At 9:45 p.m. on Friday, Nick Holcman was setting up a cot and his sleeping bag in front of Campus Town Mall waiting for Flat Black and Circular to open its doors for Record Store Day.
Holcman, a social work sophomore, was hoping to get his hands on a copy of Brand New’s “Deja Entendu.” The album was originally released on vinyl in 2003, with the limited number of copies going on eBay for nearly $500. The re-issue was made available exclusively for Record Store Day and limited to 1,500 copies across the country.
Record Store Day was conceived in 2007 as a nationwide celebration of independent record stores and the community of music lovers who take part in the unique culture of record collecting. Each year, a number of artists release exclusive songs and albums on vinyl to help boost sales.
“We get so much music in each year,” Dave Bernath, the owner of Flat Black and Circular said. “Something in just about every genre gets put out. We have a cross-section of everyone from baby boomers to 15-year-olds coming in.”
Record stores in East Lansing, including Flat Black and Circular and The Record Lounge, anticipated huge numbers of record collectors lining up outside their stores to grab some of this year’s exclusive releases.
“I put in an order for eight copies of the Brand New record,” said Heather Frarey, owner of The Record Lounge. “I ended up getting just one.”
When Saturday morning came around, both stores had significant lines of clamoring fans waiting with lists of the records they hoped to pick up. Other big releases for this year included popular artists like Run The Jewels, Vampire Weekend and The White Stripes.
“It’s good to have a list of what releases you want beforehand,” Frarey said. “Last year I had nine boxes come in and this year I’ve got 17. I’ve been getting a lot of calls about Record Store Day so we’re expecting a huge line of people.”
Customers were filing in through the afternoon to purchase records but only the first few were able to grab copies of “Deja Entendu,” this year’s most exclusive item.
“I’m super excited about this,” Nick Holcman said, holding his new copy of “Deja Entendu.” “I’m also excited to get home and sleep.”
Record Store Day is the biggest day of sales for both stores, said their owners. And each year the number of customers and sales manages to top itself.
“It’s crazy to do all of this by hand,” said Jon Howard, the manager of Flat Black and Circular, as he looked at a stack of over 500 unboxed records. “But it’s fun and people enjoy shopping for this kind of stuff. It’s a happy place to work.”
Live bands and DJs played sets throughout the day as the stack of exclusive records continued to shrink.
