On the Road for Vinyl

In my work travels I have some opportunities to go to great cities, and when the work is done do some exploring.  One of the things I've started doing is checking out the the local independent record stores. 

In Las Vegas there are many things to do and all day and night to do them, so that's why I ventured over to Record City.  They had a great selection of vinyl and it was a fun store to spend some time. It was packed with vinyl and even had CDs.   Since I was travelling the shopkeeper was very cool and gave me a travel case for the vinyl I bought. 

 

The last few days I have spent in Baltimore and what a fun city that has so many interesting areas.  One area I really liked and caught a cab over to it.  Its called Fells Point and its right outside downtown Baltimore.  What a great part of town to visit.  There are many rooftop bars, shops and lots of people just walking around enjoying the old stone walkways and views of the bay.

The Sound Garden

The Sound Garden sells new and used CDs and DVDs and also has some vinyl.  It was recently voted the 2nd best record store in the United States by Rolling Stone.  The selection and prices on CDs and DVDs were excellent and its the largest selection of Blue Note jazz CDs that I've seen in a store in a long time.

The staff was excellent and when I mentioned I'm from Knoxville and that we have an indie record store here he already knew it was The Disc Exchange.




If you love music and love exploring a city then definitely hit Fells Point in Baltimore and check out the coolest record store in Baltimore...and the 2nd coolest store in the entire United States!

Mike Smith-The ShowBiz Kids

On the Road for Vinyl

In my work travels I have some opportunities to go to great cities, and when the work is done do some exploring.  One of the things I've started doing is checking out the the local independent record stores. 

In Las Vegas there are many things to do and all day and night to do them, so that's why I ventured over to Record City.  They had a great selection of vinyl and it was a fun store to spend some time. It was packed with vinyl and even had CDs.   Since I was travelling the shopkeeper was very cool and gave me a travel case for the vinyl I bought. 

 

The last few days I have spent in Baltimore and what a fun city that has so many interesting areas.  One area I really liked and caught a cab over to it.  Its called Fells Point and its right outside downtown Baltimore.  What a great part of town to visit.  There are many rooftop bars, shops and lots of people just walking around enjoying the old stone walkways and views of the bay.

The Sound Garden

The Sound Garden sells new and used CDs and DVDs and also has some vinyl.  It was recently voted the 2nd best record store in the United States by Rolling Stone.  The selection and prices on CDs and DVDs were excellent and its the largest selection of Blue Note jazz CDs that I've seen in a store in a long time.

The staff was excellent and when I mentioned I'm from Knoxville and that we have an indie record store here he already knew it was The Disc Exchange.




If you love music and love exploring a city then definitely hit Fells Point in Baltimore and check out the coolest record store in Baltimore...and the 2nd coolest store in the entire United States!

Mike Smith-The ShowBiz Kids

Happy Birthday Lady Day

 

History of Billie Holiday

An early influential singer with a unique voice and an equally unique short life.  She's part of our musical history as well as our cultural history.  

Happy Birthday Lady Day

 

History of Billie Holiday

An early influential singer with a unique voice and an equally unique short life.  She's part of our musical history as well as our cultural history.  

Wash Your Troubles Away

The music we love becomes the soundtrack to our lives. Not a very original thought, I know, but facts is facts. Over the course of my life so far, I've been very fortunate to have discovered a lot of music. Or rather, at times, it's seemed that the music has found me.

One artist I return to often in CD spins and playlist creation is Gil Scott-Heron (b. April 1, 1949). If you only know him as the man behind "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised," you are missing out.

His first studio album, Pieces Of A Man, released in 1971 initially received only modest critical response. The album looked unblinkingly at issues such as race relations, the breakdown of families, drug use, self respect, and the power of music to communicate and heal. The power of the compositions and particularly Scott-Heron's intensely personal vocal delivery has forced many reassessments since it's release.

"The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" is the easy track to highlight and has even been called the birth of rap, but rap, hip-hop, neo-soul, and dance all owe huge debts of gratitude to all the tracks on Pieces Of A Man. It fostered styles and conventions that are now so common place that it's easy to forget how groundbreaking it was upon release.

And I owe a huge debt of gratitude to Gil Scott-Heron. His music has been the backdrop to many critical points in my life. Highs and lows, ups and downs, his music has enhanced the good times and helped me through the bad.

Happy birthday, Gil! And thank you.

Amazon

iTunes

Please BUY music and support touring artists.

Wash Your Troubles Away

The music we love becomes the soundtrack to our lives. Not a very original thought, I know, but facts is facts. Over the course of my life so far, I've been very fortunate to have discovered a lot of music. Or rather, at times, it's seemed that the music has found me.

One artist I return to often in CD spins and playlist creation is Gil Scott-Heron (b. April 1, 1949). If you only know him as the man behind "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised," you are missing out.

His first studio album, Pieces Of A Man, released in 1971 initially received only modest critical response. The album looked unblinkingly at issues such as race relations, the breakdown of families, drug use, self respect, and the power of music to communicate and heal. The power of the compositions and particularly Scott-Heron's intensely personal vocal delivery has forced many reassessments since it's release.

"The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" is the easy track to highlight and has even been called the birth of rap, but rap, hip-hop, neo-soul, and dance all owe huge debts of gratitude to all the tracks on Pieces Of A Man. It fostered styles and conventions that are now so common place that it's easy to forget how groundbreaking it was upon release.

And I owe a huge debt of gratitude to Gil Scott-Heron. His music has been the backdrop to many critical points in my life. Highs and lows, ups and downs, his music has enhanced the good times and helped me through the bad.

Happy birthday, Gil! And thank you.

Amazon

iTunes

Please BUY music and support touring artists.