A couple of good things to report….
One year ago, I reported the death of Jim Philbrook, publisher of Record Collector News. Based on conversations I had with people involved with the publication and the way things are with these days with the business of record stores in 2008, I didn’t expect to ever see this publication resumed. As it turns out, I’m glad I’m glad to be proven wrong.
The Record Collector News is back, providing reviews, a calendar of events, and a great publication for music archivists to find record stores and conventions. Most of the focus is on California stores, but there’s a definite goal of expanding beyond the west coast. Jim Kaplan is the new publisher for this revived pile of paper, and he’s got some of the original staff, including my pal Steve Propes, who’s been a wonderful asset to the LOUIE project.
The publication has a website – RecordCollectorNews.com, where you can download a PDF of the latest issue. As a Tarzan enthusiast from way back, I enjoyed reading the article about the record collection of Danton Burroughs, the grandson of Edgar Rice Burroughs, who passed away a few months ago. Not only was Danton responsible for running the corporation established by his grandfather, but he was also an avid collector of music recordings.
Another blow last year for record collector was the demise of Village Music in September. I had so many great memories of that store, which was a wonderful wonderful resource on so many different levels.
Luckily, Gary Scheuenstuhl, who worked with John Goddard at Village Music for 25 years, decided to open up his own record shop in Mill Valley. It’s a one mile walk from the original location of Village Music, on Miller Avenue, not far from the 2 AM Club, where Huey Lewis & the News once shot a cover for their third album. The official website for the store is MillValleymusic.com.
For some crazy reason, when I was browsing through the store, within about 10 minutes, I heard LOUIE LOUIE by the Kingsmen. Gary claims it was a completely random shuffle of his CD player, but I’m not sure I believe him. Either way, he’s got a real nice new store, and I hope he gets plenty of support from record collectors.
As it turns out, John Goddard is still maintaining a mail-order operation for Village Music, as well as occasional sidewalk sale from his storage space. Check in at VillageMusic.com for more details. If you send either Gary or John your want-lists, there’s a good chance they may actually be able to help you!
Speaking of musical icons in Mill Valley, it looks like Sweetwater Salon is coming back!
Around the same time as Village Music was closing, the original Sweetwater was also shutting down. With news like this, I was wondering if I’d ever have a reason to visit Mill Valley again.
Here’s what my friend David Gross, aka the Punmaster reported in his Music Wire newsletter:
As a happy postscript, to the sad news of the demise of Sweetwater at its current location we are ecstatic to report that the Sweetwater has found a new home at 32 Miller Avenue – smack dab between the soon-to-open Balboa Café (from the Plumpjack folk) and Piazza D’Angelo. We’re all very excited about this site, which – with its high ceiling and skylights – will be quite reminiscent of the Throckmorton Avenue venue. That similarity will be enhanced by the preservation of much of the memorabilia which has so long adorned the walls of the former site. What will be DIFFERENT about the new space will be the greater space and comfort that it will afford to both patrons and performers. As Bob Weir said, “I think I might like this new place better”, and I’m sure he’ll not be alone in that!
You can find more about the new Sweetwater 2.0 by going over to SweetwaterSaloon.com.