April 21 is a day to get out to your local record store and pick through what you need and what you’ve got as the world celebrates Record Store Day 2018.
Saturday is International Record Store Day and Barrie will join the festivities that reach every continent, except Antarctica.
The annual event celebrates the unique aspect a record store has as a gathering place for all things music. Staff and customers are encouraged to get out to a local shop and talk music, share favourite bands and songs as well as buy and support the industry.
Gillian Dorella, manager at Sunrise Records in the Bayfield Mall, says that right now the store has a 25 per cent off sale happening with selected records, but she knows that tomorrow’s event will be one of the busiest days of the year.
“We open at 8:30 a.m. and the mall opens its doors at 6 a.m. because we are expecting a lot of people and many have been calling for information about the big day,” said Dorella.
“We’re going to have refreshments and snacks, too," she added. "Every year I do something up like a Record Store Day cookie, so tomorrow I’m making record cupcakes for the first 50 or so people. It’s a really big deal to music lovers.”
Every year at this time, artists save up some special albums for their fans and ship them to selected locations. Dorella says it is so secretive that they don’t even know what they have until they open the box.
“The big one this year is The Cure and a lot of people have been calling about that,” Dorella said. “I don’t know if we have any because we haven’t got our shipment yet as it’s always like a day before thing.
"Record Store Day is all about limited-edition, numbered vinyl and that kind of a throwback, but really it’s everything that you’re looking for," she added. "There are deals in place and special-edition items being shipped to all stores.”
To celebrate the day, some artists will just pop into a store or will have a specialty album shipped out.
Canada’s RSD ambassadors this year are The Sheepdogs and they have some vinyl albums signed and randomly shipped around the country.
George Thorogood and The Destroyers have a new single available for RSD and other bands/artists will be having contests through participating stores.
If the weather holds up, there could be some camping outside of 13 Clapperton St., on Saturday. Elaine Bayliss is a clerk at BJ’s Records in downtown Barrie and is ready for the big day.
“It has grown ridiculously over the years and we have actually had people with lawn chairs outside waiting for us to open at 10 a.m.,” said Bayliss. “It is a massive deal to music lovers and we’ll have our no-tax sale with everything in-store being tax-free, but the real catch are the very cool exclusives.
"And I’m not going to ruin that surprise; you’ll have to come out and see.”
Record stores may seem like a thing of the past, but Bayliss knows that all things old are new again as the big buyers tend to be in the 20-something age range.
“Classic rock tends to be the big seller and it’s the younger crowd getting them,” said Bayliss. “Teens and 20-year-olds bringing Zeppelin, Fleetwood Mac and Dylan to the counter and it blows my mind, but also shows the timelessness of great music.”
For more information on Saturday’s worldwide event, check out the website.
