Earlier this month, an old friend re-emerged from the ashes of oblivion. County Sales was once the foremost vendor of old-time and bluegrass music. The Floyd, Virginia-based store was where I purchased most of my CDs when I first latched onto this music.
My copies of the Clawhammer Banjo Vols. 1-3, the Killer Grits' Midnight on the Run, Christian Wig's Gate to Go Through and pretty much the rest of my Mark Olitsky album collection were all ordered through the County Sales website.
Unfortunately, longtime owner David Freeman closed the store in January this year upon his retirement. Freeman started the business in New York City in 1965 and then moved it to Floyd in 1974. He also launched two record labels to provide musicians a broader avenue for releasing their music. His son Mark Freeman now runs County Records (old-time) and Rebel Records (bluegrass) from Charlottesville, Virginia.
For nine, sad, long months, old-time and bluegrass fans has to scrounge the depths of the internet to find their fix. There was no other single outlet that could provide the dedicated inventory that County Sales did. But now, it's back.
On Sept. 3, Floyd Country Store operator Dylan Locke reopened County Sales with a redesigned website at www.countysales.com. He purchased Freeman's leftover stock and took over the rent of the physical storefront in Floyd.
According to The Roanoke Times, Locked considered the revival of County Sales as a sign of resistance. The newspaper quotes Locke as saying:
“I had a lot of people, rightly so, who cautioned me against getting into this,” said Locke, who with his wife, Heather Krantz, owns Floyd Country Store. “These are musicians and studio engineers and people like that, seeing the trends of putting out CDs and trying to sell them.
“I think there’s more to this than that. I think this is a bigger statement to make to the streaming industry and the modern era of music consumption.”
Locke said he believes that people still want to look at liner notes while they listen to the music. That activity prevailed in the LP era but still can be part of the CD experience.
“I think it’s important to not give up on that yet,” Locke said. “And maybe do it in a sort of resisting change kind of way.”
The article adds that County Sales has more than 5,000 titles in stock, from music albums and DVDs to a wide range of books. So, bust out your wallets, Glory-Beaming Banjo fans. I'm already planning my next purchase. In my skinnier days, I had a County Sales T-shirt. I think it's time to get a replacement. Long live, County Sales!
Unfortunately, longtime owner David Freeman closed the store in January this year upon his retirement. Freeman started the business in New York City in 1965 and then moved it to Floyd in 1974. He also launched two record labels to provide musicians a broader avenue for releasing their music. His son Mark Freeman now runs County Records (old-time) and Rebel Records (bluegrass) from Charlottesville, Virginia.
For nine, sad, long months, old-time and bluegrass fans has to scrounge the depths of the internet to find their fix. There was no other single outlet that could provide the dedicated inventory that County Sales did. But now, it's back.
On Sept. 3, Floyd Country Store operator Dylan Locke reopened County Sales with a redesigned website at www.countysales.com. He purchased Freeman's leftover stock and took over the rent of the physical storefront in Floyd.
According to The Roanoke Times, Locked considered the revival of County Sales as a sign of resistance. The newspaper quotes Locke as saying:
“I had a lot of people, rightly so, who cautioned me against getting into this,” said Locke, who with his wife, Heather Krantz, owns Floyd Country Store. “These are musicians and studio engineers and people like that, seeing the trends of putting out CDs and trying to sell them.
“I think there’s more to this than that. I think this is a bigger statement to make to the streaming industry and the modern era of music consumption.”
Locke said he believes that people still want to look at liner notes while they listen to the music. That activity prevailed in the LP era but still can be part of the CD experience.
“I think it’s important to not give up on that yet,” Locke said. “And maybe do it in a sort of resisting change kind of way.”
The article adds that County Sales has more than 5,000 titles in stock, from music albums and DVDs to a wide range of books. So, bust out your wallets, Glory-Beaming Banjo fans. I'm already planning my next purchase. In my skinnier days, I had a County Sales T-shirt. I think it's time to get a replacement. Long live, County Sales!
Comments
Post a Comment