April 20: Record Store Day

April 20th is “Record Store Day”. The following blurb is taken directly from their website…

“Record Store Day was conceived in 2007 at a gathering of independent record store owners and employees as a way to celebrate and spread the word about the unique culture surrounding over 700 independently owned record stores in the US and thousands of similar stores internationally.
This is the one day that all of the independently owned record stores come together with artists to celebrate the art of music. Special vinyl and CD releases and various promotional products are made exclusively for the day and hundreds of artists in the United States and in various countries across the globe make special appearances and performances. Festivities include performances, cook-outs, body painting, meet & greets with artists, parades, djs spinning records and on and on. Metallica officially kicked off Record Store Day at Rasputin Music in San Francisco on April 19, 2008 and Record Store Day is now celebrated the third Saturday every April.”

For more information or to find a participating record store, please visit: http://www.recordstoreday.com

I applaud the efforts of the organizers of Record Store Day. The value of looking through bins of records cannot be underestimated. I remember fondly walking up and down the aisles of Tower Records, looking through the bins and discovering albums that I didn’t know. The assistance of a well informed sales person made the experience all the better.

I remember my friend Hale Milgrim telling me about his start in the music business as a “lowly” sales associate at Tower Records in San Francisco. He loved music…learned about new music, bands and musical styles while stocking shelves and assisting eager young shoppers. These early experiences shaped his attitude, expanded his musical knowledge and helped power his rise through Capitol Records until he was running the place in the 1980s. Imagine…a music guy in charge of a major label.

So if there’s a real record store nearby with knowledgeable sales people, you owe it to yourself to take the time to visit their store. You won’t regret it.