Put Your Records On: Celebrating Record Store Day 2023 in the Triad

Record Store Day once again rules the vinyl-lovin’ world, returning for its 16th annual celebration, worldwide, at independent record stores across the globe on April 22.

In the U.S., Jason Isbell and Amanda Shires have been selected as the o cial Record Store Day ambassadors, while here in the Triad, shops have ordered their choices of o cial exclusive releases.

What they ordered and what they’ll receive will remain a mystery until Record Store Day proper; but with vinyl o cially outselling cds for the first time since 1987, there’s reason to celebrate regardless of stocked inventory.

For anyone familiar with the holiday, the popularity isn’t surprising: records rule. But toward the end of the 20th century, vinyl’s demise as a medium seemed all but imminent outside the cherished confines of a record store counter.

And while records are cool — the stores

(and the culture they create) remain integral to the resurgence vinyl is experiencing today. For Chip Studebaker, host of “The Splendid Turntable” radio show on WQFS 90.9FM, “record stores were a central figure in my life when I was in my teens and twenties.” Relishing the vinyl revival, “I’m stoked that so many of them are still viable and getting some love on Record Store Day. There’s nothing like a vinyl record you can hold in your hands; and reading the liner notes and learning about the musicians and songwriters.”

Record Store Day organizers expressed a similar sentiment, launching the first Record Store Day in 2008. And it’s only grown since — a day to “celebrate the unique culture of a record store and the special role they play in their communities,” through exclusive releases, festivities, and celebrations limited to participating independent stores.

Prez Parks, an avowed “crate-digger,” DJ, and host of “In the Beat of the Night,” considers Record Store Day a celebration of culture — the likes of which involve flipping through record crates for hours on end, hunting rarities and favorite artists. “To crate-dig is to journey inward and outward. Seeking gems and artifacts. Then you bond with your fellow collectors new and old for a common cause. Record Store Day is a story of life.”

And in the story of life, growing pains are bound to happen. With vinyl returned to the mainstream, the collector experience finds itself equally honored and exploited — the likes of which come to a head — and occasionally crash — come Record Store Day.

“It was a mad rush,” WQFS DJ Rebecca Kress recalled of the last Record Store Day she attended. “I arrived very early, only to have other people show up and join the couple of people ahead of me. Right as the door opened, we all tried to get in. Hot co ee went everywhere.” Hoping shops might institute more of a staggered entry to ease the opening chaos, “It’d be great if people were let in the door in intervals, in the order they arrived,” she mused, turning toward the more altruistic album-lovers. “We all love vinyl. We’re all there with hopes to get those few special records, and it’s not fun to compete with other collectors — you can feel guilty for taking too many — but it is exciting to find what you wanted.”

Thierry Mabry, Assistant Manager at McKay’s Books in Greensboro, shares the excitement and a positive outlook.

“Record Store Day has always been a time of collective interest and community,” she said. “It isn’t just about finding new records, but it is also building new friendships with others who share a common hobby.”

Setting the cultural undertones, “it’s not uncommon for collectors to discuss their most anticipated titles while waiting for our doors to open and then they help each other find what they’re looking for as they flip through the records,” she explained. “We see a lot of our regular collectors, but we also see a lot of new faces every year!”

While Mabry is hoping to snag Record Store Day releases from Frank Turner and the Dismemberment Plan this year, “part of the fun is you never know what exactly you will find until the moment you walk in,” she said. “It’s like Christmas morning for music lovers. Even if I don’t find the titles I’m most excited for, I always find something.”

Patrick “DJ Kilmatic” Kilmartin, host of the “Sunday Spin” sessions at Common Grounds agreed — while also acknowledging the double-edged sword of Record Store Day popularity. “The original purpose of Record Store Day, to celebrate independent record stores, is both noble and alive and well,” he said. “But the emphasis on manufactured scarcity has overshadowed that original celebratory mission — and led to the flipping economy, where people buy up as much stock as they can so they can flip it online for an insane markup.”

Stores are getting creative, and are open to ideas with their shoppers in mind — Kilmartin referenced the way Lunchbox Records in Charlotte used a ra e system for coveted titles. Around the Triad, stores like King Records, Hippo Records, Bu alo Boogie, and Underdog Records sought customer input in the titles they ordered. Underdog even made a Google form for easier access — with a shared goal in mind: ensuring as best they can that records folks love get sold to the right hands. In that spirit, Kilmartin is hoping to get his hands on the 20th-anniversary re-issue of “Streetcore” by Joe Strummer & the Mescaleros, “Return to the 36 Chambers: Dirty Version” by Ol’ Dirty Bastard, and Soul Jazz Records’ “200% Dynamite!”

Independent record stores follow a sort of ethos — they’re both businesses and cultural centers — and those that carry Record Store Day titles submit a pledge agreeing “to act in the spirit of Record Store Day, and sell the commercial Record Store Day releases to their physical customers, on Record Store Day; not to gouge them, or hold product back to sell them online.”

It’s the sort of purpose that Kilmartin finds worth highlighting: “Record Store Day is a celebration of record stores — but not just of brick and mortar — it’s the community that forms around them.”

“Even with vinyl sales rising every year, it still only makes up a small percentage of overall music sales; perhaps because of that, record stores attract people for whom music is not just a casual interest,” he continued. “We do this because we love it and we love it because it’s fun. Records are fun. They’re fun to look at, fun to hold, and fun to play. Even once this whole vinyl revival is done, I don’t think records will ever really go away because there’s something about the format that is so fundamentally attractive.”

At least a small part of the appeal comes from relationships and community surrounding record stores — though they are made of brick-and-mortar, and are thereby subject to the whims of real estate. Vinyl is a popular enterprise, but records remain a tenuous business. “It’s no longer with us, but I have to mention how fundamental CFBG was in starting my record collection,” Kilmartin said, reflecting on the shifting landscape of shops since Record Store Day began.

And that shift continues: Soul Relief Records in Greensboro (where Kilmartin often spends his Saturdays) announced it will be moving in May. “We’ll keep you posted when we resurface. The rent gods were good to us, but when some asset management group acquires your building, your days are numbered,” owner Harley Lyles posted on the shop’s social media. “Thanks to all the customers, friends and you know who’s for all the support and love,” he said, “holler if you need anything.” A fixture in the DJ and crate-digging communities, Lyles started Soul Relief in 2018 as a means to share his collection and a ection for the medium. He’ll be open through the month and stocking titles for Record Store Day, while he plots the store’s next location.

Meanwhile, a few blocks west on Spring Garden, Patrick Lemons at Hippo Records will celebrate 10 years in business come September. “I can’t believe how fast the time has gone,” Lemons said, with plans in the works commemorating the occasion. “I was in my 20s and working a third-shift job to survive while working at the store six days a week. I had no doubts it could work, but never imagined two locations and having employees.”

“We just had our second anniversary at our Winston-Salem location, and are glad to be able to be a part of that thriving scene,” he continued. “It’s a great city that has supported us and allowed us to expand our inventory five times over.”

As for Record Store Day at Hippo, both locations will open early. “We’ll have a small selection of the titles released exclusively for that day,” Lemons explained, “but our focus is making sure our shelves are full with the titles that will help us win another ‘YES! Weekly Best of the Triad’ reader poll, as we have for the past few years in a row.”

And while Record Store Day comes but once a year (well, twice, if you count the “Black Friday Record Store Day” drops during the holidays) for area shops, every day is technically record store day; and the Triad boasts several from which to choose

— all embracing their own blend of vinyl culture.

There’s the hardlined library feel at Remember When in Greensboro. WinstonSalem o ers gamer’s delight at Retroid Games and Records; while Underdog Records provides another sort of gaming experience, with brackets and fantasy sports leagues — in addition to their stock of stereo equipment and vinyl accented by subscription and curation services to take care of particular audio needs.

For smaller, more intimate shopping outlets, there’s WHOA!TONE in Kernersville or Your Song Sound Exchange in Thomasville. For the anachronistic audiophiles: Vintage Audio Exchange in Jamestown carries records in addition to their frankly gorgeous array of analog and antique audio equipment. And on the Triad’s eastern edge: Main Street Vinyl in Burlington is an o cial Record Store Day participant; while HiFi Records in Graham o ers more of a listening room environment with beer selections and live music o erings.

There’s actually a handful of shops across the state that provide the fine pairing of records, bands, and booze — namely the Pour House in Raleigh, who’ll add manufacturing to that trifecta when they open the Pour House Pressing plant over the summer.

“The way of the music industry is to always be evolving and trying to get creative,” said Lacie Lindstaedt, who owns the Pour House with her husband, Adam. A venerable downtown Raleigh venue since the late-90s, the Lindstaedts took over in 2012; and converted the secondfloor bar into a taproom and record store in 2019.

“The shop literally saved the venue during the pandemic shutdown,” Lindstaedt noted. “We weren’t able to put on shows for almost a full year and without record sales and the amazing support from the community, we wouldn’t be here today.”

For Record Store Day, they’ve ordered 600 titles and are planning to open early, with a show featuring the Bleeding Hearts, the Magpie, and Black Bouquet starting that afternoon. “We’re anxious to see what we’re able to put out,” Lindstaedt said, with Record Store Day releases from Medeski Martin & Wood, Billy Joel, John Craigie, and Nena on a personal wishlist. “I still listen to the Shangri Las release from last year a little too much,” she added. “I just love that doo-wop sound and I always fall for the ‘Leader of the Pack.’”

Leading its own pack towards production, Pour House Pressing will be only the second plant in the state when it opens. And one of only a few dozen nationwide. With mainstream artists releasing records on a mainstream scale — record manufacturing has become a big fish in a small pond scenario. Leaving independents — the likes of those who carried vinyl’s torch through its millennial dark age — finding themselves waitlisted for months (even years).

Materials are backlogged. The machines necessary to press records are back-ordered. There is an overwhelming demand, with few outlets of supply. “We’ve also seen and heard how hard it is to get small runs of vinyl done in the current state of the industry,” Lindstaedt explained. “A lot of plants aren’t even taking orders, as they’re booked for the foreseeable future.”

“We’ve always tried to keep the ‘keep it local, keep it small’ mindset to everything we do, and we have first-hand perspective of how tough it is to get on the schedule to get records pressed,” she continued, referencing their commitment to independent artists — and the plights those artists can face. They sorted through production issues when releasing the first installment in their “Live at the Pour House” record series, which kicked o with a Kate Rhudy show recorded back in 2020; and manufactured at Citizen Vinyl in Asheville.

Lindstaedt is stoked for upcoming “Live at the Pour House” installments to be pressed in-house. “We have some recorded shows that are mixed and ready for mastering,” she said, “and we’ll be scheduling those to roll out later this year!”

For folks looking to roll out this Record Store Day, the o cial website has a list of participating shops; and VinylCarolina. com boasts a fairly comprehensive directory of rad record stores across the state.

Happy hunting, y’all. Happy Record Store Day! !