Record Store Day draws in local fans, musicians

The weather was unseasonably cold. Winds were gusting; it was raining sideways. But unfavorable conditions did not deter lovers of vinyl from celebrating Saturday.

People across Bloomington celebrated Record Store Day, a holiday dedicated to celebrating indie music and records. Local stores TD’s CDs and LPs, Tracks and Landlocked Music marked the date with special in-store deals and performances.

Justin Vollmar, the manager of TD’s, said before the store even opened there were people braving the elements, lined up outside, ready to show their record store love.
The store had ordered special releases of some albums, similar to other stores in town.

Landlocked Music, another store specializing in indie sound, had an entire day of festivities planned. The store started the day off early, with constant DJ sets and in-store deals.  

Sophomores Logan Norrell and Perry Mcaninch attended both TD’s and Landlocked in the spirit of the day.
“The screen printing station they had was cool,” Mcaninch said, in reference to the on-site screen printing station set up at Landlocked.

Norrell said the addition of the DJs added to the festive mood.

“They were mainly playing ’60s rock, but by the time we left they were playing electronic stuff,” Norrell said.

The attractions were what drew these two music buffs to the stores Saturday, they said. They said it wasn’t necessarily about supporting the day but about the deals and seeing performances.

“We were going to get an Elvin Jones album, but we got a $14 breakfast instead,” Norrell said.

Norrell’s comment was echoed by Michael Anderson of TD’s. Anderson said he was frustrated by the pressure from the top of the business to make the day a huge ordeal and was therefore let down by the occasional lack of buyer traffic in TD’s.

“The day has the potential to be a good thing,” Anderson said. “But it hasn’t been what it could be. It’s been great locally, but it’s not as organized nationally as it should be.”

Anderson said the hype from those in high positions in the industry led the shop to make purchases and place orders in preparation of the day. Some of the merchandise didn’t even arrive in time for the day, and others didn’t sell.

Apart from the unsold records, Anderson said he wondered where buyers were the rest
of the year.

"We see people today that we don’t see for the rest of the year,” he said. “It makes you wonder whether they really want it. They should be buying music here all year.”

Back at Landlocked, live sets of music were still going strong while it rained outside.

Dylan Ettinger performed before local group Sleeping Bag. Ettinger finished his set with a new single and capped it off by thanking Landlocked for a great Record Store Day.

“How lucky are we that we get to live in a town with a bunch of great stores, not just one?” Ettinger said to the crowd.