Brought to life by a group of enthused record store owners and enthusiasts in 2007, Naperville’s very own Purple Dog Records store, a vintage and new vinyl store, is part of this year’s national Record Store Day, a day to celebration independent record stores in the nation and internationally, on April 18.
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“This is our first year to celebrate,” says owner Erin Gavin who opened the store with her father, Joel Sticker, both long-time fans of vinyl. They opened the store in June of last year near the Naperville Metra train station,. “It’s exciting to see how this [Record Store Day] has grown in following and how many artists now time their LP releases specifically to that day.”
With more than 1,200 registered record stores in the nation and another 1,000 worldwide, part of the celebration in this year’s Record Store Day celebration there will be about 400 exclusive releases in the U.S. including the heavy metal band Metallica.
But heavy metal and rock bands are not the only ones releasing old and new songs as well as albums on vinyl. Other popular vinyl records Purple Dog Records is anticipating include Slayer and Foo Fighters. Even Dolly Parton is part of the vinyl craze.
“The offering is all over the place in genres,” says Gavin expecting a large crowd to show based on the amount of email inquiries she’s received. Special deals on vintage vinyl will most likely also spark just as much interests as those new releases, Gavin anticipates.
“We are marking our $5 vintage vinyl down to $3.33, playing off the long play 33 1/3 rpm LP,” Gavin says. Prices for new vinyl records typically run between $25 and $30.
Purple Dog Records and neighboring Orazio Pub, at 333 North Center St, are collaborating to bring the first Record Store Day, or RSD, to Naperville in style with their motto being “Eat, Drink and Buy Records,” Gavin chuckles.
Orazio Pub, family-owned since its establishment in 1987, and now run by Michelle Egizio, granddaughter of original owner, with the help of family members. The pub is opening space to host some local bands, musicians, and to cater not just to the ears but to the taste buds also.
“We will have Stellar, a youth rock band from School Of Rock, performing,” Orazio says, not the first time to give the young group a stage. Naperville band Trés Moustache will be followed by an individual performance by the better known Keith Sempel, a Northern Irish singer and musician, of the Keith Sempel Band.
“We are not just small business neighbors but also friends,” explains Egizio why she is taking pride in supporting the little vinyl store next door. “Music is part of our business too,” she adds, looking to engage more local musicians to play at Orazio Pub starting in May.
A not-so-typical pub menu perfectly compliments the not-so-typical music celebration that brings nostalgia into the 21st century.
Not set up to play those vinyls? The Internet and other record stores will surely have traditional as well as digitally adaptable players with USB outputs to choose from. “We got ours online,” Gavin says.
Although many stores will use the celebration held annually every third Sunday in April to further promote their vinyl only a select number of independent stores are part of the officially affiliated Record Store Day.
Gavin and her dad are excited to bring this to Naperville, and look forward to future celebrations and events with it. “We just want to get a feel of what works and spark the interest,” says a humble Gavin.
Daina Saleh is a freelance reporter.