Blog Post #2 - August 15th
Hello Again
Recently I had the chance to go to with my friend Chris to check out a great record store. The store is called Recordings and is located on Kerr St near the lakeshore in the cozy little haven of Oakville Ontario.
The place is run by a guy called Keith, who is more than willing to spend 10 or 20 minutes bending your ear about what’s been tickling his eardrums but without the hard sell that goes along with a lot of these establishments.
On the main floor of the store which use to be a former Records On Wheels is a large assortment of mixed CDs crisscrossing different musical genres, some vintage music magazines, several piles of newly stacked vinyl and the odd poster or two but downstairs is where the real treasure trove is.
Tucked away down a flight of wooden stairs and past the classic Rock Posters is a basement entirely filled to the brim with shelves and racks of old vinyl and believe it or not completely in alphabetical order. This guy Keith doesn’t fool around.
And were not talking about the kind of vinyl you find stuffed in throwaway bins or are tossed out at garage sales. This collection contains some pretty vintage finds. Among the things that caught my eye was a mint Randy California and Spirit’s Spirit of 76. An Al Stewart Live In Concert as well as some prime Chris Spedding. And unlike some of the stuff upstairs there on consignment most of this inventory was reasonably priced.
I myself under some delusion that anything else can be wedged into my seriously overstuffed and in danger of collapsing into the basement, music studio, picked up a mint copy of Saxons Wheels Of Steel and a not so mint but still completely playable copy of Golden Earring Live, which I will be subjecting you to later in the year. Believe you me I could’ve found a lot more but jointly thinking of my poor studio and the fact my friend was waiting patiently upstairs, after about an hour and a half I was done.
After I paid for my purchases. Keith continued to tell me about some of the local musicians he was aware of as well as pull out and play some other interesting finds that had recently come into his procession. The cool thing about this exchange is at no time during the conversation did I feel any pressure to lighten my wallet. It was just two guys sharing their love of good music and maybe learning something new from the other.
This is the kind of store and customer interaction we need more of. Sure the person running the store wants to make a living but their knowledge & passion they exhibit far outstrips the so-called customer service one receives from the various big chain stores. Who seem to have little time or inclination to share anything with you.
Recordings in Oakville. May the store and Keith it’s Helmsman live long and prosper and may we the listening audience who still cares about finding that rare Cd or allusive piece of vinyl continue to make it a reality.
Really looking forward to seeing Nightwish at the Sound Academy formerly The Docks located on the Portlands in Toronto. Everyone who listens to our show knows that I’m a huge fan of their last album Dark Passion Play and their new vocalist Annette Olson. I‘ve managed to catch bits and pieces of their previous albums with their former singer Tarja T but wasn’t sold until I heard Miss Olson’s pipes on the last disc. I’ll get back to you about what the actual experience of seeing them live is like. I’m sure they won’t disappoint.
Judas Priest played here two nights ago with Testament and Motorhead opening as well as the Ronnie James Dio fronted edition of Black Sabbath and I wasn’t there, What was I thinking? I saw Priest the last two times they rolled into town and Decided I didn’t really need to see them three times in a row, Someone please slap me up the head sideways. If anyone saw the show please add to my suffering and drop me a line and let me know what I missed. Rob I’m sorry I promise it won’t happen again.
Things I’m cramming into my ears during the long lazy days of summer.
Until then
Keep Listening
J Hoskins
Recently I had the chance to go to with my friend Chris to check out a great record store. The store is called Recordings and is located on Kerr St near the lakeshore in the cozy little haven of Oakville Ontario.
The place is run by a guy called Keith, who is more than willing to spend 10 or 20 minutes bending your ear about what’s been tickling his eardrums but without the hard sell that goes along with a lot of these establishments.
On the main floor of the store which use to be a former Records On Wheels is a large assortment of mixed CDs crisscrossing different musical genres, some vintage music magazines, several piles of newly stacked vinyl and the odd poster or two but downstairs is where the real treasure trove is.
Tucked away down a flight of wooden stairs and past the classic Rock Posters is a basement entirely filled to the brim with shelves and racks of old vinyl and believe it or not completely in alphabetical order. This guy Keith doesn’t fool around.
And were not talking about the kind of vinyl you find stuffed in throwaway bins or are tossed out at garage sales. This collection contains some pretty vintage finds. Among the things that caught my eye was a mint Randy California and Spirit’s Spirit of 76. An Al Stewart Live In Concert as well as some prime Chris Spedding. And unlike some of the stuff upstairs there on consignment most of this inventory was reasonably priced.
I myself under some delusion that anything else can be wedged into my seriously overstuffed and in danger of collapsing into the basement, music studio, picked up a mint copy of Saxons Wheels Of Steel and a not so mint but still completely playable copy of Golden Earring Live, which I will be subjecting you to later in the year. Believe you me I could’ve found a lot more but jointly thinking of my poor studio and the fact my friend was waiting patiently upstairs, after about an hour and a half I was done.
After I paid for my purchases. Keith continued to tell me about some of the local musicians he was aware of as well as pull out and play some other interesting finds that had recently come into his procession. The cool thing about this exchange is at no time during the conversation did I feel any pressure to lighten my wallet. It was just two guys sharing their love of good music and maybe learning something new from the other.
This is the kind of store and customer interaction we need more of. Sure the person running the store wants to make a living but their knowledge & passion they exhibit far outstrips the so-called customer service one receives from the various big chain stores. Who seem to have little time or inclination to share anything with you.
Recordings in Oakville. May the store and Keith it’s Helmsman live long and prosper and may we the listening audience who still cares about finding that rare Cd or allusive piece of vinyl continue to make it a reality.
Really looking forward to seeing Nightwish at the Sound Academy formerly The Docks located on the Portlands in Toronto. Everyone who listens to our show knows that I’m a huge fan of their last album Dark Passion Play and their new vocalist Annette Olson. I‘ve managed to catch bits and pieces of their previous albums with their former singer Tarja T but wasn’t sold until I heard Miss Olson’s pipes on the last disc. I’ll get back to you about what the actual experience of seeing them live is like. I’m sure they won’t disappoint.
Judas Priest played here two nights ago with Testament and Motorhead opening as well as the Ronnie James Dio fronted edition of Black Sabbath and I wasn’t there, What was I thinking? I saw Priest the last two times they rolled into town and Decided I didn’t really need to see them three times in a row, Someone please slap me up the head sideways. If anyone saw the show please add to my suffering and drop me a line and let me know what I missed. Rob I’m sorry I promise it won’t happen again.
Things I’m cramming into my ears during the long lazy days of summer.
- Paul Weller- 22 Dreams Yes it’s finally here
- Golden Earring –Live
- Judas Priest- Nostradamus layer after layer Note by Note I’m beginning to enjoy this a lot
- Alejando Escovedo –A Man Under The Influence because one Alejando album is never enough
- Neil Young- Sleeps with Angels My favorite Neil album was written just after the death of Kurt Cobain. An emotional journey that gets better every time I hear it
Until then
Keep Listening
J Hoskins
posted by VirtuallyAudio at
7:25 AM
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