Vinyl Fans Gearing Up For A Holiday Like Weekend

MINNEAPOLIS (WJON News) -- It is a holiday of sorts for record enthusiasts on Saturday. Record Store Day (RSD) is an opportunity for vinyl fans to pick up limited edition records and celebrate the hobby.

PHOTO courtesy of Bob Fuchs/Electric Fetus.

Paul Habstritt, WJON

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Paul Habstritt, WJON

RSD started in 2008 and the Electric Fetus in Minneapolis has taken part in all 17 years. Retail Music Manager Bob Fuchs says they didn't know what to expect that first year:

"It was a new concept and we thought maybe is this a last gasp for a dying industry, we looked at it with a little bit of suspicion, but we ordered the records that were available, and wow were we surprised, people came out in droves that day as small as it was compared to now."

Fuchs says now people line up around the block starting as early as Friday afternoon, and the event continues to grow. RSD has evolved over the years with many stores turning it into a party of sorts with DJs, bands, food, and more.

Paul Habstritt, WJON

PHOTO courtesy of Bob Fuchs/Electric Fetus.

Fuchs says they try to mix things up from year to year and will bring in local artists when they can and in 2016 Prince even stopped in to do some shopping:

"He showed up about 7:00 p.m. and then met with the owners and our buyer and walked around and then he just shopped with his people and the funny part was that most people didn't even recognize he was in the store, I mean everyone's kind of doing their own thing but a few people saw him and tried to grab a photo."

He says Prince just wanted to shop the limited titles like everyone else:

"He loved that he could come out and he wouldn't be bothered or you know harassed and so we would just kind of look at people and just like put our hand up and let him be and they would be like oh great and they would smile and say hi and he would smile and say hi and that was pretty cool."

Fuchs says newer artists like Taylor Swift have helped the hobby to grow and have brought younger people into collecting records.

PHOTO courtesy of Bob Fuchs/Electric Fetus.

He says they will do three to four times more business on RSD than on Black Friday. Record Store Day takes place in April every year celebrating the culture around vinyl collecting. Tune into AM 1240/95.3 FM on Saturday during the 7:00 a.m. hour to hear our full interview with the Electric Fetus's Bob Fuchs about Record Store Day.

Paul Habstritt, WJON

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