Where to shop in north central West Virginia on Record Store Day

BRIDGEPORT, W.Va. (WBOY) — Those interested in collecting records could argue that there is a thrill in the chase, as independent records stores are where some of the greatest treasures can be found stuffed in bins and wedged between bookshelves.

April 20 is Record Store Day, created to promote and support independent record shops nationwide.

North central West Virginia has three independent record stores: Assumption Records of Rivesville, Shiny Dome Records of Morgantown and Roundabout Records in Bridgeport.

Typically, independent record stores receive exclusive vinyl records that can only be sold in light of the holiday and at certain locations. This year, Assumptions Records is the only store in the area that received exclusive copies specifically for Record Store Day.

However, 12 News spoke with the owner of Roundabout Records, Christopher Lacaria, who said the store still plans to go all out for the occasion.

“We’re running what we call, ‘Live, Loud and in Your Face,’ and we are featuring a ton of limited-edition pressings of live concerts of bands like Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Faith No More, Alice in Chains, Taylor Swift. We’re trying to offer something for everyone,” said Lacaria.

A lot of records within Roundabout are bought from personal collections, so you never know what exactly you’ll find once you start flipping. Lacaria shared the significance behind one record sitting within his shop.

“Not a lot of people know about Sparks, but their first album, they were actually going by the name ‘Halphnelson’ right up until the album was released and then they notified the label that they changed their name. This album didn’t really sell, so it’s rare in that aspect but they also had to change the name of the band, so only like the first like 10,000 or so albums got the name Halphnelson on it,” said Lacaria.

Like many collectors, Lacaria found his love of vinyl at a young age as his father had a vending business with jukeboxes. Whenever it came for his father to rotate the records, Christopher would receive the records being taken out, igniting a life-long passion.

Given how easy it is now to have music at your fingertips with music streaming apps, it isn’t only the funny stories behind an album or the uniqueness in the physicality of a record, but the sound quality that keeps its relevancy above all else.

“A record is a soundwave pressed into plastic, and it’s the purest form of media you can get next to the actual live performance,” said Lacaria.

Roundabout Records will be open from 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. for Record Store Day. You can find more information on the shop through its Facebook page .

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