By Staff
By: Renzo Pocasangre and Luis Castilla
From vinyl giants to hole-in-the-wall shops, record stores across Long Beach are ready to drop the needle on this year’s Record Store Day on Saturday, April 22.
Since the first Record Store Day in 2008, independent brick-and-mortar record stores nationwide have become a celebrated institution. On this day, dozens of exclusive vinyl records and colorful new prints of beloved favorites are made available with the selection changing year to year.
At its core, Record Store Day is a celebration of small businesses keeping the vinyl community alive. Although there’s only one Record Store Day, the organization behind the holiday has made many changes since its inception including the creation of RSD Black Friday events and various contests and promotions throughout the year for record stores.
This year, Taylor Swift’s “folklore: the long pond studio sessions” album pressed on double gray vinyl is one of the event’s most anticipated exclusives. There will also be exclusive presses from Beach House, The Rolling Stones, Billy Joel and many others. The full list of exclusives can be found on the official Record Store Day website.
Long Beach is home to several independently-owned record stores and while not all will participate in the official Record Store Day event, most will celebrate it in their own unique way.
As the biggest record store in Long Beach, Fingerprints Music in East Village is a major draw for vinyl collectors.
Fingerprints Music will have 20-minute appointments for those who signed up beforehand, during which they can browse and shop the exclusive records. Reservations for appointments are now closed, but the store will be open to the general public at 1 p.m. and closes at 7 p.m.
People can call Fingerprints Music at (562) 433-4996 to be added to a waiting list for missed appointments.
Exclusive items are limited to one title per person and shoppers should expect long lines and busy aisles at Fingerprints Music on Saturday.
Dyzzy On Vynyl on the corner of Orizaba and East Seventh Street has been in operation since 1999.
Dyzzy on Vinyl is a smaller record store owned and operated by Dizzy Diehm. Dyzzy on Vinyl is a particular hidden gem for vinyl collectors who are looking to peruse Dyzzy's vast personal collection of wide-ranging finds. Photo credit: Renzo Pocasangre
The shop hosts live shows from an eclectic variety of artists. Although it will not officially participate in Record Store Day, owner Dizzy Diehm said he is celebrating Record Store Day in his own way.
“I’ll get someone to maybe do an acoustic set, I have everything on sale and I’ll have some drinks,” Diehm said. “This is like my hangout.”
Dyzzy On Vynyl will celebrate its 24th anniversary on May 22.
Diehm’s shop opens at 12:30 p.m. and closes at 6 p.m. on Saturday.
Residing in the Fourth Street Corridor, Third Eye Records will also participate in Record Store Day.
Ian Steele of Third Eye Records said they will post the exclusives they receive on their website, but without prices or quantities.
Steele said a lot of the action on Record Store Day comes from customer phone calls. Third Eye Records can be reached at (562) 472-4366.
Third Eye Records will open at 10 a.m. for customers to start lining up outside and closes at 7 p.m. Everything is first come, first served and exclusives will be limited to one title per customer.
“Sometimes it’s like a line down the block, but then sometimes it’s like five people,” Steele said.
With vinyl records making their triumphant comeback to the consumer market, music lovers have a lot to look forward to with this year’s Record Store Day on Saturday.
