Thanks to everyone who came into the shop yesterday for our Record Store Day sale. For the vinyl collectors out there, we still have a few RSD pieces available at the time I'm writing this: Pavement, Them Crooked Vultures, Queens of the Stone Age, John Lennon, Neko Case, Rodriguez, Roky Erickson and Okkervill River, Tegan and Sarah, Sharon Jones / Budos, Jeff Beck, Flaming Lips, Peter Gabriel / Stephin Merritt, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Tom Waits, Elvis Costello... and a couple more, I think.

Now, on to the subject of the post: our raffle. Last night after closing we drew some winners from the magic bag of entries, and here's what we came up with:

1. 9613 Claimed Fihavanana


2. 9702 Claimed Animal Collective Crack Box


3. 9635 Claimed the Grouper


4. 9511 Claimed Peter Gabriel LP


5. 9734 Claimed Sharon Jones prize pack


6. 9546


7. 9584 Claimed Anduin LP


8. 9579


9. 9744 Claimed autographed Bon Iver CD


10. 9567 Claimed Dinosaur Jr CD and Poster


11. 9680


12. 9501 Claimed Dinosaur Jr Skatedeck


13. 9597

And here are the prizes. As they're claimed, I'll stroke them out:

1. Fihavanana (Mississippi Records) - a 3LP set of field recordings and photography from Madagascar (out of print, limited and hand numbered to 200 copies; donated by Vortex); claimed by ticket 9613


2. Animal Collective’s 3LP Crack Box (out of print and limited to 1000 copies; donated by me); claimed by ticket 9702


3. Signed test pressing of Anduin’s Abandoned In Sleep LP (one of a kind!; donated by SMTG Ltd.);


4. Signed copy of Triple Burner's self titled LP (out of print; ltd to 500; donated by Triple Burner)


5. Grouper's Wide LP (ltd to 1000; donated by Grouper) Claimed by 9635


6. Dinosaur Jr. skatedeck (pictured at left; donated by Jagjaguwar); Claimed by 9501


7. Dinosaur Jr. Farm CD and autographed Dinosaur Jr poster (donated by Jagjaguwar); Claimed by ticket 9567


8. Autographed CD of Bon Iver’s For Emma, Forever Ago (donated by Jagjaguwar); Claimed by ticket 9744


9. Sharon Jones / Budos Band split 7" (donated by me) and autographed Sharon Jones poster (donated by Daptone Records) Claimed by 9724;


10. La Roux RSD 7" (Donated by Universal Music);


11. Peter Gabriel Scratch My Back LP (Donated by Universal Music); Claimed by ticket 9511


12. Peter Gabriel / Stephin Merritt 7" (Donated by Universal Music);


13. Elvis Costello 7" (Donated by Universal Music);

Now, me deciding that this prize is first prize and that prize is second prize, etc., seemed kind of silly because what I consider the grand prize may be completely useless to the holder of the first ticket drawn. So, here's how it's going to work:

If you are the ticket holder for one of these prizes, you must .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) your name, ticket number, and a list of which prizes most appeal to you, in order from most desirable to least desirable. Then, the first person to email me will get their first choice of prize. The second person will get their first pick unless it matches the first winner, in which case they'll get their second pick, etc. etc. until there are no prizes remaining. Do not call the shop or just show up with your ticket.

Obviously, the sooner you email me, the better chance you've got of getting your first choice. AND it is probably best if you list ALL the prizes that you're interested in, in order of most wanted to least. That way we don't have to do a back and forth in the emailing if your choices are already accounted for.

Lastly, I leave for California a week from today. I'd love to get all this settled by then. Therefore, I'm giving people until Wednesday to email me with their prize picks. After that, I will draw some other winners to replace those who haven't written.

Remember you must show your ticket to claim your prize.

Congrats to all the winners and remember to join our mailing list to hear about future contests and sales.

We've several Japanese Beatles LPs on the wall at the moment and there's a ton of CDs in the new arrivals now--most came in yesterday. Some fantastic jazz, including a copy of Bill Evans' Secret Sessions box set. Here's just a small taste of some of the non-jazz:

Various Artists - A Field Guide to the Table of Elements
David Sedaris - Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim
Albert King - Saturday Night in San Francisco
Justin Townes Earle - The Good Life
Robert Pete Williams - Free Again
Ken Boothe - All I Own
Garland Green - Jealous Kind of Fella
James Carr - A Man Needs a Woman (Japanese Import)
Memphis Slim - Parisian Blues
Soul Children - The Singles / Open Door Policy
Robbie Basho - Bonnist Supreme
Akrobakkus - Afenginn
Cocoon - From Panda Mountain
310 - After All
Christian Kleine - Beyond Repair
Knocker Jungle - s/t
Los Flechazos - Haciendo Astillas El Reloj
Tarentel - From Bone to Satellite
Ike and Tina Turner - Proud Mary (Best of)
Barrington Levy - Best of
Constantines - The Modern Sinner Nervous Man
Brian McBride - When the Detail Lost its Freedom
Volcano Choir - Unmap
Ohbijou - Beacons
Taylor Dupree and Kenneth Kirschner - Post Piano 2
Meredith Monk - Beginnings
Brian Eno - Discreet Music
Mumford and Sons - Sigh No More
M. Ward - Amnesia
Richard Swift - The Novelist
Merzbow - about 5 different CDs
Godflesh - 3CD set
Many Songs: Ohia and Magnolia Electric Co CDs and EPs, including some tough to find ones
And dozens of other treats I can't remember off the top of my head

We've also got a copy of the 10CD spoken word set, The Best of the Moth, featuring stories by Thomas Dolby, Joe Jackson, Jerry Stahl, Kimya Dawson, Joyce Maynard, Dominick Dunne, Lewis Lapham, Adam Gopnik, Meg Wolitzer, Jonathan Ames, and many others. This is a fantastic set and a steal at $35.

And for the person who read to the bottom... be the first one to walk in the door on Saturday, March 20th and tell me I'm looking even more dapper than usual and you'll get a ticket for two to the Neil Young Trunk Show at the Royal. And yes, I only have one ticket to give away. The screening is next week, starting March 26, and the ticket is good any night the film plays.

So Record Store Day is in about a month and a half: Saturday, April 17. This will be the first time that Vortex has participated and we'll do our best to make it a great day to come visit the shop.

Though we don't have confirmation on which exclusive RSD releases we will be able to offer, we will have at least one major vinyl piece which none of our competition will: Fihavanana - A Collection of Field Recordings and Photography from Madagasikara is a 3LP release from Mississippi Records. Only 200 copies were pressed for the world, 40 of which were kept by the field recordist and 160 of which were distributed to stores by MR. Vortex has the only copy in the city, if not the province. They're hand numbered and ours is #98! In addition to the triple wax, there's a 16 page book of notes and photos by field recordist Charles Brooks.

There's one LP of a capella singing, one of Valiha Marovany, and one of miscellaneous instruments.

I didn't feel right just throwing it out for sale as it would have made many of our regular Mississippi Records-loving customers upset when they missed out on it--even though one would have been delighted. So, we're going to have a raffle for it on Record Store Day. We haven't decided all the details, but we'll post them here when we do.

Though I've known about this for a month, I've been waiting till I actually had it in my hand before announcing. So, yeah, it arrived, along with the following Mississippi Records releases and restocks:

Clara Rockmore - $18.99
Abner Jay - $14.99
Reverend Overstreet - $14.99
Fight On Your Time Ain't Long - a measly $11.99
Breeders (limited to 1000 copies) - $14.99

- Tom Cora & The Ex - Scrabbling at the Lock:

North American re-issue of a masterpiece of our generation. The perfect blend of angsty punk rock, Eastern European leanings and free improv. Tight rhythms, roaring guitars, smartly political vocals and and the late Tom Cora's amazing cello work. $14.99

- A 7" of Chin Chin. Who are Chin Chin? Here's what MR says:

From Biel Switzerland, comes this little known group. One of the few all-girl bands (along with Kleenex/Lilliput) to come out of the early 80's Swiss punk scene. Chin Chin definitely considered themselves a punk band. Although their catchy pop vocals and harmonies strongly aligned them with the burgeoning C86 scene. They shared bills with The Shop Assistants, Television Personalities, The Pogues and New Model Army, before the band drifted into obscurity. This 7" was originally released in 1984 on the band's own, Farmer Records. It contains 3 self-penned songs and marks their first and punkest release. Keep your eyes peeled for their full length LP out soon as a split between the Mississippi and Slumberland labels.

Eris - The Feast of the Appetites of Eris:

Each year, on the Sunday prior to Mardi Gras, a rag tag group of musicians assembles to provide the soundtrack for the progression of the parade of the Krewe of Eris. This past parade, a food based banquet, the sounds of this 62 piece band was captured on cassette and two microphones towering overhead. Brass and percussion working through seven originals and a cover through the streets of New Orleans, with accompaniment of paraders, bottles, sirens, and food. Field recording that sounds just like it sounded. A pressing of 1,000 with an insert and silk screened covers. $14.99 (This one is actually on Domino Sound, one of Mississippi's Sister labels).

We also found a distributor that had some of an early MR release in stock: the currently out of print Spirtual Singers LP. They're on their way and we should have them in about a week:

Obscure African LP reissue. Congolese pop-Gospel, ca. 1970-1980. Released 2009. No catalog number and no indications on cover or label that this is a Mississippi Records release, however "MR032" appears in the dead wax. "Loose-knit, almost ‘Shaggs-like’ rhythms accompanied by male and female vocals. From slow dirges reminiscent of Beatles pop melodies to fast African rockers inspired by American '50s R&B. A truly unique record."