Local labels, stores gear up for 6th annual Record Store Day event

Record collectors around the world will rejoice as they prepare to line up outside independent record stores this Saturday, hoping to get their hands on copies of exclusive vinyl releases.

“You usually come into work on Record Store Day with a line already formed, which is fun,” said Chaz Martenstein , owner of Bull City Records in Durham. “It’s pretty cool to see that kind of excitement.”

When it began in 2008, Record Store Day was a low-key event that was meant to bring business and attention back to independently owned record stores in the digital music age.

Since then, record labels have produced new releases and reissues that are only available on Record Store Day, which falls on the third Saturday of every April. According to its website, nearly 1,000 independent record stores across the globe currently participate in the holiday.

Because there is such a high demand for these special releases, a lot of pressure is put on record labels to get them pressed in time and in a large quantity.

Cory Rayborn , owner of Three Lobed Recordings in Jamestown , will participate in Record Store Day for the third time. He said he only releases new material for the event and has always sold out.

“The things I’ve worked on for Record Store Day are new and purposeful for that day,” Rayborn said. “I’ve worked pretty hard to make the stuff worthwhile.”

This year, Rayborn is releasing two split 12-inch records. One is between local artist Jenks Miller and James Toth — the Lexington, Ky.-based artist also known as Wooden Wand. The other is Sun City Girls’ Alan Bishop (as Alvarius B) and Rick Bishop.

Part of the frustration for local labels over the years began when major labels stepped in to produce what Rayborn sees as unnecessary material.

“The intentions (of Record Store Day) were great and the intentions were pure,” Rayborn said. “Once the major labels realized they could make money off this, they started pumping out a bunch of crap.”

Although Brendan Greaves of the label Paradise of Bachelors in Chapel Hill has never released anything for Record Store Day, he said he agrees with Rayborn.

“A lot of (the releases are), frankly, rather superfluous, overpriced or just unnecessary reissues of records that don’t really need a reissue,” Greaves said.

“I think Record Store Day as an institution and organization is great. Promoting local record stores is incredible and a very important thing to do, but the event itself is just pandemonium.”

Customers can often have frustrations too. Because of the high volume of people that turn out on Record Store Day and the randomized allocation of the amount of records to each store, they can often leave disappointed or empty-handed.

“I would say that it does get a little frustrating in the sense that in a perfect world, I’d be able to get all of my regulars the releases that they want ... but the supply doesn’t really allow me to do that,” Martenstein said. “It’s definitely got its pros and its got its cons.”

Those cons, however, are not enough to turn most record labels, storeowners and collectors away from participating in Record Store Day.

“It’s a good day for stores,” Martenstein said. “It’s kind of a fun, joint appreciation day for our regulars and customers, and we appreciate just the amount of people that come out.”

Martenstein and Greaves both said that in the future, they’d like to see Record Store Day become more tame.

If that happens, Greaves said he would be more likely to put out a release for that day, and Martenstein said he would be able to host fun activities and bring more of a “party atmosphere” back to the store.

But for now, everyone who participates will just have to cope with the downsides to enjoy much of what Record Store Day has to offer.

“It’s a cool thing that’s become a little bit of a headache,” Rayborn said.

“It’s fun, but fun with an asterisk.”

diversions@dailytarheel.com