Record Store Day! I have been participating in the Record Store Day vinyl “drops” as they call them for many years now. There have been many years where I got up very early just to go stand in line at a door hours before a local vinyl shop opened in the dark and cold of the winter just to try to get a copy of some album I wanted. There was a couple of years that my daughter even went with me to try to find a special vinyl she wanted. That was the years right before her college days which was a few years back. https://recordstoreday.com/
This year I was in New York City as I was at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade the day before RSD on Thursday and I have a full schedule of music-related things going on for several days. As I got off the subway ride near Bryant Park I wandered down 6th Avenue to what has become my favorite vinyl store on 37th Street called DJ Rock and Soul and Equipment. https://rockandsoul.com/ Now before I say anymore I do not want to leave out a shout-out to Grimeys in Nashville as they have been very good to me over the last several years shipping out hard to find items! https://www.grimeys.com/ I have sung their praises many times on this blog. Today though I want to tell you a quick story about vinyl shopping in New York City which I love to do!
When I headed down 6th Avenue the breeze was blowing a warmer than normal wind in my face as a gale was in the weather forecast for the weekend. By the time I turned into the store I was taking off my coat to actually cool down from the walk which is a bit different for “normal” November weather in the city. I started right at the front of the store where boxes of all the Record Store Day releases were staring back at me like a lonesome pet in a pet store. I could almost feel them saying “pick me, pick me!” It only took me a few minutes to locate most of what I was interested in from the November list and soon I found myself headed deeper into the store to chat with the folks that run the place for a minute and dig through some albums that may be needed in my collection. I seem to have that “need” vs. “want” discussion every Record Store Day.”
As you can see this store is packed with hardware and the vinyl is abundant. If you want to score some really cool vinyl I would suggest you go to this store on your next visit to NYC and have fun digging through the bins to find some treasures for your collection.
After getting what I wanted from the RSD releases and a bonus triple album from the Stray Cats I headed back down 6th Avenue to Rough Trade just to stop in and see what was happening. This place is easy to find as it is very close to the NBC Rainbow Room entrance. https://www.roughtrade.com/ Founded in London in 1976 this store has a long history in NYC. My daughter Alexandra and I visited the old store some time ago before the move and honestly I like the new smaller store better!
Once inside the new Rough Trade store I didn’t find anything I wanted to add to my bag for this trip. I keep wanting a shirt but they only have what I call “boy sizes” which don’t work for me. It’s all good. I do have the “Rock and Soul” t-shirt I wear and hey it fits!
So that was most of my RSD 2021 adventure. I headed back over to Bryant Park and soon I was scouting some lunch in the local block. I love all local record stores and that is what Record Store Day was started to support. No matter where you are located there is a store within driving distance or even in walking distance! Support your local store! Support your local musicians! If you are in New York be sure to stop by and visit some vinyl shops! You will find some cool people in all of them.
Until next time, I’ll see you, down the road.