[kj] More bitching

GREG SLAWSON gregslawson at msn.com
Fri Oct 1 23:05:35 EDT 2010



Yeah, the Haight St store was good, and Rasputin in Berkeley had (one of 3) basement floor w/tons of vintage punk rock vinyl. If you wanted the complete collection of
DRI or the Necros (and some GOOD bands too), they had it.
Scruffy actually broke up in the 90s or something, but the singer formed a new band, very similar, that put out several cds, and yes, played my wedding a few years back.
He knew me b/c I must have seen Scruffy and his other bands 25 or 30 times, at least.



From: LONESTYLE at aol.com
Date: Fri, 1 Oct 2010 22:42:44 -0400
To: gathering at misera.net
Subject: Re: [kj] More bitching



Yes, and he was a walking and talking encyclopedia of music knowledge. Really? Scruffy the Cat? How funny! For when we were little punks we used to make fun of that name for there was a cat in my neighborhood who we called Scruffy for he looked to the curb. HA! And we would see their albums all the time at Rhino records. :)

~ LB


In a message dated 9/30/2010 11:54:02 A.M. Pacific Daylight Time, gregslawson at msn.com writes:
Byron Coley was one of the originators of the Boston rock scene (I think by being involved in Boston Rock magazine)! The early 80s were amazing, with bands like the
Neighborhoods and Del Fuegos and Scruffy the Cat (who played at my wedding) playing every single night.



From: LONESTYLE at aol.com
Date: Thu, 30 Sep 2010 14:32:23 -0400
To: gathering at misera.net
Subject: Re: [kj] More bitching


As kids we used to bug the shit out of the guy (forget his name) at Second Time Around and the infamous music writer and extraordinaire Byron Coley @ Rhino Records about if this band and that band and when is this coming in? Blah, blah, blah! Byron was good enough to call us at times to tell us what came in new and used and then hold it for us. Great times and memories. :)

~ LB


In a message dated 9/30/2010 2:58:08 A.M. Pacific Daylight Time, paulwady at hotmail.com writes:
Worth going in there just to chat to the staff, I tell you.


Which is I think a major point you are hiding. Cool environment. People we can relate to in a certain way. Have you seen pixx of the posters/albums n things on the wall in the main Ladbroke Grove shop? Woah! That place is a shrine, a temple. Folks go in to bathe in its beauty. Mick Jones tried to do that with his rock and roll public library, a gigantic collection of ephemera he has hoarded over decades. Seen it twice. Had my first proper chat with him the second time, after all those Carbon Casinos I went to. Kind of to do the same thing as above, be in a certain space.


I really feel for your posting. When I hit New York last year I went roaming around Greenwich Village, kind of looking for the same there. Found this awful shop in the end, full of teenage kiddies rock n roll merchandise. But in the street outside there was a Delorean! I got pictures!! Should have used it to go back to CBGB. If you visit London have a look at the Intrepid Fox in the centre of town, too.




From: gasw30 at hotmail.com
To: gathering at misera.net
Date: Thu, 30 Sep 2010 08:23:10 +0000
Subject: Re: [kj] More bitching



Back in my home town there is a small local record store that still seems to be going strong. It manages to be mainstream yet also position itself to catch the main musical currents in the town (metal and alternative) but without scaring off the Easy Listeners and pop teens.

So it's got a paradoxical specialist, yet broad, appeal. However, the store also sells musical instruments. It also has a separate shop down the road selling only musical instruments, and another store in our nearest city which also only sells musical instruments.

Maybe this is how it has survived.

Back in the mid/late 80s, when I were a lad, there was an indie specialist. It lasted a few years through the gothic era and while 'alternative' actually meant something. But then it died and the owner went to manage a mainstream national chain (remember Our Price anyone?), which also subsequently disappeared. Yet the small local shop persists, having even seen off Our Price.

Hurray!

Rough Trade in London might be a good case study. It opened in Notting Hill in the late 70s. It owned a record label for a while but got rid of it. It is still going strong. It runs a service The Album Club, "a premium music recommendation service aimed at those people without the time or opportunity to visit a store like ours..."

http://www.roughtrade.com/site/about.lasso







> Date: Thu, 30 Sep 2010 15:46:36 +1300

> From: bq at soundgardener.co.nz

> To: gathering at misera.net

> Subject: Re: [kj] More bitching

>

> It's almost impossible competing with iTunes, Amazon etc, because they

> have scale, distribution costs are far smaller with electronic data, and

> there are no retail middle-men. They're giving most consumers what they

> want...

>

> The rest of us might lament the demise of indie record stores, but

> honestly, how much money would we throw their way per month if they were

> around? Because you'd be a bit daft buying anything other than rarities /

> imports from them when you can get large distribution releases cheaper at

> Wal Mart etc.

>

> > Like both local television stations and newspapers, record stores need to

> > rethink themselves and once again appeal to[today's] people's local and

> > immediate needs and tastes.

> > How about a shop that sells anything out there but specializes in the

> > local

> > music/video/arts scene or some underserved niche, maybe even helping to

> > promote

> > local gigs, clubs, festivals, etc. If they can become locally relevant,

> > knowledgable (become 'authority figures' or 'experts') and trustable to

> > know,

> > provide, and be able to 'hook up' people's gig, tkt, pre-order,

> > band-updates,

> > release dates and similar needs, they'd become an unsubstitutable local

> > focal

> > point and prized local resource. If they can get industry-'insider'

> > access, and

> > even priviledges, they'd have a place in people's lives again.

> >

> > It's sort of what dj music stores provide now, and why some are valued

> > (and some

> > more than others). Radio stations (Pirate radio, Indie 100.3 in Los

> > Angeles, for

> > example) are trying this to some extent.

> >

> >

> > That all said, I am not saying record stores/mgm't. did it all wrong or

> > got

> > lazy; they didn't. I loved them stores and miss them lots. The only thing

> > they

> > got wrong was how fast changes would come and how to stay abreast of it

> > all

> > (that said, i'm sure the Much More Powerful Forces still would've crippled

> > the

> > local music shops, methinks). I think they still have a niche to fill, and

> > I

> > think with the right mind and gameplan, they will come back.

> >

> >

> > How to make it all profitable, fuck if I know, but I hope someone figures

> > it

> > out.

> >

> >

> > Question to Gatherers:

> > how much of your music-knowledge/product needs that you used to satisfy at

> > your

> > local record shop do you now turn here to the Gathering (and Gatherers'

> > associated websites) for?

> >

> >

> >

> > ________________________________

> > From: Alexander Smith <vassifer at earthlink.net>

> > To: A list about all things Killing Joke (the band!)

> > <gathering at misera.net>

> > Sent: Wed, September 29, 2010 4:23:23 AM

> > Subject: [kj] More bitching

> >

> >

> > I think the sticking point that really burns my toast this time around is

> > that

> > time was when US release dates and UK release dates didn't matter.

> > Invariably

> > the Brit edition would come out first, and I could stroll down to any one

> > of

> > several independent mom' n pop record/disc shops here in the great C of NY

> > to

> > buy the imported version only days after its UK release.

> >

> > Nowadays, with very little exception, ALL THOSE INDEPENDENT DISC SHOPS ARE

> > GONE.

> > Sure, there is a tiny clutch of them left, but they're struggling.

> >

> > Both the culture and the very way we "consume" music has changed so much

> > that

> > the old methods of obtaining albums is completely outdated. Hell, albums

> > THEMSELVES are completely outdated in many people's perceptions.

> >

> > LAZY, SPOILED YOUNG PEOPLE & TECHNOLOGY RUIN EVERYTHING.

> >

> > Alex in NYC

> >

> >

> > _______________________________________________

> > Gathering mailing list

> > Gathering at misera.net

> > http://four.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/gathering

> >

> >

> >

> > _______________________________________________

> > Gathering mailing list

> > Gathering at misera.net

> > http://four.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/gathering

> >

>

>

> _______________________________________________

> Gathering mailing list

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