Record Store Day 2018

Line at Mill City Sound

Well, well, well, it's that time of year: the sun is finally out and shining here in the chilly twin cities, Minnesota, spring is here, and what better way to celebrate than national Record Store Day! My trusty digging partner Eveline and I grabbed some coffee and set out for a day of digging, music, digging & more digging!

First stop was Mill City Sound to stand in line for limited edition releases... Well, we didn't realize how much the fame of the record store had spread over the last year and the line was around the corner! We waited for a good 2 hours before getting to the record bins, it was quite the wait, but very much worth the wait! I grabbed the 2 7"s I wanted, Bernard Purdie's new record, The Messenger Incorporated's Soulful Proclamation re-press, and the new Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio live record (which I hear is now out of print!). I also managed to snag a Salsoul release I had my eye on for awhile: The Greatest Show on Earth by Metropolis (Check the breakdown on this track).

Finds of the day

We then made two quick stops at the Electric Fetus & Hymie's Vintage vinyl. The Electric Fetus was swarming with Prince fans & quite chaotic, so I just made a quick dip in the vinyl & CD bins, and picked up a re-press of Thelonious Monk's Monk's Dream, which had been on my list for quite sometime (it's a classic without debate, a shame I hadn't gotten into my collection sooner), and a funk comp by DJ Shadow. Then we moved onto Hymie's Vintage Vinyl, who always throws a mean block party–they were quite crowded again this year, so this was a quick stop too. I found the repress of Cymande's Promised Heights done by the ever-amazing Mr. Bongo Worldwide and a 7" of Hijack by Herbie Mann.

After these stops, some more coffee, and a short walk, we made our way back to Mill City Sound as I had the chance to DJ for the last hour of the day. I spun a mix of afro, latin, funk & jazz, all on 45s, which was a first for me, but I was incredibly pleased with how it turned out. Eveline had the luck of finding a repress of Ahmad Jamal's Awakening and brought it over while I was spinning, so I dug into my gig money and made my final purchase of the day. All in all it was quite the successful day & I was more than overjoyed to get to DJ on one of my favorite days of the year! Here's to Record Store Day & all the wonderful time it brings!

For those of you who missed it, Here's my setlist from Saturday complete with links! Enjoy:

1. Roy Ayers - Hey Uh-What You Say Come On
2. Harry Mosco - I Feel Funky
3. Derobe Dance Band - Gogoplata
4. Vaudou Game - La Vie C'est Bon
5. Gordon Henderson & U-Convention -
Hard World
6. Zebra - Simple Song
7. L.A. Boppers - Life is What You Make It
8. Prime Cut - Message to the Ghetto
9. 94 East - Games
10. Dawn and Sunset - Move In The Room
11. Q.A.S.B. - Good Guy
12. A.J. & The Jiggawatts - Party Music
13. Rufus Thomas - The Breakdown (Part 2)
14. Skull Snaps - It's A New Day
15. The Honey Drippers - Impeach the President 
16. James Brown - The Payback (Part 1)
17. Dennis Coffey - Ubiquitous
18. Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio - Concussion
19. Harold Mabern - I Want You Back
20. Orgone - Don't Stop
21. Julius Brockington & The Magic Force - This Feeling (Freedom) (Part 1)
22. Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings - How Do I Let A Good Man Down?

"Oh hi Mark," thanks for a great day!

Till next time, Peace, Unity, Love & Having Fun ~ DJ Blue Funk