Record Store Day is Saturday, April 18!

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Saturday is a very special holiday for vinyl record lovers and all fans of recorded music. It’s Record Store Day, that annual event that brings out music fans by the droves eager to snatch up as many valuable, limited-edition sheets of plastic as they can find… or afford.

Almost Music in Benson — a veritable shrine to used vinyl — is going all out again this year. The store opens at 10 a.m. with live music beginning at noon: Here’s the schedule:

Sun-Less Trio 12:00-12:30
Kate Berreckman 12:45-1:15
Dereck Higgins 1:30-2:00
The Broke Loose 2:15-2:45
Wagon Blasters 3:00-3:30
Andy Berkley 3:30-4:00
Razors 4:00-4:30
Those Far Out Arrows 4:45-5:15
Big Slur 5:30-6:00
Matt Tillwick 6:00-6:30
Dead Flower Preservation Club Band 6:30-7:00
Well Aimed Arrows 7:15-7:45

Brad Smith, Almost Music’s proprietor, promises food and drink along with RSD exclusive releases, new T-shirt designs by Robert Cook and, of course plenty of used vinyl and new arrivals.

Now if only someone could do something about the forecast. The weatherman says it’s going to rain tomorrow. Then again, they said it was going to rain yesterday afternoon but there was nary a drop as I lounged on my patio with an ice cold Blue Moon.

Certainly the folks who will be waiting outside of Homer’s down in the Old Market tomorrow morning will be praying for dry weather. But nothing short of gale-force winds is going to stop that dedicated horde from pouncing once Homer’s General Manager Mike Fratt swings wide the door at 10 a.m.

While they stand, Fratt says line-waiters will be serenaded by Saddle Creek Records band Twinsmith (starting at 9:15), and there’s talk of donuts, breakfast burritos and coffee to keep their energy levels up.

“Of course we ordered a gargantuan amount of product this year, even more than last year,” Fratt said of RSD merchandise. Fratt rattled off a long list of special edition merch that Homer’s is offering tomorrow in this week’s Lazy-i Podcast (listen to it here or below). Among the goodies is an exclusive pressing of 311’s Hydroponic, originally a cassette-only local release. Fratt said it was pressed in small quantities for the 311 Fan Club. “They allowed us to buy some directly from them, so we’ll have 50 of those,” Fratt said. “We’ll be the only retailer in the country with that item.”

Among the items Fratt listed in the podcast is RSD releases by Metallica, Bruce Springsteen, Johnny Cash, Citizen Dick (fake band from the movie Singles), Graham Parsons, Black Keys, Freedy Johnston, Bob Dylan, Foo Fighters, White Stripes, The Replacements, Miles Davis, Elvis Presley. Fratt said there is somewhere around 450 releases, and he bought so much stock that he’s “nervous.”

What record store owner wouldn’t be when you consider that vinyl is “one way” and stores can’t return unsold stock. Fratt said Homer’s still has some RSD merch from previous years in the bins. In the podcast, he talks about the risks involved in RSD for retailers, efforts to keep product out of the marketplace before the official RSD start time, and the impact on small labels. Give it a listen.

Along with Almost Music and Homer’s, records stores Drastic Plastic and the Saddle Creek Shop also are participating in Record Store Day Saturday.

Drastic Plastic Records (DPR) is releasing fan-favorite songs by Bauhaus, Love and Rockets, and Tones on Tail with the release of Daniel Ash’s album, Stripped. “The double record pressed on 180 gram yellow vinyl, features these songs reimagined and re-worked by Ash into infectious, synth-driven, dance music and also includes one new song titled, ‘Come On,‘” said DPR in a release.

* * *

So what’s going on this weekend?

Tonight (Friday) Super Ghost plays at The Barley Street Tavern with Blue Bird and Two Drag Club. $5, 9 p.m.

Also tonight Mat Shoare headlines at fabulous OLeaver’s with Uh Oh and Nathan Ma and the Rosettes. $5, 9:30 p.m.

Saturday is Earth Day (in Omaha anyway). The Earth Day folks are having their usual bash in Elmwood Park all day, and it includes the usual live stage.  The most notable performer on the schedule is McCarthy Trenching at 3 p.m. It’s free.

And then Saturday night is a show dear to me heart: The Hear Nebraska Vol. 3 Compilation release show at The Waiting Room, just in time for Record Store Day. Headlining the festivities is Ladyfinger, who’s joined by the beloved Jake Bellows and hip-hop act Both.

HN Compilation Vol. 3 features tracks from all three of the above bands, along with tracks by John Klemmensen and the Party, Josh Hoyer and the Shadowboxers, Cursive, M34n St33t, Halfwit, Outlaw Con Bandana and The Bottle Tops. You need this limited edition vinyl. Pick up a copy at the show. Cover is $7, and it starts at 9 p.m.

Also Saturday night, Clarence Tilton celebrates the release of their debut CD at the Reverb Lounge. Opening is Monday Mourners and Kelly Maxwell. $7, 9 p.m.

Finally Sunday night Captured Tracks artist The Soft Moon a.k.a. Luis Vasquez plays at the Reverb Lounge with Noveller. $12, 9 p.m.

That’s all I got. If I missed your show, put it in the comments section. Have a great weekend.

* * *

Read Tim McMahan’s blog daily at Lazy-i.com — an online music magazine that includes feature interviews, reviews and news. The focus is on the national indie music scene with a special emphasis on the best original bands in the Omaha area. Copyright © 2015 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.