Yesterday was a “snow day,” meaning things were open, but my Kia Soul was not equipped to get me there while the snow fell on the ice. So I took a break from grading some excellent papers by my students to go over my next stack of records from Gabriels’s Used Bookstore in Lakeside.
Once more through the trove of treasure from Gabriel’s Books in Lakeside. In addition to finding awesome old records and books, you should know, if you have kids: “All children, from birth to high school graduation, may pick out a book for free, each time they visit our store.” They are well-worth a visit.
I haunt the resale shops looking for “records that look like books.” I’m referring to the folios of LPs that were common (a) when prepackaged by the label, as a way to sell extended plays and collections when records didn’t hold too many songs and (b) when sold blank, as a way for an individual collector to store and carry multiple, individually-purchased discs.
When I find a collection stored in the sleeves of such a folio, I snatch it, wondering who collected these masterpieces.
The $5 bag sale happens a few times a year at Gabriel’s Books. I swung by on Saturday and filled a grocery sack with a book on new testament theology by Rudolf Bultmann (what kind of nerd has a favorite theologian, in this case an “existential theologian” committed to “demythologizing” the Bible?), and a book by Frederic Wertham (now that is comic nerd excellence right there) and a stack of 45rpm records.
Business North reports Tim “Edwards” Verthein, morning host and chief engineer at 1320 AM KOZY radio in Grand Rapids, has opened a new record shop in Bovey, about 80 miles northwest of Duluth. The occasional store opened on April 22 in recognition of Record Store Day.
The Business North story notes Edwards launched his own radio station three years ago and is using the same 8-by-10-foot storefront to retail his collection of 40,000 records. He calls it “The World’s Smallest Record Store” or KEBS Records and Radio.
Vinyl Cave owners Tom Johnson, left, and Tom Unterberger will close the Superior record store Dec. 31. They hope to sell the store inventory to a single buyer.
The largest used record store in the region will go out of business this month after owners struggled to meet the demands of younger music lovers buying and selling collectible vinyl on the Internet.
The Vinyl Cave, 1717 Belknap Street in Superior, will close its doors Dec. 31. Owners Tom Unterberger and Tom Johnson hope to find a single buyer for an inventory that includes more than 10,000 albums, 300,000 singles, rock memorabilia and vintage stereo equipment.
Manager Tina Melvin describes how Deaf Ear Records became a landmark in La Crosse’s downtown, and how collecting records can fill a void in a person’s life.
Fun Fact: Deaf Ear’s best-selling used record is the same as Revival Records in Eau Claire’s best-selling used record — Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours.
Part One: Vinyl Cave in Superior
Part Two: Revival Records in Eau Claire
Deaf Ear Records
112 Fourth St. S.
La Crosse WI 54601
608-782-7829
Owner Billy Siegel opens up about how Revival Records started with liquidating his personal record collection. He mentions how selling the collection allowed the store to become an integral part of Eau Claire’s music scene.
Fun Fact: Revival Records’ best selling used record is Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours.
Part One: Vinyl Cave in Superior
Part Three: Deaf Ear Records in La Crosse
Revival Records
128 S. Barstow St.
Eau Claire WI 54701
715-514-4202
Owners Tom Unterberger and Tom Johnson explain how their love for music lead them to open Vinyl Cave. Located in Superior, 1.7 miles off Highway 53, the store is a required stop for record collectors in search of classic-rock favorites.
Fun Fact: Vinyl Cave’s best selling used record is Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon.
Part Two: Revival Records in Eau Claire
Part Three: Deaf Ear Records in La Crosse
Vinyl Cave
1717 Belknap St.
Superior WI 54880
715-392-1477
Former owner of Young At Heart records.
This Saturday marks the third annual National Record Store Day. New and old releases from bands such as AC/DC, the Akron Family, Blitzen Trapper, Built to Spill, Eric Clapton, the Decemberists, Fleetwood Mac, Mumford and Sons, Roy Orbison and many many others will be available (mostly on vinyl).
The Electric Fetus will host the all day event here in Duluth, and will have refreshments from Pizza Luce as well as other beverages and snacks while supplies last. A live music set from Dirty Horse will begin around 1 p.m. See you at the record store!
Nice trip down memory lane with some snapshots of Young at Heart Records from 1996 and recollections to fill them out. The pictures themselves are just snapshots, as I said, but upon close examination they do capture the feel and the spirit of that place nicely. I just wish there were more of them. Click the image to go to the post and see it all in context.
