While April used to be content to just bring May flowers and give people another reason to smoke weed outside, there’s a growing reason to say “so long!” to March: Record Store Day. What started six years ago as a way to celebrate vinyl has since exploded into a music-lover’s equivalent of Christmas. Exclusive releases, in-store performances, and overall good vibes are just a few of the reasons why you should call in sick and head down to your favourite record store on April 19.
My first experience with Record Store Day came when I was at Coachella in 2009. Between sunburns and autograph signings, we wandered into the reprieving shelter of the record tent where I was surprised at how much I wanted to buy everything in sight. I was still new to the record Renaissance and had had barely enough money to justify attending the festival in the first place, much less a surplus to spend on something as nonessential as records. Regardless, I splurged on a pair of Weakerthans and Fleet Foxes LPs and to this day still have the reusable bag they came in. I was hooked. For a sneak peek at some of the great things happening around town, check out the spread on pages six and seven of this here magazine.
Aside from Record Store Day, there are a ton of reasons why I’m excited to welcome April into my life. If post-secondary’s your thang—as it is for me—then you’re about to be saying “School who?” for the next four months. As well, things are heating up outside, meaning there are copious numbers of beach days, day-long hiking trips, and Beer Island ventures lying in wait. If you can’t find a reason to love April, then you’re simply not looking hard enough.
A new month also means we’ve successfully produced another issue of Discorder. It’s both amazing and frustrating to see how many countless hours of emailing/writing/editing/proofing go into this magazine, but it’s positively worth it once you’re holding a copy in your hands. CiTR recently held their Volunteer Appreciation night and while I had to restrain myself from handing out a hundred different awards to all our contributors, hopefully these words do some justice. Thanks, everyone! We literally couldn’t have done it without you.
In other fantastic news, CiTR held their annual Fundrive last month to support community broadcasting and help with our upcoming move into the new students’ union building. We started with a goal of raising $50,000 and wound up surpassing our dream by a couple thousand. To everyone who donated/helped spread the word, a big ol’ Discorder thanks go out to you! (For a complete list of donors, check out the rad bunch on pages eight and nine.) Because of you, people like me get to continue doing what we love. Here’s to another amazing Fundrive in the bag and to an even greater one next year.
So it goes,
Jacey Gibb