'Centers of community': Record Store Day celebrations include block party, Vinylthon

“It’s almost like the kickoff for spring for us the past couple years,� Beter said. “It’s turned into a mini beer festival and artisan gathering with live music. It’s a free event, kid friendly. We don’t charge admission to watch the bands. We don’t charge the artisans to set up and sell their wares. It’s a day for them as well to kick off their season and hopefully start them off on the right foot.�

This year is the shop’s fourth Record Store Day block party, and 11 bands are set to perform, including Chum, Eric Bolander, Emmalea Deal & The Hot Mess, Torches From Above, Dinosaur Burps, Don’t Look Back, Noah Freeman, Wax Shadows, Leah Rose, Nearly Mine and Unwanted Saints.

“We will have a Chum reunion — they are our headliner,� Beter said.

Orbit’s will also release exclusive albums on their own, including music from Chum and Torches From Above.

“We recently licensed Chum’s album from the '90s, from Century Media,� Beter said. “We released it, but we have some more copies of the galaxy vinyl that we’re going to sell that day. Another local band, Torches From Above, will also have a little seven-inch record that’s exclusive to us on that day.�

Beter said he anticipates Taylor Swift’s RSD release, the Fortnight seven-inch record, to be a big seller.

Other anticipated releases range from Post Malone’s album of Nirvana covers to music from Gracie Abrams and The Rock-afire Explosion, a vintage animatronic band whose RSD album "Original Dreams: Songs From Showbiz" is an unreleased collection of original material.

“It’s kind of goofy, but everybody’s wanting it,� Beter said.

Taking the concept of Record Store Day a step further the past four years, Beter said he’s always looking to do something in the community and give back where he can.

“Record Store Day is the biggest day of the year for independent record stores like ours,� he said. “It kind of makes your year, so to speak, and we just figured it’d be a cool way to tie in a community block party. The first year we decided to throw three bands out there and see what happened. It just exploded from there.�

Sullivan’s Records in ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä

Sullivan’s Records in ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä will celebrate Record Store Day with WTSQ-FM 88.1, a local independent radio station. WTSQ is hosting Vinylthon, playing vinyl records on the radio for 88 hours straight. From 10 a.m-6 p.m., DJs will be inside Sullivan’s broadcasting live and playing records, according to owner Sam Lowe.

Lowe said he anticipates releases from Taylor Swift, Charlie XCX, Post Malone, Stone Temple Pilots, The Doors and Fleetwood Mac to be big sellers.

“Post Malone, that one’s going to be huge,� Lowe said. “He’s actually [the] RSD ambassador this year. Anytime there’s a Taylor Swift piece on RSD, you get the huge crowd for Record Store Day, plus the Taylor Swift crowd. There’s some overlap there, so there’ll be people who are there for all of it, but there’ll be a lot of people who are just there for Taylor Swift.�

With doors opening at 8 a.m., Lowe said by the time he arrives at 6 a.m., lines have already formed.

“It’s really a big party,� Lowe said. “I get here at six to start talking to people and tell them how the day is going to work. In the past, the earliest people will get here is 2 a.m. or so.�

The camaraderie between customers has been a highlight for Lowe to witness during RSD events over the years.

“When I first started doing this, I was a little afraid it might be a little feisty in the sense of people fighting to get what they want, but it’s actually a real feeling of camaraderie,� he said. “I’ve seen a person in the front looking for a piece that the person behind them is also looking for, and I’ve seen them sacrifice it for the person behind them, for a stranger, someone they met in the line.�

Last April’s RSD event had about 100 people waiting for Sullivan’s to open, though Lowe said with a Taylor Swift release, he’s anticipating even more of a crowd.

“There was no Taylor Swift last year, and she brings out a lot of extra people,� he said. “RSD is all about the releases. There’s a lot of cool stuff coming out.�

The event is important because it brings a lot of people into the record store for the first time, Lowe said.

“It brings a lot of people in that then can become regular customers,� he said. “It introduces me to the next generation and helps the whole thing to perpetuate.

“Truth is, these are kind of centers of community,� he continued. “People meet people here. They make friendships here. It’s an environment where people come in and just start joining conversations. So if you don’t have a local shop to go in and browse around in, you’re missing a huge part of the community and the love of the art of music.�

First time participants

Two local, independent record stores, Haskins House Records in Portsmouth, Ohio, and Huntington’s The Historic Hippie, will participate in Record Store Day for the first time this year, both carrying RSD exclusives.

Haskins House will also run a 20% sale for used records, as well as a budget bin sale, according to owner Travis Haskins.

“It’s our first official Record Store Day we’ve done, but the last one we did for Black Friday was pretty busy,� Haskins said. “That’s almost like Record Store Day, Junior.�

Katelyn Cox, owner of The Historic Hippie, said there will be a sidewalk sale, and the shop is full of both new and used albums, including live albums from Green Day, The Beatles and more.

“I’ll have a ton of albums outside, and then we’ll have our normal inside, plus a ton of new albums we’ve ordered just for Record Store Day,� Cox said. “Then I have a ton of original albums too. We specialize in vintage.�

Cox created a social media post detailing other RSD events and highlighting the Tri-State’s record stores. For her first official RSD, Cox said she’s most looking forward to sharing music with people and even introducing others to their first record players.

“Listening to people’s stories is always fun, about music, concerts and bringing everybody together,� she said. “We have something for everyone, and we also have record players. So if they don’t have a player, we can get them set up and started.�

Official participating record stores nationwide and lists of vinyl releases are available online at www.recordstoreday.com.

“Don’t miss a beat, support your local record stores,� Cox said.