This year, vinyl record store Steady Sounds commemorated the 11th annual Record Store Day with special releases, DJ sets and a live performance from Virginia rapper Chance Fischer.
Vinyl enthusiasts around the country hop from store to store in the hopes that they’ll score an exclusive release from their favorite artists for Record Store Day. Every year, musicians of every genre prepare special exclusive releases to be sent out to record stores in limited quantities on one Saturday in April.
The list of releases features famous established acts like David Bowie and Lil Uzi Vert, as well as smaller, underground acts like Phoenix and Robert Glasper.
The event is also an opportunity for record store owners to have musicians perform at their shops. Artists like Metallica, Beastie Boys and Wiz Khalifa have all performed at stores for Record Store Day in the past.
Marty Key, the owner of Steady Sounds, described Record Store Day as “a celebration of all things vinyl.”
Key, who has owned and run Steady Sounds for about eight years, says he spent more time digging for records than attending class during his time as a student at VCU.
“Sometimes I’d leave class to go straight to Plan 9, or one of the thrift stores,” Key said. “After doing various things like odd jobs and touring with bands, finally Plan 9 asked me, ‘do you want a job here? You’re here every day.’”
It wasn’t long before Key was running his own record shop.
Key said Record Store Day was probably started to bring attention back to small record stores, which were dying off ten or so years ago. In the last decade, vinyl has exploded in popularity.
Steady Sounds featured Record Store Day exclusive releases from The Stooges, Sun Ra, Raekwon, J Dilla, The Vaselines and Tom Waits. Like other stores, it also had more used records on display than usual.
While he definitely still enjoys Record Store Day and the kind people and new releases that come with it, Key said it has become more commercialized in recent years.
“I wouldn’t say that it’s outdone its usefulness, but I would say it’s definitely more like Christmas than it used to be,” Key said. “It’s a little bit of a cash grab, but at the same time I’m really glad it’s around. I think it’s great.”
Steady Sounds featured DJ sets from Area Woman, DJ OlNuBi, DJ Valient Himself and DJ Aaron Bushman.
DJ OlNuBi, whose real name is Armando Munoz, said he enjoys doing Record Store Day sets more than other sets. He said these sets are usually shorter, giving him the opportunity to play more of the music he wants to play, rather than having to entertain for hours on end.
“I can just hit the highlights as opposed to having to create a vibe for the whole night,” Munoz said.
DJ OlNuBi said he likes to play a lot of world music and funk music in his sets. One of the Record Store Day reissues he picked up was from a Brazilian funk musician, Marcos Valle. He played it for his set, too.
Record Store Day also brings in a more casual crowd of music and vinyl lovers.
Caleb Bogdan heard about Record Store Day on the radio and decided to take a detour on the way to the beach with some friends.
Collectively, Caleb and his buddies Alex Harman and Belinda Nelson picked up records from Hank Williams and Marty Robbins as well as a collection of John F. Kennedy’s speeches.
Nelson said “we’re gonna torture ourselves by playing 126 kid’s songs,” pointing to a record of just that.
According to DJ OlNuBi, some of the best stores in Richmond to visit on Record Store Day are Plan 9, Deep Groove and BK Music, though “Steady Sounds is the best,” he said.
Key said Record Store Day leftovers usually last for a few weeks after the event, so there are definitely still some vinyl treasures to be found for any record enthusiasts that missed the big day.
Quentin Rice Contributing Writer