It's Record Store Day 2011! - Events, Special Releases, More - Sat., April 16th

Today the third Saturday in April, and that means one thing to music geeks: Record Store Day, the time for you to head out to your local independent music store (if you're lucky enough to still have one). As usual, there will be plenty of special vinyl releases as well as live events at many of the 700 or so indie music stores in the U.S. and hundreds of others worldwide.

At the Record Store Day website you can get the location of your local store(s), see what special RSD releases are available, and more. Some of the releases are available only on Record Store Day, others will be at additional stores in the future, and some will be sold only in certain stores or regions. (Note: The Beastie Boys had a single out to benefit the Red Cross Japan Relief Fund, but that now sold out before Noon.)

Besides the usual vinyl-gasm, Record Store Day will include live performances, giveaways, and more. (Find the full list of Record Store Day releases here.) And the RSD website has a number of contests in which you can win a variety of goodies. And as I mentioned last month the Foo Fighters will be driving around to different indie music stores in the white limousine used in their video, "White Limo."

If you're in the NYC area, check out Brooklyn Vegan's guide to Record Store Day events. Here are notes on a few releases and specials for your RSD enjoyment, as well as some random notes:
* Regina Spektor will perform at NYC's Other Music (but you had to be one of the first 100 people to buy her vinyl single there to get access, Brooklyn Vegan says). If you didn't make it, there will be a screening of Spektor's "Live in London" film at Lincoln Center tonight, along with "Sound It Out," a documentary about a record store in the northern English town of Teesside
* Lez Zeppelin, the all-female Led Zep cover band, appears at J&R Music World at 3 p.m. for an in-store performance and signing. J&R will also have a number of special releases including Nirvana's "Hormoaning" 12" EP, Pearl Jam's "Immortality" 7", and R.E.M.'s "First Three Singles From Collapse Into View"
* Utne Reader looks at some of the interesting collections, compilations, and collaborations among today's RSD releases, and offers free streams of the tracks from Sub Pop's collection, "Terminal Sales Vol. 4: Please to Enjoy"
* Bern and the Brights will perform an acoustic set at 4 p.m. at Tunes in Hoboken
* Joan Jett will have a clear-vinyl version of "I Love Rock N' Roll," to celebrate the album's 30th anniversary. See where to find it here
* Billboard looks at Record Store Day and how it has grown in its three years (2011 is the fourth year), and mentions some of the notable musicians who'll be out performing today

And, you can listen to Radiohead's exclusive Record Store Day 2011 songs here.

You can find the latest Record Store Day updates on Twitter at @recordstoreday.

It's looking like rainy weather here in the NYC area, but that won't deter me from visiting my local indie music store for Record Store Day 2011. Get out there and support your local independent music retailer (while it's still there)!

Record Store Day, and a Look at NYC Stores

It will be interesting to see if indie record stores get a sales bump from Saturday's Record Store Day promotion. One participating store was New York's Other Music, on the Lower East Side. It was said to be selling limited vinyl singles and EPs from artists including Vampire Weekend and the Breeders, as well as giveaways and guest DJ sessions by members of bands including Interpol, Grizzly Bear, Tapes n' Tapes, and the Black Keys.

New York was once home to a number of great indie record stores, but many of these have fallen by the wayside. How many have closed up and how many are left? Conveniently, Brooklyn Vegan put up a map that the New York Times ran of the record stores in Manhattan, showing which have closed and which are still open. According to the Times's count, since 2003 at least 80 stores in Manhattan and Brooklyn have shut their doors, and about 70 are still operating.

I'm glad to see that one of those still plugging away is Rock and Soul, a midtown shop that I used to go to in the early '80s to buy LPs and cassettes (those were the only formats they sold; they didn't start offering CDs until later, I believe).

Record Store Day, April 19th - Support Your Local Store!

The independent record store may be down, but it's not out... and it's fighting back. In fact, a“Record Store Day” will take place on Saturday, April 19th at hundreds of independently owned music stores all over the U.S.

The event seems to have lots of artist support, and many are putting their microphones where their mouths are by giving in-store performances or appearances on Record Store Day. Metallica and Panic at the Disco are the best known of these, but other participating artists include indie and local acts including The Donnas, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, The Duke Spirit, Film School, and many more. A whole bunch of stores will have live DJs, and others will have special sales or other promotions to attract customers.

The Record Store Day Web site above has listings of the musicians and where they're perform, but the links don't seem to work. Let's hope these will be up and running soon, so that people can find out when and where artists will be performing. You can read more about Record Store Day here.