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Record Store Day 2017 is Tomorrow

This year marks the 10th anniversary of Record Store Day, the international celebration of vinyl, physical media and the indie record stores that sell returns tomorrow with celebrations happening locally at Buffalo’s surviving record shops. Whether you brave the early morning lines for the Record Store Day special goodies you’ve scouted in advance or plan on some leisurely shopping, bonhomie, and live music later in the day after the rush subsides, enjoy yourselves (“It’s a celebration!”) and be sure to spend some money to keep these treasured local resources going: Record Theatre will be having their annual Record Store Day blowout at their remaining location at Main and Lafayette from 9 AM til 9 PM with the line forming Friday night I imagine. They’ll have the RSD special releases, live music from 12pm-7pm, plus the R&R BBQ Truck for lunch, Lloyd’s for dinner, and Community Beer Works local brew throughout the[...]

Today: Record Store Day

Today is the ninth annual  Record Store Day, a holiday created in 2007 to celebrate Mom and Pop record stores and the stagnant vinyl industry. In the past nine years, much has changed in the music industry, and vinyl is HOT again (thanks millenials). Over 700 independent retailers across the world celebrating selling/collecting music by numerous rarities and one-offs being released today, including new releases from David Bowie, J. Dilla, and Regina Spektor to name a few. To get a hold of the whole list of new releases, check out Record Store Day’s website. Here’s what is going on locally. Record Theatre (1800 Main St): Ever want to meet Johnny Rzeznik (Goo Goo Dolls), Mary Ramsey (10,000 Maniacs), and get a signed copy Cassandra Kublinski’s latest CD all in one location with a Community Beer Works beer in hand? Well, good news for you. Get to Record Theatre’s 1800 Main Street location[...]

Record Store Day Black Friday Preview

Ah… the filthy capitalists! In their unquenchable thirst for more dollars they finally managed to thoroughly bungle Black Friday last year, with ludicrous early AM opening times and worse, some retailers even opened on Thanksgiving Day. Consumers amazingly said “ya basta!” and the swine took a bath. It was beautiful. Independent record stores however eschewed the lunacy, instead continuing their own Black Friday tradition of Record Store Day specials and in store fun, a tradition that will be there for you, weary consumer, after you’ve done battle, or eschewed the scrum and saved yourselves exclusively for the pleasures of the record shop. In either case, enjoy yourselves at these following fine record merchants. Both Record Theatre locations (3500 Main St in University Plaza, 1800 Main St at Lafayette St) will be opening at 9am with Black Friday Record Store Day special releases, prizes, and surprises all day. Black Dots (223 Lafayette St[...]

Herd Fest 2015: Day 3 (Part 1)

Day 3 of Herd Fest proved to be the young festival’s biggest day yet (so big, in fact, that we made the photo galleries two parts), featuring five loaded showcases spread all over town. The afternoon saw local record shops Record Theatre (along with Steak & Cake Records) and Black Dots host in-store and, in the case of the latter, outdoor patio bills. Candace Camuglia was once again on hand to shoot all of the action. Check out some select shots below and for a full gallery, visit the festival’s Facebook page. Keep an eye out soon for a part 2 gallery from Herd Fest’s Day 3.

Steak & Cake Records

The Herd Fest-ivities continue on this glorious Saturday! Make sure you’re ready to rally by noon today, so you can head over to Record Theatre on Main Street for the Steak & Cake Records showcase. Steak & Cake Records is a DIY indie-rock label founded by Brandon Schlia (Mink, RED HEAT) that offers professional recording, production, mixing and distribution services for local artists. In other words, it is both a staple and accurate representation of Buffalo’s self-sufficient nature and synergistic music community — separate projects coming together to form something much greater than the sum of the individual parts. Dozens of wonderfully crafted records have been birthed through Schlia’s studio since its conception in 2011. If you haven’t explored S & C’s catalog on their bandcamp page, I highly suggest doing so now. This year’s showcase features seven Buffalo (and Philadelphia) based artists that support and are very much apart[...]

buffaBLOG Record Store Day 2015 Preview (WNY Edition)

What began as an effort to save independent record stores has evolved into an almost full-fledged international holiday for music lovers, and 2015’s year’s Record Store Day this Saturday promises to be the biggest yet at our local record shops. Seldom does commerce and art and bonafide happening intersect so beautifully as on Record Store Day, and in shops all over Western New York music fans will converge in search of deals, new and esoteric special releases, and the bonhomie one finds when lovers of vinyl come together to celebrate something they hold special. Is it too much to call Record Store Day an almost religious observance? Certainly, but with the shared reverence, goodwill, joyful expectation, hand shaking and good tidings, it’s not far off. To help you get your good feels on this Saturday, here’s our annual guide to Record Store Day in WNY 2015. Of course many of[...]

Still Diggin’: Shopping Local

I remember beginning to buy and collect vinyl about four years ago. Sure, since then, my taste has changed vastly, but the reasoning for buying is still the same. There’s just something weird about owning a record, something that I can’t easily put into words, and it’s something that definitely seems to confuse a lot of people. For me, records have always been sort of a ritual for me in a way. Having to pull one off the shelf, open it up, and read the liner notes after dropping the needle is what draws me in. Simply put, it’s the involvement that listening to vinyl requires that makes it special, the involvement that that other formats lack. That involvement has drawn me in and turned record shopping into a real money sink, but a money sink that I love and has made music a truly special aspect of my life.[...]

Record Store Day Celebrates Black Friday

After you awaken from your Thanksgiving dinner(s) coma this Friday, consider spending some of your Black Friday shopping and money at local records stores. The OTHER Record Store Day (the big one traditionally is in April) is still an important day for shops as special releases and deals will be available only this Friday. The Main St./Lafayette location of Record Theatre will be hosting an in-store, acoustic appearance from New Politics prior to the trio’s gig at Town Ballroom later that evening. Community Beer Works will be on tap and sold on site, and Alt Buffalo will be on hand as well. Check out full event details here. Black Dots, over on Grant and Lafayette, will also be offering some great deals on Friday including 15%-20% off new and used LPs. Visit the shop’s facebook page for a full list of specials. Other local shops like Spiral Scratch and the University[...]

Tonight: Attack of the Vinyl Mondays

Essex St. Pub has become my go to winter bar in town. During last year’s Polar Vortex, a small crew and I trekked down Richmond and found comfort in the establishment, donating as many quarters as we had to Essex’s legendary juke box. With the snow falling outside of my window as I type, tonight would be as good of a night as any to get comfy at the Rhode Island dive and hear some choice records as the bar’s Attack of the Vinyl Mondays is back tonight. The crew from Record Theatre will be behind the tables tonight, throwing a bizarro wrench into the normal programing. Except a variety of oddball selections this evening, covering everything from creepshow country to psyched out world music. The records start spinning around 10pm tonight. Entry is, as always, free.

Still Diggin’: Discover, Explore, Dance On It

Since my last Record Store Day post, my collection has taken on a life of its own. I have sought out vinyl from my wishlist, in addition to some records that have seemed to just come into my life. Initially, digging for records was a solo mission of mine; occasionally my little brother and I would go on an excursion to Sound Garden in Syracuse, my hometown. But just recently I experienced that camaraderie that can grow from a visit to the record store. A couple friends invited me to go to Record Theatre. Surprisingly, this was my first time there. I am shocked (and others as well) that it was my first, mostly because it’s located smack dab in my old neighborhood, when I went to Canisius College. I went seeking the newest Tycho album, but, to my dismay it was on backorder. So we wandered. Another group joined[...]