Record Store Day

On April 18 independently owned record stores all over the US will be celebrating the third annual Record Store Day. Record Store Day is a day when bands and musical artists come together with independently owned record stores to honor the unique culture that surrounds them.

Some of the things we can expect to see this Saturday in celebration of Record Store Day is the special release of vinyl and CD’s; only to be carried by participating record stores, and lots of musical performances from various bands all over the country.

Record Store Day was first thought up by Chris Brown and founded by Eric Levin, Michael Kurtz, Carrie Colliton, Amy Dorfman, Don Van Cleave, and Brian Poehner in 2007.

According to www.recordstoreday.com stores participating must consist of at least 50% music retail, and 70% of the stores ownership must be located in the state of operation. “We’re dealing with real, live, physical, indie [independently owned] stores-not online retailers or corporate behemoths,” said the web site.

Happy Trails is a local and independently owned record store in Corvallis looking forward to getting special releases from The Smiths, Bob Dylan, Jane’s Addiction, King Crimson, Wilco, and many more participating artists. “It’s just nice to offer something that you can’t get anywhere else,” said storeowner Doug DiCarolis. “The releases are strictly limited, they’re only printing a few, and they’re only going to places like this.”

Happy Trails has been in business for over 35 years and has been keeping up with the times while making sure to keep that old record store spirit. The shelves are filled with CD’s and DVD’s, and right up front are a number of bins filled with brand new and used vinyl. “Most of the stuff being released is on vinyl. That I’m excited about; how they emphasize the vinyl party” said DiCarolis in reference to the special releases his store is getting in.

While it may not be the biggest thing to look forward too, Record Store Day is there to honor those who work hard, and struggle to survive in an industry slowly being taken over by corporations and online media. According to Doug DiCarolis owner of Happy Trails Records, “You need to support places like this in times like these or we just won’t be here.” So get out there to your local independently owned record store and show some support so we can have something to look forward too for Record Store Days in many years to come.