April 25, 2008

Record Store Day -- RECAP

Record Store Day Recap
April 19th, 2008 - All Day

Well, Record Store Day v.01 is in the can. Hopefully you were one of the many who were able to join us for this incredible day. We're gonna take a few minutes and run back through for those who were there (and hopefully it will work as inspiration for those of you who weren't able to make, to save a little room on your calendar next time we do it).

We kind of went into the day not knowing what it was going be like, but figuring it might be a good chance to bring some new/old folks into the store, and that's always a good thing; we were surprised at how much fun it all was - kind of like Christmas and your birthday, all rolled into one.

Portishead Presale
The worst part of the day was having such a killer promotion and knowing from the start that we were going to leave people disappointed because of it. We had almost 100 people waiting for the presale to start and obviously the 40 tickets we had couldn't stretch nearly far enough. Fortunately, everyone seemed fairly understanding (it was only a 1 on the "angry email scale") and the folks who got tickets were well over the moon, so congratulations to those who got tickets and apologies to those who didn't; I hope it's a killer show. If you're thinking about needing this record, while they last we still have a value added etched promo 7" single and a very large subway poster with pre-order.

Rob Halford Signing
This was the part of the day that had me the most stressed out. Rob was a key figure in my musical development, which always makes for a bit of nerves. But, since I'd never met him and I'd heard very little about how he was in person, there was a real fear that he would act like a "Metal God" (which is incidentally, the name of his record label). I'm happy to report that real "Metal Gods" don't act like it in real life. Rob was totally down to Earth and completely accommodating to the nearly 200 folks who showed to say hello (He even signed a motorized beer cooler!) Look for the four disc Fight box set coming in May and a new Judas Priest album and tour this summer.

Limbeck In-Store
This one was a piece of cake. We've known Robb and Pat as record shoppers for longer than we've known them as rock and roll stars and we've been lucky enough to have them in to play a couple of times and they are always awesome, so this was much more hanging out with friends than anything else. The performance was great and the "abbreviated" versions of "Ohio" and "Honk & Wave" were funny as hell and allowed the guys to satisfy the crowd and keep us on time.

Silversun Pickups
Many of you have talked about how great it was to see Brian of SSPU's solo show in December of '06, and while I've always agreed it was cool to see things stripped down to one voice and one guitar, after last night I have to say there is an incredible power to this band. When they are clicked in, acoustic or not, it is magical. Everyone was in great form, cracking jokes and having fun.

Coachella Giveaway
The winners in our Coachella Ticket giveaway are:
     Friday - Elizabeth Renteria
     Saturday - Lily Sims-Williams
     Sunday - Amber Blake
Congratulations to all the winners!

We are now sold out of Coachella tickets at the store (although we do have a small handful of camping passes available if you already have your tickets but still haven't figured out where you're staying). As of this email there are still tickets available, but click on over to the Coachella site to make sure you're covered before trekking to the desert.

And while you're thinking Coachella, hop on over to the official Coachella website FAQs for a quick list of things not to forget when you head out for your one to three days of music and sun, like what to bring with you (hats, cameras, kids) and what to leave at home (drums, pets, tents).

Finale
Thanks to all the artists who made the day so special, all the artists and labels who kicked us such great freebies and exclusives (who else grabbed a copy of the Destroyer 7" or the Brushfire LP?) Umm, good stuff. We'd also like to thank Goldenvoice for the Coachella giveaway tickets, Portishead and Island/Def Jam (and Sam) for the rehearsal tickets, and most importantly, all of you who support us everyday.