Guide to Veteran Artists & Record Store Day 2009

This Saturday is Record Store Day 2009 all across the United States and 16 other countries. It's the third annual event which celebrates the independent record retailer with special vinyl and CD releases along with other promotional products, in-store appearances and everything from cook-outs to parades.

Let's face it, folks. Digital downloads are the big thing but doesn't it just feel good to hold that slab of vinyl or metal disc in your hand? Isn't it great to be able to look at the art (and many are true art) and read the liner notes? Don't they just sound better?

Those items are in severe danger. Major retailers are cutting back severely on the number of titles they are carrying. It is the independent retailer who will be the one to provide you with the great music of the past and the artists of the future in a physical format. Everyone who loves music needs to support these people to keep the quality formats flowing.

It would be impossible for us to provide the listing of the hundreds of participating stores, so here are links to the official website where you can find (and support) your local retailer.


Which brings us to the involvement of veteran artists in the day's activities. Here are the artists making in-store appearances, both playing and helping out, on Saturday:

• Asleep at the Wheel at Forever Young Records in Grand Prairie, TX
• Del McCourey Band and Charlie Louvin at Grimey's in Nashville, TN
• Scott Ian (Anthrax) at Amoeba Music in Hollywood, CA
• Dan Nelson (Anthrax) at Looney Tunes in West Babylon, NY
• Willie Nile at Vintage Vinyl in Fords, NJ
• Cyril Neville at J&R Music World in New York, NY
• Tower of Power at Manifest Records in Charlotte, NC
• Queensryche at Music Millennium in Portland, OR

As with any artist appearance, it is a good idea to check with the individual stores for times.

Many artists have also created some special releases especially for Record Store Day. These are going to be true collectibles as they are being made in very limited supply. Keep in mind that each store is responsible for ordering product, so they may not have all of the releases listed below.

• Bad Religion - Original 7" Colored Vinyl EP with 6-tracks from 1981
• Bob Dylan - Dreaming of You/Down Along the Cover recorded at Bonnaroo 7" Vinyl
• Booker T - Warped Sister/Reunion Time 7" Vinyl
  
• Bruce Springsteen - What Love Can Do/A Night With the Jersey Devil 7" Vinyl
• Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young - Deja Vu Live 2-LP set
• Depeche Mode - Wrong/Oh Well 7" Vinyl
• Elvis Costello - Complicated Shadow/Dirty Rotten Shame (previously unreleased) Picture Disc
• Flaming Lips/Black Keys - Borderline/Her Eyes Are a Blue Million Miles 7" Vinyl
• Grateful Dead - T-Shirt with exclusive design for Record Store Day
• Jenny Lewis/Elvis Costello - Carpet Baggers/Go Away 7" Vinyl
• King Crimson - 40th Anniversary Tour Box
• Leonard Cohen - The Future/Suzanne recorded live in London 7" Vinyl
• MC5 - Kick Out the Jams/Motor City Burning 7" Vinyl packaged in original design sleeve (not available since 1969)
• Neil Young - Sugar Mountain Live at Canterbury House 1968 2-LP Vinyl
• Pretenders - Break Up the Pavement/Love's... 7" Red Vinyl
• Queen - Queen's First EP Limited edition numbered CD
• Slayer - Psychopathy Red 7" Vinyl in special X-Files-style confidential packaging
• Sonic Youth/Beck - 7" Vinyl
• Sonic Youth/Jay Retard - 7" Vinyl
• Talking Heads - 77 Reissue LP
• Smiths - The Headmaster Ritual/Oscillate Wildly 7" Vinyl
• Stooges - 1969/Real Cool Time 7" Vinyl
• Tom Waits - Live From the Glitterdome 7" Vinyl with live tracks from Atlanta and Edinburgh