Record Store Day hit the Long Beach music scene on April 18 to the delight of casual music lovers and diehard collectors alike.
One of the most popular record stores in Long Beach, Fingerprints, opened its doors at 6 a.m. and filled the day with new and rare music finds, contests, an ice cream truck and live performances by Joseph Arthur and Freedom Fry.
“It was awesome,” Dennis Gawronski, assistant manager of the store, said.
Gawronski helped prepare the store for the big day late into the night and witnessed firsthand the dedication some customers put into the event.
“People were already lined up when I left here at 3:30 a.m. There were over a hundred people in line.”
There were about 400 Record Store Day-exclusive releases. One of the items that went the fastest was a re-release of The White Stripes’ ‘Get Behind Me Satan’ album with new and exclusive artwork. This was also the best-selling item overall for this year’s Record Store Day.
In one corner of the Records Room sat Quincy King, the store’s buyer, who watched the action from his makeshift office, surrounded by records. King said, “People come to buy specific things that they’ve been looking for. There are limited things so people come for that, this year we had The White Stripes and a particular Wu-Tang Clan, those items went really fast.”
Another treat of the day was the arrival of the Blur Ice Cream Truck, which offered free ice cream to customers with a receipt and a free flexi disc of Blur’s new single, ‘Lonesome Street’ to those who used the magic phrase ‘the magic whip’, which is also the name of the bands forthcoming album.
To close off the day Joseph Arthur and Freedom Fry did a free in-store performance for anyone who could squeeze themselves into the store. In-store performances are a staple of Record Store Day and every year notable bands play for free.
“This year it was really hard to get people,” said Gawronski, “because of Coachella. A lot of artists couldn’t do it because of obligation to Coachella. Joseph Arthur is an old friend of the store’s so he came and played a set and did phenomenally, of course.”
While all the fun events helped make the day a true experience, it really is all about the music for most.
Paula Habbit, a customer who has attended Record Store day since its first year, happily showed off her Gregg Allman album and gushed about her love of record stores. “I come every year with my husband, who is also a big music fan, we met working at a record store […] it’s my hometown store, it’s a great store. I just like to support it.”
Heda Taylor, a customer and high school teacher said, “I just love supporting my local record store, so we always make a point of coming every year. I’m looking at getting the new Courtney Barnett and my daughter really wants The White Album.”
King listed off an impressive amount of exclusive records that sold during the day and were out of stock by the time he came into work at 10 a.m. “The day really goes by fast just because of the amount of people here. Record Store Day is special because it invites people to come out and support their local record stores,” King said.
Record Store Day first began in 2008 in San Francisco and is now celebrated every third Saturday of April. The day is celebrated on every continent except Antarctica.
