The above interview has footage of the party at Vintage Vinyl and the record store's co-owner, Tom Ray, talking about the state of his record store in the midst of the iTunes and YouTube generation.
When was the last time you bought a record?
Independent record stores like the Vintage Vinyl here in St. Louis celebrated the first National Record Store Day on Saturday to celebrate music, records and the fact that their doors are still open.
See pictures here.
In this current iTunes era, it is a lot more convenient to browse, pick and click than to actually go to a physical store; the fact that you don't have to buy entire albums any more helps too. But as Paul McCartney said, ''there is nothing more glamorous than a record store,'' or romantic – it reminds you of the days when to waited in line to get your favorite new release or the hours you spent sitting on the floor sampling new artists. (Okay, so you might never have sat on the floor for hours but this writer certainly did).
And this nostalgia attracted the hundreds of people who walked through the doors of the Vintage Vinyl on Saturday; the free beer and no sales tax helped too.
It was a lively scene at the store, with visiting DJs and live acts outside. Visitors also got to meet the members of their favorite band who walked in and out of the store all day long.
Some people came for the records and others came to support the live acts like DJ Needles and Theodore. Times are changing and the number of digital downloads will only grow.
