Here at THE VINYL DISTRICTwe're good consumers. All Mp3's are posted to promote and give exposure to the music and are linked for a limited time. Please download to preview, then head promptly to your local vinyl vendor (or - OK, CD store too) and fork over your hard earned cash. You'll appreciate the piece of mind.
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It's one thing to have exceptionally fine taste in assembling a roster of recording acts and to consistently make sure releases see the light of day on vinyl, but it's another thing entirely—an undertaking—to delve into an artist's back catalog and conjure up vinyl versions of recordings previously available only on CD or some other dodgy digital format.
And it's just what Yep Roc has done with a trio of Nick Lowe releases that until last month were never available on vinyl. And it's this trio of brand new 180 gram vinyl releases that comprise our first Yep Roc Giveaway of the week. They are:
1994's The Impossible Bird...
1998's Dig My Mood...
...and 2001's 'The Convincer.'
One winner will receive all three LPs in exchange for your comment to this post.
We've been suitably inspired by Yep Roc's commitment to vinyl and damn fine music over the years and we trust you have as well. Let us hear it in the comments to this post and we'll choose our winner on 10/19—the day after Nick Lowe plays The Birchmere here in our own backyard. Make 'em good and remember to leave us a contact email address!
If you had asked me a few years back, perhaps at the beginnings of this blog, if I anticipated vinyl to have the resurgence its had over the past few years, that answer would have been a rather unequivocal, "Yes!"
But ...cassettes?
Cassettes have indeed made a DIY return to form, and our friends Black Telephone have a brand new one to put in your hands TONIGHT as they open for Women and DD/MM/YYYY atDC9. It's also a bit of a cassette release show for the band.
Gear up for tonight's show with two tracks from the four-song cassette below—which are all new mixes from the previous versions we had on the blog last summer.
Check out our First Date with Black Telephone from this past summer here, and later we'll expect to see you along with us here. Bring your Walkman.
I've long respected North Carolina's Yep Roc Records not just for their exceptional taste, having such names as The Go-Betweens, The Fleshtones, The Reverend Horton Heat, Robyn Hitchcock, Bob Mould, Paul Weller, Kristin Hersh, Nick Lowe, Ken Stringfellow and John Doe (among many more) on their roster, but for their unwavering commitment to what brings the vast majority of you here each day—vinyl. Even when not in vogue per se, you could count on Yep Roc to consistently load store shelves—and my shelves—with records.
Similar to our Record Label Spotlight series we ran as a lead up to Record Store Day this past April, we're spending the entire week with the good folks and the bands of Yep Roc and we're kicking off the week with a little Q & A with label co-founder, Glenn Dicker.
First, tell us about your love of music. Where did it come from? What are some of the first bands you remember hearing and, possibly collecting? I was very into watching the Partridge Family and Monkees re-runs on TV as a kid. I remember digging that as an afters chool thing. I remember being inspired by that in a real way because ever since I was in 1st grade I wanted to be in a band. My parents always went to flea markets and garage sales every weekend and I quickly started getting into vinyl singles. I'd pick one to buy for like $.05 or something and they'd say oh, just take them all. So I really got into collecting.
My cousin had a couple Beatles picture sleeve 45's- Rain/Paperback Writer and Hello Goodbye/I Am The Walrus and I ended up with those early on. I picked up a book by Hunter Davies at a garage sale about the Beatles published in 1968 and it blew me away. So I really became a big Beatles fan and still am to this day, really. Eventually got into other Brit rock stuff from Stones to Kinks to Who and Bowie. Then got into punk rock and really was buying records like crazy. Had a friend who would drive me to Philly and Princeton before I could drive to shop at great indie record stores. Soon found the Jam via a girl that moved to town from the UK and I found my new Beatles. Mind was really expanded when I started to work for Rounder Distribuition which had incredible indie labels with every possible kind of amazing music. Where did the decision to start Yep Roc come from? It grew from having the distribution company, Redeye, starting out as a regional music distributor. My partner Tor Hansen and I both had the passion to want to work more directly with artists and do projects from start to finish. It started with regional acts and grew from there.
Yep Roc has long issued vinyl—even when it was out of vogue for a while. Why? What is it about vinyl that adds to the experience of listening to music? I think that hardcore music fans have never really stopped collecting vinyl. So it was really about serving the fans of the acts that we worked with. If they had a fanbase that desired it, we gave it to them. We of course love it ourselves because we grew up with it. The aesthetic is great, no question. And the sound is warm and killer.
What do you like to listen to now? If you were on a deserted island and had to choose only five records, which would they be? Wow, that's so impossible. Today, it would be these: Rubber Soul, Sound Affects, #1 Record/Radio City (I have a CD with both records on here), Stax Box Set (since I'm cheating anyway), and Being There.
Check back all the week for Yep Roc-sponsored vinyl and ticket giveaways!
It's our weekly Twitter #MusicMonday recap of the tracks from last week that the folks in the press offices and PR agencies want you to be hearing. We post—you decide.
I’m an “axe victim.” As I sit here and write to you I have no less than five electric guitars within reach of my desk (and let’s not forget my P-bass.) After 25 years of playing guitar and being in bands it’s fairly ironic I can barely play a note.
Despite my lack of “shred-ablity” these “axes” along with my wedding rings are my most prized possessions. Each guitar seems to have its own life and reason for existence. The electric guitar is simply one of the noblest of artifacts of this last half century. The history of rock n roll lives within their grain.
With guitars in mind I set out to put together this week’s Idelic Hour. At first I was thinking about great guitar players and began listening mostly to Hendrix. On Jimi, Robert Fripp once said, he dedicated his entire life playing millions of notes in quest to play one perfect “note.” Fripp added that Jimi hit that note every time he touched a guitar. I know, too deep (ha ha) but I love my white strat!
As the week wore on I started thinking more about the guitars than the players. In the end, I had five hours of great guitar playing music to fit into an hour playlist.
Check out what I got. Many of the guitarists shredding this Idelic Hour are pretty obvious. Hopefully I will include the rest of my list in “Victims II” later this Fall. In the meantime, I’m digging the new breed of guitar godz; Marnie Stern, Randy Randall and Gary Clark Jr. The Idelic Hit of the Week: Marnie Stern - For Ash (Mp3)
DC's True Womanhood are coming off one hell of a busy summer and we're happy to have some fruits of their labors for your right-clicking below.
Upcoming are the release of tracks recorded in Baltimore with J Robbins (Jawbox/Burning Airlines—but you knew that, right?) First of the batch will be a 7-inch single out on Environmental Aesthetics Recordings and Sockets Records. That release will include the all new tracks 'Last Rites' and 'Chatter.'
The band's also playing multiple shows at this year's CMJ Festival in New York (NYC Taper, PopTartsSuckToasted and AAM Showcases respectively) as lead up to a Fall Northeast tour.
The split 7” can be a polarizing format. Some adore the fast variety and relative obscurity, some loathe those same qualities. And what of a split with covers of the other band’s songs? It seems such an intimate exchange. There has to be a high level of mutual respect necessary to agree to such a venture, right? You’ll need more than just friendly trust in the other band to not fuck up your song, right?
Well, Thee Lexington Arrowsand The Safes can rest assured that their songs have not been fucked up by the other. Thee Lexington Arrows are punk rock and roll to a hipshaking beat, led by female vocals with a tumbler full of grit and soul. You might remember the Safes from Chicago as a melodic pop punk trio, with catchy hooks and on-point harmonies. Both bands are in the same vein, but the new release takes them a few heavy strides away from their usual sound. It gives us listeners something special. And that is essentially what a split single should do.
“It's something that bands used to do a whole lot, and I don't see that much anymore. I always liked splits like that. It makes it more of a coherent EP instead of a couple singles form a couple bands.” Thee Arrows’ Curt Schmelz says. “Also, as a big fan of the Safes music personally, it's a good excuse to get to play one of their songs that I love.”
To celebrate this union, Thee Lexington Arrows join the Safes for six dates on a month long tour. They play the DC area this coming Monday, October 11th, at Galaxy Hut in Arlington, VA. You can pick up the new EP from Merrifield Records.... or you could comment below and win a free copy directly from the bands!
Sure, sure - Junip gave it away free online last May. We know.
But as you know, we're all about something you can hold in your hands and clutch to your chest. And we're really into vinyl!
We've got the second physical release by Junip—the 'Rope and Summit EP'—as our second Fall Giveaway of the year!
Plead your case for a real, live, physical copy of the EP in the comments to this post and the most compelling of the bunch will find a copy in his or her real, live mailbox.
You've got a week! We'll close this one out next Thursday, 10/14. And remember to leave us a contact email address with your response!
"There was a time/when everything was fine..." Marc Bolan sang.
And it's true. Maybe I was 7 or 8. Single digits.
My mom and dad, Ruth and Herm, played Scrabble most Saturday nights after a big meal at our home with their best friends, Pat and Howard. Drinking Scotch late into the evening, word challenges settled loudly via the ginormous dictionary more often used to decode the New York Times crossword puzzle that'd keep my mom glued to its magazine section each weekend.
And me? I'd be half asleep attempting to slog it through the Love Boat, then Fantasy Island, then the local news to catch some portion of Saturday Night Livejust so I could talk about it the next day. Remember that odd benchmark - having seen what every other kid was buzzing about? Being part of it?
Back then it seems, in retrospect, I was actually buzzing on a warm houseful of food and laughs and well, family.
Pat passed away first in 2000 if memory serves me correctly, leaving the other three simply devastated. I'm not sure if there were any Scrabble nights afterward, really. My dad was next in 2006 and my mom passed away this past August, leaving Howard, the oldest by far of the four, the lone remaining celebrant of those evenings.
Then quietly, Howard passed away this past September 22nd, at 92.
And it was Howard, probably as a referral from my folks, who gifted me Queen's'News of the World' the first holiday season of its release.
So, once more in 'the box' I have a sealed, first pressing, mint copy. With a sticker.
It's week #4 our semi-new Thursday fix, culled from the rare and (ultra) obscure crates of 80’s vinyl, curated by our pal Gil:
QUINCY - s/t LP
Created in the late 70’s New Jersey new wave skinny tie circles, Quincy was formed by two sets of brothers who met in high school. After playing the local club scene, the group hooked up with the owner of legendary club fixture CBGB, Hilly Kristal, who would then assume the role of band manager. Quincy would go on to play regular gigs at the club for a period of time.
Due to this favorable club exposure, the band was contacted by Columbia records and subsequently signed an album deal. Their debut self titled album was released in 1980 to favorable reviews and enthusiasm at radio stations and in the press. The listener is treated to a fiery blend of Elvis Costello, Roxy Music, and the Cars with consistent UK and US new wave power pop influences.
Shortly after this first album came out, Quincy Jones sued them for using his name. CBS Records did not help the band with the lawsuit, but both parties ended up settling out of court. This was a bad omen and the band could not get things going again.
One of the main leaders left the band so the rest of the guys soldiered on and formed another outfit called Lulu Temple. In addition to a new name, the band took on a new musical direction adding horns and percussion and a more layered approach. Without the support of their label and the lack of press, even the band's loyal fan base didn't know of their new record.
The band dissolved in the mid 80’s with the members drifting into other facets of the music business. Quincy’s first and only full length album is full of infectious new wave tunes that have aged well over these last few decades.
The Dig have made quite a number of appearances here in 2010, having even taken over TVD for a full week back in June. Perhaps to keep that particular drive alive, we've got a pair of tickets to see the band as they return to DC next Thursday (10/14) at the Black Catalong with Henry Clay People.
The Dig are touring in support of their recent LP 'Electric Toys' which can be found here on iTunes and in any one of your city's fine independent, mom and pop retailers, the band would like you to know.
Let us know why you should be chosen for the pair of tickets to see The Dig in the comments to this post and the most convincing of the bunch will take home the tickets for next Thursday's show.
We'll close this one on Tuesday (10/12) to give you plenty of time to conjure up your response—and remember to leave us a contact email address with your entry.
Remember, we've teamed up with ReadysetDC for all of our ticket giveaways so you can enter to win either here at TVD or at ReadysetDC.
If you've come to understand our tastes, you'll recognize that London's The Supernovas are a straight shot right up the center:
“Vinyl is something that has always been seen as a thing of the past by many of my generation. If I got a penny for every time I had someone say to me; “Vinyl?!? Who still plays vinyl?!?” when I was trying to sell them one of our 7”s, then I’d at least have enough to buy a copy for myself!
For me though, it was still very important that we released our singles on vinyl as well as digitally. I’m a Northern Soul enthusiast and as such, am part of a small collective of people (the readers of this article included) that genuinely believe that vinyl just sounds better than the compressed digital formats that people are so familiar with in this digital age. And in my opinion, there is no sound stronger than a 45rpm vinyl.
Vinyl for me is special – a real tangible format unlike an MP3. You can’t frame a digital download. You can’t store it in a box in the attic for your grandchildren to find 50 years later and play on a dusty old system that sounds as old (and magical) as it actually is. And you can’t find one in the bottom of a box in a charity shop and then flog it on eBay for ten times the price you bought it for.
My love affair with vinyl began when I was 18. I had just began a DJing residency at The Bar; a club in Hanway Street, located in London’s Soho area which specialised in Mod, Jazz and Soul. I had started the night with another musician friend called James Bone (although he got barred after that night but that’s another story!) and we didn’t own a single record between us! My whole set was made up of CDs (which I didn’t realise at the time was a big NO - not cool at all!). It didn’t take me long to work it out though and before long I was up in my Nan’s loft, trawling through boxes upon boxes of records, hunting out various little gems - the first of which was Marvin Gaye’s ‘I Heard It Through The Grapevine’ which was backed with ‘Can I Get A Witness’ the latter is a track which I still play at every single DJ set I do and have done since!
From then on, my quest for a decent record collection began in earnest and I started visiting all of London’s independent record shops (a dying trade which really seems to be kept alive by the medium of vinyl alone) in search of something special. The most memorable of these trips was a visit to a shop in Camden where I came across a 7-inch of N.F. Porter’s ‘Keep On Keeping On’. The price was £8 and I only had £5 on me. I had never actually heard the track before (although I had heard a friend, Mike mention it in the past) so I put it back on the shelf and left. The next time I saw Mike I told him about it, he gasped, his face dropped, ‘You’re gonna be gutted when you hear this’ he said and turned on his computer, brought up YouTube and played me the track. He was right. I was gutted. Shortly after it had finished, we both put our jackets on, ran to the bus-stop, headed back to the shop to find that it had gone. The next couple of weeks were spent frantically searching the Northern Soul sections of various record shops in the hope of finding another copy. Eventually, a routine check on eBay managed to produce the goods and I scored a copy from Holland for just £6 and happy times were restored!
This for me is what vinyl is all about. I probably could have just gone on iTunes and downloaded the track for 79p, but where would the fun have been in that? There is no chase with a click on iTunes and no great feeling about ownership of an MP3 either. Trying to find that elusive copy that only a few people own and everybody wants is real. Vinyl epitomises this elusive side of the game and that is why for me, it is so important to keep it alive.” —Joei | The Supernovas
It was a little quiet around here yesterday, hm? Diametrically opposed to how things should be, there was a lot of stuff happening in the background yesterday as opposed to right here, where it counts. Let's say for now big things are afoot here at TVD and you'll all be in the know soon enough. 'Nuff said, as Stan 'The Man' says.
I had an interesting question yesterday though in regard to the 'Box' feature that I think merits a response. Said questioner wondered, if TVD exists to underscore the survival of the brick and mortar record stores, what the hell am I doing filling up the aforementioned box with internet, ebay purchases? And that's a fair point, methinks.
My response is that the mom and pop shops are supplementing their revenue via ebay. In fact, DC's own Crooked Beat and Som Records both have ebay stores that I suggest you utilize.
See, for what it's worth, we embrace technology here, despite the preference for some old-timey format. Ipods are great when you're walking to work and Kindles are just fine for travel or downsizing that taxed bookshelf, but I don't believe either contraption should or will replace outright the 'prehistoric' model. But I'm an optimist.
Anyway, back to the topic at hand—this one arrived in the mail just yesterday:
About a year ago I purchased that DJ crate up there in the graphic which I’ve taken to calling ‘The Box.” It’s not that I DJ often either, but when I’ve been invited to do so, the box holds just enough LPs to make a night of it.
Dutifully, I’d pack my LPs into the thing for the night and afterward, usually the following morning over coffee or copious amounts of water, would take the time to refile the previous night’s records back on the shelves in their rightful, alphabetical, in order by sequential date of release—spot.
And then it’d sit empty.
Now, I got this “problem” you see, and it has zero to do with a lil’ blue pill, thank you.
I’m a chronic ebayer. It’s what I do. Type in a few well honed key words, and I’m off to the races. Then typically afterward, Paypal.
My new thing, my new fix, is buying sealed LPs of records that have etched themselves indelibly into my fiber. I mean, not the best records ever by traditional standards or something of the sort—just mint, pristine, sealed versions of records I’ve inhabited for eons.
I'll tell you where it started—about 2 months ago, armed with a fine merlot and a high speed DSL connection, I scored the complete set of Beatles LPs—the UK versions—sealed, mint...the first of the set all in Mono. My wallet sobbed, I was over the moon—and boom, the entire Beatles LP career catalog (more or less) landed on my doorstep.
Oddly though, these were sore thumbs...where should I put them? I mean, I HAVE this set in multiple incarnations, just not ...sealed.
“The Box.”
The box became the perfect location for these gems and the ebay gems keep a-coming. I thought I’d chronicle this week a few of the sealed records that are now cramming that once empty box and who knows – as the box gets er, ...filled...we’ve got a bit of a recurring column here at TVD. (Aw, hey – it’s content – ok?)
I was reminded just how great a live band The Fleshtones are during their all too brief set at the 9:30 Club's 30th Anniversary Concert last July, and this week America’s most-revered garage band return to the very same venue this Saturday night—and we've got a pair of tickets to giveaway to one of you to check out the NYC legends on us.
“It's unabashed party rock 'n' roll, expertly composed and executed; in a perfect world, ‘Jet Set Fleshtones’ would be on every car radio all summer long.” —Variety
“The Fleshtones have been throwing a rock 'n' roll party for the past 30 years, and amazingly they show no signs of slowing down. Take a Good Look ... comes well-stocked with their patented blend of '60s-style garage rock and frat-house R&B.” —Performing Songwriter
Let us know why you should be chosen for the pair of tickets to see The Fleshtones in the comments to this post and the most convincing of the bunch will take home the tickets.
You need to act fast though—we need to close this one out tomorrow, Thursday (10/7) at noon—and remember to leave us a contact email address with your entry.
Remember, we've teamed up with ReadysetDC for all of our ticket giveaways so you can enter to win either here at TVD or at ReadysetDC.
1994's The Impossible Bird...
1998's Dig My Mood...
...and 2001's 'The Convincer.'
