It’s that time of year, folks; Record Store Day. The time when music fans and vinyl-lovers descend upon their local music store for their annual day of exclusive releases.
Having first kicked off back in 2008, Record Store Day has fast become something of an international holiday on the music-lover’s calendar.
With plenty of special releases hitting the shelves, vinyl fans and collectors come together to hit up independent stores around the world in hopes of finding this year’s most sought-after record.
Of course, we’ve already seen the annual list of special releases coming out on April 13th, so the question remains; what are Aussie retailers doing this year?
With Record Store Day just around the corner, we’ve spoken to record store owners all across the country, and in this edition, we’re chatting to Liam Lynch of Rhubarb Records in Perth to find out more about the store, and what’s on offer this year.
Check out this year’s Record Store Day ambassadors:
Getting to know you: Who are you? What’s your store?
My name is Liam Lynch, I’m 27, and like many people I’m addicted to collecting/listening to vinyl records.
My brother Dylan and I founded Rhubarb Records together with the aim of being a store with a chilled-out and friendly vibe, a lot of passion, and a focus on local music.
How long has your store been around for?
We began with a small online store as well as selling at fairs, and before too long we were able to open a small shop inside Player One (Music school/Retro game shop) in North Perth, which was back in 2014.
In 2016 we moved to our own location in East Vic Park which is the store that I co-own and manage, while Dylan owns and runs Rhubarb Records Vinyl Cafe in Leederville.
That one opened up in November 2017 and shares its space with Billy Black’s Barbering Experience.
Are there any certain genres you cater to at your store?
It’s nice to have two locations, I feel like each one has its own vibe. The East Vic Park store is focused on new/used vinyl and cassettes, as well as turntables and accessories.
The Vinyl Cafe in Leederville has awesome food and coffee, new/used vinyl as well as regular gigs featuring local acts.
We try to cater for as wide a variety of genres as possible for both stores so there’s not really any types of music we avoid.
Both stores have a strong focus on supporting and stocking local music so that encompasses a bit of everything. We also make sure 100% of the profit from local releases goes straight back to the artists.
What has been the most memorable moment in the store’s history?
We’ve been lucky enough to have some incredible gigs at the Vinyl Cafe in Leederville. A couple of standouts for me would have to be Stephen Bailey (of Mt. Mountain), which just had an amazing vibe. What a talent that guy is.
I also had a blast watching Hideous Sun Demon tear it up in a small venue, it’s always a pleasure seeing those guys and the energy they bring.
For the store in East Vic Park, in the very early days we had a live in-store vinyl cutting of a local surf rock band called The Surf Mist. It was the first time I’d seen a direct to disk cutting and to have it done in a packed store with a great band playing was just awesome.
I’ve also been a bit starstruck a few times! We’ve had Ricky Maymi of The Brian Jonestown Massacre through the doors at least once, and Chris Masten of the West Coast Eagles to name a couple.
Check out The Surf Mist’s ‘Go Go Beach Party’:
How did your love of music first begin?
I’d say it began pretty early on. One of my earliest memories is my mum taking me to a sort of musical play group where all the kids would run amok with percussion instruments, so she was a massive influence.
She introduced me to bands like The Stones, Bowie, The Cure, and Motown music like The Supremes and Otis Redding. From there, I always had my older siblings showing me all sorts of awesome stuff.
Dylan is 13 years older than me, and my sister is ten years older so I was very lucky to have them around. I inherited their CDs from about seven or eight years old and got obsessed with Nirvana and bands like that; lots of Seattle stuff.
They influenced my taste a lot growing up. I picked up the trumpet in primary school before ditching it (regretfully) in high school for guitar and drums, which I still play to this day.
How did you get into the world of selling records?
Dylan and I had been collecting for a while, and just got so much enjoyment out of it. I suppose we were feeling a bit ambitious and knowing that other people had made a living doing it we thought “Why not give this thing a real shot?”
Thinking time: What’s your all-time favourite record?
That’s a tough question! It changes from week to week with so many new discoveries coming through the door, but if I had to narrow it down to the three I’m spinning the most at the moment it would be Headhunters by Herbie Hancock, Tepid Peppermint Wonderland Vol. 2 by The Brian Jonestown Massacre, and Been Caught Buttering by Pungent Stench!
Check out The Brian Jonestown Massacre’s ‘Nailing Honey To The Bee’:
Do you also dabble in the world of record collecting? Any ‘white whales’ you’re still trying to track down?
Absolutely! I’ve only just got my listening room at home finished recently, so that’s getting a lot of use.
If there’s one record that I’ll likely never own but would love to, it would be Despise The Sun, a 1998 EP by Suffocation. It’s been reissued recently but I’d give my right arm for the original pressing on yellow vinyl.
A lot of death metal pressings from the ’90s are hard to track down and this is one of them.
I actually had it in my Discogs cart for about three months but never pulled the trigger on it. Sure enough, someone else bought it, so I guess that’s the one that got away.
What have you got planned for Record Store Day this year?
We’ll have both stores open this year once again, from 8am – 5pm. There will be some freebies for the first few people through the door, as well as a prize draw for an Audio-Technica turntable and some other goodies.
To cap it all off at there’s a free entry after party happening at Nowhereman Brewing Company in Leederville with local acts Moana, Myths and Tanaya Harper playing. It’s gonna be a massive day but we can’t wait!
Are there any releases you’re particularly excited for?
For sure! I’m really looking forward to the reissue of Frank Black’s Teenager Of The Year, as well as the Captain Beefheart reissues. There’s plenty more to get excited about this year though, each year seems to get bigger and better.
Check out Frank Black’s ‘Headache’:
Record Store Day 2019
Saturday, April 13th, 2019
Rhubarb Records
4 Basinghall Sreet, East Victoria Park, WA
Rhubarb Records Vinyl Cafe
18b/663 Newcastle Street, Leederville, WA
(Open from 8am – 5pm)
