The Fall 2008 show dates are October 3rd (early shopping*), 4th and 5th.
After a very successful Fall 2007 show with the most overseas buyers we have ever had, the Austin Record Convention schedule for 2008 is October 3/4/5.
There was no Spring 2008 show, but in 2009 we plan to try a twice a year schedule once again. The tentative dates for 2009 are April 3/4/5 and October 2/3/4. Please remember that "tentative" means these dates are subject to change, so please check back until we list the dates as "confirmed" later this year.
The upcoming Fall 2008 show will be held at the Crockett Event Center at 10601 N. Lamar Blvd. See the map for the location.
Regular Admission: $5
Good for 2 days - Saturday October 4th and Sunday October 5th from 10am-6pm
*Early Shopper Admission: $30 US residents, $15 International residents
Good for all 3 days - Friday October 3rd from 10am-6pm, Saturday October 4th and Sunday October 5th 8am-6pm. Early shopper admission and dealer set-up will start on Friday October 3rd at 10AM and last until 6 PM.
About the Austin Record Convention
The Austin Record Convention is the largest sale of recorded music in the USA. There is more music and related memorabilia available here, at one time, than anywhere else. Ranging from the 78's of the 1930s to the latest compact discs of today, over one million 78s, 45s, LPs, CDs, cassettes, posters and collectibles (probably even a few 8-track tapes!) are in the auditorium. Over 300 different dealers from all over the USA and Europe are spread out over 50,000 square feet of floor space. The show is so big that to see everything takes most of the weekend, so if you're in a hurry we have search announcements at 12, 2, and 4 o'clock from the concession area to help in locating specific items.
The show brings together collectors and dealers from all over the world for a weekend of activity in Austin. The event started in 1981 and has been held twice a year, in the spring and fall, ever since. It has grown steadily over the years and now uses all available floor space at the event center. The location in Austin, "Live Music Capital of the World", is a beautiful city that is great fun to visit has aided in the popularity of the event. If you attend the show be sure to save some energy for an evening visit to any of the many clubs around town and check out the live music scene for which Austin is world famous.
A Show Directory is printed and given away at the event. It lists each dealer attending the show, where they are from, a map with their location in the building and a brief description of their speciality. Larger ad space is availible in the Directory, anyone interested in ads please contact us for space and rate information.
Selling and Buying Vinyl at the Austin Record Convention
The Austin show is the best marketplace to sell and/or buy vinyl in the USA. Whether it’s 45s, 78s or LPs this is the place to sell or buy them. We have an established base of buyers from all over the USA, Europe, Japan, Australia and elsewhere that have been attending our show for many years. If you have a vinyl collection and don’t want to go thru the long drawn out process of selling it on-line, Austin is the place to sell it fast and for reasonable prices. Due to this it’s also the best place to find sought after vinyl, whether it’s soul 45s, hard rock LPs or blues 78s. Either buying or selling vinyl, it’s all about the Austin Record Convention. For over thirty years, The Austin Record Convention has been your music marketplace.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Doheny Gets Its Groove on With Album Art
SOURCE: http://www.usc.edu/uscnews/stories/15568.html
09/05/08
New exhibit showcases many of the iconic record jackets once used to market music to a mass audience.
By Diane Krieger
The exhibit features a wide range of iconic record jackets, including one for Led Zeppelin.
Back in the dark age of analog sound, before jewel boxes and error correction codes rendered them obsolete, quaint paper vessels were used to protect the delicate grooved vinyl our ancestors knew as the phonograph recording.
As the 20th century drifts ever farther in the rear-view mirror, cultural historians are taking a fresh look at such fading ephemera. That’s the idea behind a Doheny Library exhibition that opened Sept. 5.
“A Sound Design: The Art of the Album Cover” pays homage to a medium that charmingly wrapped utilitarian function in aesthetic expression. Co-curated by music library manager Robert Vaughn along with Tyson Gaskill and Andrew Wulf, the exhibit showcases 52 iconic record jackets – from jazz to rock, punk and hip hop – spanning the expressive potential and stylistic variety of this popular art form.
Indeed, Vaughn said, the exhibition underscores that for years, album cover art was the top vehicle for distributing popular art to a mass audience. An album that went gold or platinum would be handled, closely studied and cherished by millions of music fans who otherwise might not look twice at the work of Andy Warhol, Raymond Pettibon or Salvador Dali.
Maybe you didn’t know that Warhol was the cover artist on the Rolling Stones’ 1971 smash, Sticky Fingers, as well as the Velvet Underground’s eponymous 1967 album? And that Pettibon designed Black Flag’s 1982 recording, Six Pack, and Sonic Youth’s 1990 Goo? Or strangest of all, that the Spanish symbolist Dali designed the jacket for one of Jackie Gleason’s popular “mood music” recordings, Lonesome Echo?
The album cover movement started in 1939, when Alex Steinweiss, a Columbia Records graphic artist with an interest in poster art, decided to try something new. At the time, an album cover was a plain heavy wrapper with tombstone-style text, like you’d find on the cover and spine of an encyclopedia.
Steinweiss got creative with the music of Beethoven and Rogers & Hart … and bam. “It was night and day,” Vaughn said. “Album sales started to soar. There was nothing to think about.” Soon every record label was doing it. The Doheny exhibition features Steinweiss’ design for the Cleveland Orchestra’s 1941 recording of Showboat, and a jazz album, Continental Tango, for bandleader Marek Weber. At Columbia, designer S. Neil Fujita took up the Steinweiss mantle with a stirring design for the Dave Brubeck Quartet’s Time Out (1959).
In the 1950s and ’60s, photography-design duo Francis Wolff and Reid Miles took jazz album covers to the next level – establishing a classy look that solidified the BlueNote label as the epitome of recording excellence.
The rock era produced amazing new collaborations such as the identity-defining, 30-year relationship between designer Roger Dean and the band, Yes. Sometimes it gave musicians a new creative outlet. The Doheny show features Brian Eno’s own design on his 1971 release, Ambient #1 Music for Airports, and David Byrne’s jacket for the Talking Heads’ 1983 album, Speaking in Tongues.
Other highlights from the exhibition include underground cartoonist Robert Crumb’s effort for Cheap Thrills, the 1968 LP by Big Brother and the Holding Company (Janis Joplin’s early band) and Jimmy Grashow’s whimsical pop-up gatefold design for Jethro Tull’s (1969) Stand Up.
The exhibition – which features LP jackets, historical tidbits and a video kiosk juxtaposing album imagery with the audio it illustrates – also will have a Web component offering links to in-depth readings. In the music library – conveniently located adjacent to the Rotunda exhibition space – Vaughn will make CDs of featured albums available for use by curious listeners.
“A Sound Design: The Art of the Album Cover” runs through Dec. 15 in the Ground Floor Rotunda of Doheny Library.
09/05/08
New exhibit showcases many of the iconic record jackets once used to market music to a mass audience.
By Diane Krieger
The exhibit features a wide range of iconic record jackets, including one for Led Zeppelin.
Back in the dark age of analog sound, before jewel boxes and error correction codes rendered them obsolete, quaint paper vessels were used to protect the delicate grooved vinyl our ancestors knew as the phonograph recording.
As the 20th century drifts ever farther in the rear-view mirror, cultural historians are taking a fresh look at such fading ephemera. That’s the idea behind a Doheny Library exhibition that opened Sept. 5.
“A Sound Design: The Art of the Album Cover” pays homage to a medium that charmingly wrapped utilitarian function in aesthetic expression. Co-curated by music library manager Robert Vaughn along with Tyson Gaskill and Andrew Wulf, the exhibit showcases 52 iconic record jackets – from jazz to rock, punk and hip hop – spanning the expressive potential and stylistic variety of this popular art form.
Indeed, Vaughn said, the exhibition underscores that for years, album cover art was the top vehicle for distributing popular art to a mass audience. An album that went gold or platinum would be handled, closely studied and cherished by millions of music fans who otherwise might not look twice at the work of Andy Warhol, Raymond Pettibon or Salvador Dali.
Maybe you didn’t know that Warhol was the cover artist on the Rolling Stones’ 1971 smash, Sticky Fingers, as well as the Velvet Underground’s eponymous 1967 album? And that Pettibon designed Black Flag’s 1982 recording, Six Pack, and Sonic Youth’s 1990 Goo? Or strangest of all, that the Spanish symbolist Dali designed the jacket for one of Jackie Gleason’s popular “mood music” recordings, Lonesome Echo?
The album cover movement started in 1939, when Alex Steinweiss, a Columbia Records graphic artist with an interest in poster art, decided to try something new. At the time, an album cover was a plain heavy wrapper with tombstone-style text, like you’d find on the cover and spine of an encyclopedia.
Steinweiss got creative with the music of Beethoven and Rogers & Hart … and bam. “It was night and day,” Vaughn said. “Album sales started to soar. There was nothing to think about.” Soon every record label was doing it. The Doheny exhibition features Steinweiss’ design for the Cleveland Orchestra’s 1941 recording of Showboat, and a jazz album, Continental Tango, for bandleader Marek Weber. At Columbia, designer S. Neil Fujita took up the Steinweiss mantle with a stirring design for the Dave Brubeck Quartet’s Time Out (1959).
In the 1950s and ’60s, photography-design duo Francis Wolff and Reid Miles took jazz album covers to the next level – establishing a classy look that solidified the BlueNote label as the epitome of recording excellence.
The rock era produced amazing new collaborations such as the identity-defining, 30-year relationship between designer Roger Dean and the band, Yes. Sometimes it gave musicians a new creative outlet. The Doheny show features Brian Eno’s own design on his 1971 release, Ambient #1 Music for Airports, and David Byrne’s jacket for the Talking Heads’ 1983 album, Speaking in Tongues.
Other highlights from the exhibition include underground cartoonist Robert Crumb’s effort for Cheap Thrills, the 1968 LP by Big Brother and the Holding Company (Janis Joplin’s early band) and Jimmy Grashow’s whimsical pop-up gatefold design for Jethro Tull’s (1969) Stand Up.
The exhibition – which features LP jackets, historical tidbits and a video kiosk juxtaposing album imagery with the audio it illustrates – also will have a Web component offering links to in-depth readings. In the music library – conveniently located adjacent to the Rotunda exhibition space – Vaughn will make CDs of featured albums available for use by curious listeners.
“A Sound Design: The Art of the Album Cover” runs through Dec. 15 in the Ground Floor Rotunda of Doheny Library.
Album Cover Art
Let's continue our look at controversial, weirdest, the worst and the best album covers (according to 'Gigwise') While certainly up for debate, the album covers represent how this visual medium that helped to sell the music that was made.
Controversial
Bloodhound Gang: Hefty Fine
The Bloodhound Gang is an American rock band from Trappe, Pennsylvania. Their songs typically have humorous and off-beat, often satirical lyrics. The group formed in 1992 and have sold a total of more than 5,000,000 albums. The band's album, "Hefty Fine," was released on September 27, 2005.
The title came about after Evil Jared Hasselhoff was fined during work on MTV's "Viva La Bam" (The Scavenger Hunt episode). Jared was fined $20,000, which Jimmy Pop allegedly had to pay (This is discussed in the "Uncommon-tary" Of the Viva La Bam DVDs). The CD's original title, Heavy Flow, was scrapped when it was noticed that fellow musician Moby had a song with the same name. All hail the fat man in the box!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Weirdest
Ben Arthur: 'Edible Darling'
Ben Arthur is not your everyday folk-rock-country-blues singer-songwriter. After kicking around the college circuit and self-releasing two albums the previous decade, Ben Arthur shrewdly adds enough electro-nervous, street-cred-savvy production sheen (courtesy of producer/engineer Mike Shipley, whose performed similar alchemy for everyone from Aerosmith and Def Leppard to india.arie and Shania Twain) on this boutique label third release to lure even the most jaded adult-alternative fan. Naked emotion and ambiguous states of mind have long been the genre's oft-conflicting stocks in trade, but they make for a compelling balancing act here as Arthur's dry, wry vocal tack informs everything from the savory, psych-pop bounce of "Mary Ann" to the equally hook-rich "Broken Hearted Smile" and "Mercy." The quiet, acoustic charms of "Instrumental #3" represents a sort of mid-set respite as Arthur kicks off his musical shoes for the infectious country-folk sing-along "Keep Me Around," the spare beauty of "Jesus," and the dreamy dirge "Wake." The brash jangle of "Sight of Your Tears" pushes the "Alt" part of the equation a bit too aggressively, but Arthur's effortless knack for wedding memorable hook to opaque reflection shines through virtually everywhere else. --Jerry McCulley Amazon review
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Worst
MC Hammer – ‘Look Look Look’
Just one word says it all for me, Hammer. When my kids were young, they loved this guy- why does he keep trying to make "music." "You Can't Touch This" is about as big as he will ever get.
The song topped charts in 1990 and earned an estimated $30 million. At the top of the ride Hammer had a $12 million dollar mansion in Fremont, CA, 17 luxury cars and a staff of 250.
"Hammer-Time" was over by 1996, when $13.7 million in the red, he declared bankruptcy. After breaking his leg in 1996 and the murder of friend Tupac Shakur, Hammer experienced somewhat of an epiphany and went back to being "a man of God" (Hammer grew up in a religious envronment and was no stranger to spiritual endevours). Hammer is now an evangilist, his shows now consist of prayer, preaching and gospel singing. This album was released in 2006 and featured production from Scott Storch. The album featured a title single and would sell much more than his previous releases at 300,000 copies worldwide. Is "Hammer-Time" coming back? I doubt it.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Best
THE TEACHES OF PEACHES October 2002
As voted by the Gigwise family, this comes in at number 49 in their "best" album covers. Peaches: ‘The Teaches of Peaches’ is a nice cover, but 'best?', not even in my top thousand. Maybe I am missing something, but as hot as she is, maybe a picture of her face would have been better suited for the album cover.
The Teaches of Peaches is an album by Peaches, released in 2000 (see 2000 in music). It is her second album, but her first under the name Peaches. (Her debut album, Fancypants Hoodlum, was credited to her real name, Merrill Nisker.) Her indie-singer roommate Feist contributed vocals for the album.
On the album, Peaches combines elements of dance music, rock, humor, and casual sexuality in songs like "F**k the Pain Away" and "AA XXX". In 2002, XL Recordings re-released the album and as well put out an "Expanded Edition" featuring a bonus disc. The song "F**k the Pain Away" appeared on the Jackass Number Two original soundtrack and was played during the segment in which Johnny Knoxville dressed up as an old man with a pair of fake testicles hanging from his shorts.
It also was part of the soundtrack for the movie Lost in Translation, starring Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson.
Tune in tomorrow as we continue our look at Album Cover Art!
Controversial
Bloodhound Gang: Hefty Fine
The Bloodhound Gang is an American rock band from Trappe, Pennsylvania. Their songs typically have humorous and off-beat, often satirical lyrics. The group formed in 1992 and have sold a total of more than 5,000,000 albums. The band's album, "Hefty Fine," was released on September 27, 2005.
The title came about after Evil Jared Hasselhoff was fined during work on MTV's "Viva La Bam" (The Scavenger Hunt episode). Jared was fined $20,000, which Jimmy Pop allegedly had to pay (This is discussed in the "Uncommon-tary" Of the Viva La Bam DVDs). The CD's original title, Heavy Flow, was scrapped when it was noticed that fellow musician Moby had a song with the same name. All hail the fat man in the box!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Weirdest
Ben Arthur: 'Edible Darling'
Ben Arthur is not your everyday folk-rock-country-blues singer-songwriter. After kicking around the college circuit and self-releasing two albums the previous decade, Ben Arthur shrewdly adds enough electro-nervous, street-cred-savvy production sheen (courtesy of producer/engineer Mike Shipley, whose performed similar alchemy for everyone from Aerosmith and Def Leppard to india.arie and Shania Twain) on this boutique label third release to lure even the most jaded adult-alternative fan. Naked emotion and ambiguous states of mind have long been the genre's oft-conflicting stocks in trade, but they make for a compelling balancing act here as Arthur's dry, wry vocal tack informs everything from the savory, psych-pop bounce of "Mary Ann" to the equally hook-rich "Broken Hearted Smile" and "Mercy." The quiet, acoustic charms of "Instrumental #3" represents a sort of mid-set respite as Arthur kicks off his musical shoes for the infectious country-folk sing-along "Keep Me Around," the spare beauty of "Jesus," and the dreamy dirge "Wake." The brash jangle of "Sight of Your Tears" pushes the "Alt" part of the equation a bit too aggressively, but Arthur's effortless knack for wedding memorable hook to opaque reflection shines through virtually everywhere else. --Jerry McCulley Amazon review
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Worst
MC Hammer – ‘Look Look Look’
Just one word says it all for me, Hammer. When my kids were young, they loved this guy- why does he keep trying to make "music." "You Can't Touch This" is about as big as he will ever get.
The song topped charts in 1990 and earned an estimated $30 million. At the top of the ride Hammer had a $12 million dollar mansion in Fremont, CA, 17 luxury cars and a staff of 250.
"Hammer-Time" was over by 1996, when $13.7 million in the red, he declared bankruptcy. After breaking his leg in 1996 and the murder of friend Tupac Shakur, Hammer experienced somewhat of an epiphany and went back to being "a man of God" (Hammer grew up in a religious envronment and was no stranger to spiritual endevours). Hammer is now an evangilist, his shows now consist of prayer, preaching and gospel singing. This album was released in 2006 and featured production from Scott Storch. The album featured a title single and would sell much more than his previous releases at 300,000 copies worldwide. Is "Hammer-Time" coming back? I doubt it.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Best
THE TEACHES OF PEACHES October 2002
As voted by the Gigwise family, this comes in at number 49 in their "best" album covers. Peaches: ‘The Teaches of Peaches’ is a nice cover, but 'best?', not even in my top thousand. Maybe I am missing something, but as hot as she is, maybe a picture of her face would have been better suited for the album cover.
The Teaches of Peaches is an album by Peaches, released in 2000 (see 2000 in music). It is her second album, but her first under the name Peaches. (Her debut album, Fancypants Hoodlum, was credited to her real name, Merrill Nisker.) Her indie-singer roommate Feist contributed vocals for the album.
On the album, Peaches combines elements of dance music, rock, humor, and casual sexuality in songs like "F**k the Pain Away" and "AA XXX". In 2002, XL Recordings re-released the album and as well put out an "Expanded Edition" featuring a bonus disc. The song "F**k the Pain Away" appeared on the Jackass Number Two original soundtrack and was played during the segment in which Johnny Knoxville dressed up as an old man with a pair of fake testicles hanging from his shorts.
It also was part of the soundtrack for the movie Lost in Translation, starring Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson.
Tune in tomorrow as we continue our look at Album Cover Art!
This Date In Music History-September 10
Birthdays:
Joe Perry, Aerosmith's resident guitar god, was born in Lawrence, Mass in 1950.
Danny Hutton ("Roses & Rainbows" and a member of Three Dog Night) turns 66.
Cracker frontman Dave Lowry greets the world in 1960. The guitarist is also a founding member of Camper Van Beethoven.
José Feliciano ("Light My Fire") is 63. He also wrote the theme for TV's Chico & the Man. (A correction from Monday, Sept 8th post which incorrectly listed Jose’s birthday as the 8th of September)
History:
Waldo Semon was born in 1898. He invented vinyl in 1926, which was used to make LP and 45 records. He died on 26th May 1998 aged 100.
In 1964 Rod Stewart recorded his first single, "Good Morning, Little Schoolgirl," with the Hoochie Koochie Men in 1964. It promptly disappeared from view, and Stewart would go on to perform with the Jeff Beck Group and the Faces before striking out in a solo direction.
In 1965, the Rolling Stones took over the British pop program Ready Steady Go! Not only did the band members host, but they also interviewed their special guests Manfred Mann, Goldie & the Gingerbreads, and the Preachers. The last were booked because Bill Wyman produced their current single.
Kiss released their first live record, "Alive" in 1975. The double set also becomes their first top 10 album. and contained live performances from KISS' first three albums.
Bob Dylan released his live album "Hard Rain" in 1976.
Blues singer/guitarist Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown died in 2005, at age 81, at his brother's home in Orange, Texas. Brown recorded with such greats as Eric Clapton, Ry Cooder and Frank Zappa.
In 1962, Britain's BBC banned Bobby 'Boris' Pickett's single, "Monster Mash", saying it was offensive. They eventually relented and the song went on to be a UK #3 hit in 1973.
The Byrds began recording "Turn! Turn! Turn!" in 1965. Unlike their first hit, "Mr. Tambourine Man,” members of the group itself were permitted to play instead of session musicians.
The Monkees' "The Last Train To Clarksville" was released in the US in 1966. By the first week of November, it will be the top tune in the nation.
The Supremes achieved their ninth US number one record in 1966 when "You Can't Hurry Love" topped the Billboard chart.
In 1977, David Bowie accepted Bing Crosby's invitation to appear as a special guest on Bing's annual Christmas television special. Bowie and Bing sang duets on "Little Drummer Boy" and "Peace on Earth". The songs were recorded for Crosby's album "Merrie Olde Christmas".
Guns N' Roses enjoyed a number one single in 1988 with "Sweet Child O' Mine" written for Axl Rose's then girlfriend, Erin Everly, the daughter of The Everly Brothers' eldest sibling, Don Everly.
In 2005, the 1967 Beatles track ‘A Day In The Life’ from Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band was voted the best British song of all time by music experts. The survey by Q magazine called the track "the ultimate sonic rendition of what it means to be British.”
In 1991, Nirvana’s single ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ was released in the US.
Joe Perry, Aerosmith's resident guitar god, was born in Lawrence, Mass in 1950.
Danny Hutton ("Roses & Rainbows" and a member of Three Dog Night) turns 66.
Cracker frontman Dave Lowry greets the world in 1960. The guitarist is also a founding member of Camper Van Beethoven.
José Feliciano ("Light My Fire") is 63. He also wrote the theme for TV's Chico & the Man. (A correction from Monday, Sept 8th post which incorrectly listed Jose’s birthday as the 8th of September)
History:
Waldo Semon was born in 1898. He invented vinyl in 1926, which was used to make LP and 45 records. He died on 26th May 1998 aged 100.
In 1964 Rod Stewart recorded his first single, "Good Morning, Little Schoolgirl," with the Hoochie Koochie Men in 1964. It promptly disappeared from view, and Stewart would go on to perform with the Jeff Beck Group and the Faces before striking out in a solo direction.
In 1965, the Rolling Stones took over the British pop program Ready Steady Go! Not only did the band members host, but they also interviewed their special guests Manfred Mann, Goldie & the Gingerbreads, and the Preachers. The last were booked because Bill Wyman produced their current single.
Kiss released their first live record, "Alive" in 1975. The double set also becomes their first top 10 album. and contained live performances from KISS' first three albums.
Bob Dylan released his live album "Hard Rain" in 1976.
Blues singer/guitarist Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown died in 2005, at age 81, at his brother's home in Orange, Texas. Brown recorded with such greats as Eric Clapton, Ry Cooder and Frank Zappa.
In 1962, Britain's BBC banned Bobby 'Boris' Pickett's single, "Monster Mash", saying it was offensive. They eventually relented and the song went on to be a UK #3 hit in 1973.
The Byrds began recording "Turn! Turn! Turn!" in 1965. Unlike their first hit, "Mr. Tambourine Man,” members of the group itself were permitted to play instead of session musicians.
The Monkees' "The Last Train To Clarksville" was released in the US in 1966. By the first week of November, it will be the top tune in the nation.
The Supremes achieved their ninth US number one record in 1966 when "You Can't Hurry Love" topped the Billboard chart.
In 1977, David Bowie accepted Bing Crosby's invitation to appear as a special guest on Bing's annual Christmas television special. Bowie and Bing sang duets on "Little Drummer Boy" and "Peace on Earth". The songs were recorded for Crosby's album "Merrie Olde Christmas".
Guns N' Roses enjoyed a number one single in 1988 with "Sweet Child O' Mine" written for Axl Rose's then girlfriend, Erin Everly, the daughter of The Everly Brothers' eldest sibling, Don Everly.
In 2005, the 1967 Beatles track ‘A Day In The Life’ from Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band was voted the best British song of all time by music experts. The survey by Q magazine called the track "the ultimate sonic rendition of what it means to be British.”
In 1991, Nirvana’s single ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ was released in the US.