Psychedelic Lunch

Welcome to our “Psychedelic Lunch” series where we find out how deep the rabbit hole really goes and explore music and musicians from the 60’s to today. Enjoy the trip!

The Record Store Day party started this past Saturday April 23rd 2022. Music lovers and vinyl collectors flooded their local record stores world wide searching for RSD exclusives and elusives. The party went all weekend long. There has been trending posts and videos on all social media platforms where everyone shared their vinyl hauls. In honor of “Record Store Day 22 ”I will cover a brief bit of history about record store culture.

The first Peaches Records and Tapes store opened in Atlanta, GA in 1975. With the huge success upon opening and with support from their loyal fan base, they eventually opened around 45 stores… peaking in the late 70’s. By this time, they had opened up in most major markets all throughout the United States including Sunrise Florida where I frequented the establishment regularly as an avid vinyl collector and huge fan of rock music.

Peaches was THE place to be with their vast inventory, knowledgeable staff, and constant music promotions. 

The iconic Peaches logo was inspired by the California mountains and fruit groves, and was fused with a Georgia style peach crate to hold your personal vinyl collection. Today, Peaches Record Crates carries on the legacy of building these timeless crates for both old and new collectors alike. Our craftsmen quality crates are the perfect addition to your collection and are handmade in the USA.

If you were lucky enough, as we were growing up, your local Camelot had a medieval castle facade. It brought a nice Arthurian vibe to the mall. In the late 1970s, Camelot also tried to launch a chain of free-standing brick-and-morter stores called Grapevine Records and Tapes.

Folks in the Chicago area will remember this spot for CDs and tapes. The chain eventually expanded to other states.

Don’t be fooled by the cute name — this New England–based chain had ties to the mob. Strawberries was opened and owned by Morris Levy, erstwhile owner of Manhattan’s famed Birdland jazz club and president of the Roulette Records label. In 1988, Levy was convicted of extortion in Federal court. The FBI claimed he had ties to organized crime and drug dealers.

Sam Goody was one of the last on this list to survive, as the mall chain made it into the new millennium before filing for bankruptcy in 2006. The slogan proclaimed “Goody got it,” and indeed the company was able to lure big names to its New York City store. Even Laverne & Shirley showed up to sign copies of their record in 1976.

Tower was one of the last giants. Its strength was in its stock, as the big retailer was able to carry seemingly every title, including a healthy selection of imports.

Those from the Atlanta area undoubtedly picked up some wax from Turtle’s. The chain expanded around the Southeast. We remember showing up to one for a Rolling Stones Voodoo Lounge release party back in the day.

Located just north of the famed intersection of Hollywood and Vine, the landmark Capitol Records Building was designed by Welton Becket, the architect who also designed the Music Center, Cinerama Dome, Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, and the department store that now houses the Petersen Automotive Museum. The 13-story tower, which resembles a stack of records, was the world’s first circular office building when it was completed in April 1956.

The Capitol Records Building is the site of the historic Capitol Studios, where Frank Sinatra, The Beach Boys, Nat “King” Cole, Sir Paul McCartney, and many more music legends recorded some of the most treasured music in history. The first album recorded at Capitol Studios was Frank Sinatra Conducts Tone Poems of Color. The Capitol Studios feature echo chambers that were designed by legendary guitarist and recording innovator Les Paul. The echo chambers are subterranean concrete bunkers that are located 30 feet underground. They can provide reverb that lasts up to five seconds – the effect is perhaps most famously heard on The Beach Boys classic, Good Vibrations.

THE RED LIGHT

The building’s 90-foot rooftop spire, which resembles the needle on a phonograph, is topped by a red light that continuously blinks the word “Hollywood” in Morse code. The light was turned on when the building opened in 1956 – Leila Morse, the granddaughter of Samuel Morse, threw the switch. In June 1992, the message was changed to “Capitol 50” in honor of the label’s 50th anniversary. A year later, the light returned to blinking the original “Hollywood.”

Empire Records the movie.

Joe (Anthony LaPaglia) runs Empire Records, an independent Delaware store that employs a tight-knit group of music-savvy youths. Hearing that the shop may be sold to a big chain, slacker employee Lucas (Rory Cochrane) bets a chunk of the store’s money, hoping to get a big return. When this plan fails, Empire Records falls into serious trouble, and the various other clerks, including lovely Corey (Liv Tyler) and gloomy Deb (Robin Tunney), must deal with the problem, among many other issues.