Origami Vinyl Opens Today in Echo Park

Today marks the opening of Origami Vinyl in Echo Park [1816 W. Sunset Blvd.]. The store will sell new vinyl (up to 3,000 records in stock), turntables, vinyl supplies and advance tickets for Spaceland Productions shows (Spaceland, Echo, Echoplex). They're celebrating the opening with in-store performances by Wait.Think.Fast and Nico Stai. The LAist has an interview with owner Neil Schield.

Origami is the second vinyl (mostly) record store to open in the area in recent months. It joins Vacation Vinyl which recently opened at 4679 Hollywood Blvd. Vacation was started by the guys behind the Hydra Head record label and the excellent Secret Headquarters comic book shop. My understanding is that they stock a little bit of everything, but focus particularly on non-mainstream, heavy music. They're cool enough to post their entire inventory online HERE. Vacation buys very select used vinyl.

Little Radio will be opening a third vinyl (mostly) record store soon. The store will be located next to the Regent Theatre downtown. Blogdowntown has the scoop HERE. They plan to stock around 2,000 titles.

Before you jump on the bandwagon and open one yourself, consider the economic prospects. I did some back of the envelope, unit economics calculations:

Assumption #1: Conservatively assume that rent/utilities/other expenses are $2,500/month.

Assumption #2: Store is open 63 hours/week and an employee makes $10/hr to work ($10/hr x 63 hrs/wk + 30% payroll taxes/workers comp insurance) and your labor cost is $3,522/month.

Assumption #3: Working capital/inventory/start up costs are $30,000. Investors/debt holders expect at least a 10% return on the investment. Cost of capital is $250/month.

Assumption #4: The average record sells for $15 and the profit margin is 25%. The store makes $3.75 per record sold.

Calculation: In this very simplified/hypothetical scenario, the store needs to sell 1,672 records per month to break even (roughly 55 records per day).

I'm assuming some of the stores will be taking record label cash for listening stations, poster placement, etc. They're also selling some equipment and Origami will be selling concert tickets (which is 100% profit). On the negative, vinyl is non-returnable to distributors. Every piece of vinyl you don't sell hits your bottom line.

Somewhat Unrelated Observation For Aspring Shopkeepers: The hottest retail concept going right now is Game Stop. Profit margins on used products is much more attractive (up to 50%).

Conclusion: It's not going to be easy for these guys. If you want these businesses to survive (and compete with Amoeba and each other), you need to spend your dollars there.

Ticket Giveaway - Phosphorescent

Last year I was lucky enough to see Phosphorescent live at the Echo. This year, one of my favorite albums (so far) is Phosphorescent's To Willie. So I was super excited to hear that Little Radio was bringing Phosphorescent to town to perform these Willie Nelson covers. The show takes place this Saturday at the Regent Theater in downtown LA. Viva Voce, The Donkeys and Rafter open the show. 

I've got some tickets to give away for this show. Email me [dukeufo at gmail] with the name of your favorite Willie Nelson song. The contest closes Friday at 2:00 PM. 

A lot of big stuff going on with the folks at Little Radio. They're starting to promote some live shows (like Phosphorescent)  at the Regent Theater. They also moved their radio station into the retail space next to the Regent. In April, they plan on opening a vinyl only record store in the space with the radio station. 

As always,  they've still got an impressive lineup of radio shows. I wholeheartedly endorse Sinking Radio on Fridays from Noon to 2:00 PM. My pal Justin Gage's show, The Aquarium Drunkard Show airs Mondays from Noon to 2:00 PM. Fellow blogger, and buddy, Kevin Bronson hosts Buzz Bands from 10 - Noon on Friday. 

They've got a bunch of new shows too. I'm most excited about The Matts with funnymen Matt Dwyer and Matt Braunger from 6 - 8 PM on Monday. My friend Ana Calderon (from way back) has great taste in music and hosts Ana Says from Noon to 2:00 PM on Wednesdays. And Randall Roberts, LA Weekly Music Editor, and a guy I enjoy chatting with when I see him out, has Sovereign California from 10 to Noon on Thursdays. See the full lineup HERE. 

If you'll be in Austin next Wednesday, Thursday and Friday for SXSW, be sure to check out the Little Radio day parties at Red Eyed Fly. They've got typically strong lineups (the parties are always packed). See the full lineup HERE. 

Sinking Radio: Buck Owens - "It's a Monster's Holiday"

This is a reminder to tune in to Sinking Radio with Sylvia and Matt tomorrow from Noon to 2:00 PM on Little Radio. Todd's out tour managing some French band, so it'll be Matt and Sylvia only. No musical guests either.

Each week on the show, they feature an official You Set the Scene pick. In honor of Halloween, my pick for tomorrow's show is Buck Owens' "It's a Monster's Holiday." The pick was a request from my friend John Ringhoff. 

Along with Merle Haggard, Buck Owens is credited with coming up with the Bakersfield sound. The Bakersfield sound is more of a meaty, rock 'n' roll influenced branch of country music that came around when most country music was really polished and full of string arrangements. Owens was a huge influence on Gram Parsons and Dwight Yoakam. The Beatles even covered Owens' "Act Naturally" on Help!.    

One other note on Little Radio. Unfortunately their big Halloween bash with Autolux has been canceled due to some permit issues. If you're still looking for something to do, tickets are still available for the Secret Machines, The Entrance Band, Mack Winston and the Reflections and Jason Simon (of Dead Meadow) at Spaceland. Secret Machines put on a great show.....

Little Radio Halloween

If you're still looking for Halloween plans, this Little Radio party looks like the best option. They picked some great bands who put on energetic, interesting live shows, they've got an open bar all night and a massive haunted house. Buy tickets HERE

Little Radio Summer Camp

I neglected to mention that Le Switch is playing Little Radio's Summer Camp this weekend. Joining them on the bill is Flying Tourbillon Orchestra and Bloodcat Love. Summer Camp takes place Sunday from Noon to 6:00 PM at 1218 Long Beach Avenue in Downtown LA. They're also doing an open mic. See the details here.

Two Options on Sunday - Little Radio & Kickchella

Two great options for this Sunday. Little Radio moved Summer Camp back to Sunday. This week's performers will be the Radar Bros., Kenan Bell and Jack LaBotz. How 'bout that for an eclectic lineup. Summer Camp runs from Noon to 7:00 PM.

After you get your fill of Colt 45, head on over to Eagle Rock for Kickchilla. There you'll see a lot of great bands (as mentioned on the flyer above) and it's absolutely free. They'll have two stages of music....

Teenage Fanclub's "On This Good Night"

Here's my weekly reminder to listen to Sinking with Sylvia (and Sometimes Todd) on Little Radio tomorrow from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM PST. Tomorrow their guest will be Brian from the Little Ones. The Little Ones recently released a single in the UK and they're headed down to SXSW next week for a couple of shows.

Each week I pick a song, Todd and Sylvia play it, and I eventually write about it here. On February 7th, they did a 7" show and my pick was Teenage Fanclub's "On This Good Night." The song was released in 2000 as the B-side to the "I Need Direction" single.

I first got into Teenage Fanclub around 1991 when Spin magazine named Bandwagonesque their album of the year. I assumed the album must be incredible if Spin put it ahead of Nirvana and R.E.M. At the time, I thought Spin was crazy (and not for the reasons you might think that today). It was 1991 and I hadn't embraced Teenage Fanclub's main influences: the Byrds, Beach Boys or Big Star. I immediately liked "Star Sign" but most of the songs were lost on me. Back then, when you bought a CD it was a bit of an investment (not completely disposable MP3 files like it is today). So fortunately I kept listening, it sunk in and I'm a lifelong fan.

Teenage Fanclub is one of those unique bands with three songwriters/vocalists who are pretty much equal. Norman, Gerard and Raymond are all incredibly consistent and I enjoy all their records from Bandwagonesque on. The fact that a song as great as "On This Good Night" was only a B-side shows the breadth of their talents. Unfortunately I don't have an MP3 burn of it, so you'll have to take my word for it (or hunt down the single).

Download a podcast of the 2/7/08 show.

Sinking with Sylvia (and Sometimes Todd) Reminder

Don't forget to listen to Sinking with Sylvia (and Sometimes Todd) on Little Radio on Thursday from 11:00AM to 1:00PM PST. This Thursday's guests will be the Deadly Syndrome. They'll be sharing some of their favorite music and chatting with Sylvia and Todd. I also have a weekly pick each Thursday. The plan is to do a little blog on each week's pick, but I'm still behind....

On 8/9, my pick was Lee Hazlewood's "Hey Cowboy" (stream it on this Myspace page). I picked this track as a tribute to Lee who succumbed to cancer five days before. The track comes from his Cowboy in Sweden album which evolved out of a television show Lee wrote and produced after moving to Sweden. I'm not the world's foremost authority on Hazlewood, only becoming familiar with him after Steve Shelley of Sonic Youth reissued a slew of his records in 1999. He was a huge producer who recorded some of Gram Parsons first recordings in the International Submarine Band and helped make Nancy Sinatra a huge star. But he's a huge cult figure because of his own albums. He was a psychedelic cowboy and a unique artist. I just love the playful mood of this whole track. His deep baritone matches so well with Nina Lizell's sweet voice. Unfortunately a lot of these albums have gone out of print again. Keep your eyes peeled and pick them up if you see them (especially any of the records from the late 1960s to mid 1970s).

Read the BBC's obituary
See the All Music Guide entry
Download the Sinking podcast from 8/9/07

Spoon / John Vanderslice @ Little Radio

If I wasn't so behind, you'd know that Spoon released their new album this week. With the exception of the Jon Brion produced song, I like it. They're last few records have all shown up on my year end best of lists. Anyway, they're playing with John Vanderslice at Little Radio this Monday. Check Little Radio's website tomorrow at 10:00AM to buy tickets. They're $15 but include free Dewar's.

New Show on Little Radio

Remember last week when I mentioned that Sea Level's Todd and Sylvia were going to be on Little Radio from 11AM - 1PM? Well guess what, it turned into a weekly show. So be sure to tune into Little Radio today from 11 AM - 1 PM for Sylvia's new show. Todd won't be there today, but once he gets his store cleaned up and he's not on the road, he'll be there pretty regularly. In place of Todd, her guests today will be a couple of the guys from Brothers and Sisters. They're a cool band from Austin who have been in town recording and playing shows at Spaceland and the Echo. You can go their Myspace page to listen to some of the new demos.....

Sea Level Todd & Sylvia on Little Radio Soon

Tune in to Little Radio today from 11:00AM - 1:00PM to listen to Sea Level Todd and Sylvia spin records. Sea Level's closing its doors forever this Monday. Get in there and buy some stuff to help Todd pay for his retirement. Also, don't forget about the big going away party we're presenting at Safari Sam's this Friday night. See the flyer above for details.