Venders celebrate Record Store Day

Record Store Day will bring independently owned record stores together with artists on Saturday to celebrate music.

Conceived in 2007 by an employee of the independent East Coast record store chain Bull Moose, RSD became official in 2008 with a kickoff concert by Metallica outside of Rasputin Music in San Francisco. Since then, the event has spread across the globe.

Landlocked Music, TD’s CD’s and LP’s and Tracks Music and Video will be representing Bloomington for RSD with festivities, giveaways and in-store performances at some locations. Hundreds of artists will issue new releases and re-issues in multiple formats — 12” vinyl releases from The Album Leaf, Beach House and Buddy Guy; box sets from John Lennon, Wilco and Joy Division; and singles from The Rolling Stones, Charlotte Gainsbourg and Devo are some among many of the 2010 RSD releases.

TD’s, an underground record store located in the depths of Soma Coffeehouse & Juice Bar on Kirkwood Avenue, will be carrying an abundance of RSD special releases.

“We will be set up on the sidewalk facing the Monroe County Public Library having a sidewalk sale,” said Michael Anderson, TD’s manager and buyer.

Landlocked Music will commemorate the day with sets from four different DJs and in-store performances by Bloomington bands Remnants and Moscow Moscow Moscow, as well as British artist Proto Idiot and Indianapolis outfit The Perennials. The store will also give away T-shirts, posters, CDs and VIP tickets to dance on stage with the Flaming Lips for its Little 500 concert at 8 p.m. April 22 at the IU Auditorium.

“Landlocked has taken part in RSD since its first year,” Heath Byers, co-owner, said. “We are happy to continue to spread the community and cheer of physical stores, as opposed to online, to a new generation of music lovers. There are tons of undeniable new releases coming out on RSD, but it is also a great way to thank our customers with refreshments, entertainment and giveaways.”

Byers said the store is also proud to be releasing its own compilation record, “It Happened Here” — a 7” vinyl LP featuring local, regional and national artists including The Delicious, Prizzy Prizzy Please and Magnolia Electric Co., among others. 

“When Landlocked first opened its doors four-and-a-half years ago, we were located next door to Boxcar Books,” Byers said. “Since then, we have both changed locations and we try to come up with fun ways to support each other.”

Tracks Music and Video on Kirkwood Avenue has also been celebrating RSD since its inauguration and will receive even more vinyl this Saturday for its already brimming collection.

“Because Tracks is a small space, packed with vinyl, CDs, DVDs and now Indiana Apparel, we are unable to have any in-store bands,” Tracks owner Andy Walters said. “Vinyl stock continues to grow exponentially, as we have been bringing in thousands of great out-of-print vinyl that nobody in the area has for sale.”

All three stores’ managers expressed the need for and importance of celebrating and supporting independent record stores. Anderson said while RSD is great for morale and gets people coming into TD’s in droves, it’s kind of like Christmas or Easter.

“You can’t wrap your arms around an MP3,” Byers said. “The new generation realizes this as much as their parents. RSD shows that the retail environment for music is alive and well in 2010.”