Sat 4/23
Saturday April 23 is Record Store Day, originally founded in 2007 to promote increasingly challenged independent record stores. Over the years, it’s become somewhat controversial. It revolves around a glut of special “limited edition” releases — live recordings, unreleased studio tracks, remixes — that are allocated to the stores in unpredictable quantities and with a lot of competition that some have charged favors larger stores. If you have your heart set on a particular release, it may be hard to find — unless you want to pay a premium on eBay. Many stores open early on Record Store Day to accommodate that competition while others are opting out altogether.
Still why not use the day to discover a local indie shop, even if you don’t rush out at 8am to try to grab some limited-edition vinyl? Among the area participants are The Current Year in Parma, My Mind’s Eye in Lakewood, Ultrasound Music in Willoughby, the Exchanges, and more. Find a list here. Even if they don’t have a lot of the special releases, you’re almost certain to find something interesting just browsing.
Waterloo’s Blue Arrow Records stopped hosting Record Store Day a few years ago. Instead they have their own Customer Appreciation Day, with special in-store events that may include cat petting depending on the mood of the cats. They’ll be keeping their usual Saturday hours of noon-4pm. How many music lovers are up by 8am anyway? Go here for more info.