So this past week Mother Nature decided to unleash hell on my neighborhood. My house was left unscathed but I can not say that for a couple of friends who live nearby. I just got power back yesterday morning and have yet to find out when the Internet will be restored.
I guess what I am saying is that BHP is going to be slow moving for a few days.
Everyone enjoy your holiday weekend!
Ignore the title of this post, I just thought it sounded cool. I am going to ramble here – just a heads up…
Honestly , this year’s Record Store Day (RSD) did not exactly go to plan but it worked out entirely in my favor by the end of the day yesterday.
Record Poachers
A term my pal Eugene texted me when neither of us could find any of the wax we were looking for in retail stores on Saturday.
A record poacher is one of those folk out there who fancy a profit of mass proportions. They snag up all the good RSD vinyl and throw it on eBay where people like me will pay outrageous amounts of money for items that normally cost $10-$20. Some of these record poachers are actually shady store owners too who know damn well that they are cheating the purpose of RSD.
Knowing this, I still refuse to be defeated and try my luck on eBay. I am not the only one either.
Why do we do it? Because we are the reason RSD exists, we are the the vinyl collectors and sometimes we need to bite the bullet and pay a little more to get something we really want.
Example. I really wanted the Deftones Covers LP. It was sold out almost instantly across America. Coincidentally it was also all over eBay going for $40 to $70. Mind you there were only 3000 made.
I bid on it and was outbid immediately. I knew that I should just forget about it. I was bummed, but honestly, it is a record, I will live…
Right?
Lucky for me I have some amazing ass friends out there across the states and once they heard I was looking for that, as well as a couple other LPs, they made every effort they could to search for them.
There is a Deftones LP waiting for me now. I did not spend $452.87 on it either. There are also a couple other RSD releases I had my eye on that will be accompanying that LP too.
I have some damn good friends out there. I feel the need to emphasize that.
I am done rambling now.
Beyond my battle to get some of the RSD releases I wanted, I have to say that RSD 2011 was enjoyable.
How about a recap of RSD? Ok…
There were about 100 people lined up in the rain outside of Music Saves waiting to get first dibs on the goods when I arrived around 11:30am. That is dedication right there.
I sat in my car and chose to wait for my friends – and stay dry.
Come noon, my friends and I all perused Blue Arrow Records for a while, snagged up a couple things here and there, and just enjoyed the excitement that surrounded us. I picked up the Rome 7″ I was looking for as well as some used records that caught my eye.
Once the line at Music Saves calmed down, we all took a peek in there to see if any scraps were left over. I knew in advance of the Music Saves offerings and this year around there was not anything that got me too excited so I was ok with just grabbing a couple little things and saying hi to the owners and their special in-house phone answerer guy.
The Beachland opened their hallway to a couple of vendors who had some good finds. I walked out with a Pagans cover 7″ as well as a Germs cover 7″ both totaling a whopping $4. Not too shabby.
After kicking it on Waterloo we did the next best thing – went to Chili Peppers on 185th to feast. Best burritos ever.
It’s actually become a tradition for me to do RSD and then pound a burrito at Chili Peppers with friends. I did it last year, and I am pretty sure I will do it again next year.
I love me some RSD. It’s the one day a year where I can just geek out on vinyl with friends and complete strangers. Blue Arrow and Music Saves always do an amazing job with setting up for the big day and evening.
I skipped out on the free shows again this year in favor of hangouts with good peoples.
Good music was being spun and played at all the shops and everyone was in a good mood. If only every holiday were like this.
To my 7 readers, maybe 6 by now… Have a Happy Thanksgiving.
I am going to make sure I pay more attention to this site. I feel as of late I have neglected it, with good reason of course (school, work, life, iPad). I am going to try and step things up a bit and throw some more posts from myself and a slew of special guests.
Look for an interview shortly with Matt Fish, owner of Melt Bar & Grilled, to be posting soon. I am just putting my final touches on it. It’s a good read – ’cause I say so.
I also have my Best Of 2010 coming up soon. I really need to think back hard on this past year as there were a ton of great releases.
Until then, have a nice holiday weekend and eat lots of Tofurkey (or turkey if you are one of THOSE people…)
Chances are if you have been to a concert, you are like me and have purchased a concert shirt. It’s a way to support a band while at the same time show everyone who it is you listen to. It is almost a bragging right if you think about it – there is nothing more satisfying then sporting a concert shirt the day after the show. If you are lucky, someone will notice it and ask you how the show was (face it, you love it when this happens).
It’s a form of expression. People will judge you for the shirt you wear. Trust me, I know this.
The concert shirt, for me, has become almost a staple in my life. I have tons of them and they all carry certain memories. For the longest time, I made sure that I purchased a shirt at every show I went to. It was an obsession, an addiction that I just adored. After having counting over 400 shirts one day I decided it was time to chill on the addiction and even pack some up and donate to Goodwill.
I can not tell you how difficult that was for me…
Sure, a lot of the shirts were ones I hadn’t worn in years and were by bands that were meaningless to me, but there were a few that held such fond memories I just could not let them go even though I knew I would never wear them again.
I took about 50 or so of them and jammed them in a giant Rubbermaid tub and put them in my attic. I’m no pack-rat, but I know sometimes you should not get rid of something when it holds a fond memory of a good time…
I know I am not the only who shares this addiction / ritual. There is at least one other person I know who does. Her name is Sara and she started the blog Black Shirt Generation. The site is great in that she shares the same love for the concert shirt but has turned it into a project, if not a mission, to find out all the fellow concert tee lovers out there as well as collect their stories.
Rather than sit here and tell you why she started it, I figured I would give her the honors; so Sara, take it away:
Black Shirt Generation is an idea that’s taken me some time to figure out. A long time ago, someone, on some drunken night downtown, put a little idea into my head that one day I was going to “write teen anthems”. Not believing him for a second, I quickly dismissed him…but I must admit, almost 10 years later, I still thought about it.
A few months ago, I was standing in my closet, trying to figure out what I was going to wear, and I started cracking myself up. I have probably 100 black band t-shirts in my closet. I only wear a dozen or so of them, and it STILL takes me forever to pick out one of them.
It got me thinking about how many other music fanatics were out there with the same issue. Closets and drawers chock full of nothing to wear – but also full of memories and stories of days gone by.
From there, the ideas started coming in about maybe THIS is what I was “meant” to do. This was going to be my outlet to the world. It might not be a “teen anthem”, so to speak, but it’s definitely the voice of a generation. My generation, my voice, my story, my memories…
That being said, I wanted the scoop on others’ takes on their love affair/obsession with music as well. Punk rock, rock n’ roll, tattoos, booze, fighting, heartbreak – everything that comes with that uniform of black cotton with your heart and soul silk-screened on across the front.
So I’m looking to you, your friends, their friends and anyone who wants to make it known why they love that holey, frayed shirt that was black at one point in time…and why you or they never got rid of it – even though it would never be worn again.
Thanks Sara. Very cool idea.
Got a fond memory you want to share? Head over to Black Shirt Generation and let her know!
Many of you may remember that time I went to a cabin in West Virgina around the last week of June. I said I was going to write daily journals about my experiences there but I never did. It was not because I wanted to keep secrets from you or because I did not feel like writing about it. It was because I experienced that which is called relaxation and I just decided it was best to enjoy myself and forget the rest.
I have a few pictures posted on some of those social networking sites and will share a couple here just so you can see what absolute peace looks like…
Why am I suddenly bringing up WV again? Well I am headed back. I am leaving here in just a bit with a few friends for sort of a last hurrah of sorts. One being for me as I am going back to school and one for my pal Kyle as he is tying the knot with a special someone. Needless to say I will be off the grid once again. No cell phone, no internet, no problem.
What do I plan on doing there you ask? Great question.
I plan on:
I really should get cracking here as I am supposed to be leaving shortly so I will leave you with a few photos I took last time I was there and I will see you all on Sunday.
Gaslight Anthem / Tim Barry review in the works by the way… Best show I have seen this year hands down…
