Hey Everyone,

I don’t know about you all, but it kind of feels like I am living in the first 20-30 minutes of a sci-fi film…you know, that set-up right before things get crazy. From fires and devastating storms to the mystery virus takeover… it is making me almost nostalgic for the days where Direct Shot was the worst thing we were dealing with... well ALMOST.

On a more positive note, we held our annual CIMS Board Meeting in Louisville, KY last week. It was a week of working through issues, exploring ways to solve problems and exchanging new ideas. Despite everything we are dealing with currently, I came away energized and with quite the extended to-do list! I would also like to extend a big thank you to our friends Ken, Wes, Warwick, Terri and the rest of the Alliance team for hosting us and making us feel at home at the AEC Distribution center.

As we walked down Bardstown Road one night after dinner, I passed a building I immediately recognized, and it reminded me of my first trip to Louisville (I was probably 18 or 19 years old). Long before I knew what CIMS was, I knew the record store Ear-X-Tacy, and I knew I had to go there. It was a long weekend road trip from Birmingham with one of my oldest friends, but to us, it was a pilgrimage. At the time, I was so very obsessed with what I considered the “Louisville Sound”; Slint, Rodan, The Rachel’s, Sundowners, My Morning Jacket and of course all things Will Oldham… anyway… you get it. There was just something mysterious to me about those bands and their music and it was something I connected with. I guess I somehow felt if I made it to their town, and inside that record shop, some of those mysteries would be revealed. At the very least, I figured I would probably come home with some really great records- and I did.

So, John Timmons- if you are reading, thanks for that experience and that lovely memory. It is probably part of the reason I am here today.

Here are the charts.

Andrea

Andrea Paschal
Executive Director
Coalition of Independent Music Stores
ThinkIndie Distribution
3738 4th Terrace North
Birmingham, AL 35222
Phone: 205.595.1932 x.208
Fax: 205.595.1938
Email : andrea@cimsmusic.com
cimsmusic.com
#cimsmusic

Sharif Laffrey "Sounds To Come" (Special Forces Records) Blake Wimberly - CIMS/ThinkIndie Do-It-All Here's a smoldering track of lower-fi, trancey techno that actually holds your attention all the way through its 12-minute run. It's no simple feat,… — Sharif Laffrey
**"Sounds To Come"**
(Special Forces Records)

**Blake Wimberly - CIMS/ThinkIndie Do-It-All**
Here's a smoldering track of lower-fi, trancey techno that actually holds your attention all the way through its 12-minute run. It's no simple feat, but Laffrey is a mastermind when it comes to working in and between space, especially with just a handful of elements. Abrupt pauses, multiple restarts, and odd samples that seem familiar but sit just outside the periphery keep the listener from nodding off into the chasm of repetition. It's made for tiny clubs clogged with random bodies brushing in the dark... or as soon may be the case, your darkest closet filled with your favorite coats (or hazmat suits).