Chocolate Records

Thanks to @secret4mula for pointing this one out!

Analog Apartment in a city near you

Hope everyone had a great holiday and is gearing up for their New Year celebration tonight.

Those of you that have been following us on Twitter may have noticed that we're gearing up for a little experiment in 2010 in an effort to build and strengthen the vinyl movement in communities all over the world.

What we're doing:

In October, we started the NYC Analog Apartment Meetup group where local record lovers will come together to listen to, share, lend, and discuss vinyl records. We'll be having casual Meetups at local record stores and pubs / cafes to discover new music and build a local community that brings record lovers and local stores together. We're not really sure what will happen but we're really excited to see how it shapes up.

What others are doing:

We reached out via Twitter to find people in other cities that are interested in organizing Analog Apartment Meetups in their own town to build local communities of record lovers, support local record stores, and introduce / expand the love of records with others in the area. Everyone will be a part of a network of record collector Meetups and we will work together to help make our local Meetups better. 

The response has been phenomenal and we've got about 7 people in cities all over lined up to be a part of the movement. Here's our initial idea for what someone can do to get one started in their city:

• An organizer starts a Meetup on Meetup.com called #Location Analog Apartment (or another name if they like). It costs around $12 / month and I can either help pay for or we can work together to get sponsors to cover the costs down the line. I'd like the local organizer to see what kind of ways they can offset the cost (with local sponsors) or if they're cool with $12 / month, they can pay for it themselves like I do for the NYC Analog Apartment Meetup.
• Organizer designs their group home any way that they want. Ours is here: http://www.meetup.com/analogapartment
• Organizer selects Meetup group topics such as vinyl appreciation, music on records, record swap, analog apartment, etc.
• Meetup.com finds people in your town that are interested in those topics and emails them about the new group
• Once the group has got some members, they can get a Meetup scheduled. It can be anything from a casual gathering at a local record store to local record swap. It's up to you but if you need ideas, we (and your members) can help out with that. You can also have assistant organizers, event organizers, etc. to help share the load.

What's in it for the organizer:

We're opening up this Analog Apartment blog, Twitter account, and Facebook Page to organizers so they can make announcements, share success stories, and post interesting articles. 

Why are we doing this?

One of the greatest things about collecting vinyl records is the endless pursuit of discovering new music and expanding our collections and knowledge. Personally, my collection has been shaped by people that I've met, discussions I've had at local record stores, and places that I've visited.

Rather than relying solely on the web to be our guide, we think there's a great opportunity to strengthen and share our passion for vinyl by with other collectors, record stores, labels, musicians. Those people are a lot closer than we realize and we all have something to share and learn.

We're not making any money off of this and don't plan to -  that's not what this is about. We just hope to see communities of record lovers self organize in their own cities and strengthen the overall network. How great would it be to visit a city and see a community of people that come together around something you love?

How do I become a part of this?

Organize - If you are interested in organizing a Meetup in your city, contact us here and I can send you the details on what we were thinking. The bullet points above should help you get started but be sure to email us so we can coordinate all of the organizers and stay in touch.

Join - If you are interested in joining a Meetup in your city, simply sign up for a free account at Meetup.com and when you're asked to select topics that you're interested in, select things like vinyl appreciation, music on records, record swap, Analog Apartment, etc. At the bottom of that page, you can request to be notified when a Meetup group starts in your area. When a Meetup starts nearby, you'll be notified!

Sponsor - If you are a local business that wants to support this type of movement, you can sponsor a local record collecting Meetup. This mean be anything from providing a venue for people to Meetup, offering a discount at your store, or whatever you can come up with. Contact us here if you are interested in this.

What's next?

As we work to get organizers in other cities up and going, we'll make announcements and introduce you to these people here on the blog. From there, these organizers will be able to share their experiences with everyone by posting articles here on the blog.

That's all for now but if you have ideas, feel free to post your comments.

Thanks and we hope you have a great night ringing in 2010!

Insound Design Store

From December 17th to December 21st, Insound will have a store open that is sure to feature some goodies for the analog music lover including box sets, turntables, and accessories.

Looking forward to checking this out.

An end to Technics 1200?

There's some chatter on the internets about a move by Panasonic that will end production of the iconic Technics 1200 line of analog turntables. The guys over at Nylvi are on top of it and have it looks like the quotes may be applicable to the Australian market only.

“It is a sad day today but due to low sales globally in analogue turntables a decision to stop production has been made on Technics Turntables.  For Australia this means we will receive our last shipment in March”

-  Ian North, spokesperson, Panasonic Australia

With no official press release from Panasonic, there's no way to confirm. What do you think?

Interview: Permanent Records

Today, we're excited to bring you an interview with Permanent Records, one of our favorite shops located in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. 

How did you first get started with records? What got you hooked?

When I was 8 years old, I got a copy of Parliament's Flashlight 45.   It was all over for me after that.

What prompted you to open a record store?

Honestly, I was really just sick of working for other people.  I had been working in the music industry for years prior to opening- it just seemed like a natural fit.

How many records, cds, etc. do you have and what is the breakdown of new vs used?

I wouldn't even be able to guess!  Lots.  And we try to keep the split of new and used at roughly 50/50… though that does vary from time to time.

Do you specialize in a particular genre?

We like to think that we have a little bit of everything here. But I suppose we have more Rock than anything else.

How long have you been open?  What are some things you've learned or noticed?

P-Recs has been open for almost 6 years.  Original location was in Northport, LI and I moved the shop to Greenpoint in 2007.  I've learned to always trust my instincts...never second guess.

How do you decide what to put on the shelves?

Like I just said, trust your gut.  If it's something that really speaks to me, I have to be confident that at least some of my customers will feel the same way. I also often take cues from my customers.

How are you using the Internet for your store?

We've just recently started tweeting (@precs) and facebook-ing (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Brooklyn-NY/Permanent-Records/126539994908?ref=ts) information on in-store performances, current sale items, and giveaways.  That's been really fun and we've gotten a great response.  We also run a mailing list.  And of course, we update permanentrecords.info with upcoming events whenever we have them.

What does the record store of the future look like?

I think it'll look EXACTLY like the inside of 181 Franklin Street.  Seriously though, no idea.  People have been predicting the demise of the record store for years.  I guess you'll just have to ask me this question again in 2060.

To someone just getting started with vinyl, any words of wisdom?

No words of wisdom per se. I would never presume to tell anyone anything about what records they should own.  Like what you like.

To someone who only listens to digital music, any words of wisdom?

Whatever works for you.  See above question, same deal.

Anything else you want the readers of Analog Apartment to know about?

Readers may be interested to know that we sell turntables, amplifiers, speakers and a whole line of stereo accessories.

Thanks again to the team over at Permanent Records. We'll see you soon!