(Submitted News) Rockaway Records, a Los Angeles landmark acknowledged by collectors and experts of music memorabilia as one of "the best record stores in America," is celebrating their 30th anniversary!
In honor of their three-decade milestone, Rockaway is turning back the clock and throwing one of their famous parking lot sales Sunday, September 27th at their Silver Lake location at 2395 Glendale Blvd. 30,000 CDs will all be priced at 99 cents each while every item in the store, including collectibles, will be on sale.
While nearly every independent record store (and many chains) in Los Angeles have closed, Rockaway is flourishing. Co-founders, brothers Wayne and Gary Johnson are aggressively acquiring extensive record industry collections and purchasing personal collections of CDs, records, DVDs, concert-related items, tour programs, toys, as well as rock 'n' roll promo items and collectibles. Frequently paying five and six figures for valuable collections, Rockaway recently paid $600,000 for a single collection of vinyl and $150,000 for a CD collection.
"It's remarkable to reflect on founding Rockaway Records 30 years ago and to have actively witnessed the evolution and revolution of an entire industry in a mere three decades. We're extremely proud of our success and know how fortunate we are to be not only weathering a difficult economy, but continuing to make key acquisitions and grow during such a volatile time," said Wayne Johnson, co-founder Rockaway Records. "While we have seen a number of our independent peers come and go over the years, what we offer is more unique than any big box retailer could ever possibly undertake. We are continually looking ahead and plan to not only remain relevant in years to come, but aggressive in the retail marketplace. Trends come and go everyday, but real style and substance is always rediscovered. We feel that moment everyday we open our doors."
Wayne and Gary began re-selling albums in 1979 after attending one of the legendary record swap meets at the Capitol Records parking lot in Hollywood. What began as a hobby more than 30 years ago, quickly turned into a business when they were virtually forced to open a store, if only to house their growing collection! Expert appraisers of music memorabilia, the brothers Johnson have traveled the world buying and selling some of the most highly sought after music and collectibles.
Not only are collectibles in demand for their novelty, but also for their potential appreciation. One often-overlooked area is music memorabilia. These collectibles have yielded some impressive returns. The Johnson brothers are known throughout the world for their honesty and for paying the fairest prices for records and memorabilia. They regularly travel the United States and overseas to purchase private collections and make certain that sellers receive the highest market price.
Rockaway Records, one of the last remaining truly independent purveyors of fine music and memorabilia, is located at 2395 Glendale Blvd. in Silver Lake, one of Los Angeles' hippest neighborhoods.
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25 Years Of Punk - PENNYWISE Covers 7 SECONDS For BYO Records
LA punk label BYO Records is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year with the release of 'Let Them Know: The Story of Youth Brigade and BYO Records.' The release includes a 31-track compilation of songs from the extensive BYO catalog, performed by NoFX, Bouncing Souls, Pennywise, Nothington, Leatherface and many more.
Also included is a documentary on BYO and Youth Brigade's involvement in the early LA punk scene, directed by Jeff Alulis ('Do You Remember? 15 Years of the Bouncing Souls,' 'NOFX Backstage Passport').
'Let Them Know' will be available September 22 as a box set containing a colored vinyl double LP, the film and a hardcover, full-color book. It will also be available on CD (DVD included) and digitally.
The documentary is premiering in LA and will be screening across North America this fall. The Stern brothers, who created BYO, are also founding members of Youth Brigade and will be touring this fall.
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AGENT STEEL's 'Omega Conspiracy' Released On Limited-Edition Vinyl
Night Of The Vinyl Dead has reissued AGENT STEEL's "Omega Conspiracy" album on limited-edition Azure vinyl with a gatefold cover and insert. Originally issued by Candlelight Records in 1999, the LP was made available in 350 hand-numbered copies
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COALESCE Announces Details Of 'Ox' EP
Kansas City, Missouri hadrcore punk/metalcore band COALESCE will release the follow-up EP to its "Ox" album in November via Relapse Records. The "Ox" EP will include seven new tracks and will be available on CD and 12-inch vinyl.
In other news, COALESCE has announce a handful of U.S. shows, including two free shows with CAVE-IN. These Scion-presented dates will take place in Atlanta and Los Angeles on October 7 and October 8, respectively. COALESCE has also been confirmed for this year's The Fest in Gainesville, Florida as well as Austin, Texas' Fun Fun Fun Fest.
Terrorizer magazine's Jill Mikkelson conducted an interview with COALESCE vocalist Sean Ingram at this year's Hellfest, which was held on June 19-21, 2009 in Clisson, France. Watch the five-minute chat below.
"Ox", the first full-length album in 10 years from COALESCE, sold around 600 copies in the United States in its first week of release, according to Nielsen SoundScan. (Note: Internet/digital sales **ARE** included in the SoundScan totals.) The CD landed at position No. 95 on the Top New Artist Albums (Heatseekers) chart, which lists the best-selling albums by new and developing artists, defined as those who have never appeared in the Top 100 of The Billboard 200.
"Ox" was released on CD and LP on June 9 in North America and June 15 internationally via Relapse Records. The CD version is housed in a six-panel digipack with an embossed front cover and contains a 24-page booklet with seven distinctive die cuts. The LP comes in a gatefold jacket with embossed front cover and a custom-printed inner sleeve with a unique die cut center.
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New Death Row Records Opens Snoop Dogg and Tupac Vaults
In January Toronto-based WIDEawake Entertainment Group acquired a bankrupt Death Row Records -- the iconic hip-hop label created by Dr. Dre and Suge Knight in the early 90s -- with the intent to reissue music from its vaults. One of the first orders of agenda for the recently re-launched label is 'The Lost Sessions Vol. 1,' an album's worth of unreleased Snoop Dogg material due this fall. 'The Lost Sessions Vol. 1,' will feature never-before-heard Snoop tracks recorded during the Long Beach rapper's initial days on Death Row. Guest apperances on the album include K-C & JoJo, Nate Dogg and Dr. Dre.
Death Row CEO, Lara Lavi, is also readying a new album of unreleased music from another one of Death Row's finest, the late Tupac Shakur, for 2010. With a new Death Row Films division in the works, Lavi told AllHipHop.com that the label will include unreleased video footage of Tupac in conjunction with the new tracks.
"We're trying to put if out as part of our birthday celebration of Tupac," Lavi said. Tupac would have turned 39 this coming June. "It isn't just the music, what's happened in the course of this whole exercise is so many people have come out of the woodwork for video content that no-one's ever seen before and suggestions for playlists, etc. The fans have been wonderful. The release will include a huge DVD of unreleased, never before seen video also."
Snoop Dogg's 'The Lost Sessions Vol. 1' will hit stores on October 13th. The rapper was recently named Creative Chairman of Priority Records, and plans to release his tenth studio album 'Malice N Wonderland' in December.
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