From Mike “Bueno” Good
Join Cactus Records & Gifts for the 11th Annual Record Store Day on Saturday, April 21st. Record Store Day is a celebration of all the things we here at Cactus Records love: independent record stores, live in-store music, giving back to customers, supporting local businesses and, of course, some killer records including over 400 limited-edition vinyl, CD, and cassette RSD titles!
Each year, the RSD organization works with labels big and small to curate a selection of exclusive or early releases only available from independent record stores. The Record Store Day Official Release List includes a wide range of artists, covering the diverse taste of record stores and their customers. The general rule here at Cactus is to order as much as possible off the list, but what the the distributors sends, in the end, is out of our hands. But really, this adds to the fun of the thing.
Fans of David Bowie may pick up the RSD exclusive LPs of “Bowie Now” or “Welcome to the Blackout (Live in London 78),” an early release of Bowie’s eponymous first album on red and blue vinyl, well as the full-length demo and live versions of “Let’s Dance” as a 12” vinyl single. A RSD first re-release of Lulu’s “Heaven and Earth and the Stars,” which contains two Bowie covers produced by and featuring guest vocals from the Thin White Duke himself, also comes with a limited edition 7” picture disc featuring the covers, “The Man Who Sold the World” and “Watch That Man.” To really round out your Bowie collection, RSD is offering a colored 7” by the cast of “SpongeBob SquarePants: The Musical” which includes the Bowie-penned “No Control” and 7” picture disc of Motorhead covering the 1977 Bowie track “Heroes.”
But with over 400 titles, the list goes well beyond Bowie. There’s a 7” from Trampled by Turtles, a newgrass band who are performing in Bozeman this summer (tickets are available at Cactus while they last). The single is a cover of Tom Petty’s “Wildflowers” and the B-side is the title track from “Life is Good on the Open Road,” Trampled by’s upcoming album set for release on May 4th.
Then there’s Tom Waits’ “Brawlers,” “Bawlers” and “Bastards” trilogy, originally released as part of the “Orphans” collection, but now available separately. Each is a double LP pressed on transparent colored vinyl.
There’s also a RSD first release of Iron Horse’s “Pickin’ on Modest Mouse” from the Pickin’ on series, releases by the Grateful Dead, Wu-Tang, Wilco, Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, Rage Against the Machine, Sublime, Soundgarden, Miles Davis and The Rolling Stones. Annual RSD compilations from Dogfish Head Brewery and Sun Records are also on the list. AND there’s a porg-shaped 10” picture disc with music from “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” by John Williams. Really, porg-shaped! Fans of die-cut shaped vinyl picture discs also have the opportunity to pick up a leaf-shaped disc from Cheech & Chong (only one day late for 420 parties) and a telephone-shaped 7” of the song “Roxanne” by The Police!
Cactus’ doors open on Record Store Day at 9am for the first shot at exclusive releases. In the afternoon, drop in for live music from a variety of artists showing their love for Cactus and indie record stores. Artists and set times to be announced.
For more information, find Cactus Records & Gifts on Instagram, Facebook and www.cactusrecords.net, or visit us at 29 W Main St. in Bozeman.
