Record Store Day 2012
In past years I have heard about Record Store Day the day or week after. This year I decided that I would not miss out on record store day again! So I got up at the crack of dawn, well, um OK 8am, then I headed right out, after several cups of coffee and having some breakfast about an hour later, LOL! I got my daughter all packed up and headed out to Dearborn Music, in Dearborn, MI to see what they had to offer for RSD.
My daughter also brought some money in hopes of scoring some cool music herself. We easily found a parking place and I was glad to see that the lot was pretty packed but parking was available. As we entered we saw the checkout line, it stretched across the store! They had enough people at the registers that we noticed that there was swift movement at checkout. So we started walking around, dodging people left and right and looking for someone who worked there as I knew exactly what I was hoping to score. I found someone within a minute of entering the store and asked if they still had any of my intended purchases. They had two of them left, so the clerk provided me with them and then the search for other cool stuff began. We went over to the gigantic section of used Cd's and LPs to see what they had. My daughter found a Taylor Swift CD that she does not already have, and something from Mozart, which I thought was pretty cool! We looked at the new vinyl and could not find one of the items I was looking for, which was the 1978 Knack Live release. Oh well, two out of three ain't bad! I was not aware of the policy that Dearborn Music enforces when they purchase used vinyl, so I would remove the LP from the sleeve very carefully and inspect the used records that I intended to purchase, (just like the old days). Dearborn Music's policy is NO vinyl is purchased with ANY scratches at all! So I found a couple used treasures and proceeded to join the line, which was still wrapping around the inside of the store to the back of the store. A very cool thing is they have merchandise to look at throughout the journey to the checkout. We looked at all sorts of mugs, shirts, posters, used and new vinyl and Cd's. So the 15 or so minutes spent waiting to check out was not bad at all. I met a few cool people and we chatted about the music, an upcoming audio event happening next week and LPs in general. It was pretty cool actually talking with fellow LP enthusiasts who share the same enjoyment of the medium. So we got to the checkout and my daughter put her Cd's on the counter and paid for her treasures; there were several comments about her being the youngest customer of the day to that point, she is 10 years old. I was swiftly checked out and chatted with my new friends on the way to the parking lot and actually met up with some at the next record store. There was a long line to gain entry to this small store, and the daughter was getting tired and thirsty, so it was time to leave.
This is what I scored:
A used mono copy of the Dave Clark Five - Satisfied with You - VG+ condition, played very nicely.
A used stereo copy of The Best of Count Basie - VG+ condition, this is a double record set - it has this strange warp in it that required me to mount my Shure M97xE to track it. This cartridge has a special shock absorbing brush that helps it track difficult, warped records. My other cartridges would "Boom" right after the warp as they nearly bottomed out at the end of the warp. The Shure tracked it with no "Boom", so I am able to keep this LP. It is a two-record set, so only one LP has that strange warp.
A Record Store Day release of Here's Little Richard - mono - on 180 Grain vinyl. Very nice. I have not played this one yet.
A Record Store Day release of Never to be Forgotten - The Flip Side of Stax 1968 - 1974 - This is a box set of 10 7" 45 RPM "singles" with some cool "B" sides from single releases during this time span. The records are so very quiet when you play them that on the intro track you check to see if the stereo is on because it is so quiet. The songs I have never heard before, and they are all awesome sounding recordings. It also comes with a book about the recording sessions. There were only 4,000 of these made.
So, overall, record store day was an awesome experience for me and my daughter. I will be returning to Dearborn Music as soon as I can to spend hours going through the used LPs. It was a very positive experience and I will be attending the event next year for sure!
Keep Listening!
Jeff
My daughter also brought some money in hopes of scoring some cool music herself. We easily found a parking place and I was glad to see that the lot was pretty packed but parking was available. As we entered we saw the checkout line, it stretched across the store! They had enough people at the registers that we noticed that there was swift movement at checkout. So we started walking around, dodging people left and right and looking for someone who worked there as I knew exactly what I was hoping to score. I found someone within a minute of entering the store and asked if they still had any of my intended purchases. They had two of them left, so the clerk provided me with them and then the search for other cool stuff began. We went over to the gigantic section of used Cd's and LPs to see what they had. My daughter found a Taylor Swift CD that she does not already have, and something from Mozart, which I thought was pretty cool! We looked at the new vinyl and could not find one of the items I was looking for, which was the 1978 Knack Live release. Oh well, two out of three ain't bad! I was not aware of the policy that Dearborn Music enforces when they purchase used vinyl, so I would remove the LP from the sleeve very carefully and inspect the used records that I intended to purchase, (just like the old days). Dearborn Music's policy is NO vinyl is purchased with ANY scratches at all! So I found a couple used treasures and proceeded to join the line, which was still wrapping around the inside of the store to the back of the store. A very cool thing is they have merchandise to look at throughout the journey to the checkout. We looked at all sorts of mugs, shirts, posters, used and new vinyl and Cd's. So the 15 or so minutes spent waiting to check out was not bad at all. I met a few cool people and we chatted about the music, an upcoming audio event happening next week and LPs in general. It was pretty cool actually talking with fellow LP enthusiasts who share the same enjoyment of the medium. So we got to the checkout and my daughter put her Cd's on the counter and paid for her treasures; there were several comments about her being the youngest customer of the day to that point, she is 10 years old. I was swiftly checked out and chatted with my new friends on the way to the parking lot and actually met up with some at the next record store. There was a long line to gain entry to this small store, and the daughter was getting tired and thirsty, so it was time to leave.
This is what I scored:
A used mono copy of the Dave Clark Five - Satisfied with You - VG+ condition, played very nicely.
A used stereo copy of The Best of Count Basie - VG+ condition, this is a double record set - it has this strange warp in it that required me to mount my Shure M97xE to track it. This cartridge has a special shock absorbing brush that helps it track difficult, warped records. My other cartridges would "Boom" right after the warp as they nearly bottomed out at the end of the warp. The Shure tracked it with no "Boom", so I am able to keep this LP. It is a two-record set, so only one LP has that strange warp.
A Record Store Day release of Here's Little Richard - mono - on 180 Grain vinyl. Very nice. I have not played this one yet.
A Record Store Day release of Never to be Forgotten - The Flip Side of Stax 1968 - 1974 - This is a box set of 10 7" 45 RPM "singles" with some cool "B" sides from single releases during this time span. The records are so very quiet when you play them that on the intro track you check to see if the stereo is on because it is so quiet. The songs I have never heard before, and they are all awesome sounding recordings. It also comes with a book about the recording sessions. There were only 4,000 of these made.
So, overall, record store day was an awesome experience for me and my daughter. I will be returning to Dearborn Music as soon as I can to spend hours going through the used LPs. It was a very positive experience and I will be attending the event next year for sure!
Keep Listening!
Jeff
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