Whatever You Do, Take Care Of Your Shoes

It was quite an eventful morning as I traveled down to the Village to partake in the annual Record Store Day.  I’ll be the first to admit, I do not have much of a vinyl collection, having built the majority of my music catalog in the CD form.  That said, I was intrigued by a few releases being put out today, especially Phish’s Two Soundchecks.

I arrived around 9:15 at Other Music (down on E. 4th) to an already patiently waiting crowd of people.  Other Music would not open its doors until 11am, but already people were eagerly waiting and talking about the treasures they found earlier in the morning at some of the other NYC hole-in-the-wall record stores.  I was clearly late to the game.  I met a few really interesting people…all friendly, and all so passionate about music.  Everyone had their fingers crossed to be lucky enough to grab limited editions of releases from everyone including Phish to Bad Brains to Nirvana to The Rolling Stones to The Velvet Underground.  I listened in on a guy who claimed to have a friend that produced the latest Foo Fighters record, and said that an engineer wanted to bring a computer into the studio to polish some takes only to have Dave Grohl tell him he’s be fired if he did so.  In a world dominated by pop music and auto-tunes, it’s refreshing to know that there are artists who still insist on recording analog, and a legion of fans who know that music just sounds better a certain way. 

I was granted admission to Other Music just after 11am.  Not to my surprise, the Phish EP was gone.  They had only received two copies and they flew off the shelf instantly.  I did manage to score three gems; Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band’s Live From The Carousel 10”, The Velvet Underground’s Foggy Notion/I Can’t Stand It 7”, and a reissue of Pearl Jam’s Immortality/Rearviewmirror 7”.  I ventured over to Generation and Bleeker Street Records only to hear more of the same with regards to Phish.  I’m not giving up.  I’m sure I’ll get a copy eventually.  And, I’m not giving up on music out there.  Today was a refreshing breath of fresh air in seeing a great crowd of people with a common interest and releases from a stellar bunch of artists who all want to save the dying breed that is the local record store.  Pictures of my winnings and the line outside Other Music below.

Just as Phish announced yesterday with their Two Soundchecks limited edition 7-inch for Record Store Day, Mike announced today that he will release two offerings for the occasion. 

First up is a special re-release of Mike’s first album, Inside In, pressed on 180g orange vinyl.  This double-LP set includes “Minkinetics”, “Trinners March” and “Be Your Tape”, three previously unreleased outtake tracks from the album (available only on vinyl).  For those unfamiliar with Inside In, this project is one of Mike’s finest, and includes special guest appearances from Fishman, Bela Fleck, and Col. Bruce Hampton.

Next up is Moss Remixes, a limited edition 7-inch that includes two remixes from Mike’s latest solo album, Moss.  Side A and B feature complete remixes of “Horizon Line” and “Fire From A Stick” (which incorporate bits of original demos, bass and drum jams, and many added extra textures).

Just like Two Soundchecks, these limited edition releases will be available in stores beginning April 16th, 2011.  A complete list of participating record stores can be found here.

For the first time, Phish will partake in the annual Record Store Day tradition by releasing a limited edition 7-inch called Two Soundchecks.  This will mark the band’s first ever live vinyl release and Record Store Day release.

Two Soundchecks will be limited to just 2000 hand-signed copies, so fetching one of these babies will be tough.  Side A features an instrumental jam culled from this past summer’s soundcheck at night three of the Greek Theatre.  The B-Side features the already (free) released “Hartford Soundcheck Jam” from Hartford 2009 (you know, “coos coos and coconut juice”), featuring Trey on bass and Fish on drums.  Two Soundchecks will be available in stores only, beginning April 16, 2011.  A complete list of participating record stores can be found here.