Mon 21 Apr, 2008
This Saturday independent record stores across the nation celebrated their cultural contributions to their local neighborhoods with National Record Store Day. When I found out about this event, I went straight to the list of participating retailers to see if my local record store, Fingerprints, was taking part and was pleased to see that they were. So I spent Saturday afternoon digging through crates of albums, observed a signing by Metal legend Rob Halford and in the evening caught a performance by Limbeck.
My friends at Listen In reported Record Store Day from their respective corners of the US. Eric Atienza rose early to go to Other Music - his favorite record store in New York - and couldn't control his urges; leaving with a host of things to add to his vinyl collection. Evan Mix lamented that he was unable to visit his local record store but made a recommendation for a performance in his area. My partner in crime and I wrote about the Long Beach celebration of Record Store Day.
While Fingerprints has expanded over the years, there is absolutely no wasted space. Stacks of CDs 3′ high were liberally strewn about as were boxes of t-shirts. Suffice it to say Fingerprints is your typical neighborhood record store. We would like to offer details of the Silversun Pickups’ set, but the list was full within minutes and we missed out. We did, however, have a chance to check out Limbeck and lead singer Robb MacLean’s gravely alto timbre was perfectly suited to their country tinged indie rock sound.
Fans weren’t discouraged by the late start of the set or the lack of a rhythm section. In fact, there was no room for percussion or the bass, two dudes and two guitars was all the stage could handle for this intimate performance.
It had been a while since I had visited Fingerprints but my nostalgia for record stores was piqued immediately upon walking into the store. There is something special about the experience of shopping at a record store. The smell of dust, the hipsters and vinyphiles digging in crates, finding a rare LP…For me one of the highlights of the day was finding an old friend's (to whom I affectionately refer to as the best MC you've never heard of ) album in the tiny collection of underground hip hop vinyls.
While sales were definitely boosted at record stores nationwide, there was also the sense that record stores are definitely endangere. This feeling was reinforced as I walked past the appothecary housed in the formar location of the other record store called Penny Lane. As I passed by, I wondered when it had gone out of business and if it was only a matter of time before Fingerprints suffered the same fate. I really certainly hope not.
