finally had a venue that was mine to mold into the record store of my dreams. That will be 21 years ago this week.

So, what does Record Store Day mean to me? Well, it means a day to stop for a minute and think about everybody’s individual experience that, like mine, illustrates the very personal roadmap of their life. Each of us has our own rainy Saturday afternoon, in the corner of some independent record store, listening to records, and creating the soundtrack of our dreams.

Thursday Reflections on Record Store Day

Patrick Brown (Twist & Shout General Manager)


1) Where did you buy your first record? What was it?
I don't have that one specific memory of one specific piece because music was always around the house, and I can't guarantee the location, because I have memories bleeding together of things bought for me and things I bought myself. Early on there would've been something bought for me at the Peaches on Downing & Evans (now a Walgreen's, just like the lamented Rainbow Music Hall, which is now no longer even a Walgreen's). I cannot guarantee that I paid for it with my own allowance money, but I have a distinct memory of getting Chic's C'est Chic album as a new release and my sister and I both kinda shared the Grease soundtrack. I had a crappy cassette player/recorder that I used to record things off the radio with and for a long time I had a bunch of tapes of late 70's/early 80's pop - you know, Sister Sledge's first album (also Chic related!), Fleetwood Mac Live, Queen The Game, a bunch of stuff like that that I probably acquired via record clubs. The record stores near my neighborhood where I grew up and really started listening to music - Peaches (closest, I bought several things there), Kingbee, Underground Records (bought Olivia Newton-John's Totally Hot out of their cutout bin there for 1.98) and the one in Cinder Alley of Cinderella City - were all intimidatingly decorated with posters of artists I didn't know from Casey Kasem's American Top 40 of the late 70's and early 80's (especially Kingbee, where it was immediately clear that they knew way more than my 11-year old brain would ever know about music). But I could probably recite that week's top 20 for you in order on any given week. I finally got an actual component stereo in 1985 and I've never looked back in terms of following out whatever weird little paths of music have interested me. Among my first purchases were many of the popular items of that year, John Fogerty's Centerfield, and Dire Straits' Brothers in Arms, but also the new wavier choices of the 12" singles of "Do They Know It's Christmas" by Band Aid and "The Show/La-Di-Da-Di" by Doug E. Fresh (with MC Ricky D)(my first parental advisory record!) and the cassette of Frankie Goes to Hollywood's debut album. By the end of the year I was firmly ensconsed in the pattern of buying the 12" single for any artists I liked, many of whom I saw on Teletunes (formerly FM-TV) on KBDI Channel 12, and then picking up the full-length if they had more than two songs I liked. From there on it's a slippery slope to the current obscenely large collection I have.

2) What record have you wanted more than any other in your collecting career? Did you ever get it?
I'm not a big hunter/collector in that way. I buy music I want to hear and study and get into at any given point in my life - usually several currents of music at once - and it's always largely been shaped by what I can find used in any store. When people ask me what I listen to I always liken myself to a blue whale, sifting through tons of watery used music releases to filter out with my taste-baleen the nutritious musical plankton and krill that will sustain me. I'll go into a store with a big used section in any city in the world I'm in hoping to find just the right thing that jumps out at me that I wasn't expecting to find. Strangely, this often works even better in small cities than big ones, where there are fewer people seeking out the same obscurities I would like to run across. Jamestown and Syracuse NY were good, as were Pittsburgh PA and Frankfurt, Germany. There's a store in downtown San Antonio TX that I want to spend a few hours in, but didn't have the time last visit. The shark-like approach of hunting out specific prey just isn't my thing, you know?
That said, I once almost purchased a signed copy of the Residents' Mark of the Mole album (signed thusly: "Resident," "Resident," "A Resident," and "Resident") at a decent store in New York City (Venus Records on 8th, I believe) for 22 bucks and I still regret not just sacrificing a couple weeks of extras to get it - I was on the meal plan in college, after all. Still - I wouldn't have sought it out, I just stumbled upon it in the bins.
There are things that have gone missing from my collection that I'd love to replace though - the Wildflowers: the Loft Sessions 3-CD set that came out through Koch Jazz a few years back for example. I gave it to someone who I think really would've enjoyed it, so it's all good, but if you see one floating around, let me know. DNA's Live at CBGB's and Arto Lindsay/Peter Scherer's Pretty Ugly and Peter Laughner's Take the Guitar Player for a Ride also all went on loan and never came back home. And the collection Ocean of Sound, too - this would be my third copy. I might wanna hear them again someday.

3) What is it about records, or record stores that are different from downloading?
The physical goods. I'm not a big format snob, so LP and CD both give me a thrill, as long as there's something I can hold. I love flipping through the booklets and reading lyrics and credits, I love looking at the artwork, I love holding the thing, even if the listening and the music are really the most important part. As for stores, that's even more irreplaceable than the artwork - online, you just can't simulate an environment where someone knows your tastes and can tell you "You have to hear this!" when you walk in. There's no algorithm for "taste" even if you can program what customers who made the same purchase also purchased. But when I'm seeking out Al Green and Liliput and Iannis Xenakis and Lennie Tristano and Missy Elliott in the same day, what are they gonna find to fit that? (Answer - nothing!) And the feel of going through the used bin and stumbling on ThatOneItemYouNeverThoughtYou'dEverFind used - priceless!

4) Any of the products for Record Store Day that you are particularly excited about? Why?
Tons - let's just make a top 5:

Pavement - Live from Germany LP

Leonard Cohen - "The Future/Suzanne" 7"

Bob Dylan - "Dreaming From You/Down Along the Cove" 7"

Tom Waits - "Live From the Glitterdome" 7"

Sonic Youth & whoever split 7" singles (tie between the two)


The reason is the same in all cases - although I'm not a big collector per se, I'm a big consumer of music and usually want to hear everything someone's released if I'm interested.






Kevin Kowalcyzk (Former Twist & Shout Manager)
1) Where did you buy your first record? What was it?
Coconuts music in Chicago. Prince's Purple Rain.

2) What record have you wanted more than any other in your collecting career? Did you ever get it?
One that I'm particularly fond of it this Book/Record called THE PENTATEUCH OF THE COSMOGONY. It's a fantasy story that came out in 1979 about the creation of the world. Comes with 50 pages of unbelievable illustrations and two records from David Greenslade. Just amazing packaging.
Back in the day, I also thought my copy of Nine Inch Nails' Broken record that came with a bonus 7" (cover of Queen's Get Down Make Love) was the coolest thing ever.

3) What is it about records, or record stores that are different from downloading?
You need the artwork- the physical CD or record itself to truly appreciate the music. I love reading liner notes- seeing who played on the record, who produced it, etc. It's just not the same with an MP3 and a tiny picture that pops up on your iPod when you play it….

4) Any of the products for Record Store Day that you are particularly excited about? Why?
Wilco - Ashes of American Flags DVD - You can't go wrong with Wilco


Flaming Lips/Black Keys - split 7" "Borderline/Her Eyes Are a Blue Million Miles" If this is the Flaming Lips covering Madonna's Borderline, you know it will be a treat!

Metric - "Help I'm Alive" 7" picture disc One of the best songs out right now…



Ben DeSoto (Talent Buyer - hi-dive.com, former Twist & Shout employee)

1) Where did you buy your first record? What was it?
My brother and I bought Def Leppard's Pyromania and Michael Jackson's Thriller on vinyl at a record store in Chicago. Can't remember the name of the store but i remember being part of something cool when the guy working the counter nodded in approval of our purchases.

2) What record have you wanted more than any other in your collecting career? Did you ever get it?
There isn't any certain record I'm looking for. My favorite thing to do is scour Twist & Shout's record bins and find something I didn't even know I was looking for.

3) What is it about records, or record stores that are different from downloading?
It's the staff for me. I like talking to people about music and seeing what people at record stores are in to. I've discovered new bands, old records and met my wife in a record store. She introduced me to the Magnetic Fields and French Pop. Our record collection is still growing thanks to suggestions from helpful record store clerks.

4) Any of the products for Record Store Day that you are particularly excited about? Why?
The Thermals/Thao, Jenny Lewis/Elvis Costello split 7"s look cool. Who knows what is going to stand the test of time and be the next "must have" collectible?



Everything Absent or Distorted (Denver-based indie rock band – photo courtesy of Todd Roeth and gigbot.com)

1) Where did you buy your first record? What was it?

Hastings Books & Records, Amarillo, Texas, 1983. Two at the same time, Holmes: The 12 inch single for Eddy Grant’s “Electric Avenue” and Survivor’s “Eye of the Tiger”; both of which I still have and pleasure myself to regularly. We’re not gonna walk down to Electric Avenue, we’re gonna rock down to Electric Avenue motherf*#ker.

2) What record have you wanted more than any other in your collecting career? Did you ever get it?
Sigue Sigue Sputnik’s Flaunt It; I did find the "Love Missile F1-11" twelve-inch single a year ago at Wax Trax (sorry Twist) but it skips. That being said, it only cost 1$. If I was cool I would say Television’s Marquee Moon or Gainsbourg’s Histoire de Melody Nelson or Captain Beefheart’s Trout Mask Replica. But I’m not. OK, I want those too.


3) What is it about record stores that are different from downloading?
All the uber-hot indie-rocker-chick-suicide-girls that work there! That’s about all, really.


4) Any of the products for Record Store Day that you are particularly excited about? Why?Everything Absent or Distorted’s heartbreaking work of staggering genius The Soft Civil War on glorious white vinyl of course, you sons of bitches! I was under the impression from Twist & Shout that “Record Store Day” was simply a celebration for that amazing album? Did I miss something? Why am I excited you ask? Because if we don’t sell some more we’re all going to have to wallpaper our entire houses with the left-overs.




Marissa Nadler (Recording artist for Kemado Records)
1) Where did you buy your first record? What was it?
My first two records that I was given, with a boom box, were Beatles Abbey Road, and Madonna The Immaculate Collection. Strange combination I think. My parents had a lot of records so we would listen to those. I was into Yes and King Crimson and Pink Floyd as a kid. I can't remember the actual first purchase I made but I can tell you its probably in the grunge family.

2) What record have you wanted more than any other in your collecting career? Did you ever get it?
I would love a really good copy of Joni Mitchell's Blue on vinyl. All my old CDs are scratched and I am currently trying to amass a vinyl collection.

3) What is it about record stores that are different from downloading?
Records (vinyl records) are beautiful objects. You can hang the cover on the wall. There is an emphasis on the art of design. Also, the quality of all types of physical releases sounds better than mp3s. Mp3s sound so compressed and tinny.

4) Any of the products for Record Store Day that you are particularly excited about? Why?Products? I am going to be living out of suitcase for the next three months so something good to listen to in the car.





Jason Pecoraro (Twist & Shout Manager)
1) Where did you buy your first record? What was it?
If I remember correctly the first records that I ever bought were actually two 7”. They were Cringer- Zen Flesh Zen Bone, and Crimpshrine- Quit Talkin’ Claude ep. I got them at East Side Records in Tempe, AZ. This was a real treat for me because there weren’t any places to buy vinyl on my side of town, and we had to bum a ride from my friend's older brother to drive us there, which took about 45 minutes back then.

2) What record have you wanted more than any other in your collecting career? Did you ever get it?
This to me is a more complicated question than it appears, partially because it evolves through time and of course changes once I find the record. For a long time I’d say it was New Model Army- Here Comes The War 12” single, other than it containing some of my favorite songs from N.M.A. this is because of the fold out poster included which shows the schematics of creating an atomic explosive device (because of this it became very rare and denied from most stores outside of the UK). Then it went to Cramps- Bad Music For Bad People, Then Sam The Sham & The Pharoahs. I do own these records now and will never be rid of them. Now the search is on for Fela Kuti- Shakara, you’ll be mine soon too!

3) What is it about records, or record stores that are different from downloading?
The major thing that I love about going to record stores and buying records would have to be the actual hunt for what I’m looking for. I don’t like downloading mostly because there isn’t anything tangible about the product, you can’t show off an awesome download on you wall, nor will you ever get cool poster inserts with them.

4) Any of the products for Record Store Day that you are particularly excited about? Why?
There are several items that I’m fully excited about, Tom Waits- Live from Glitterdome 7”, Jesus Lizard- pack of nine 7”, Slayer- Psychopathy Red 7”, Sonic Youth/Beck split 7”, Bad Religion- Original 7”, Stooges- 1969/Real Cool Time 7”…There are more too but the list would get unreasonable and these are the ones I most excited about because these are bands that I’ve been listening to and collecting for years.

Wednesday Reflections on Record Store Day

Anna Bond (Fatcat Records)

1) Where did you buy your first record? What was it?
My first LP was Starship Knee Deep In The Hoopla. I was 5, so I don't remember where it came from (I was obsessed with "We Built This City"). But when I started shopping for music on my own in earnest, I split my time between The Wherehouse (sorry, I was super into Personics tapes), and Boo Boo Records (San Luis Obispo, California). The latter was where I got into underground music at age thirteen, thanks to their awesome staff of college students (including such now-celebs as Matt "M." Ward), who always gave me the best recommendations.

2) What record have you wanted more than any other in your collecting career? Did you ever get it?
I have coveted three pieces of vinyl like no others, and I've acquired two of them.
1 - Pavement "Summer Babe" 7": I am a massive Pavement-head, but since I got into them at age 14 when Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain came out, I missed the Slanted & Enchanted era stuff. I had searched on eBay for this thing to no avail, and one day I went to Jackpot (in Portland, OR), and it was just there. Years later, I found out that my excited freakout had become somewhat legendary.

2 - Beck A Western Harvest Field By Moonlite 10" (original Fingerpaint pressing): Pricey, but totally worth it...huge acoustic-Beck fan, got obsessed with these songs and kept the copy from our college radio station in my dorm room for about six months (sorry, KRRC staff), until I found this on eBay.

3 - Apples Tidal Wave 7" - First Apples (In Stereo) release, before they changed their name, as well as the first Elephant 6 release. So hard to find!! In fact, I once shared an office with Apples (In Stereo)'s then-label spinART (the original artwork from 'Fun Trick Noisemaker' was hanging on the wall), and when I asked if they knew were I could get it, they just laughed and said "I doubt Robert even has any copies of that one. Good luck." It has eluded me to this very day!!!

3) What is it about records, or record stores that are different from downloading?
I love record stores and physical formats, and don't own an iPod. I know that makes me a bit of an anachronism at this point - I just prefer the experience of selecting a CD or LP from my collection and listening to it, vs. having anything at hand at the push of a button, and interacting with humans during the buying process. The recommendations that people in record stores have made based on talking to me have always been better than any online auto-recommendation logarithm! The diminished audio quality of mp3s also bothers me, though I do recognize it's only a matter of time before lossless digital audio files becomes the norm. Record stores made me who I am, in a way. I find it sad to think so many people don't have that experience anymore.

4) Any of the products for Record Store Day that you are particularly excited about? Why?
Not sure - there's so much! Definitely the Sonic Youth split 7"s, MC5 7", and Pavement live LP. There's lots of good stuff being reissued on vinyl as well...







Alf Kremer (Twist & Shout Internet Lackey)
1) Where did you buy your first record? What was it?
I can't be certain, but I think it was at the Gap. The original Gap used to be a record store in San Francisco, and I think that's where I think I bought records for the first couple of my record-buying years. The first LP I bought was The Story of Star Wars, which was dialogue from the film along with a stern British narrator pushing the plot along. The first music LP I bought was Starflight, a K-Tel album. (Sort of the Now That's What I Call Music albums of the 70s.) I mainly bought it because it had "Pop Muzik" by M on it, and I remember hating the fact that "Reunited" by Peaches & Herb was stuck in middle of side two.

The first 7" single I bought was Bill Conti's "Theme From Rocky (Gonna Fly Now)." I owned that for about four years, when the record broke. It had a crack in it running from the edge all the way to the large center hole. My brother and I discussed throwing it away, when we decided it'd be fun (in a mildly naughty way) to throw the record off our back porch. I tossed the thing like a frisbee, and it flew up in the air vertically, started plummeting back down...and then struck a telephone line that was strung across the end of our backyard. The wire actually slipped through that small crack, and stopped at the center hole. In a one in a billion chance, I managed to get that record stuck up on the telephone wire. It was up there for several years before it finally dropped off.

2) What record have you wanted more than any other in your collecting career? Did you ever get it?
Buying records is a lot more about the journey rather than the destination. I enjoy the trip wherever it takes me. I don't obsess much about the ones that get away. I do recall wanting to collect every number one single in America at one point, and I had a tough time finding Rhythm Heritage's "Theme from SWAT" on 7". Finally did find that one. I also recall only needing one song to get all the Top 40 singles from 1981 - "Just So Lonely" by Get Wet. Finally found that one, too. I tend to be more excited about the things I stumble across. I remember finding a four-CD set of the soundtrack to the anime film Wings of Honneamise. I had just gotten into Ryuichi Sakamoto's music, and had enjoyed the film, so I decided to spring for it. I still love the CD (despite the fact that the final two CDs are simply the audio track of the film!), and have never run into it again since then.

3) What is it about records, or record stores that are different from downloading?
Despite having occasional "want lists," I rarely enter a record store with a very specific eye for something. Instead, I sort of nose around and wait for something to catch my eye. If it interests me, I'll give it a listen, and if I like it, I'll buy it. I'm the same way at bookstores - I just walk in, wander around, and wait for something to interest me. I end up with a pretty diverse selection of things that way. Record stores tend to be fun, exciting places - each has its own unique sort of vibe. And I have yet to toss an mp3 off a porch and have it stick onto a telephone wire.

4) Any of the products for Record Store Day that you are particularly excited about? Why?
I'd love to get the New Order 7". They're a band I didn't get into until the mid 90s or so, so in my brain, they're a "CD band." I'd be nice to hear them the way they originally were presented to the public.





Matt Barry (Former Twist & Shout Staff)
1) Where did you buy your first record? What was it?
First album I remember buying - some African rap album in NYC that I thought would be good because it was from a NYC record store. That or an old Dr. Demento collection ("Fish Heads")

2) What record have you wanted more than any other in your collecting career? Did you ever get it?
Not really a vinyl collector but any old early Factory label record would be cool.

3) What is it about records, or record stores that are different from downloading?
Community! Duh.

4) Any of the products for Record Store Day that you are particularly excited about? Why?Purists.

Langhorne Slim (Recording Artist on Kemado Records)

1) Where did you buy your first record? What was it?
Princeton Record Exchange in Princeton, NJ and it was two records. The Kinks Greatest Hits and David Bowie Ziggy Stardust.

2 )What record have you wanted more than any other in your collecting career? Did you ever get it?
There were two records that I really had to search out. The first was Buzzcocks French featuring the song “Boredom” and the second was Shocking Blue At Home with the songs “Venus” and “Love Buzz” (later recorded by Nirvana on Bleach).

3) What is it about records, or record stores that are different from downloading?
I have never downloaded a song in my life and I don’t even know how. My love for record stores is the same as my love for thrift stores. I usually don’t go into a record store with something particular in mind that I want. It is the hunt for the hidden treasures that is the fun.

4) Any of the products for Record Store Day that you are particularly excited about? Why?
Dr. Dog/Floating Action - split 7" - We are trying to get a show with these guys this summer in Bermuda. Hopefully we will tour together more in the fall when we release our new record.

Bob Dylan - "Dreaming From You/Down Along the Cove" - I’m a big fan and he is a big part of why I do what I do today.

Flaming Lips/Black Keys - split 7" "Borderline/Her Eyes Are a Blue Million Miles" - What a cool split 7”!?! I’m a big fan of both bands.

Gaslight Anthem - Live From Park Ave. 10" - We would love to tour with these guys too.