Category Archives: Out and About

A very sad story of loss (of records!)

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CD Cases of Stolen Discs

Thanks to Largeheartedboy who keeps an eye out for music-related news and articles, I read this rather tragic story of a guy who lost a sizable part of his record collection moving cross-county. This topic is one that keeps me awake nights sometimes. Like Dave, the author, I have a pretty sizable collection that grows seemingly daily at times. I’ve been collecting CD’s and records since the 80’s so I have amassed a large pile of CD’s and a recently-growing collection of vinyl. I can say that I empathize with Dave in that I had CD’s stolen out of a vehicle in the pre-mp3 player days when I typically carried around 30 or 40 CD’s in my car at any given time. Since they were stored in those flipbook storage cases I was left with the cases and no discs. These cases and cover art were literally empty reminders of the lost music and collected together in a couple boxes as a timecapsule of what I was listening to at the time– Cracker Gentleman’s Blues, a couple of Ani DiFranco discs, my Smithereens collection, Big Star #1 Record/Radio City, Matthew Sweet’s Girlfriend, Pink Floyd The Wall, Robert Plant’s first two solo albums, Pearl Jam Ten, Bettie Seveert Lamprey, California Guitar Trio collection which included a very out-of-print Yamanashi Blues and many more…

Over time, I have replaced these CD’s as I find them in used shops or Amazon, or via Lala.com which is a CD trading site. Actually, Lala helped replace a lot of them. I still have a number I need to find and I may never find all of them to replace as some of the titles I lost are out-of-print. But, it gives me something to keep an eye out for in my regular record shopping.

I don’t know what I’d do if I lost my entire record collection. I’m sure I would, like Dave, really mourn the loss and have to cope, but I guess the upside would be that I could start the search again. Just as many of the records I have found over time have interesting stories about my life, or how I came to find the records, so would the future purchases.

Just as in Dave’s story, I have learned something from my loss and really that’s the important thing– learn from your mistakes.

B-Sides in the Bins #38 : On A Charlie Brown Christmas by The Vince Guaraldi Trio

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"A Charlie Brown Christmas" on my turntable

I made a quick stop in at Half-Price books last Thursday. Sherry needed me to stop at GNC for some flu-fighting stuff on my way home from work, so I took the opportunity to stop in. I saw a couple of interesting pieces in the Rock section that I need to get at some point including The Knack’s Get the Knack, and Isaac Hayes Hot Buttered Soul, but I didn’t want to pick up a bunch of stuff. I walked around to the Jazz section and I was really happy to see A Charlie Brown Christmas in the nearby Children’s section! The cover has no ringwear, but the sleeve was curved which has seemed to cause the printing to separate from the sleeve and wrinkle a bit. No matter, the vinyl is in fantastic shape and with the season upon us, I laid out the $2.98.

A Charlie Brown Christmas is a very important album in my life in that it was the gateway to my appreciation of Jazz music today. I wish I could say that my Jazz listening started with something much more complex like Miles Davis, or Thelonious Monk or even John Coltrane– all of which I listen to today– but it started with the seminal Peanuts Christmas special.

In 1965, the pairing of “A Charlie Brown Christmas” the TV special and Vince Guaraldi was initially met with resistance from executives from the show’s original home at CBS. They felt that Guaraldi’s West Coast Jazz was not a good fit for a children’s TV show. According to the Wikipedia article on Guaraldi, Lee Mendelson– the producer of the show– had heard “Cast Your Fate to the Wind” which was a huge single for Guaraldi and felt that his style was the right fit for the show. In retrospect, it was this innovative decision that lends to the timeless charm of the show and defined popular Christmas music for the generations of people like myself who make it a tradition to watch the delightful show year-after-year. It was the choice of the signature Guaraldi sound that would define all of the Peanuts specials made (sixteen!) until Guaraldi’s untimely death in 1976 shortly after he wrapped up “It’s Arbor Day, Charlie Brown.” Guaraldi was only 47.

Fantasy Records issued A Charlie Brown Christmas (Fantasy 8431) that same year as the soundtrack to the show and added “The Chrismas Song,” which wasn’t in the special.

In the liner notes for George Winston’s 1982 release December– itself a hallmark of Christmastime music– he says,

“There is a great wealth of traditional and contemporary music to draw from in doing an album for the winter season. These five albums have been very inspirational to me in conceiving of this album for the seasons.”

Of course the first album listed is A Charlie Brown Christmas. I first heard December standing in the Musicland in Dubuque when I was in high school around Christmas and bought it immediately. When I got it home and read the liner notes I took note of the A Charlie Brown Christmas mention. George Winston would go on to record a complete album of Guaraldi compositions called Linus and Lucy: The Music of Vince Guaraldi in 1996.

In 1988, Fantasy finally released A Charlie Brown Christmas on CD (Fantasy FCD-8431). I picked it up a couple of years after that, and that is the version I have on CD today. The 1988 release of the CD and the LP included the song “Greensleeves” which was recorded during the sessions but not included on the original release. In 1997 Fantasy made a Starbucks Exclusive edition which was faithful to the original release by omitting “Greensleeves.”

My pressing of A Charlie Brown Christmas is a 70’s issue. It has a new cover that uses the original illustration, but has a different font and that It has the newer “circle-F” logo on the LP label, but doesn’t have that logo on the front cover– unlike the 1988 release. The front cover has “The Original Sound Track Recording of the CBS Television Special” across the top. This is the same cover that was used in the 1988 remaster (aside from the logo change).

In 2006, Concord Music Group— which has Fantasy Records these days– reissued and remastered A Charlie Brown Christmas and added some bonus tracks in the form of alternate takes of  “Christmas Is Coming,” “The Christmas Song,” “Greensleeves,” and the vocal take of “Christmas Time Is Here.” Unfortunately, during the remastering process they used the wrong takes for “Linus and Lucy” (actually half of a take as the standard “Linus and Lucy” is made of two takes) and “Christmas is Coming.” They initially offered a replacement for people who got the “bad” disc. I think that if I had gotten one of those, I would have kept it! This release also extended some of the original songs that were edited. “O Tannenbaum” was missing the intro, “Christmas Time Is Here (Instrumental)” was missing the last chord of the song, and “Skating” gains an additional ten seconds restoring the bass solo at the end. They also brought the original cover back which gets rid of the “CBS Special” line at the top of the front cover.

Of note also is the 2006 remastering done by legendary mastering engineers Steve Hoffman and Kevin Grey at AcousTech for Analogue Productions. This was available in a limited (1000 copies)  numbered series of two 180g 45RPM records and is faithful to the original release by not including “Greensleeves.”  A quick search on the ‘net yields none to be had at the moment (although they apparently were available until earlier in December– DRAT!). I’ll have to keep an eye out for one of these. Click Here to see other titles that were and are available from their Fantasy Jazz series of reissues.

The special was aired the night before last on its new home at ABC and even though I own it on DVD, I was transfixed to watch it on TV. One thing I noticed that I’d never noticed before was the song “Skating” is not played during the skating scene in the beginning– it is “Christmas Time Is Here.” I think– like most people who’ve grown up since 1965– the Charlie Brown Christmas special represents the beginning of the holiday season. I usually break out the CD shortly after Thanksgiving (much to my wife’s dismay) to help get into the season. It’s also the ’60’s bebop Jazz sound of A Charlie Brown Christmas that moved me to look for other artists who shared a similar sound like Dave Brubeck and Bill Evans for the piano sound, and Miles Davis’s years on Prestige Records which led me to John Coltrane. Although I listen to other Jazz styles, I tend to come back to this style most often.

A cool find in the used bins in time for the holidays.

Update: Acoustic Sounds found another crate of these in early 2009, and I bought a copy. I traded my 1970’s copy to a friend for an early pressing of Led Zeppelin II.  On Christmas Day 2010, it looks like Acoustic Sounds has these in stock again. Click Here.

Eli Jones at Mahoney’s Irish Pub 12/7/08 (Review)

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As I posted earlier, Eli Jones was booked to play Mahoney’s Irish Pub on Sunday 12/7. I was planning to hit the show if I got back from a weekend in Minneapolis at a decent time. As it turns out, I did, but it was a bit hairy coming out of Minneapolis with a bunch of snow blowing all over the roads, but we made it back in one piece, if a bit worn out. Thankfully, the show was an early start, and it got over early, so I could get back home and to bed since I needed to work the next morning.

I had never been to Mahoney’s before for some reason. Apparently it was because I couldn’t find it! My daughter Rae goes to Coe College, and that is in the same area, and she told me to take the H Ave exit off of 380, which is the same one that I take when I visit her on campus. I drove around a bit and found Paddy O’Roark’s on 16th Street but no sign of Mahoney’s. So, I busted out the trusty iPhone and hit the Maps application which helpfully indicated that I was damn near sitting on top of Mahoneys! WTF? Well, only in Cedar Rapids can we support two Irish-themed bars around the corner from each other!

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I got rock star parking in the small lot next to the bar, so I was pretty happy about that– as long as I didn’t get blocked in. Mahoney’s is a very small bar– long and narrow. The band of eight members seemed to take up half of the bar! I made my way to the back of the bar by the covered pool table and staked my place while the band worked through a spirited cover of the Classic Joe Cocker version of the Box Tops’ “The Letter.” The band was set up where seating would normally be along a long table in the center of the bar. It made for some awkward vantage points as far as shooting pictures was concerned, but I think I got some good shots. When I got there the band had already started, and the crowd was relatively thin but within an hour or so the place filled up. The crowd seemed to be a mixture of regulars and regular fans of the band. Even for such a small crowd, the place was electric! The crowd was supportive and the two ladies working the bar were very busy, but attentive and even entertained the crowd by doing some Ikette moves during the “Proud Mary” cover!!

The ladies behind the bar doing their best Ikette impersonations

In the four-hour set, Eli Jones did a set of songs that drew heavily from their 2007 CD Make It Right as well as their as-yet-unrecorded next album, in addition to some very complimentary covers. The cover run the range of 60’s R&B classics like the aforementioned “The Letter” and “Proud Mary” to more obscure classics like the Meters “Look a Py-Py” and they threw in some Prince and a frantic cover of the Talking Heads’ “Life During Wartime” that had Jonathon Edwards running around the bar, and I believe outside at one point! Later in the night he had to apologize to a guy who’s hat was lost during the race.

I think that this show was a good example of how a great crowd can make a great band better. There was a lot of interaction between the band and the crowd that night and they fed off each other. At one point during the third set I counted 45 people in the bar, but damn if it didn’t seem like the crowd was bigger! Brendan said in an e-mail after the show that about 10 people bought CD’s that night, and it looked like the tip jar was pretty full, too.

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Eli Jones is one of the tightest bands I’ve seen in a while and while they don’t put on the choreographed stage show that the Diplomats are doing these days with the Diplomettes, they have their own style and would make a killer double-billing with the Diplomats. Stefanie Berecz holds her own against the three-piece horns section with a powerhouse vocal skill. Her wide range runs the gamut from R&B shouting to smoky blues and raw emotion. I don’t want to downplay the fact that Brendan O’Connell and Chris Corsale also contribute vocals which gives the band the necessary breadth of material to keep “Joe Sixpack” rocking through three sets.

Stefanie Berecz of Eli Jones

Brendan said that this show was the fourth time this year that they played Mahoney’s and he said that this was their favorite bar to play– they haven’t played anywhere else in Cedar Rapids! Considering the warm atmosphere and fun crowd, I can see why and I plan to make it back there when they play next, which should be sometime after they record their next album. If Eli Jones is playing anywhere near you I recommend seeing them.

Jill and the crowd get down
Set One

Make It Right
Bring Your Love To Me
Right Wrong
Poor Man’s Game (*)
The Letter
Better Way (*)
Proud Mary
Afraid Not To Die
Disco Smooth
Son of a Preacher Man
Ain’t Going Back (*)

Set Two

Finally Did For Me
I Could Really Hold On (*)
Doin’ Nothin’ (*)
Give It Up
Mary Jane
Kiss > Seven
Carry Me Home (*)
Stevie (Wonder?)
I’ll Get Down (*)

Set Three

Look a Py-Py
Use Me
Lift This Hurt
Candlelight and Satin Sheets
Since You Been Gone
Life During Wartime
Abracadabra
Whiskey High
Where Did The Time Go
You Got The Love
Before I Know Your Name (*)
Nobody (*)

(*) Songs that will be on the next album

Band Members:

Stefanie Berecz
Brendan O’Connell
Chris Corsale (guitar/vocals)
Greg Nergaard (bass)
John Smillie (drums)
Jonathon Edwards (baritone sax)
Jim Schram (tenor sax)
Eric Miller (trombone)

Click Here to see the other pictures from the show.

Click Here to visit Eli Jones’s Website

Upcoming Show: Cracker at Mississippi Moon Bar in Dubuque, IA 2/7/09

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Why is David Lowery smiling?

Friday was a day of surprises for me– I found out a new venue just opened in Dubuque called Mississippi Moon Bar that is part of the new Diamond Jo Casino. Last week was their grand opening complete with a VIP show with Cheap Trick. The wife of a guy I work with works at the casino so he filled me in on the details. It looks like there will be a pretty good selection of upcoming acts (for Dubuque, anyway– Darius Rucker? The Doobie Brothers?). I was really surprised to see a Cracker show listed on the calendar in February. I jumped in and got first row seats. Apparently every seat in the house is less than 80 feet from the stage according to my brother, Steve.

Anyway, any reason to see either Cracker or Camper Van Beethoven is a good reason, and Dubuque is a pretty short drive and it’s on a weekend. Tickets are on sale now and at least as of today there are still fantastic seats available on the floor by the stage. Tickets are $25 for regular reserved seats (or standing) and $35 for fancy table seats or boxed seats. I’ve never seen the venue, so I don’t know what those are like (or if they are really worth more than front row?).

Click Here for Cracker’s Official Website

Click Here for Cracker’s MySpace Page (which they apparently hate).

Click Here for the Mississippi Moon Bar site.

Upcoming Show: Mark Olson & Gary Louris at CSPS in Cedar Rapids 2/19/09

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Mark Olson & Gary Louris by Steven Cohen Photography

Mark Olson & Gary Louris by Steven Cohen Photography

Ready for the Flood, the new album from former Jayhawks members Mark Olson and Gary Louris is due for release on January 27th according to Amazon.com and other sources. Ready for the Flood was originally supposed to be released on September 15th on Olson’s home label Hacktone but was moved to New West Records, current home of John Hiatt, The Old 97’s and The Drive By Truckers and other artists who compliment Olson and Louris’s country-influenced sound.

Ready for the Flood was recorded in January with production help from Chris Robinson of the Black Crowes, who also worked on Louris’s brilliant solo album Vagabonds. Since both Louris and Olson had solo records released last year that still needed to be promoted and toured, they decided to delay the release until late this year, and now the release is moved to January with the label switch.

Shortly on the heels of Flood’s release Olson and Louris will kick off a tour during February in support of the album hitting small venues across the nation, wrapping up at a hometown show in Minneapolis at the Varsity Theatre. If any of the torrents of the live shows in Europe are any indication, these shows will be a Jayhawks fan’s dream pulling songs from the new album and songs from the Jayhawks catalog in an intimate stripped-down acoustic set.

Olson and Louris will be playing the (sadly) best-kept secret venue of Cedar Rapids, CSPS on February 19th. Mark Olson played a well-received show there in February this year– in fact it will be almost a year to the date! Tickets are $17 in advance and $20 the day of the show.

Feb 3 2009 7:00P
The Ark Ann Arbor, Michigan
Feb 4 2009 7:00P
The Mod Club Toronto, Ontario
Feb 6 2009 7:00P
Somerville Theater Somerville, Massachusetts
Feb 7 2009 7:00P
Zankel Hall @ Carnegie Hall New York, New York
Feb 9 2009 7:00P
Sellersville Theater Sellersville, Pennsylvania
Feb 10 2009 7:00P
Birchmere Alexandria, Virginia
Feb 11 2009 7:00P
The Arts Center Carrboro, North Carolina
Feb 13 2009 7:00P
Eddie’s Attic Atlanta, Georgia
Feb 14 2009 7:00P
Exit/In Nashville, Tennessee
Feb 15 2009 7:00P
Phoenix Hill Tavern Louisville, Kentucky
Feb 17 2009 7:00P
Blueberry Hill St. Louis, Missouri
Feb 18 2009 7:00P
Mojo’s Columbia, Missouri
Feb 19 2009 7:00P
CSPS Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Feb 20 2009 7:00P
Park West Chicago, Illinois
Feb 21 2009 7:00P
Varsity Theater Minneapolis, Minnesot

Click Here to visit the MySpace page for Ready for the Flood with song samples

Click Here to visit the Facebook Event I created.


Paula West Live at Campbell Steele Gallery 11/14/08 (Review)

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George, Ben, Paula, and Chris

My friend Andrew won tickets to this show from a call-in contest Campbell Steele Gallery had in their regular e-mail blast of upcoming events. The last time I had been to Campbell Steele was maybe back in 2003 or 2004 for a special Liars Holographic Theatre show where they featured original songs from the players along with some of the regular skits. It was a lot of fun, as many of the Liars shows are and I had been meaning to get back for another show so I was happy for the opportunity.

Paula West is a jazz singer from San Francisco who has been performing and recording since 1989 and has released three albums to date: Temptation (1997), Restless (1999), and Come What May (2001). Paula was booked for two nights at Campbell Steele as part of their “Cruz Steele Presents: Brand New Favorites – Live at Campbell Steele Gallery” series which included shows with Pieta Brown on October 4th, Erin Bode on October 24th and 25th and the upcoming show with Prudence Johnson on December 5th and 6th. Accompanying Paula was George Mesterhazy on piano and two local guys on bass and drums: Ben Soltau and Chris Richardson.

I got there before Andrew so I hung out and talked a bit with Priscilla Steele who was acting as greeter/bouncer for the evening and got the lowdown about the show series as well as the changes that the gallery has undertaken since the last time I was there. The stage/backdrop I had seen last time for the Liars show was taken out exposing a bar where they were serving hors d’ouvers as well as wine and beer.  In the spirit of the cabaret style of Paula West, they brought in a bunch of cafe tables for seating– a change-up from the normal rows of chairs they use for the performances. Removing the big backdrop really opened the place up, and the seating made things very cozy– especially since it was general admission.

Andrew soon showed up and we staked out our table and ordered a bottle of 2007 Castle Rock Pinot Noir that we’d both had previously.

Paula West

Paula put on a great show. I’m not normally a big fan of Great American Songbook standards, but Paula delivers them with such a beautiful and distinctive voice, it is impossible not to be completely taken in. In addition to the standards Paula throws in a couple of interpretations of Bob Dylan songs, who she said was her favorite songwriter. It is a testament to the strength of Dylan’s songwriting that the songs like “Like a Rolling Stone” and “Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright” can translate so well to torchy, bluesy jazz versions. In fact, I think that she should consider doing an album of her Dylan covers! Her between-song banter was warm and funny. She had just wrapped up a stint at the Oak Room at the legendary Algonquin Hotel in Midtown Manhattan and said that she received a surprised response from fans there who asked where she was going next, “Marion, Iowa!” Along for her little tour was pianist and arranger/band leader George Mesterhazy who provided a brilliant backing to Paula’s vocals. The addition of Ben Soltau and Chris Richardson on bass and drums made for a very complete trio, in my opinion. Initially, I didn’t recognize Ben, but his Yamaha bass seemed pretty familiar, and I remembered the bass in the press photo for New Beat Society, and sure enough it was him! At the break I introduced myself and we talked bass and the upcoming show at the Yacht Club.

George, Ben and Chris

At the beginning of the second set, Craig came out and told the audience that the piano that George was playing was a new purchase for the gallery. Apparently it is pretty difficult and expensive to rent a baby grand piano so it was easier for them to purchase one. Friday night was the piano’s maiden voyage and Craig christened the piano “The Mesterhazy” in tribute to George’s playing it! He then pretended to break a plastic water bottle on the it to the amusement of everybody.

At the end of the end of the evening Andrew and I hung out as the audience filtered out the door and talked a bit to Craig and Priscilla some more. We also talked to George, Ben and Chris who were pretty excited about how well the performance went and were making plans for Saturday night’s show. I mentioned to George that his playing reminded me of Bill Evans, and he said that he was a fan of Bill, too, which was pretty cool.

I had a great time at the show, and certainly plan to hit any future shows they might be putting on there. It’s easy to forget sometimes that Cedar Rapids and Marion have great venues to offer when there are so many other places in the area to see shows. We are lucky to have Craig and Priscilla bringing shows like this to our area.

Click Here to look at the complete set of photos I took.

Click Here for Paula West’s Website

Upcoming show at Campbell Steele: Prudence Johnson with Special Guest Michael Johnson December 5 & 6, 2008. Tickets are $25, and you can call 319-373-9211 for information. Tell them playbsides.com sent you!

Upcoming Show: Chicago Soul Group Eli Jones at Mahoney’s, Cedar Rapids 12/7/08

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Eli Jones is an eight-piece band from Chicago that delivers tight accomplished Soul and R&B that draws equally from the annals of classic R&B and Soul of Stevie Wonder and Aretha Franklin or Stax as it does from the contemporary renewed interest in authentic Soul and R&B delivered by Alicia Keys, John Legend or Joss Stone. The seven-piece Eli Jones band led by the tasty guitar tone of Brendan O’Connell deftly supports the vocal powerhouse of Stefanie Berecz.

The band started in 2005 as a trio and added horns and Berecz arriving at their current lineup in 2007. They released their first studio album Make It Right in November of 2007 and are planning to release their second album in the Summer of 2009. The band has been gigging steadily around the Midwest and played Mahoney’s in Cedar Rapids back in April to a receptive crowd.

The group is coming back to the area again next weekend playing The Busted Lift in Dubuque on Saturday, December 6th, and here in Cedar Rapids at Mahoney’s on Sunday, December 7th. I’m not sure about the cover at the Busted Lift, but the Mahoney’s show is FREE! I can’t think of a better way to wrap up a weekend than some soulful, funky R&B, really. You can always watch “Desperate Housewives” online or Tivo it.

Click Here for the Facebook Event Page– let the band know you’re coming!

Click Here to visit Eli Jones’s website. They have four songs that you can stream.

Click Here to visit Eli Jones’s MySpace Page

Click Here to see the shows up on Archive.org

Click Here to listen to an amazing acoustic “Candlelight and Satin Sheets” from Alice FM in May. The song is taken to an intimate singer-songwriter performance.

B-Sides in the Bins #34 – Highway to Hell : Retail Confusion With AC/DC Black Ice Vinyl

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My family has been fans of AC/DC since Dad brought Back in Black home in 1980. At the time we had a black GMC Suburban with red cloth interior and Dad wanted to put vanity license plates on it that said “BAKNBLK.” This Suburban would be traded on another one later and its next owner was appropriately enough a funeral home! When Dad brought Back in Black home, I initially didn’t like it– I was more into The Moody Blues and The Beatles, I guess. During my Honda Express-riding Jr. High years I gained the appreciation for all-things metal, and that included AC/DC. John, who was born 1976, pretty much grew up with AC/DC. As a result he has been an AC/DC fan for most of his music-appreciating years. John’s vanity plate he’s been moving from vehicle to vehicle since his first car is “HWY2HEL.” Or, “Highway to a ‘Bad Word'” according to his daughter!

When I heard that there would be a vinyl pressing of the new AC/DC Black Ice album that would be available to Independent record retailers, I knew that this would be a cool gift for him for his birthday. In the past I bought him the 180g version of Back in Black (I got it at Hot Topic of all places!), as well as an Australian version of High Voltage on vinyl that had some different tracks on it.

I figured– incorrectly as it turns out– that because of the Wal-Mart exclusive nature of the CD version of Black Ice, that there would be decent availability of the 180g vinyl pressing at other record stores since the only way a retailer that wasn’t Wal-Mart could have the biggest new releases on a major label would be by stocking the vinyl. Trying to track this down in Eastern Iowa turned out to be a comedy of errors!

The first place I called was what I considered to be my mainstay record store– The Record Collector in Iowa City.

“Record Collector.” the young girl on the phone answered.

“Do you have the new AC/DC album Black Ice on vinyl?” I asked, trying to be as specific as possible.

“The new AC/DC album is only available at Wal-Mart” she answered in an obviously-rehearsed tone.

“Yes, that’s right. The new AC/DC on CD is available at Wal-Mart, but the vinyl pressing is available at Independent record stores.”

She conferred with someone else off the phone about it, “Uh, we won’t be carrying that. We only sell used vinyl.”

This was pretty confusing to me since I have seen and purchased new vinyl there in the past. In fact, I was looking at some very cool Sundazed repressings of Skip Spencer’s “Oar” solo LP. I wondered if I should call back when the owner Kirk might be working.

I got a sinking feeling. I wasn’t sure how I was going to be able to buy this in time for when I’d see John if I had to order it on-line and it was less than a week before I’d see him. The other local options for new vinyl had dried up over the last couple of years. I remembered hearing that Real! Compact Discs and Records was back in business. I had been a frequent shopper there during the late 80’s but hadn’t shopped there since I moved back to Iowa in 1997. In fact, I think it might have been out of business for a while. I noticed that Bo Ramsey thanked Real! in the liner notes to Fragile, so I figured they must be in business. A quick google turned up the phone number…

“Real Records” the man on the phone answered.

“Do you sell new vinyl?” I asked hopefully.

“Yep. that’s why we are called ‘Real Records'” he cracked.

I was trying to ascertain if they had new records, not just used, but whatever.

“Do you have the new AC/DC Black Ice vinyl?”

“Wal-Mart is the only place that carries the new AC/DC.”

“Well, that’s true– Wal-Mart has the new AC/DC CD, but there is a vinyl pressing that indie record stores can carry.”

He checked his distribution lists, and said “Oh, yeah, we might be getting that next week.”

“Well, I was hoping to pick it up this week as a birthday gift, thanks anyway. By the way, what’s the deal with the Record Collector? I called there and they said they don’t sell new vinyl. I’m pretty sure I’d seen new vinyl there in the past.”

“I don’t know. I’ve been hearing from other people that they haven’t been able to find anything there.”

“Well, that’s too bad. It’s been one of my favorite record stores forever. By the way, will you be getting the Ryan Adams vinyl for Cardinology?”

He checked his lists again, “yes, it looks like we will be getting that next Tuesday. It seems to have pushed back a week.”

“Thanks.”

So, at least it looks like I should be visiting Real! some time in the future.

The next place I called was BestBuy. I’d seen vinyl there recently– notably the new Coldplay Viva La Vida. It seemed to me that if there was a big-box retailer battle between BestBuy and Wal-Mart what better field of war than the new AC/DC? After navigating through their phonejail menus I got a human.

“BestBuy, home of the Geek Squad. How may I help you?”

“Can I speak with some one in CD’s and DVD’s?”

“How can I help you?”

“Would you happen to have the new AC/DC album Black Ice on vinyl?”

“The new AC/DC album is only available at Wal-Mart” he offered helpfully. This was beginning to sound like a phone prank.

Well, I was stuck with this one. Should I explain the vinyl situation, or just assume that if they had the vinyl he would have mentioned it?

“OK, thanks” I said choosing the latter.

I remembered that I had purchased the 180g Back in Black at Hot Topic in Lindale Mall, so I gave them a shot.

“Hot Topic” a guy answered.

“Do you sell vinyl?” I asked.

“What are you looking for??” It occurred to me that based on the clothing one can purchase at Hot Topic, I wasn’t specific enough by asking about “vinyl.”

“I’m sorry, I mean vinyl records.”

“Oh! Yeah, we sell records.”

“Do you have the new AC/DC Black Ice?”

“No, we don’t have that. You should try Wal-Mart. They are carrying that.”

The rest of the conversation involved me educating him on the vinyl version of Black Ice. I’m sure he appreciated it.

My last hope would be that Mad City Music Exchange in Madison, WI would have it. They are close enough that I shouldn’t have to worry about overnight shipping either. I gave them a call.

“Mad City” the guy on the phone answered.

“Hi, do you have the new AC/DC Black Ice on vinyl?”

“Yep.”

Frankly, I didn’t know what to say! I gave him a brief version of my trials of trying to find this record. I left it that I’d call him the next day to confirm. He said that he typically visits the post office twice a day so the next day he should be able to get it sent out. I called, and we talked about shipping options. He wasn’t sure what the shipping would have been for 2-day, so I gave him my credit card information and asked him to let me know.

What I found out talking to Dave Zero is that he’s the new owner of Mad City Music Exchange taking over for the previous owner who’d had it since 1986. Here is an article from the Isthmus about Dave buying the store from last December. It’s clear that Dave is very focused on keeping the customer happy and I think went way out of his way to get me the record and he even checked up to make sure that I got it in time. As a result, I ordered Ryan Adams and the Cardinal’s new Cardinology in the limited edition clear red vinyl and unique artwork from him, and I got that this week.

The record showed up in time for me to give it to John. and I have a diligent store owner to thank in Dave. It really is a beautiful piece. Unlike the CD artwork which are white on black, all of the album graphics are matte black on shiny black gatefold with a very bright red AC/DC logo on it. It makes it a bit tough to read unless you tilt the record, but still a very impressive pressing.

There are other record stores in Madison, but certainly you should make Mad City a stop if you’re in town. Tell them “It’s Time To Play B-Sides” sent you!

B-Sides in the Bins #33 – Zzz Records – Des Moines, IA 10/18/08

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Sherry and I were in Des Moines to talk to an Espresso Machine distributor about a machine for her cafe/bakery that she is planning. While were were there, I got to make a quick visit to Zzz Records. Apparently this would be my last trip to their old location as they have moved. I quickly thumbed through the new vinyl and then made my way back to the 80’s/New Wave/Alternative section. It was an 80’s day…

Simple Minds – Once Upon A Time (LP, A&M/Virgin SP-5092, 1985) ($4.25) I’m getting pretty close to having all of the Simple Minds I want. If there are any other period 12″es maybe I’ll pick those up. I want to get Live in the City of Light, which was recorded during the tour of this album.

The Fixx – Reach the Beach (LP, MCA Records MCA-5419, 1982) ($3.50) Possibly one of my favorite albums. I can put this on and listen to it at any time. I got this on cassette from the Kennedy Mall Wards in Dubuque along with U2’s Live Under a Blood Red Sky on the same day. I remember seeing footage on TV of U2 at Red Rocks and knew I wanted that. I distinctly remember being sick with the flu at home in bed with the vaporizer running listening to those two cassettes back-to-back all day long.

B-Sides in the Bins #32 – Mad City Music – Madison, WI 9/27/08

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The Tortoise show at Snake on the Lake started at 3PM in Madison, but Erik, Shawn and I weren’t interested in all of the opening acts, so we decided to hit a record store before meeting up with Tom, our taper friend. We stopped at Mad City Music which I’ve been to a couple of times. The first time Erik and I went there it was for a small Camper Van Beethoven in-store which was really cool.

This was a pretty fruitful trip in that I picked up some amazingly pristine copies of Tom Petty albums. Like freakishly mint, really. No ringwear or sleeve wear of any sort. They looked like they just shipped from the plant and were taken out of the cellophane! In addition to the four records, I bought plastic sleeves for them.

Tom Petty is one of my long-time favorite artists. Of course, this means that I need to keep an eye out for other Tom Petty vinyl… Two of the records were upgrades. I gave the replaced copies to Erik.

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers – Damn the Torpedoes (LP, MCA 5105, 1979)($3.00) The third album. First Top-40 record for the band, includes “Refugee” and “Don’t Do Me Like That.”

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers – Hard Promises (LP, Backstreet BSR 5160, 1981)($3.00) This was an upgrade for me. First record to hit Top-10 for Petty.

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers – Long After Dark (LP, Backstreet BSR 5360, 1982)($3.00) First record with the late Howie Epstein on bass. The record was an attempt to repeat the formula of success by using Jimmy Iovine as producer. Sadly, it would not pan out. “You Got Lucky” was an MTV favorite, though.

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers – Southern Accents (LP, MCA 5486, 1985)($4.00) Another upgrade for me. Rae got me my first copy for my birthday in 2006– that one was a corner-cut cutout record. The vinyl was immaculate, though. This was really the record that started my interest in Tom Petty, and probably the song “Rebel.” I started listening to this about the same time I got into the Del Fuegos, which would make sense. Lots of radio and video airplay for this one– “Rebel” and “Don’t Come Round Here No More.” Three songs were co-written with Dave Stewart of the Eurythmics.

What I didn’t buy: Carried to Dust by Calexico on used CD (I got this one on vinyl through Amazon), and two Dumptruck albums For the Country, and Positively Dumptruck on vinyl, and a Love Tractor LP on DBRecs. Jethro Tull’s Crest of a Knave (the album they won a Grammy in 1989 for Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance against Metallica!). If I get back to Mad City and the Dumptruck records are there, I will buy them. Based on the price stickers they’ve been there for a couple of years.