Admittedly, our family and staff have traditionally been as aloof from Record Store Day as rock stars are from just about anything, but we are always down to support our local musicians–even when they roll into town from somewhere else. This Nov. 29 for RSD Black Friday (Record Store Day’s little cousin) our two biggest piles of vinyl will be Denver-related releases.
The first is the soundtrack to The Elephant 6 Recording Co documentary. Finally an entry-level introduction to the great weird beautiful lo-tech analog brilliance that was Elephant 6! Founder Robert Schneider came out of Ruston, Louisiana, and started The Apples in Stereo while in Denver. Then, through his label helped many bands excel, including Athens psych-maestros Olivia Tremor Control, and Dixie Blood Moustache–an all-woman-playing-kitchen-appliances-band. The songs collected here will most likely draw you into the massive Elephant 6-produced rabbit hole of music, not least of which are local faves Dressy Bessy and The Minders.
Also if you watch the documentary, you’ll see former Wax Traxxers in the bands (Hilarie Sidney, Eric Allen, Rick Benjamin) and talking about the bands (Jason Heller), and former staff from the similarly named Wuxtry Records in Athens in the bands/making music (John Kiran Fernandes, Danger Mouse) and talking about the bands (Mike Turner, who also worked at Wax Trax), subtly highlighting the roles that local record shops can play in supporting local music.
Another artist who started their thing in Denver, the Illinois-born Illenium (who built his career after moving to Denver in 2013) will be dropping into the store to sign the limited RSDBF orange vinyl re–issue of his 2018 LP “Awake,” which was his first to break into the Billboard Top 200 list. The album still holds its own against the mega-hits he’s cranked out more recently with Jon Bellion, Gryffin, and Chainsmokers, and even Taylor Swift (a re-mix of Anti-Hero from her recent Midnights LP). Closer to home, Illenium sold out Red Rocks earlier this year, the same place he was reportedly inspired to get serious about making music back in 2012.
Over at the Broadway store (which is just about to celebrate its 1st birthday with a party on Nov. 8), we’re lining up some great local DJs for the late risers club (doors will open at 11am). The Broadway store will have many of the same releases including a pile of the signed Illenium LPs.
Other highlights among the many many releases we ordered from this year’s RSD Black Friday list include 90’s grungy metal band Helmet’s 1994 release Betty, Thievery Corporation’s iconic Richest Man in Babylon from 2003, and staff favorite for playing in the shop The Carl Stalling Project, a compilation of music from Warner Bros. cartoons. (And yes we’re ordering up plenty of the Dead and Garcia box sets!)
Like Record Store Day, RSD Black Friday comes with a list of exclusive releases, only available at independent record shops like ours. We’ll have all the stuff worth getting, along with some fantastic events to keep ya entertained. Click here for more details on RSD Black Friday at Wax Trax.
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