So you may have noticed that there has been a drop off of my on-line cheerleading for the Nix Rock 'n Roll Comics Pre-Order Campaign.
Was I plotting my next move? Nah, I have at best a loose plan on the best of days.
Was I licking my wounds over low turn-out? Nope! Pretty happy with sales? (so far.)
Was I sick or tired or sick AND tired? Yeah. That one. My wife Kate and I took a vacation out to Portland, Oregon, including a day trip out to the coast. (Cannon Beach Pictured)
Immense thanks to my friend of over three decades, Al, who put us up in his place, let us play with his dog, and took us to fancy places to eat like a James Beard award winning place named Kann. Also thanks to Zack Static and Joel Jett for recs on record, book, and comic shops. (I wish I could have hit them all!)
Here's my shopping haul on a day by day basis: Saturday:
My first stop was actually walking distance from Al's place in Milwaukie, Daily Records. The shop is a bright spot in a fairly dim strip mall. About half of the storefronts were either empty or featured going out of business sales. The somewhat grim situations of its neighbors made Daily Record's neat and well organized shop space seem all the more brilliant. I really enjoyed chumming around the owner and I feel like a bit of a dick for not remembering his name. Especially since we have a shared record and comic shop background. The comic shop background really shows in the displays at the shop which maximize the amount of visible album art.
I ended up buying a comp of the Remains, a 60s Boston garage rock outfit and the Pretenders' "Extended Play" mini-LP, which I somehow didn't already have a copy of. Thanks to discogs for keepin' me updated on collection needs.
Sunday:
Sunday started as a "culture" day. After scarfin' down some Voodoo Donuts (Yeah, I'm a tourist. Sue me.) Al, Kate, and I headed to the Portland Art Museum to catch the Paul McCartney "Eye of the Storm" exhibit. It features Sir Paul's personal photos from 1963-64 and is pretty amazing... Even to someone who's personal British Invasion preferences go something like: Kinks > Who > Stones > Troggs > Beatles > I dunno... Herman's Hermits. (with special mention to the great bands like the Downliners Sect, Pretty Things, and Liverbirds who weren't part of the Invasion force.)
After the Museum we headed to Mississippi Records, which I remember enjoying about 12 years ago on my first trip to Portland. (NW natives, did it move? I thought it was actually on Mississippi Avenue back then.) Anyways, it's a must stop location for garage rock types like me as it is home to the record label that hosted seminal proto-punk band Dead Moon and it's leading lights Fred and Toody Cole. In fact, I gather I missed the city's Fred Cole Day celebration! Drag!
I grabbed some real goodies from Mississippi Records! The Imperial Rockabillies comp (Not named as such, but it's Volume 1 and I've been sitting on Volumes 2 and 3 in my collection for years!) the Pogues' Hell's Ditch LP produced by Joe Strummer. A reissue of the Beat Happening's excellent Dreamy LP. Best of the lot is the pictured Numero Group comp titled Beehive Basement: The Girl Group Underground. If it looks like those women on the cover are coming to kick your ass, it's because THEY ARE. I also got a small pile of singles discussed below.
At some point we ended up at one of the smaller Powell's Books locations on Hawthorne. I picked up a cheap used copy of Greil Marcus's "The History of Rock 'n' Roll in Ten songs."
We wrapped up the day in the Sellwood neighborhood at a crazy fun little book/thrift/junk shop whose name I've forgotten. (My memory seems to be going in my dotage.) The place was loaded with (among other tings) used books, VHS tapes, Halloween masks, and cool old photos like these:
The Hammer films 8x10 is from Hammer Films' Brides of Dracula, which actually doesn't have Dracula in it... But does have my favorite vampire "kill" where (Spoiler) Peter Cushing destroys the head vamp by trapping him in the cross shaped shadow of a windmill. Watch for the other photos as short story prompts at some point in the future.
Monday:
Limited shopping Monday. Al took Kate and I out to the coast to see Cannon Beach and his favorite camping spot around the beach at Cape Lookout state Park. We also hit the Tillamook Creamery for ice cream... Cuz!
Tuesday:
The big shopping day was Tuesday. Al had to work, so we were on our own. Left to our devices, we of course hit a (the?) bookstore, a record store, and an antique mall.
The book store was the main Powell's "City of Books" on Burnside. If you've never been its pretty amazing. Despite my east coast bias, I'd say its on equal footing with the Strand in New York City. I kind of didn't want to load up on books, knowing that I had a long day of hiking around in front of me, but... Y'know... I've been meaning to read the original "The Warriors" novel and "Dino" by Nick Tosches forEVER. I also couldn't resist the spinner rack of small press zines and comics. The new Henry and Glenn book was a must have, Used Records and Tapes will probbaly send me down a path of collecting all the issues to date, and I'm a little scared to read Microcosm's Beyond the Bookshelf.
Not to be outdone, Kate has made our home happier by adding a couple cute little dog and cat poetry books, the Gen X pleasing School House Rock! coloring book, and a Dusty Springfield bio written in part by Penny Valentine. (We've both fallen in love with penny Valentine thanks to the dramatic readings of her reviews on the Yesterday's Papers youtube channel.
Our next stop was at 2nd Avenue Records at (duh) 400 SW Second Avenue. Totally my kind of shop... Filled to the brim with organization dictated by the shape of the store and the multitudinous variety of different shaped and sized bins. The act that they blared Judas Priest our entire visit also endeared me to the place. The two clerks were busy at work, too busy to chat, but seemed cool.
I picked up the Fleshtones' recent but not newest LP ...The Band Drinks For Free and an amazing Link Wray 10", Link Sings Elvis. I'd kind of sworn off 10"ers, but I had to have this! I also bought a small stack of 45s.
Kate was much smarter and much more practical than I, buying items made of light weight cloth as opposed to heavy plastic. The X-Ray Spex Tee is neat and she'll look sharp in it, but the tote-bag the real winner. It's a slightly larger size with a flat bottom. Perfect for lugging records!
Our final shopping stop of Tuesday and the trip was a GIGUNDOUS antique mall named The Memory Den, which purports to be the largest in Portland. (I believe them!) It was across the river from 2nd Avenue Records and we walked there, which kind of perplexed our host. ("I mean... people do that... " with and unspoken ...but) Totally worth the hike!
Kate's main purchase was this adorable pink and white cocker spaniel planter, which I made look like it was bashful because it tinkled inside. Because I'm mentally ten years old. I went looking for records, of course. I could tell it was the kind of antique mall where some vendors had a selection of records that are way overpriced. My Spidey-Sense was tinging, though and I knew there was a section of cool cheap wax somewhere. Somewhere was a separate room on the second floor. The name on the Vendor's tags is Gratitude, and that's what I express to the curator of the tiny room!
I ended up buying five quality LPs and a cherry soda for like $30! The two Sylvain Sylvain solo records were on my regret-to--have-sold list dating back to the Evil Empire Records storefront days. The Lime Spiders record is solid Australian punk/garage. I had never before seen the Coolies record Doug which comes with a Comic Book. Kinda had my name written all over it. The big score, though, was the Blue Angel LP, which I've been wanting a copy of since watching the Cyndi Lauper documentary "Let the Canary Sing."
The 45s:
So why didn't I list the 45s I bought with the appropriate record stores? Because I wasn't paying attention and they all just ended up in a big pile in my travel box. (What's a travel box? See "Pro-Record-Nerd-Tips" below!) Regrettably, I can only attribute two of these to their acquisition points for-sure. As always, some of these were purchased as fodder for my ongoing Sketchbook Picture Sleeve projects.
From left to Right Tier 1:
Elvis: Good Rockin' Tonight/I Don't Care If The Sun Don't Shine. For a Pic Sleeve.
Dead Moon Night Tribute 45 from Mississippi Records: Michael Hurley covers Jane c/w The Range Arts Go My Way, an unreleased Fred and Toody song. A gift from the clerk!
The Seculars: Social Skills EP, which I bought because I recognized the label and it was only 99 cents.
Tier 2:
Shadowy Men on A Shadowy Planet: Music for Pets EP. I already have this, but couldn't remember if my copy was red vinyl.
Brenda Lee: Dum Dum/Eventually. For pic sleeve.
The Fleshtones Featuring Mary Huff: I bought this at 2nd Avenue. I remember because they had 2 other recent Fleshtones 45s thatI put back for reasoning that now escapes me.
Tier 3:
The '68 Comeback Sings Peepin' and Hidin'. A drudgey memphis garage rock classic.
The Crystals: He's A Rebel/I Love You Eddie for pic sleeve.
The Champs: Too Much Tequila/Twenty Thousand Leagues
Pro Tip: Bring a Record Box! Alright. Here it is, my professional tip for record shopping when you're far from home. Buy a large size record mailer to pack unfolded into your suitcase. This one that I used last trip is of the variety that holds about 15-20 LPs. It fit neatly both unfolded and folded into my little rolly-suitcase that is sized for overhead bins. I was able to re-pack at the end of the trip with all of my records protected from the rigors of travel. If I had so desired, instead of lugging those heavy records back on the plane, I could have stopped at a post office on my way outta town and mailed them to myself! Yer Welcome.
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