Record Store Day 2017
22nd April 2017
Auckland, New Zealand.
Photography and words by Sarah Kidd.
For the uninitiated Record Store Day is the one day of the year where those who covet the precious waxen surface of the vinyl circle come out in droves in hopes of obtaining specifically pressed records; as well as a bargain or two of course.
Record Store Day was first initiated back in 2007 after an email by a Bull Moose employee named Chris Brown (no, not THAT Chris Brown) who suggested that record stores could do something along the same lines as ‘Free Comic Book Day’. For those of you who don’t know what Bull Moose is, they are a chain of Indie Media Retailer stores located in the United States. So after a brainstorming session involving several members attending the record store owners meeting in Baltimore, Record Store Day (RSD) was officially born. It was agreed that the day would be on a Saturday in the month of April and that each individual store could celebrate in any shape or form they saw fit. Live performances, RSD specials, meet and greets – it was all on the table with the emphasis being on celebrating the individuality of the store and its place in the community.
Every year the RSD celebration has an official ambassador, with the list of past ambassadors making up a variable who’s who of the music world; Josh Homme, Dave Grohl, Iggy Pop and Jack White to name but a few. This year in celebration of the 10th Anniversary of RSD, the official ambassador was named as St Vincent (aka Annie Clark) a Grammy award winning singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose music weaves together elements of Electropop, jazz and soft rock. A far cry from the heavier music of Metallica, the official ambassador of 2016.
Limited numbers of special pressings are released for RSD celebrations each year and these are often highly sort after by fans. Last year saw exclusive releases by artists such as Patti Smith, Deftones, Gerard Way and The Doors, while 2017 saw a classical title appear for the first time, in the form of Shostakovich’s Cello Concerto No. 2.
Record Store Day has now become a celebrated event in several countries including the UK, Ireland, Germany, Japan, Mexico, Australia and of course New Zealand.
This year Auckland pulled out all the stops to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the auspicious and fun filled day. With several stores holding more live performances than you could poke a stick out.
Southbound Records were featuring Ghost Town and Stretch, while Marbecks came in swinging for the anniversary with artists such as Princess Chelsea, Lydia Cole, Echo Children, Tom Cunnliffe, Friends of All the World and Galaxy Bear (the band with a bear drummer) all making appearances. Not to be outdone, Flying Out was featuring the one and only Shayne P Carter (of Straitjacket Fits/Dimmer fame), Billy TK Senior, Merk, X-Features and Fazerdaze!
Unfortunately cloning machines had not yet been invented, so I had to make a choice from all of the tasty performances on offer. I settled on starting my day off at the iconic Real Groovy Records store and then finishing it with one of the most colourful and well-loved local record store owners Tito Tafa of Rebel Soul Records and his celebrity band of miscreant DJ’s.
Arriving at Real Groovy shortly before the first band was due to take the stage it was obvious that the store had already been pumping since the doors had opened at 9am. Concerned about the “ever increasing commercialisation” of RSD, Real Groovy were determined that the focus would be about giving back to not only the customer but to the community itself.
To kick off the community vibe, Real Groovy joined forces with three members of NZ music group The Clean (Robert Scott, David Kilgour and Hamish Kilgour) and The NZ Music Foundation to create the ‘Breakfast with The Clean’ art package. Each member of The Clean created a piece of artwork which was then applied to a tea towel, a plate and a mug respectively with only 50 in total being made available. The proceeds from the sale of these amazing items were then donated to The NZ Music Foundation. The NZ Music Foundation is a charitable organisation that aims to change the lives of people through music. From healthcare projects such as music therapy in hospices through to initiatives that use music as a way of engaging with youth from troubled backgrounds, The NZMF are a valuable and integral part of our community.
To ensure that all the bargain hunters stayed well hydrated and fed while trawling the isles of vinyl, local proprietors Taco Loco NZ were on site offering a delicious selection of food and You’re Welcome Coffee were churning out the beans and the hot choccys for those who were feeling a bit dreary from the night before.
But onto the music!
Kicking it all off before the midday day sun had even made its way into the centre of the sky was Badcorporation with their blend of exquisite Aotearoa roots, hip-hop and spoken word songs. Dressed in their trademark suits and briefcases, Urban Youth Department Managers Mr King & Mr Hendriks along with their group of representatives (aka esteemed employees) lead the proceedings; delivering an outstanding and high quality content presentation. Their performance today was of particular importance due to the fact that it was their last for a while as various members of the team were about to travel to the Europe & Asia offices for “further training”.
Oscar Dowling was next to grace the stage, fresh off the back of their Album Release Party the night before. The three-piece quickly got to work in charming the audience with their poetic songs that rang forth pure and true throughout the store. The former New Gum Sarn singer was in particularly fine form (despite last night’s festivities) and soon had a large gathering of patrons absorbing all there was to offer. Perry Mahoney (Civil Union) on bass commenting that he recognised several people in the audience from last night before thanking them for braving the daylight hours to come out and see them play.
The Echo Ohs brought forth their surfer punk fare, regaling the crowd with songs of Aliens and Wild Weeds. Drummer Emlyn Williams performing (as he did last night) double duties behind the kit with both Oscar Dowling and The Echo Ohs. Lead singer Yolanda Fagan dressed entirely in black, her platinum braids beaming like headlights enticed the crowd with her unique brand of vocals while Guy Forks on guitar had more than one audience member contemplating lessons so that they could emulate the greatness before them. Performing for the second time today (they had already begun their Record Store Day revelries at Flying Out) the X-Features brought old school punk to the floor. The three-piece made up from members of both The Features and The Terrorways raised the roof with their angsty tunes and balls out riffs. Vocalist Jed Town and Chris Orange on bass had the crowd chuckling with some witty banter and it was deeply satisfying to see the punk flag flying high on such a celebrated day.
Finishing what had already been a fantastic selection of live music, Hamilton based five piece, Contenders led by the enigmatic Cilla continued the punk theme by playing some good ole Punk Rock. Formed in 2014, Contenders are still reasonably new to the music scene however they have already well and truly made their mark performing at events such as Hamtown Smakdown and Future City Festival. Cilla soon had the crowd in awe as she paced up and down the floor of Real Groovy, her vocals raw and muscular. Upon finishing their set an encore was demanded, a testament to their exceptional performance!
After purchasing a couple of albums (In all honesty who can walk out of a music store without at least ONE new addition to the collection??) a brisk walk up to K’Rd was on the cards to visit Rebel Soul Records pop-up shop at Dan’s Traditional Barber Shop. Owned and operated by Tito Tafa, Rebel Soul certainly brought the goods to the inner city street today. Not only was there a fine selection of records to sift through (including the coveted collector’s crate) but the sweet sounds of speciality vinyl DJ’s spinning tracks all day long on outdoor turntables. Sets by Elvis Rotton, Vintage Vamp and The Fang had locals and tourists’ alike stopping and spending time listening to the tunes being spun by expert hands.
The heat really began to rise once Auckland’s own Miss Dom took to the turntables. The former bFM programme director is no stranger to the record scene having been an avid collector for well over 20 years. In a male dominated arena it was refreshing to see not one but two female DJ’s displaying their skills on Auckland’s own city streets.
By now the sun was beginning to set and the roads were slowly emptying out, giving way to the night time punters – the perfect time for Dead At The Controls (aka Dean Martelli of The Terrorways) to step up and take us all home with his brazen mix of East Coast Rap and old school hip-hop such as Salt-N-Pepa. Perfection.
If you haven’t experienced a Record Store Day for yourself, make sure you mark it down in the calendar for next year. You don’t have to be a collector of vinyl, only a lover of music. And who possibly couldn’t be that?
Do you celebrate all that is vinyl and CD’s (and sometimes even cassette) from your favourite local music store on Record Store Day? Tell us about it in the comments below!
If you enjoyed this content, please consider donating towards the running of Ambient Light, covering expenses and allowing us to expand the coverage you love by visiting our PressPatron page.