Record Store Day

The seventh annual Record Store Day was held on 19th April, celebrating independent record stores with live music and limited edition releases in music stores throughout the UK. As a devoted music lover, I felt it was only right for me to pilgrimage to one of these stores and pay my respects to the art of physical records. My first Record Store Day experience turned out vastly different to how I’d initially planned it - but it completely bypassed the enjoyment of any store event I’d ever been to. 

Initially I was to go and see George Ezra perform in the Rise shop in Bristol with a friend. Then when that plan failed I contemplated seeing Luke Sital Singh and Get Cape, Wear Cape Fly in the Oxford Truck store - but it was deemed too far to go by my reluctant chauffeurs (the parents). So instead, I headed to the Witney Rapture shop in Oxfordshire. I was, I’ll admit, a bit weary of this, due to the shop being so tiny. I cautioned my mother that I might be unable to hide my disappointment at the potential lack of performances, due to what I thought would be the lack of a performance area - but in the end I needn’t have worried, as there were live gigs aplenty, right outside the shop. Whilst I hadn’t heard of the musicians performing in Witney, I can only imagine that they performed just as well, if not better, than their more well-known counterparts would have done.

Little Brother Eli and Paul McClure were the two standout performances for me. McClure’s Don Henley-esque vibe impressed both me and my mother, being big fans of The Eagles; his voice was one that spoke of timeless folk and his guitar playing was unmistakably breathtaking. His interaction with the audience was also wonderful, making groupie puns with a woman who’d accidentally ended up “backstage” to smoke, and singing a gory version of the ‘Postman Pat’ theme tune in order to bribe a mini chocolate easter egg from a 6-year old girl in the audience. She was initially reluctant to part with the treat but was won over by his musical charm, and he offered her a free CD in exchange! Meanwhile, Little Brother Eli were so kooky that it was hard to take my eyes off them (although it didn’t hurt that the lead singer was rather easy on the eye). They flitted between so many genres that it was impossible for anyone not to enjoy their energetic and diverse performance. I bought both of their CDs - as the vendor was lacking change for McClure’s CD, I said that I would be more than happy with a few free badges. Supporting bands who clearly had a passion for music but hadn’t quite had their big break gave me a distinct feeling of pride and warmth. I got given numerous leaflets for talented artists that I believe deserve just as much mainstream success as the likes of Rihanna and Bastille - but often what makes them even more special is the very fact that they haven’t reached that level of fame yet. The unheard artist feels the need to quite simply be heard, so these bands give electrifying performances in a bid to do just that. 

As for the shopping, I bought my first vinyl record - a 12” of ‘The Civil Wars: Live At Eddie’s Attic’, which was a special Record Store Day release. I got the last one in the shop, and the woman on the till expressed surprise at the fact that it hadn’t sold out before then. I’ve had the intention of starting a vinyl collection for a long while, and what better day to take the plunge than Record Store Day. I certainly haven’t regretted it - the sound quality is so much crisper than anything I’ve listened to before. The biggest growth in vinyl sales do come from the under-25s, and 2014 is set to see 900,000 vinyl sales if growth continues the way it does - consumer demand, if Record Store Day was anything to go by, certainly seems high. The shop was consistently busy, with people huddled over the boxes of vinyl and crammed into the CD aisles left-right-and-centre. The regulars were chatting happily to the store workers, who were delighted with how well the day was going. They thanked me for each purchase, as if they were genuinely grateful that people cared enough about music to part with their cash for a physical copy of it, rather than use iTunes or even torrent it online. Personal recommendations were rife, with the salespeople keen to go out of their way to give people guidance on the sort of purchase they might enjoy. Due to this, I was willingly lured into buying a copy of ‘The Sound of the Smiths’ ,’A Beautiful Lie’ by Thirty Seconds to Mars, and my favourite purchase of the day, the ‘Green Day: Demolicious’ CD. This was another limited edition Record Store Day release which contained demos of their ‘Uno!’, ‘Dos!’ and ‘Tre!’ albums, including a previously unreleased single and an acoustic version of one of my favourite songs, ‘Stay The Night’. 

It is my belief that no shop can bring as much joy as an independent record store, and Record Store Day made me realise that I’m not the only one. There’s no more satisfying feeling than flicking through vinyl records and CDs, and spotting that one gem, something you can’t get with online purchases. Alongside the audible pleasure it provides, music should be tactile and visually rewarding - album covers and records that you can hold in your hand and display proudly on your wall. You simply can’t get that with downloads. These independent record stores need to be sustained. Please, go and venture into a local music store as a hard-earned break from revision. Paul McClure offered up a wise piece of advice during his set: “Go out and buy something you’ve never heard of before. Spend a fiver, support these worthwhile shops and discover some excellent music.” I couldn’t have put it better myself.