Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Record Store Day highlights, pt. 2

Posted by T. Ballard Lesemann on Tue, Apr 21, 2009 at 6:59 AM

Soundwave Records in Summerville (2139-B N. Main St., 843-821-8810) enjoyed a metal-driven Record Store day — and even dealt with the cops! dd1c/1240275784-soundwaverecordslogo.jpg

From Greg Woodard of Soundwave Records & Comics in Summerville:
Our Record Store Day event really turned out to be a tremendous success. This was our first year participating, and we’re so excited about last Saturday’s turnout that my staff and I are already kicking around ideas on how we might make 2010’s RSD an even bigger and better occasion.

The day started out on a high note as we had people gathering in our parking lot before we opened in anticipation for the live metal performance by Aralic. Aralic is the Aiken-based experimental death metal band that Soundwave has nominated to Metal Blade Records’ “Next Great Heavy Metal Band” contest. We had planned to have the boys play a double set out front of our store so that we’d have ample room for the large crowd that was expected. However, a short time into their sound check the police showed up and tried to shut us down. It seems not everyone had the spirit of the day. We rose to the challenge, and after quickly re-organizing inside the store to make room, Aralic tore into back-to-back sets that showed everybody in attendance why they deserve to win the Metal Blade competition. In retrospect I’m glad the cops came because it seemed as though everyone enjoyed the show more by being crowded inside between the aisles. You can’t stop the rock and, as someone said to me, it isn’t a real rock show unless the police try and stop it.

We were able to have our cook-out outside and there were plenty of great RSD freebies to go around. We also had a huge 20% off sale as a bonus to all our friends and loyal customers. Later that night, Aralic was the special guest on the 98X metal radio show where they gave Soundwave several shout-outs. It was awesome having such a positive response from the public throughout the day. Despite a little adversity it was a day to remember and we’ll be rockin’ even harder when RSD 2010 arrives. See ya there.

Topics: Record Store Day

Monday, April 20, 2009

Record Store Day highlights, pt. 1

Posted by T. Ballard Lesemann on Mon, Apr 20, 2009 at 12:28 PM

0c86/1240256018-recordstore.monster.jpg
Stores across the country took part in Record Store Day last Saturday. In Columbia, Easley, Sumter. Greenville, Gaffney, and the Charleston area many S.C. merchants participated. The local shops includes 52.5 Records downtown (561 King St., 843-722-3525), Monster Music & Movies in West Ashley (946 Orleans Rd., 843-571-4657), Cat’s Music in Summerville (1305-A N. Main St., 843-832-7704), and Soundwave Records in Summerville (2139-B N. Main St., 843-821-8810).

Here’s part one of this week’s Record Store Day report.2c0a/1240256204-recordstore.moooog.jpg

From Joshua Curry:
Monster Music had a great crowd flipping through all the vinyl, DVDs, and CDs on the sidewalk outside the store. Free hotdogs and hamburgers were by the front door and people were eating them up. By the time I got there, most of the choice items had been skedaffled by collectors. A clerk at the store said they had around 150 people lined up when the doors opened up around 10 a.m. I heard Carry Ann Hearst put on a great set and was a crowd favorite.

I picked up a few odds-and-ends, but my favorite platter purchase was a Moog synthesizer cover album by Plastic Cow called Plastic Cow goes Mooooog. It’s got a lot of classic rock covers and ballads from the ’70s.

Here’s a rendition of Clapton’s “Sunshine of Your Love:"
Sunshine


From John Edward Royall:
Record Store Day is quickly becoming as important as Christmas and Easter in my holiday calendar. I listen to mp3’s like anybody else, but nothing beats a trip down to the record store to purchase music as an actual physical product — not just a digital representation of 1’s and 0’s — and Record Store Day is a celebration of that experience.

The giant list of exclusive releases just sweetens the experience even further, and, being a vinyl addict, the 7” singles were particularly enticing. Unfortunately, I didn’t make it down to 52.5 until the early afternoon, so most things were long gone. I still managed to get a sweet haul. First was a 7” from much beloved ‘90s alt-country band Whiskeytown, led by a young Ryan Adams, featuring two unreleased songs from their fertile Baseball Park sessions. Next, This Album Crashes Hard Drives, a compilation LP of unreleased tracks (a bargain at $10) from soul, funk, and jazz labels like The Numero Group, Daptone, and Jazzman.

2edb/1240256154-52.5.recordstore.jpg
At this point, I was ready to head out the door, but something held me back. I scanned the used vinyl section once again and spotted a record I’d had my eyes on for months: Drums Along the Hudson, from Hoboken, N.J.’s early ’80s guitar-pop band The Bongos. With used vinyl on special at 52.5% off, it was now a $5 bargain I couldn’t pass up. With my purchases completed, I was already looking forward to next year. You can bet I’ll get there earlier.

c75c/1240325085-lizard.jpgFrom 52.5’s Clay Scales:
Record Store Day rocked. Take that, International Juggler’s Day! We sold out of the limited items pretty quickly. Now they are on Ebay (except for the Jesus Lizard collection that I kept for myself - #666! There was a good vibe, all day long. Tons of happy people, wishing us well. Even got a homemade card (pictured). Awesome.

Topics: Record Store Day
Older Entries »
Classified Listings
{ more } Recent Comments
{ more } Reader Reviews
  • Diamonds North
    There is nothing worse than a bitter fired employee. I work at a plant near… -boeingguy51
  • Pearlz
    Fantastic service!

    We visited on a busy Friday night and the restaurant was…     -twa318
  • Novel.
    hi lauren hope your business does great ,we miss you all love uncle dean -Dean Hays
  • Autobanh Food Truck
    I had an amazing sandwich tonight! Please go check them out soon. I promise that… -chssean
  • Halls Chophouse
    I just had dinner at Halls for the first time recently and I admit, I… -aegr
Most Viewed

Powered by Foundation   © Copyright 2012, Charleston City Paper   RSS