CIMS WEEKLY CHARTS: WEEK ENDING 9/30/21

Hi Everyone,

This week I am very excited to announce that Dearborn Records has expanded. They opened their new location on September 2nd in Farmington, Michigan and things are off to a fantastic start for them. Effective next month, we will be adding that location to CIMS. This is also a very exciting way for them to celebrate 65 years in business this year!

28ffbc1a-9c74-81e3-8af2-81248bd940dc.jpg

The new location (a former Dressbarn), is a large space to fill, but the plan is for 4700 sq ft of the total 6200 sq ft. to be reserved for retail. Much like the Dearborn location, Dearborn Music Farmington will offer new and used vinyl records, CDs, t-shirts, DVDs and Blu-rays, books, games, and more. Rick and Kevin Leannais (brothers and owners of the Dearborn Music stores) hope to bring lots of new faces to downtown Farmington and not from just that community but from all over.

e8d740e3-bbc3-0b50-2f41-20af144c774f.jpg

From Rick:
“A record store is a destination store. So, we're not gonna just be pulling people from Farmington, we’ll be pulling people from the surrounding communities. It's gonna bring more people downtown, and maybe for the first time. They’re going to get a chance to look at the farmers market or some of the restaurants down there, the other shops. We like thinking that we're a fun shop to go to. We don't just have music. We have music, pop culture gifts and t-shirts; we have family-oriented games. We like to think that we’re a great destination for all things entertainment, just in general.”

f254b765-8d18-af51-79f5-ef9987c3b411.jpg

Dearborn Music Farmington is located at 33025 Grand River Ave. in downtown Farmington. So, if you are in or around the area, be sure to check them out.

We are excited to welcome this location to CIMS and are all very excited to see this growth within our group.

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

8c7ffd1e-e680-834e-83b9-33e611dcbf53.jpg
0008c70c-d794-a006-3491-6164cba2220d.jpg
0c7ee8a1-c331-c0a9-d3b8-bd03bcd3de89.jpg
522e7cea-ddf1-0a71-e2e2-d4489478d84e.jpg

CIMS WEEKLY CHARTS: WEEK ENDING 9/9/21

Hey everyone,

Here are the charts for the week.

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

2b9bf94c-ea8a-4cbb-8079-f617c9b24abb.jpg
Colleen Green Cool (Hardly Art) Picked by: Nick Campbell - ThinkIndie Warehouse Manager

Colleen Green
Cool
(Hardly Art)

Picked by: Nick Campbell - ThinkIndie Warehouse Manager

b225b3f9-5b36-d2e2-5468-4e6fdef57fe3.jpg
0478af7a-acb6-3058-fec5-1b3364ffb409.jpg
07fd1139-1574-9e62-5f3b-605a9ed43a6e.jpg
10cc79c6-e7f7-09b8-860d-67f982df399f.jpg

CIMS WEEKLY CHARTS: WEEK ENDING 9/2/21

Hi Everyone,

This week we have some big CIMS news to share with the group.

Our previous Executive Director Michael Bunnell, and his wife Jil Sevy, owners of the Record Exchange in Boise Idaho turned over their keys to the store yesterday.

After founding The Record Exchange in 1977 and growing their business into a Downtown Boise institution for over 44 years, Michael and Jil are retiring to enjoy travel and other pursuits.

Michael was one of the founding CIMS members and served as our CIMS board chair for many years before serving as our Executive Director from 2009- 2019. During this time, Michael and I worked together through some crazy changes in this industry (those just keep coming don’t they…), and through the years, I also have many fond memories of lots of good times spent and great talks with Michael, Jil and their boys Ian and Eric who I watched grow up. I consider them not only colleagues, but also friends and extended family, so I could not be happier for them.

But don’t you worry, the Record Exchange isn’t going anywhere because there is more exciting news! Michael and Jil have sold the business and are turning over the reins to long-time Record Exchange employees Catherine Merrick, Glenn Newkirk and Chad Dryden, and Dryden’s wife Erica Sparlin Dryden. This group has a combined 43 years of experience (almost as many years as the store itself) and I am so happy that the legacy of this store will continue. I know the future of The Record Exchange is in good hands and they will remain a proud member of CIMS.

As one journey ends, a new one always begins. I am wishing this group the best for the new journeys ahead and looking forward to being along for the ride.

I am including the full announcement from Michael and The Record Exchange Below:

93ebe9ff-3330-521a-ad26-53b0cac61316.jpg

Greetings industry friends,

I am excited to announce that after 44 years of running The Record Exchange, Jil and I are retiring and selling the store to our longtime employees Catherine Merrick, Glenn Newkirk and Chad Dryden, and Chad's wife Erica Sparlin Dryden. Tuesday was our final day as owners. Read the full announcement below.

It was a privilege to work with both CIMS and Record Store Day from the ground up and to see the two organizations now recognized as leaders in the industry. All of these store owners, managers, CIMS and RSD staff, and member stores are the real deal – people who have dedicated their lives to an art form they believe in and genuinely love. They've weathered every kind of storm imaginable and still stay committed to independent music retail and to their communities. They're heroes and deserve support and recognition from the industry to which they've dedicated their lives.

Thank you for supporting The Record Exchange all these years and for continuing that support as the store changes hands.

Michael Bunnell
(208) 761-3155
michael@therecordexchange.com

d69d547b-689c-71a7-694a-35ddce4d4ae7.jpeg

The Record Exchange is changing hands for the first time in the store’s 44-year history, but the new owners will be familiar faces to customers of Idaho’s largest independent record store.

Founder and owners Michael Bunnell and Jil Sevy have sold the business to longtime employees Catherine Merrick, Glenn Newkirk and Chad Dryden, and Dryden’s wife Erica Sparlin Dryden. Merrick, Newkirk and the Drydens will assume ownership on Wednesday, Sept. 8.

After founding The Record Exchange in 1977 and growing the business into a Downtown Boise institution and leader in the national music retail industry, Bunnell and Sevy are retiring to enjoy travel and other pursuits.

“My vision for the store from the beginning was to create a place where people of all ages and musical tastes could discover and share their passion for music,” Bunnell said. “I wanted the store to be an ‘experience,’ and I hope on some level we’ve succeeded in that goal. It was always my hope that when Jil and I were ready to retire, the store would continue in the hands of employees who care about the culture we’ve created. I couldn’t be happier about the employees who have stepped up to take the helm and guide the store into the future.”

With an initial inventory consisting largely of his vinyl record collection, Bunnell and then-partner Al Benton opened The Record Exchange in a modest Orchard Street storefront on the Boise Bench. A year later, in 1978, they moved the business to the Hitchcock Building at the corner of Idaho and 11th streets to fulfill Bunnell’s vision of a full-service record store in Boise inspired by the shop of his youth, the original Tower Records in Sacramento. In 1981, Bunnell bought out Benton and later partnered with Kathleen O’Brien, who ran a poster shop next door, and the two businesses combined under The Record Exchange name until 1992, when Bunnell and Sevy bought O’Brien out of the business. The downtown location was expanded many times over the years, and in 1996, Bunnell and Sevy purchased the building, which they will continue to own in retirement. While it is well-known for its deep music inventory, the store diversified to include gifts, apparel and Downtown Boise’s first espresso bar. Sevy, Bunnell’s wife and partner, officially joined the staff in 2001 as the gift shop buyer and manager and was instrumental in growing the store’s non-music offerings.

The Record Exchange has spent nearly 45 years making itself a vibrant part of the Boise music scene. By featuring local and touring musicians on its built-in, professional-level stage, the store established itself as one of the leading music venues in the state. Record Exchange in-store alumni include Smashing Pumpkins, Ed Sheeran, Built to Spill, Josh Ritter, Ben Harper, They Might Be Giants, Brandi Carlile and Luke Combs.

“We are very grateful to the Boise community for its support over the years, in particular the local musicians who have played our stage and contributed their talents to countless store events,” Sevy said. “We thank the wonderful employees we’ve worked with over the decades, including our two sons Ian and Eric, who have all been a vital part of The Record Exchange family.”
In addition to running The Record Exchange, Bunnell was a founding member of the Coalition of Independent Music Stores (CIMS) and served on the CIMS board of directors for 13 years until he was named executive director in 2008, a position he held until 2019 when he retired to focus solely on the store. In addition, Bunnell also served on the Record Store Day board of directors for 11 years.

Under the leadership of Bunnell and Sevy, the store has earned accolades from grammy.com and several national publications, most recently No Depression magazine, which named The Record Exchange one of the top 75 record stores in the country. Locally, The Record Exchange won both the Idaho Statesman and Boise Weekly’s Best Record Store reader’s poll awards for so many consecutive years that the category was retired.

The new ownership group, with a combined 43 years of experience at the store, is eager and excited to take the reins and lead The Record Exchange to even greater heights.

“As a youth, I spent many hours in this building – it was a safe space for me, particularly as a female music enthusiast who didn’t fit in elsewhere,” Merrick said. “The Record Exchange has always encouraged women to be a part of this industry, so to be able to be part of the RX team, as a young customer to long-time employee-turned-owner, is really validating. I’m excited to carry forward, and build on, the tradition of making RX inclusive and to continue supporting and fostering the diverse artists and creatives in our community.”
Said Newkirk: “The Record Exchange had been my home-away-from-home for 30 years. I’m honored to be a member of the RX family and feel very fortunate to have the opportunity to be part of the continuing story.”


Here are the charts for the week,
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

756bd303-9264-61c7-9804-a4c48af8fb77.jpg
65bca713-4443-b214-e89e-2f1c2e9de239.jpg
2322d859-2761-75df-b030-574da162172e.jpg
3dc1915a-1e91-4202-5cb6-bb3f10b35c62.jpg
e14d09b1-ee2f-e3a0-446c-ad4b2cb78da3.jpg
467bf408-3a07-a8a7-773b-eb4671895025.jpg

CIMS WEEKLY CHARTS: WEEK ENDING 8/26/21

Hey everyone,

Here are the charts for the week.

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

2b9bf94c-ea8a-4cbb-8079-f617c9b24abb.jpg
Bob Schneider In A Roomful Of Blood With A Sleeping Tiger (Soundly Music)  Scott Register - ThinkIndie A&R One of the best albums of his career and that’s saying a lot as he’s put out plenty of them. Schneider’s enchanting voice and his masterful lyrics charm you into listening and enjoying his music and this album is full of songs that stick with you. It reminds me of his Lonelyland and Lovely Creatures albums which are two of my favorites from Schneider. Highlights include "Boys You Like," "I Love This Life," "The Band Plays On," "Lord Of The Flies" and "World Turns Blue."

Bob Schneider
In A Roomful Of Blood With A Sleeping Tiger
(Soundly Music)

Scott Register - ThinkIndie A&R
One of the best albums of his career and that’s saying a lot as he’s put out plenty of them. Schneider’s enchanting voice and his masterful lyrics charm you into listening and enjoying his music and this album is full of songs that stick with you. It reminds me of his Lonelyland and Lovely Creatures albums which are two of my favorites from Schneider. Highlights include "Boys You Like," "I Love This Life," "The Band Plays On," "Lord Of The Flies" and "World Turns Blue."

3fa07141-5bbc-4c91-4138-eaf91d1e2f9c.jpg
31f90327-5951-7072-af3f-00e25e972aee.jpg
d07c6622-581a-deac-b1a0-103bfeb48f92.jpg
ef06e6ff-cc27-3574-d8a7-d4e9fc3bcd68.jpg
6d2aefa2-cb01-940d-7111-6486260ff9e0.jpg
007fdb28-745e-e7d7-d52f-776932d66146.jpg

CIMS WEEKLY CHARTS: WEEK ENDING 8/19/21

Hi Everyone,

This past weekend Plan 9 celebrated their 40thAnniversary with their customers and the community of Richmond, VA. The celebration included raffles to raise money for local charities, customer giveaways, sales and more.

64dcfe26-d918-3e8d-4bfc-175a82a83832.jpg

Jim Bland is a long-time member of the CIMS Board of Directors, and Plan 9 is one of the early members of the Coalition. I have worked with Jim for many years now, but it would take only a short conversation with him to recognize and his love of music, commitment to our organization and his passion for what he does- bringing the music to the people. I would like to congratulate him and everyone at Plan 9 on reaching this amazing milestone.

I also wanted to share this feature article from the Richmond Magazine to commemorate this occasion. It gives a fantastic history of the store: click here.

3731bb07-2dee-7de0-c024-42e8915dfe32.jpg

Jim, we are so proud to have you and Plan 9 as a member of CIMS. It is stores like yours that provide an anchor for the community, so here is to 40 years and many, many, more. 

Remember to support your favorite independent record stores so we have many more of these stories to tell!

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

2fa0c081-0b52-5150-a5fe-39482cdfe6ad.jpg
64a6fdfe-51c6-073f-d9e6-479ee5f94e25.jpg
c9877105-5830-404f-3796-70a6df97ff4e.jpg
64901e0e-03b0-54aa-92ec-fe8f710c85b1.jpg
3557ec32-1d2d-a630-08c7-9c3c1a1af1a1.jpg
a4cb3dfa-88c7-5c3b-02e8-c632113f105f.jpg

CIMS WEEKLY CHARTS: WEEK ENDING 8/12/21

Hey everyone,

Here are the charts for the week.

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

2b9bf94c-ea8a-4cbb-8079-f617c9b24abb.jpg
The Goon Sax Mirror II (Matador)Nick Campbell - ThinkIndie Warehouse Manager

The Goon Sax
Mirror II
(Matador)

Nick Campbell - ThinkIndie Warehouse Manager

fe0f586c-08ef-0da0-57b1-b5b82102bd50.jpg
2ce8288a-8f4f-7aca-b1ae-a9c98f386e10.jpg
c849b804-7f79-67b1-7313-34227e7c6aaa.jpg
7b4f42fe-0bd2-eeb9-598f-6d15de43d79c.jpg
f5c7b651-45c7-4ace-5a4d-acb89af9d2b6.jpg
ca2763cc-c65b-7b80-0132-41e0dda0b1a5.jpg

CIMS WEEKLY CHARTS: WEEK ENDING 7/29/21

Hi everyone,

Greetings from Couch Camp 2021! A special thanks to Music Biz and all of our Sponsors that have made this event possible and all of the artists that have helped to make our event special. Here’s hoping that next year we will all be back to doing this in person in NOLA!

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

5d8c701e-045c-b620-1e44-860bff4145ee.jpg
155e581c-cbd3-1f69-e8b5-30099f5b6d31.jpg
a24aded2-e7b6-812c-31ed-4d55d92168d5.jpg
dbdadca9-2f1c-bb11-dc03-55a90ee0c044.jpg
4287fc0b-516a-65f9-b50e-fab2a0a8050d.jpg
67ef9a0c-a9c7-9602-a0b1-ed304fadbddf.jpg

CIMS WEEKLY CHARTS: WEEK ENDING 7/8/21

Hi Everyone,

We are in the final countdown to RSD Drop 2 and I hope everyone has a successful one. It’s hot out there- so stay cool, stay safe and stay hydrated. Most importantly, have fun celebrating your favorite record stores, because that is what these days are really about. Of course it is fun to score the amazing releases, but Record Store Day is also about showing appreciation for all of the wonderful people that opened these shops, their staff and crews that work so hard to keep them going and provide us all with that home away from home to discover the best of the best in music. Don’t forget to show ‘em some love on Saturday.

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

828f3437-5c71-1a6b-b906-eb66185a0ec5.jpg
432c2c10-f271-f076-2672-77c06883b655.jpg
7cc3ceee-9f3a-45c6-3a35-6c703bee4197.jpg
588cb2fd-6a8d-f599-8d2a-8a5f72cb0e11.jpg
53661492-1e2d-a432-6ca6-28825177d382.jpg
cc4200a4-6fab-83f2-1079-5c38f9bfb200.jpg

CIMS WEEKLY CHARTS: WEEK ENDING 7/1/21

Hey everyone,

Here are the charts for the week.

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

2b9bf94c-ea8a-4cbb-8079-f617c9b24abb.jpg
Hiss Golden Messenger Quietly Blowing It (Merge)  Scott Register - ThinkIndie A&R I saw Hiss Golden Messenger for the first time at a local new music festival, Secret Stages (www.secretstages.net) back in 2012. Immediately I was taken by M.C. Taylor’s sound and songs. The Durham, NC, singer-songwriter has a simplicity to him that hides something much more complex. His songs make you think, make you wonder. M.C. stopped by my radio show the next morning and blew me away once more. Since then, I have followed his career and music closely and have loved watching him grow his artistry and his following. He says this new album is his most personal album to date, and it may be, but it appeals to me as much as any of his previous offerings and a perfect soundtrack to the now.

Hiss Golden Messenger
Quietly Blowing It
(Merge)

Scott Register - ThinkIndie A&R
I saw Hiss Golden Messenger for the first time at a local new music festival, Secret Stages (www.secretstages.net) back in 2012. Immediately I was taken by M.C. Taylor’s sound and songs. The Durham, NC, singer-songwriter has a simplicity to him that hides something much more complex. His songs make you think, make you wonder. M.C. stopped by my radio show the next morning and blew me away once more. Since then, I have followed his career and music closely and have loved watching him grow his artistry and his following. He says this new album is his most personal album to date, and it may be, but it appeals to me as much as any of his previous offerings and a perfect soundtrack to the now.

a3f4dc0a-2f1c-642e-41c9-116517514163.jpg
71283ef8-372c-5b94-dad4-556329bf98bf.jpg
7c056dd7-bc4b-5a18-bcb2-9a6dcb662921.jpg
31794129-aea5-fab9-466e-5f80ea97778e.jpg
76c4f959-f7d4-c60e-ccaf-cfb62dd035a6.jpg
87540c49-bb4d-9c67-e4a4-5146114a60d4.jpg

CIMS WEEKLY CHARTS: WEEK ENDING 6/24/21

Hi Everyone,

A little reminder to you all that our stores love EVENTS (it is nice to see a return of that word after so long)! In-store events are just one of the many ways that our record stores contribute to and engage their community. Park Ave in Orlando, FL did just that with their Waterparks in-store this week. I wanted to share their wrap-up with you all, as it was a very cool event.

53ff7a8f-5b8f-535f-69e5-b2282cad73ae.jpg

Thank you SO MUCH to Awsten, Geoff, Otto, the entire #Waterparks crew and @300ent for returning to the PACDs stage and helping put together such a fun and exciting event for all the fans! Also, shoutout to Charley and the sound/recording crew for all your help AND to @sushiphotog for killing it with these photos! 😍⁣

We also want to say a BIG THANK YOU to all of the fans that were in attendance! We can’t thank you all enough for y patience and support the entire day. 💛⁣

Lastly, we are SUPER HAPPY to announce with all the CDs sold we were able to raise $700 for the @zebra_coalition! And to top it off @waterparks matched our donation, bringing the total to $1,400 that will help provide services and support for the LGBTQ+ youth in our community! 🌈 🦓 ⁣

Thanks again everyone, and please reach out if you have any questions!⁣

❤️ - your PACDs crew⁣
https://www.instagram.com/p/CQw30FCHBsN/


Hope you all have a safe and Happy 4th,
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

108aeb15-f415-4268-7613-f0603ef76282.jpg
65a3d126-858a-5d0b-7758-f8aba327ea2d.jpg
9626a5bf-e3dc-7fcf-8036-b234c78c6884.jpg
99694a49-f2d6-dfec-a737-3b053e85781a.jpg
8be4b8b2-401c-c947-cc9c-ee3e7926e1f3.jpg
f3331e5e-7131-9ed5-3ec9-ce94e497b61c.jpg

CIMS WEEKLY CHARTS + RSD DROP #1

Hi Everyone,

As you all know, we celebrated the first of two Record Store Day drops this past weekend. I always enjoy reading the recaps of how our stores celebrate and their accounts of the weekend, so today I thought I would compile some of those for you here. Of course, as always, charts below.

Enjoy!
Andrea

4236a43f-bb6b-3441-78cf-ff968d37ffbd.jpg.png

Karl Groeger-Looney Tunes (West Babylon, NY)
Has everyone had a chance to catch their breath? We finally have! What an amazing 2 weeks.
Lets jump right into it………

1) Did you know its Looney Tunes 50th Anniversary this year!!! We hope to host a major celebration this summer/fall. Call us to discuss how you can be a part of it. THINK BIG!!

2) We are back to doing instore performances and autograph signings. We had our first 2021 event last Friday with 300ent artist….WATERPARKS! What an incredible event. I can not thank Ryan MacTaggart and the 300ent family enough for such a fantastic event. With the help of Ryan we did a few things with the band….first we did an incredible online campaign to sell their indie exclusive LP which lead to sales of 300 lps. Then we hosted the band for a live performance and autograph signing. Which drew over 750 fans that lead to sales of 750 CDS!!!! WE HAVE SOLD OVER 1000 UNITS OF THIS RELEASE!! Did you hear that?….. One little old record store just sold 1000 units of something. WOW! Call me to discuss how we can rock your bands with our instore performances and autograph signings! We have a full PA and we can even record your event!

3) RECORD STORE DAY JUNE DROPS #1…
We arrived at the store at 7am to see almost 500 people online. WOW it may have been the largest line for a RSD we have seen. If you know our store….The line went all the way down our building, around our parking lot, and down to Pet Co on montauk highway! WOW. The first fan lined up at 11:30pm Friday night. We started the day as we do with all RSD days…FREE Breakfast for all! Our sales were fantastic. We did 65% of the total of all 3 RSD drops from last year. With most years we usually get allocated on about 20% of the titles. This year we got allocated on about 75% of the titles. That was a real bummer and hurt sales. Example we ordered 70 grateful dead box sets and only got 17. With a list price of $140 thats about $7500 we lost. And the list goes on. We could have sold another 100 Lady Gaga easy! We wish we had more of a LOT of the titles. Forcing us to only purchase titles from the onestops raised our prices to the consumers also, so that is a concern. BUT the flip side of that is all the one stops (Alliance, All Media Supply and Ingram) did a FANTASTIC job shipping the product on time and in perfect shape. We really have to thank the team over at Alliance Entertainment. Ken Glaser, Rob and Wes always go above and beyond to help is with everything. Over all it was a FANTASTIC DAY! Traffic was strong the entire day. Special thank you to Andrea Pascal, Carrie Colliton, Eric Levin and Michael Kurtz for their incredible job with RSD this year. We could not do it without them. And thank you to all the labels that worked with us on co-op RSD programs. It really helped us get your titles noticed and sold through. Is it JULY YET?

Top 10 Best Sellers for RSD
1) Lady Gaga - allocated and sold out
2) Tom Petty - allocated and sold out
3) Price - allocated and sold out
4) Rage Against the Machine - sold out
5) Elton John
6) Doors - sold out
7) Thrice
8) Steely Dan - both titles sold out
9) 21 Pilots
10) Iggy Pop

c25ff84f-0863-ed49-7e23-1ac26ee28bd3.jpg

Paul Epstein- Twist and Shout (Denver, CO)
Record Store Day - June 12, 2021 at Twist and Shout!
I’m still confused about how to bench this day. If I compare it to 2020, we did about the same amount as all three drops put together. If I compare it to 2019, 2018 or 2017 we did significantly less than any of those (our three biggest days in store history). However, and this is the way I’m leaning, if I compare it to half of any of those years, then this will be the start of our best two-day run in store history. Any way you cut it, it was a wonderful, heartening day for customers and staff. We opened at 8 AM to about 200 people and it was both a rush and a gut-check to have over 100 people all walk into the store at once. Quickly, things turned happy, and people started buying with abandon. The crowds lasted throughout the day, and the vibes remained sweet and strong. With Bob Weir playing 4 Colorado shows at the same time, there was a strong Dead undercurrent and the Olympia Theatre box set flew off the shelves in minutes. So many strong titles-Prince, Biggie, Petty, Flaming Lips, Ariana Grande-it was a good drop and people were so ready to experience this great ritual again. I’m grateful for so many things this year. We made it through the pandemic nightmare with no employees getting sick, we have rebuilt the business to be even stronger than it was when we were forced to close, we have created a meaningful pre-order and online sales pattern and most importantly, much of the fun has come back to the community. People are happy again, and the store hums with that familiar buzz that comes only from standing shoulder to shoulder with other like-minded record nuts. Thanks to all our partners in the larger music biz - the folks at RSD, and most of all the community for sticking with us for these last 331/3 years. Did I mention that RSD was our 331/3 anniversary? Beat that!


Terry Currier- Music Millennium (Portland, OR)
Hello All-
RSD Drop #1 was a grand success yesterday. We opened at 8am to a crowd of about 250 and had a crowd of 100 at 6am when I arrived. We did a hybrid
of pre-COVID Era procedures along with COVID era procedures. We eliminated doing time slots and just regulated people into the store to create social
distancing.We had a local dairy, Alpenrose, give out complimentary chocolate milk along with giving away 50 certificates from Oatley for an oat milk drink
at a local coffee shop called Kopi. We gave out gift bags to the first 100 people, Dogfish RSD posters to the first 50, as well as a copy of the RSD poster that
our store artist Hayley Cassatt had made to the first 300. Our first 2 customers showed up before 4pm on Friday. These two are regularly the first in line and
look forward to seeing each other and hanging out with each other overnight. Though it is raining today and it rained on Friday, the weather was perfect for
RSD and waiting in line.

The store was closed to regular shopping till after Noon, when the line for RSD finally dissipated. We then went back to regular shopping and increased our
store limit from 15 people to 20. Till then, there was usually 30 to 40 people in the store, walking the rows and seeing all the RSD titles displayed before they
ended up at a cash register to check out.

At 2pm we had a signing with Portugal. The Man around their Friday street release “The Oregon City Sessions” . All 6 members of the band attended and we
did the signing in front of the store. We gave everyone that came a free 4 ounce serving of Staccato Gelato gelato, of a special flavor created by the band with
the gelato store……fresh strawberries from Oregon City, coconut, hint of mint and rosewater. It was a hit with the customers, the band and our staff. And the
band was really stoked with the store being named “10 Greatest Record Stores In America” by Spin yesterday as the photo they used was our marquee that had
the Portugal. The Man signing info on it.

The titles for RSD Drop#1 were strong and many sold out, some quite early, mostly due to allocations. I wanted that 1 Richard Hell we got out of 11 ordered
but it went to a worthy customer that had wanted since midnight.And yes, there were titles I had wished I ordered more of ,like the 2 Steely Dan titles. It was a
great mix of customers because of the diversity in the the title mix. Thanks to all the labels that came through with some really great titles. Our customers and
us can’t thank you enough. And thanks for making this all happen in a time of upheaval during the COVID era. And to those who came through with great swag
like record bags, t-shirts and other find items, thanks very much. Our day was about 60% of what our RSD day was in 2019, pre-covid. Our staff was prepared
and did a great job setting up and helping customers and getting people though the cash registers in quick fashion. And our customers were so thankful for all
the treasures they were able to secure in the store. Nothing like see and hearing a customer’s glee when he picked the last Styx album up off the rack in late afternoon.

Now to the top sellers for the day:

Full length vinyl:

1- Prince - Truth 44
2- Lady Gaga - Chromatica 40 (sold out)
3- Rage Against The Machine - Battle Of Mexico City 40
4-Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers - Angel Dream 40
5- Elton John - Regimental Sgt. Zippo 27 (allocated, sold out)
6- Thelonious Monk - Palo Alto: The Custodian’s Version 25 (sold out)
7- Ariana Grande - K Bye For Now 25 (sold out)
8- Haim - Gasoline 25 (sold out)
9- Grateful Dead - Olympia Theatre, Paris 25 allocated, sold out)
10 - Joni Mitchell - Joni Mitchell Archive 23
11 - Freddie Gibbs - Piñata: 1984 Version 23 (allocated, sold out)
12 - Kela Kuti - Open & Close 20 (sold out)
13 - Ella Fitzgerald - Original Grooves 20 (sold out)
14 - Sublime - Sublime Meets Scientist 19
15 - Steely Dan - Two Against Nature 19 (allocated, sold out)
16 - Soul Slabs Vol. 3 18
17 - Al Green - Give Me More Love 18
18 - Wipers - Youth Of America 18
19 - Echo & The Bunnymen - Live In Liverpool 18
20 - Doors - Morrison Hotel Sessions 18
21 - Sword - Age Of Winters 18 (sold out)
22 - Tune-Yards - Whokill 17
23 - Steely Day - Everything Must Go 17 (allocated, sold out)
24 - Mudhoney / Meatpuppets - Warning/One Of These Days 16
25 - Flaming Lips - Soft Bulletin Companion

Singles (3”, 7”, 12” and EPs)

1- Czarface - Meddle With Metal 10 (sold out)
2 - Twenty One Pilots - Location Sessions 9
3 - Jim Croce - Don’t Mess Around With Jim 9
4 - AC/DC - Through The Mists Of Time 9
5 - Supergrass - Going Out 9 (sold out)
6 - Motorhead - St Valentines Day Massacre 9
7 - Band Camino - 4 Songs By Your Buds 7
8 - Nubya Garcia - Source / Our Dance 5
9 - Joe Strummer - Junco Partner 5
10 - Super Furry Animals - Ice Hockey Hair 5

Turntables
Beatles - 8 (sold out, 8 piece limit)

Thanks again for all the support. Looking forward to RSD Drop #2
Best regards,
Terry

28d9559d-30b5-301a-ddc3-a57005cac353.jpg

Justin Johnson- Darkside Records (Poughkeepsie, NY)

I never doubted that this was going to be a great RSD Drop, but I also wouldn't have predicted this outcome. Saturday was actually a year to the day since we re-opened our doors to the public since the pandemic began and while we didn't roll out all of our usual RSD fanfare, the results of the day still prove that the day really is about the music, the artists and the stores being celebrated and discovered by our communities.

We have a fairly regular crew who tend to make up the beginning of the line each year. They're people who have met in line for years now, and continue to meet each week on our Monday night #UsedTues live video on Facebook. To step back for a second, it's pretty humbling to think that the only reason most of the people know each other, keep in touch and have become real friends, is because of our store and all the amazing effort you labels, distributors, reps, admins and everyone else put into making these days happen. They probably have never considered who you are or what you do, and maybe the same from you to them, but just know that from behind your spreadsheets and emails you're actually bringing real humans together and giving them even some small joy. That's pretty awesome of you. Store that away somewhere for when you may need it next.

Our first person in line was 3:57pm on Friday, a new best time for us! He's was one of our regulars who drove down from Albany (hour and a half away) and camped out overnight. By the time I left the store around 10:30 Friday night, the line had already swelled to 15 dedicated souls. When I arrived back at the store around 8am, the line was wrapped around all sides of the building and wrapped back around towards the beginning of the line. RSD ouroboros. From the time we opened our doors at 9am to the last person who was waiting in the initial line outside, we had reached almost 2pm.

One of the most noticeable parts of the day was just how many new faces we saw. Of course so many of our regulars came out too, but if I had to guess, I'd say 50% of the people in line were new to us. We've always done RSD menu style, with the releases tucked away with us and everyone comes up to the counter to place their "order". I've never had to tell as many people that's how it works as I did this year, and they all seemed delighted that it was so organized and smooth. We had more inventory than ever and so many people who came later were delighted that their must have release was still there waiting for them. If you're curious, you can check out our Menu here.
The flow of people in and out stayed steady all day long and it felt like the usual lulls in the afternoon were less noticeable. There were always 10-20 people milling about, digging through the bins and bringing their stacks up to the register.

We always like to raise some money for a local cause each RSD, and this time around we chose the Dutchess County SPCA. Dontations for free ice cream from our friends at Ben & Jerry's of Albany + raffle tickets for the Warner Records prize pack we received to give away garnered $600 the puppies and kittens! We also partnered with our favorite local coffee shop The Poughkeepsie Grind to to keep everyone caffeinated.

The earliest titles with the highest demand included Ariana Grande, Haim/Taylor Swift, Linkin Park, Lady Gaga, Shrek Score, Alkaline Trio, Warren Zevon, and The Wipers. There were many other titles that we had lower quantities on that also sold out quickly.

A few titles we were surprised to see slow movement on, such as The Cure pic disc, The Who, Rolling Stones 10", Iggy Pop, and Elton John, among a few others. I can say with confidence though, that despite having brought in more stock than ever before and having a slightly lower initial sell through rate than I am used to, I feel a great amount of confidence with our stock of remaining exclusives to keep performing in our bins.

The demand for vinyl as we all know has exploded as people found a new hobby during their time in isolation. It's evident not only on these big days, but on the days of the week that now look like what weekend days used to be. And the weekend days? It's all hands on deck since we've reopened and Sundays have tended to be our second busiest day of the week. We're here for it and ready to keep pushing on. The challenges we all face with just getting product aren't going away anytime soon, so we're buying most major catalog and some new releases with an eye on the end of the year and beyond. I know that new releases are sexy, but catalog vinyl is the tortoise in this race that's going to keep us moving towards the finish line. Thank you all for the bigger runs on RSD titles this year, and let's keep pushing them up because we're ready to keep going bigger and making more happy customers. Bring on July 17th!

Many thanks to all the labels, distributors and reps who worked to give us great product to produce these awesome results. These days aren't possible with all of your efforts and we're truly thankful for all of you. If you have any more specific questions, please feel to reach out directly.



Jim Bland- Plan 9 (Richmond, VA)
Plan 9 RSD 1st Drop 2021
 
After things opened up, we bailed on the lottery early on, let folks know they could line up when/as they wished.
Had about 75 in line at 8:30. Limited 20 in store at a time to shop RSD titles only.  The flow went very well, customers 
appreciative of the way we handled things,and were totally cooperative as usual. Late-comers kept falling in line but we were able 
to open the store to full-on shopping by noon.  Busy all day.
 
Surprised by some titles that didn't sell thru (or we over ordered)- Conor,Devo, Jeezy, Wipers.
Under ordered  Adriana Grande, Lady Ga Ga, lost many potential sales on G Dead, Police, Prince, Linkin Park, and more.
As we all have been grumbling, in most cases the quantities available have long lost any real correlation to demand.  
 
Overall sell-thru was an unprecedented 85%- so we should've ordered more?!
Sales were 67% 2020's total, 78% of 2019. 


Mike Fratt- Homers (Omaha, NE)
Homers RSD 2021 Drops #1

We had the usual crowd with most arriving in the 8am hour

Weekend was very strong and Drops #1 was about 61% of 
combined total for all 3 Drops in 2020. Day was bigger than any of 2020 Drops days

Heavy allocations probably carved off two to five thousand 
in business for Sat/Sun. A title should not be allowed in RSD 
if pressing is under 1500, if not 2500.

Sell-through sits at 60% right now. 
over ordered, Stillwater, Neon Christ, Gruntruck, IDKHTFM
Flaming Lips, Devo, Cure(fans are tired of pic discs)

under allocated (we ordered more but got less)-
all hip hop titles, linkin park, police, g dead, 
lady gaga, haim, 
 
under ordered
ariana grande, prince, dirty heads, jim croce


Matt Vaughan- Easy Street ( Seattle, WA)
SEE: EASY STREET VIDEO WRAP UP HERE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrHpILgPwgM

We finished up the chunk of our year-long remodel the night before RSD. It was great to finally clean the shop up and see what we accomplished. For many of our customers they hadn’t been in since pre-Covid, so I think they were pleased to see we made some improvements. We are now 2 levels vinyl. We have a full selection of rock tees, an Easy Street merch area, and a hi-fi wall of turntables. We painted floor to ceiling, inside and out. We fixed our windows near ceiling so they can open, better airflow, tore down some walls to expose the brick and mortar.  CDs are more presentable…we even added 2 bins last month. Huh, wha?
…..and oh yeah, we opened our cocktail vinyl bar in the vinyl mezzanine. This might be what we are most excited about. It was a tricky and painstaking process….having a bar with booze in a retail environment, where kids are running around, but we must’ve paid off the right person. Health dept and liquor board signed off on us just days before RSD. Kinda blew folks minds to be able to have a Bloody Mary (“Proud Mary”) while shopping for records. Blew mine.
We are still at Phase 3 here in Seattle. That is scheduled to be lifted on June 30. We removed all plexi from our counters the night before RSD.  
As for RSD sales, we did about ½ of what we would normally do pre-Covid, but it’s better than the ¼ we were doing last year’s RSD’s.

We had some serious stock and shipping issues. It finally happened to us. About 60 of our WEA/Universal titles were lost. Tom Petty, Black Sabbath, Doors….we never got any of those, nor will we. We did get a shipment in around noon. It had about half of the rest. Made for a stressful 24 hours for sure, but thankfully Erik Freeman at AEC was following up and getting us updates. It was a challenge. Had it not been a Covid year, I’m not sure our customers would’ve bought our excuses. For those with high anxiety, we directed them to a handful of local stores. Thankfully, we are the first ones open, so it did give the night owls the opportunity to hustle to another store in time.
Titles like Replacements, Donny Hathaway, Stillwater, Police, Monk…we had only got a fraction of what was initially confirmed, so numbers here definitely less than expected.
Thankfully, we got our Gruntruck, 100 are still out on a truck somewhere. We hosted a signing with the band. For many here, Gruntruck wasn’t on your radar, but to Seattle fans, this one meant a lot to us. As the acclaimed author Charles Cross said on the hype sticker “this is the band Seattle wouldn’t let you have” or as legendary producer Jack Endino said, “Gruntruck Push should’ve been 10x platinum”. If anyone that likes that late 80’s/early 90’s Seattle sound (u know what I’m talkin bout), this might’ve been the purest example of it, although heavier than most. They are legends here in Seattle, especially West Seattle. I wrote an article about the band leading up to the release. If you are at all curious about the early inception of Easy Street and all that, it’s in there too, coincides.https://www.revolutioncomeandgone.com
Looking forward to July 17 ! We’ll also be celebrating our 33 1/3 Anniversary at some point this year.

7”     
  1   MUDHONEY / MEAT                                                    40
  2  HAIM                                                                               30
  3  WICKED AS IT SEEMS ( RICHARDS,KEITH)                 10
  4  RUBY SESSIONS (RSD)  GUN CLUB                              10
  5  SAINT OF LOST CAUSES   EARLE,STEVE                      5
  LP
 1            PUSH                 GRUNTRUCK                             175    
  2            TRUTH                PRINCE                                      50     
  3  BATTLE OF MEXICO        RAGE AGAINST TH              45    
  4  LIVE AT KILMAINHAM   FONTAINES D.C.                    40
  5   HERE COMES THAT WEIR LANEGAN,MARK             40
  6  PEARL                JOPLIN,JANIS                                       20
  7   YOUTH OF AMERICA     WIPERS                                 20
  8  OPEN & CLOSE         KUTI,FELA                                    20
  9   LIVE VOL. 2: ATLANTA POLICE                                    20
10  METEORA              LINKIN PARK                                  20
11    FIRE (40TH ANNIVERSA U2                                       15
12   BEAUTY PROCESS - TRI L7                                          15
13   FUNKY KINGSTON       TOOTS & MAYTALS               15
14   LIVE AT MASSEY HALL  TEARS FOR FEARS               15
15   REGIMENTAL SGT. ZIPP JOHN,ELTON                      15
16  OLYMPIA THEATRE, PARIS GRATEFUL DEAD            15
17   SOFT BULLETIN COMPAN FLAMING LIPS                15
18   JUNCO PARTNER (ACOUS STRUMMER,JOE            12
19  DON'T WORRY ABOUT ME RAMONE,JOEY              12
20 ST VALENTINES DAY   MOTORHEAD                           12
21  MOTHER MARY /   UFO                                               12
22  K BYE FOR NOW   GRANDE,ARIANA                          12
23   AT KNEBWORTH 19 PLANT,ROBERT                         12
24   PLEASURE'S ALL YOURS REPLACEMENTS                12
25   TWO AGAINST NATURE   STEELY DAN                     12
26  ACID INCENSE AND BAL JEFFERSON AIRPL              10
27  SOUL SLABS VOL. 3                                                      10
28  PINATA: 1984 VERSION GIBBS,FREDDIE &               10
29   GOONIES (SCORE) / O. GRUSIN,DAVE                     10
30  FOOL (ANDREW WEATHER WARPAINT                    10
31   CHEREE               SUICIDE                                            10
32   HYPERSPACE (2020)    BECK                                       10
33   STILLWATER DEMOS     STILLWATER                         10
34   SUBLIME MEETS SCIENT SUBLIME                           10
35  EVERYTHING MUST GO   STEELY DAN                      10
36   HAVING A PARTY: SUN  HAVING A PARTY:              10
37   NO GODS NO MASTERS   GARBAGE                         8
38   LOVE & POISON        LONDON SUEDE                      8
39   FACE DANCES          WHO                                           8
40   WHO KILL             TUNE-YARDS                                  8

b981544d-dfc5-c46f-9a49-649a8ed79748.jpg

Chad Dryden- The Record Exchange (Boise, ID)
Hello all,

The first 2021 RSD Drops release date at The Record Exchange was a smashing success.

By 11am, three hours after we opened, we had already eclipsed our average gross sales for the three 2020 Drops. We ended the day with an 82% increase over the average 2020 gross and at 61% of our total gross for the three 2020 events.

We opted once again to organize limited-capacity shopping blocks for the morning, which ran 8-10am. Customers were required to enter a lotto before the event to determine their time slot, and we had 220 people sign up, shattering our previous high of 160. Masks were required all day, as we had promoted the time blocks with the requirement in place and did not want to abruptly change that, even though we would have otherwise lifted the requirement prior to Saturday. On Sunday, we shifted our policy to no masks for vaccinated customers and masks recommended for non-vaccinated customers.

Following the time blocks, we settled into a steady day of business that peaked mid-afternoon and progressed from point A to point B without a lull in traffic. The energy in the store was great, and most customers left satisfied with what they were able to purchase. Allocations, of course, did result in some disappointment, and several titles, most notably Linkin Park, The Police, Alkaline Trio, Beck, Warren Zevon and Pepper, disappeared immediately. Our sell-through rate for the day was 63%.

Other early sellouts, strong sellers and surprises: Tom Petty, Rage Against the Machine, Haim, Prince, Ariana Grande, Lady Gaga, Twenty One Pilots, Elton John, Grateful Dead, Steely Dan, Tears for Fears, The Sword, The Cure, Janis Joplin, Toots and the Maytals, Sublime, Dirty Heads, Al Green, The Notorious B.I.G., Czarface/MF Doom, Joey Ramone, Kenny Dorham and Oneohtrix Point Never (all titles).

Surprisingly slow sellers: The Flaming Lips, Freddie Gibbs/Madlib, Shrek, The Goonies, Kenny Loggins, Def Leppard, Electric Wizard, The Hu, Opeth, Stillwater, Conor Oberst and Chief Keef.

a4ee6f10-3527-a23c-3999-959b27e2aa47.jpg

Alayna Alderman- Record Archive (Rochester, NY)
Greetings! Busy Busy Busy! The day started with 200+ in line before we opened the doors at 9 a.m. Per usual we offered free coffee and donuts to all our loyal RSD Customers! We also held raffles while folks were waiting and gave away a new Record Archive out door chair!
  
We handed out numbers until 12 noon time slot. (150 people shopped in 10 minute blocks, 15 people at a time) this set up keeps everyone happy, smooth, stress free and so damn organized that many got everything on their lists! Having a 13,000 sq foot store affords us the luxury of keeping the RSD product In the Backroom Lounge therefore allowing patrons to buy everything else in the store simultaneously!
We opted for no food trucks or live music for the first Drop.
We will be featuring only 1 band after 3 pm on the second drop with a food truck around lunchtime.
The Bar was open the whole time and we were happy to release our collaboration with local Heroes Brewing for a tasty pina colada sour!
A portion of the proceeds went to a local ‘school of rock ‘called Camp ROC Star!
Our Spin the Wheel was super popular once again! Who doesn’t love free stuff!
Best sellers:

  1. Lady Gaga

  2. Rage Against the Machine

  3. Linkin Park

  4. Ariana Grande

  5. Steely Dan (two against)

  6. Tom Petty

  7. Elton John

  8. Steely Dan (everything)

  9. Prince

  10. Notorious B.I.G.

Things we wish we had more of: Grateful Dead, Jazz Dispensary
Linkin Park, Ariana Grande & DAMN Shrek soundtrack!!
Things we have plenty of and are surprised…
Tom Petty, Prince, Dirty Heads, Flaming Lips, & Rolling Stones.

Overall very pleased with the day- we are almost 70% of the total of 2020 3 drops so I think we are off to a great start!!
As always we are forever grateful to all who made this event possible. I am so proud of my crew as it functioned as a well oiled machine and a crazy fun party at the same time!
Cheers,
Xo
Alayna
 
Looking forward to July!

a1396f73-9466-6243-5e3e-d7ea32c2e349.jpg
fa3145f1-2c11-fd7f-551d-f646b61a8aad.jpg
dcecd17a-4279-e5cc-2e84-6efc02ca36e9.jpg
3ce99cf6-93e2-c5a6-0284-1a6a12722eea.jpg
893e23f7-ef67-30f3-7dc1-78a52b1f76e3.jpg
b9e0797d-3932-f26f-2ff9-e8244806e9e4.jpg
1bdc309e-abaf-0f8d-fa14-0792f1234afe.jpg

CIMS WEEKLY CHARTS: WEEK ENDING 6/3/21

Hi Everyone,
 
We are all in the last-minute throes of trying to make our first RSD drop of the year happen, so I am going to keep this one short and sweet. Making Record Store Day happen each year is not an easy task for any of us, so thank you to everyone that puts in so much work each year to make it all come together.

Also, this year we will be again be partnering with Music Biz for our second RSD Summer Camp “Couch Camp”. There will be more information on how to be a part of that in the coming days so be on the lookout for that, but for now, I just wanted to get the dates on your calendar.

bececd2e-4c72-133f-13a3-1cdc5acca6e4.png

Wishing everyone a successful Record Store Day (Drop #1)!
Andrea

Here are the charts.

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

dd7a4d9d-d0ee-43ed-e3c2-6cc3be60e6c7.jpg
40cca468-0834-9082-277e-914c91081ecb.jpg
65015572-c901-4ea2-ef21-78401a64fada.jpg
407790f9-a548-7148-e9a2-124c2185cd10.jpg
0f9d4fda-715d-0c6f-d869-0326e29587af.jpg
4a2f22c6-0882-321d-25a0-63c52bbd70b0.jpg

CIMS WEEKLY CHARTS: WEEK ENDING 5/13/21

Hi everyone,

One of my favorite hobbies as a kid was playing “musical family tree”. Most of us know how this goes, you would discover a band you absolutely love and then you would scour liner notes and any article or interview you could get your hands on to piece together: “Who were the band members? What other bands did they play in? Who were they friends with? Did they have bands that I would like as much as this one?”

Thanks to the internet this detective game has become much easier, but in my early days, this was how I (and so many of us) learned so much about music and discovered much of what would form my musical foundation.  Also- shout out to the Magic Platter listening stations where I spent hours of my youth in headphones digging through the used section and listening to stacks of albums week after week- that also helped.

Needless to say, I LOVE a good origin story and this week I have a really good one for you.

This RSD, Gruntruck’s Push (originally released in 1992), will be available for the first time domestically on vinyl. This release is one that hits close to the heart for our very own Matt Vaughan of Easy Street records, so this week I would like to share an article he wrote. This reads like a who’s who of the 90’s Seattle music scene and even gives a glimpse into the inceptions of Easy Street Records.

Here is a little excerpt on that:

“You might ask, how did a 19-year-old have the gumption to start a business, with rent, buying inventory, etc? I had worked at record stores through my teenage years. One was owned by a stepdad on the Eastside, the other by a guy on the Westside. Both owners had to get out at the same time, for different reasons. I’ll leave it at that. I took the lease, fixtures, and inventory of the West Seattle store and the remaining inventory and name of the Eastside store. I had to keep the name of one of the stores otherwise I was going to have to file a business license and all that. There was no time for delay. 

The Westside store I had worked at was called Penny Lane, a very unoriginal name for a record store. After a couple years, I moved it down the street (where it still stands today), created a logo, and hired a couple people. I guess I had a knack for running a record shop, knowing what records to buy, what labels to partner with, what bands to support. I assume that gave me some cred with some of the local bands and the overall scene, but what did I know about rock band management…”

2293c2f8-0707-9e0f-a2ac-ff7d53dd056b.jpg

Here is a link to the full article, definitely a fun one.

https://www.revolutioncomeandgone.com/articles/19/gruntruck-most-underrated-Seattle-grunge-band.php


Thanks for sharing this one Matt!

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

f20e8d3e-4d56-d420-97b8-ce1a70ba524f.jpg
1f73a9c0-692d-e831-5393-ad5375492891.jpg
30bea986-bd12-061f-e5da-6092a33b39a1.jpg
687a7096-4e1b-d64c-33a4-b9a897f06238.jpg
08d8b29b-faa4-15b3-0bc5-e992edde93e3.jpg
d05bc9b7-83d3-35cb-2761-eae7d336d569.jpg

CIMS WEEKLY CHARTS: WEEK ENDING 5/6/21

My two favorite parts of the music world are: 1) that you truly never know who you will cross paths with, and 2) that it is always really fun to be there at the beginning of something.

Back in my early days at CIMS, one of my close friends and (at the time) bandmate came home from tour with another band and told me that his new friend and fellow musician would be coming to town for a bit and he really wanted me to meet her… that “we would really get along”. She was working on her own songs and while they had breaks on tour, they were going to make a record.

During that period, we would all end up spending a good bit of time together sharing music (our own and others), and there were lots of really fun and really late nights in the studio recording and listening back to tracks. Over the course of that year, sometimes weeks, months, or just days at a time, I watched and listened as those songs that started as laptop demos came to life. I knew from the first time she hit spacebar to play me “a couple of things she had been working on” that she was going to make it and do cool things. I even remember when she decided what her songwriting moniker would be.

So… who was it and where is she now? I knew her as Annie, but most of you probably know her better as that chosen moniker, St. Vincent, and those songs became known to the rest of the world as her debut albumMarry Me.

If nothing else, it does feel good to be right. She certainly did make it and she has done some very cool things since. Tomorrow she is back with her new albumDaddy’s Home.

I got a chance to spend some time with the new album, and upon my first listen I got the feeling of waking up still hazy (certainly with a bit of a headache) from an Oz-like dream of New York. A very specific New York that I particularly love, with all of that ’70s perfectly imperfect grit and grain and definitely a sequin or two. When, if you had “the look”, you could make it past the ropes at 54, and the chances of hanging with Lou or Andy and the gang were high. David, Mick or Elton might even pop by when they were in town. You would get into some trouble, but it would be a lot of fun.

It has been a while since our paths have crossed, but I have to say, Congrats Annie. This is a really good one.

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

2b9bf94c-ea8a-4cbb-8079-f617c9b24abb.jpg
St. Vincent Daddy's Home (Loma Vista)

St. Vincent
Daddy's Home
(Loma Vista)

8d8327f9-80ab-9d24-5785-34bf7a7342d0.jpg
2e477785-7b13-0ae3-23af-b8220f6824b9.jpg
96e05c1d-4d82-da13-0202-2107f52e8886.jpg
121dcc9c-8162-6ad7-bc00-221d1f6f187f.jpg
158811ce-9ca5-1dfb-3039-896dbedac7b4.jpg
ec8e8437-4ea8-2281-8335-8c69c160f9d3.jpg