Record Store Day is April 21, 2012. It’s the one day that all indie owned record stores come together with artists to celebrate the art of music. Go out and support your local record shops! For more info: http://www.recordstoreday.com/

Here are a few record shops in NYC that we like:

BLEEKER STREET RECORDS
Another record store I happened upon while exploring the city when I first moved here.  I almost always stop in when I’m in the hood to browse, if not buy. This is where I usually go to buy used CDs and where my husband shops for records and CDs. They carry an extensive selection of records from rare and vintage records to new releases on vinyl. Their collection includes collectibles, rare mixes, live recordings, etc.  One con is that they don’t have a “new releases” section so you really have to know what you’re looking for when you go there. The staff is also super knowledgeable, but honestly I’m too intimidated most of the time to ask them anything. I just take my time to search through and explore what they have.

Bleecker Street Records
239 Bleecker (between Carmine and Leroy Streets in the Village)
NY, New York 10014
(212) 255-7899
http://bleeckerstreetrecordsnyc.com

-By Hye Ko

GENERATION RECORDS
I stumbled upon this store when I first moved to NYC. Randomly walked in and was pleasantly surprised to find they stock bootleg copies of live shows, interviews, studio sessions, etc. As a music fan, I love listening to live takes of my favorite tunes…hearing the banter in-between songs, the little imperfections, the nuances of how songs are translated live, etc. I think my first purchase there was Oasis “Wired and Inspired” (live at Glastonbury 1995). After that, I made routine trips picking up bootlegs of all my favorite bands. And as a UK music van, I appreciate that they carry imports – often they’re special edition CDs from other countries with bonus tracks.

They also carry loads of vinyl, posters, shirts, limited edition albums, and used and new copies of current CDs. They mainly focus on metal and punk collections, but they have music from many other different genres too.

GR will be celebrating Record Store Day with some in-store performances: http://www.generationrecords.com/?p=850

Generation Records
210 Thompson St
NY, New York 10012
(212) 254-1100
http://www.generationrecords.com/

-By Huy Hoang

OTHER MUSIC
A music store I’ve been going to since way back in the day when I first moved to NYC in 1998 (they opened doors in 1996). It’s probably my favorite in the city. Other Music is more of a CD store than a “record store” because they sell mostly CDs. That said, they do have a decent (though limited) selection of vinyl.

OM carries a broad selection of music with more of the selection devoted to modern rock and indie.  They also cover decent non-mainstream and obscure stuff too (I used to go for electronica back in the day).  Staff is pretty typical of what you’d expect from a good record shop – knowledgeable on music and industry; they note blurbs about new arrivals on the shelf.  There’s also an in-store box office so you can get tix to shows at venues like Bowery Ballroom, Webster Hall or Maxwell’s…super convenient.

Other Music
15 E. 4th St (near Lafayette St)
NY, NY 10003
(212) 477-8150
http://othermusic.com/

-By Hye Ko

The Interim Project is working on their long-awaited debut EP, featuring five songs. The band plans to release each song as a single – which means that each single is going to need cover artwork that will represent each song.

They’ll be holding a contest in which you’ll get the chance to submit your own cover artwork for each single – and fellow fans will get the chance to vote on the winning design!

Sign up for Bionic Mutt’s and/or The Interim Project’s mailing list to get alerted about the contest details: when it starts, how to submit artwork, how to vote, and when the singles/EP will be available for download.

• Cailean O’Connor of NYC chose the men’s fitted t-shirt as a gift.
• Helene Waldemarson of NYC chose the women’s performance jacket for herself.
• Christine Yi of NYC chose the women’s zip hoodie for herself.

Congratulations to the winners! (You guys rock!) For those who didn’t win, you can still get your hands on Bionic Mutt gear at our new official online store.

And sign up for our mailing list and social networks to get first hand access to new music, news, giveaways, and special events for Bionic Mutt Records and the artists on its roster.

• Subscribe to the Bionic Mutt Records mailing list
• Friend us on Facebook
• Join us on MySpace
• Follow us on Twitter
• Watch us on YouTube

Bionic Mutt Records has an official online store with t-shirts, ringer t’s, performance jackets, hoodies, men’s polos, women’s tanks, and bags. Our favorite item? The Bionic Mutt dog t-shirt.

We also have merch for our flagship artist, The Interim Project.

Come check out the store. And get the dog t-shirt (even if you don’t have a dog — it’s just awesome).

The Interim Project is currently recording a five-song EP at Madpan Productions in New York, NY.

The tracks are:

• Sleeping With the Jones
• Homecoming
• I Cannot Stay
• Better Than This
• Uneasy Times

To celebrate the release of the album, the band will hold a cover artwork contest. Check out more details here.

Here, Founder | CEO, Huy is describing the reason why he created Bionic Mutt Records.

Check out more Bionic Mutt videos on our YouTube page.

Also be sure to check out our op-ed section of the site, ‘For the Record‘. This is where the label staff will offer up their thoughts on the state of the music industry. Weigh in with your thoughts.

And sign up for our mailing list and social networks. For each social network you sign up for, you’ll be entered to win your choice of Bionic Mutt Records gear! More info here.

When I first heard that Green Day was bringing their American Idiot album to Broadway, a few thoughts came to me:

1. Really? I mean, really?
2. Come on…does Green Day really need the money?
3. Aren’t they worried about being perceived as ‘sell-outs’?
4. Seriously, really?!

I’ll provide a review of the show later in this post, but I think that the most interesting question to come out of this was: are Green Day sell-outs?

Not in my opinion. To me, a sell-out is someone who caves in and does something that is against their belief system for some kind of gain, whether it be money, fame, or delicious White Castle burgers. Their album and individual songs definitely tell a story — and so they wanted to push the musical boundaries of their songs, which I can get behind. ‘Can we transform the songs into Broadway versions and still retain the Green Day-ness of it all?’ It also allowed them to reach audiences that might not normally listen to Green Day. So creatively, it’s a great musical opportunity.

From a business perspective, this is brilliant. Not only did it reach a new audience, but they’re getting more mileage off of songs that already exist. Of course, not every artist can just put on a Broadway show — Green Day already had a certified hit with American Idiot, and has a large and loyal fanbase to work from. But the point is, artists should ‘think out of the box’ (note: I hate using corporate cliches) when it comes to packaging their music. It can come in more shapes and forms than just the tried and true recorded CD/mp3 format. There’s nothing ‘sell-out’ about finding new avenues to promote your music — it’s more about getting ‘buy-in’.

Granted, Mama Mia and Tommy came before, so Green Day’s show isn’t a first, but it’s refreshing show considering there aren’t many other rock operas out there at the moment.

Show review
I managed to chat with Tom Kitt, the musical director. I asked him how challenging it was to translate the rawness of a rock album to the stage. I wanted to understand how much of the integrity of the original music he wanted to keep vs trying to put his own stamp on the music. He said that he wanted to make sure the songs were recognizable.

Musically, there were 19 voices on stage and multiple musicians (guitars, keys, strings). With multiple layers of harmonies and extra instruments, the songs had more dimension than what you would hear at a Green Day concert. But for me, only the slow songs worked. Green Day’s fast rock songs are raw and energetic — so having Broadway voices over-enunciate words with trained Broadway voices didn’t do the songs justice.

The set design was pretty amazing. This kind of stuff isn’t my area of expertise, so you can read more about it here:  http://livedesignonline.com/theatre/0603-american-idiot-set-design/.

Overall, the show was enjoyable, even for the casual Green Day fan.

Question for the masses

1. Did you see the show and what did you think?
2. If more of your favorite bands also did musicals, would you see them?
3. What else would you want to see from your favorite artists?