After midnight, vinyl lovers crowd Levittown indie record store | Mullane

As midnight approached, but before Jacky BamBam arrived to groove it up, a hundred people waited in the chill on the sidewalk outside Positively Records on Woerner Avenue in Levittown. It was Record Store Day, and to each person in line, vinyl records rule.

“We’re here for Taylor Swift,” said Tina Cuddy, who had been outside the store since 9 a.m., with her daughter, Rachel, 18.

Taylor Swift issued a special release of a clear vinyl 45 rpm disc of “The Lakes” (the B-side is another version of the same tune). Just 10,000 were pressed and only indie record joints like Positively Records received a copy or two.

“Maybe they have two, maybe four, you can’t be sure except that it’s not very many,” Rachel said.

To increase their chances of snagging the record, they waited 15-hours outside.

“They’re just aren’t a lot of places like this, so when there’s a Taylor Swift release, you just expect a crazy line of fans,” Tina said.

Like many younger artists, Taylor Swift has a soft spot for vinyl, old tech from the last century perfected with bulky, backlit hi-fi stereophonic systems, really the beating heart of the classic rock era. But a lot of the newer acts, as well as the older ones, issue new music, or reissue older work, on fresh-pressed vinyl records. LP sales increased by 50 percent in 2021, have outsold CDs for years, and account for almost 40 percent of album sales.

Part of that astonishing comeback for vinyl is the boost it gets from Record Store Day, launched in Maryland in 2007 to promote sales at the nation’s 1,400 indie record stores, like Positively Records. It’s held twice a year, in April and each November on Black Friday.

“We’ve participated in this before, but then we heard we were the last indie store to open on Record Store Day,” said Sharon Sandridge who, with her husband, Kevin, owns the shop. “So my husband said, ‘We’re opening at midnight, so we’ll be the first.”

It was a hit the first time they did it, and remains a must-go for fans of indie record stores with an inventory of vinyl.

“What I love seeing are the parents and children coming in together to buy records. They talk to each other about what they’ve found. It’s wonderful to see that bonding between them,” Sharon said.

The Sandridges, who live in Levittown, purchased the place two years ago. The shop has been around since the 1980s, starting at the defunct I-95 Marketplace on Route 413. It traded mostly in used albums acquired from music aficionados dumping vinyl for compact discs.

“It was always my dream to own this place,” said Kevin, who left his job as an assistant service manager at Fred Beans Kia to buy the record store. “If I wasn’t at work, I was at this store, because I love music, love listening to it.”

He’s not surprised at the popularity of vinyl among younger artists or their fans.

“It might be nostalgia for some, but not everybody. CDs sound great, but vinyl has a warmer sound, with pops and clicks. You have this young generation who’ve grown up hearing their parents talk about vinyl records, hearing how you had to get up and flip it over to hear the other side. Plus, the artwork on vinyl albums is larger, and it's easier to read the liner notes.”

Midnight came.

“Ok,” Kevn said to Sharon, “We gotta get this shindig going.”

The doors opened, but only about ten people at a time were allowed in, given the store’s size and narrow aisles. Inside, Guns n Roses “Sweet Child O’ Mine” played through the speakers.

Matthew Gintvainis, 53, of Northeast Philadelphia, and his son, Maximillian, 18, were rounding the rear of the store carrying a load of new albums.

“We got everything we really wanted,” Matt said.

“We did really well,” said Max, showing off the stack of albums.

“We got Iggy and we got Udo,” he said.

Udo?

“Udo Dirkschneider,” Matt said.

Who?

“From ‘Accept.’ Lead singer, from back in the day,” he said.

Oh, that Udo Dirkschneider.

The father/son shuffled through their stuff — Bowie, Death Angel, Chicago, The Band, Frankie and the Witch Fingers.

“And Gorjira,” Max said. “That’s French for Godzilla.”

A woman who said she’d been shopping at Positively Records since the 1980s, said listening to vinyl is like a time transporter.

“All that music from that time, it makes me feel young for a little bit,” she said.

Up front, a guy with a trumpet was struggling through “Camptown Races, but everyone ignored the sour notes. It was a happy night. Which is when Jacky BamBam arrived. He does 7 p.m. to midnight at WMMR, the radio station rocking Philly since 1968. Jacky, tall, goth, in a Tim Burton tee shirt and black leather pants, big hat and large, round sunglasses, looked very Nikki Sixx. The life of the party had arrived, and people cheered and clapped when he addressed the customers.

“This is so effin cool this store is open at midnight,” he said.

He told me he knew the record shop from buying albums there years ago, trying to talk over the trumpet guy, still struggling with ‘Camptown Races.” Last St. Patrick’s Day, he said he was making an appearance at Bailey’s, a local bar nearby, when he heard that Positively Records would open at midnight on Record Store Day.

“I said, ‘Midnight?’ Those are my hours, I’ll be there. It’s not about marketing. It’s not about money. It’s about the music. I love music, and so does everyone here.”

He posed for pics with fans, and asked people what albums they’d gotten, and when they showed him he’d say, “Niiice!” or “Beautiful!”

“It’s great that he did this for us. He didn’t have to,” Sharon Sandridge said. “He brings an energy with him.”

He also brought a musical guest, Chris Day, the lead guitarist with Tommy Conwell and The Young Rumblers, a local band from the 1980s and ’90s, still loved by fans of that time.

Chris Day played a few Rumblers hits, including “Love’s On Fire.” Jacky, a drummer, kept the beat and led the place in the refrain.

“You know, they opened for Bowie,” Jacky told me afterward.

Bowie? That’s big.

“He was so nice to us,” Chris said.

The greats always are, I said. The ingrates, not so much.

Jacky went outside for selfies. The trumpet guy stopped Chris Day and said “If you’re looking for a trumpet player, I’m available.”

“Great,” Chris said politely, and slipped outside, too.

2 a.m. came and went. Positively Records was positively hopping.

Outside, Jacky BamBam and Chris Day posed with fans.

“We’re all vampires!” Jacky said.

A middle-aged guy in a gleaming cobalt blue pickup pulled up, windows down, blasting a Tommy Conwell tune. Jacky gave the thumbs up. A woman on the sidewalk sang the refrain, and another moved to the beat and, for little bit, everyone was young again.

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Columnist JD Mullane can be reached at 215-949-5745 or at jmullane@couriertimes.com.

This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Positively Records in Levittown celebrates vinyl on Record Store Day