Still Buying Records...

I might have made a passing mention in a previous blog that while in Houston waiting on the Deke Dickerson and Los Straitjackets show me and Cathy discovered a neat little record store called Sig's Lagoon. In fact the owner of  Sig's was in the opening band.  It was a good store with new and used stuff. 

Now when you think of used records you might think of the guys who still lived just like they did in a dorm room in 1976, died from eating too many honey buns only they were living at mom's house and then she was left to give his records to Goodwill. I look through stacks of records like that sometime at thrift stores and that is what I think. Some guy died and they gave away his record collection.  Stacks like these seem to be  full of multiple copies of mid 1970s hits like the Bay City Rollers, Henry Gross, Peter Frampton, Paul Anka and the Eagles. I never bought those back then (well I confess to a couple of Eagles 8 tracks) but there must have been a lot of guys like this. Once upon a time America was still the land of the big 12 incher and from the evidence of multiple copies in the bins there were enough of them manufactured and sold to pave the planet in 180 gram vinyl. I don't know what the 8 tracks are paving. I'll try to get the numbers on those later. Anyway what we do around here is buy mostly records you have never heard of. Here is a sample from Sig's. 

Now really we have heard of some of this stuff. That record on top that says bongos. Everybody knows what a bongo is. Then there is a polka record, something by Hank Thompson and the Brazos Valley Boys, a live John Sebastian, an Xavier Cugat, a Pete Fountain (we collect a lot of his stuff and man he made a bunch of records and still is) and a record of English folk songs done on banjo and recorder. Now Sig's had some high dollar collectible, rare records, lots of very good condition stuff for $10 which is about my limit for used. I'll pay $10 if it's something I just can't live without. There were many records in the $5 range (fair to good condition usually) and then a favorite of me and Cathy plenty of $1 bins to dig through which is where all these came from. Easily good fun for a buck. I have spent a lot more than this trying to have a good time. 

Sig's also has new records. Records are popular again and at the Dickerson/Straitjackets show there were a lot of guys eating honey buns snapping up the new records they had for sale at about $25 a pop three and four at a whack. I was plumb embarrassed and uncool to just purchase two cds but I did get to listen to them on the way home that night. I know technology advances fast and I never discount that I might not have heard of the latest thing but I don't think the record people got to do this. 

Sig's also had some turntables in case you are thinking you might not be able to get in on this good fun. I know folks can get pretty snobbish about audio gear but these were $100 which I suspect is entry level. That's ok though. Just to get yourself spinning those big 12 inchers.