Archive for January, 2014

I was recently asked the question “What has changed for Avalanche since the book came out in 2009 ?” for the 6th edition of the Graham Jones book Last Shop Standing. It is as concise as I could muster and will come as no surprise to many of you. 

Since 2009 the biggest change for Avalanche has been the propping up of HMV/FOPP by record companies, labels and often landlords. Avalanche has been used to competing with shops in prime locations and getting better deals because of their size for over two decades but to now have to compete with a company often paying little or no rent and not paying for stock until sold is simply not feasible leading us more than ever in 2014 to pursue areas where we are not in direct competition such as posters and second hand vinyl. 

Coming soon !

Meanwhile – 10 Things That Need To Change To Save Independent Venues 

http://thequietus.com/articles/14349-live-music-independent-music-week

So a month later than expected but I’ve set a date with the landlord for leaving. There have been several attempts to persuade me to stay and it is not impossible that I could still choose to stay in the Grassmarket but it is unlikely. Still too many permutations to say anything further but fear not Avalanche will be somewhere and in good time for Record Store Day. As soon as the options become manageable I promise to say more. There are a lot of positive options and I just have to make sure I make the right choices. Barely a couple of days pass without something else being thrown in the mix so I’m not set on any particular path yet.

I’m being asked lots of questions and apologies for not answering individually but I will address them all via the blog as and when I have time. I’m well aware and to be honest touched by the genuine concern shown by our many loyal customers. Thank you.  

Still amazed at how many people refer to the blog and/or twitter when in the shop but hopefully at least that means it is a good way to let people know what is happening. There are too many ifs and buts at the moment to make too clear a statement but I’m receiving offers all the time.

I’ve had an offer to resurrect the Avalanche label by both licensing old albums and releasing new ones in what would be a worldwide deal. There has been a huge amount of interest from Aberdeen and some firm offers so I would be very disappointed not to have something in place in time for Record Store Day. Our first promotion with Cake Shop NYC is in place in conjunction with Rock Action and the first five “Avalanche Recommends” albums are being finalised. You will also see posters fairly soon in Edinburgh and Glasgow promoting one of our favourite albums thanks to the support of the UK’s leading poster company.

So all well and good and there are plenty of other things in the pipeline too but what we really need to do is take money especially over the next two weeks so we can pay our bills/rent/rates etc. This will at least be helped by the release of the Springsteen and Mogwai albums but it will take more than that. The weekend was good and thanks to everybody who came along. Having said that it was a few key large sales that really helped boost the takings. It really can be precarious and it only takes ten people shopping for vinyl to decide to shop in town rather than come to the Grassmarket and at a couple of LPs each £300 is knocked off the potential takings. Add in other factors and just 20 people can make a huge difference.

We should have been able to catch up to some extent over Christmas and New Year but bar a couple of days we were always way below last year. This year Edinburgh Council’s insistence on driving people towards Princes Street and St Andrew Square left the Grassmarket deserted even days before Christmas and surprisingly even before New Year. Of course some of our competitors not paying rent or for stock has had a big impact too. There is a possibility that Avalanche could remain in the Grassmarket elsewhere but it is hard to have confidence things will get better even after I had a positive meeting with the Grassmarket BID coordinator on Friday.

Given just how poor footfall is currently there is a strong argument for having somewhere far cheaper that regulars and all our international customers can find easy enough and just not pay for footfall. What took me by surprise was several people suggesting we should look for investors and given all the potential things we had in place go bigger ! To be honest these last three years have often been enjoyable but hard work and I would really need good people in place to contemplate such a thing.

A lot of people have asked how they can help but for now at least the answer has to be to buy stuff. We are not short of stock and in a way it sums up the problem that the kind of money we need to take over the next couple of weeks is no more than we take around Record Store Day weekend. We need to be busy every day so this week will really be make or break in seeing if that is possible. I will also add more to the online shop as people have been very supportive ordering online. 

Again many thanks for all the good wishes it is greatly appreciated.

We have to clear a mountain of stock to get down to sensible levels before we leave. None of this buying in crap to sell or 10% discounts on overpriced goods. There will be new deals all the time but tomorrow will see some very special deals indeed.

1,000s of 7″s + CD singles reduced to 30p (5 for £1)

1,000s of 12″s at 10 for £5 including all the dance promos

1,000s of LPs £1 each

100s of DVDs at £1 including box sets

1,000s of posters £2 or less including many 60″ x 40″ fly posters (everything from Arctic Monkeys to Pink Floyd)

New vinyl sale at up to 50% off (boxes will be on the counter)

Many new CDs reduced to £5.99 (3 for £15)

100s of CDs reduced and added to £3.99 (3 for £10)

1,000s of CDs reduced to £1 or 6 for £5

All the second hand vinyl in the £5 to £10 boxes half price

This is one occasion when we need folk in the shop to actually buy the stuff rather than just “like” the idea we are having a sale.

Very grateful if everybody can spread the word. There is a lot of great stuff.

Many thanks

Kevin

Most people appreciate that I sell customers the albums I think they will like not the albums I think they should like. Obviously over time my own taste has influenced the shop but also our customers have influenced me ! I will as part of our 30th anniversary make up some compilations of my favourite songs (I have no idea why they get called mixtapes) but for now here is a rare personal review of the last year and at a later date the last 30 years.

For me what makes an album memorable is the gap between expectation and reality. Consequently it is often a band’s first album that has the greatest impact with expectation low or sometimes non-existent. Now with everything so much more up front that feeling of listening for the first time as a new release came out of the box has been lost and I doubted if ever again I’d be as astonished as I was when I put on the first Godspeed album. 

 

So what were my favourite albums of the year ? Well February contrived to have not only our two biggest sellers but two artists I really hoped would produce the goods for different reasons. Signing to a major is always a tricky path to negotiate so Frightened Rabbit could have been forgiven for taking time to bed in but as soon as songs started to emerge it was clear that Scott and the guys were on top form and it was with good reason it became our best selling album of the year.

 

 

Nick Cave I’d feared might just be on the cusp of going through the motions though he seemed revitalised after Glastonbury. Going down the “own label” let’s see how much money I can make with an expensive box set and announce it all on twitter route didn’t bode well but again he didn’t let us down and the album is one of his best which with his catalogue is really saying something.

 

 

 

Public Service Broadcasting were a band of whom I knew little except they were fans of the shop and had given us copies of their first 10″ to give away for free to people we thought might like them. The second I heard it I knew this would be an album we would play and people would buy. Old skool in the best possible way and a really pleasant surprise. 

 

 

 

 

For some reason I still can not explain I had for a long time thought the National were good but not as good as people made out. I was of course completely wrong and everything they have done has been consistently brilliant and the new album just continued the line.

“I should leave it alone but you’re not right”

 

 

 

 

I’d been playing an advance copy of the Quickbeam album which I thought was very good. Customers were rushing to the counter and telling me it was brilliant. I got how “epic” the music was but gradually the odd lyric started to embed

“When this is all over and done we will remember them”.

Finally I met Monika and she told me she was a huge Conor Oberst fan and it all started to make sense. A stunning debut.

 

 

A slight lull in June and then came the Waxahatchee album. This was a tip off from a customer @edinburgh_man for those of you on twitter. It came with the first album which is also brilliant and as a double pack it is simply outstanding. A female Withered Hand and I can pay no higher compliment.

 

 

 

Then the long wait set in. There would definitely be a new There Will Be Fireworks album this year I had been promised. After four years I was happy to settle for it not being shit. If it was good it certainly could not have been worth the wait. In this case expectation had gone off the scale. I was sent a digtal download and it didn’t work. I took it as an omen. Then a CDR arrived and after only a few listens it was clear. They had achieved the impossible and made an album possibly even better than the first. This is maybe the best second album to follow a brilliant first album ever !

 

 

So with the year virtually at an end who comes in the shop but Ed Jupp of 17 Seconds claiming he has heard an album I will love. He’s a lovely guy but claiming to have an album I haven’t heard of that could be one of my albums of the year ……… Anyway I went home that night and intrigued read his blog and listened to the stream he had made available. He was right ! A cross between The Savings and Loan and Star Wheel Press with a vocal part Leonard Cohen, part Tom Waits the back story with songwriter and vocalist Ian Williams starting writing in the winter of 2011 underneath Coney Island’s Wonderwheel and working his way up the east coast eventually reaching Montreal where he spent long nights at The Wheel Club “until the spring came and the snow melted” was the icing on the cake. It was indeed a “Godspeed” moment. 

 

So this year it starts all over again though where and how is yet to be decided. Is it possible Dan can get even close to his amazing first album, Avalanche’s biggest ever seller from a local artist and again four years in the making. Will we really need “New Gods” ? I think we will.

 

I’ll gradually list these online but any questions feel free to ask. I’ve also been asked if I will sell wholesale and so long as I have quantity the answer is yes.

13 First Fridays – 88 Lines about 44 Women 12″  (featuring Andrew from Jesse Garon)

All mint

Josh Homme & PJ Harvey / Desert Sessions – Crawl Home   £18

PJ Harvey – The Glorious Land   £12

PJ Harvey – When Under Ether   £8

PJ Harvey – You Come Through   £6

PJ Harvey – The Letter   £5

PJ Harvey – The Piano   £5

Add £2 for p+p in the UK (£4 outside the UK) or collect from the shop.

Payment by PayPal using avalancherecords@hotmail.co.uk or email to reserve and collect from the shop

I’ll remove listing as soon as payment received or reserved