Record Store Day

Tomorrow, as you're running your Saturday errands, why not make a stop at your favorite independent record store (if you weren't going to already)? It just so happens that tomorrow is Record Store Day -- a day for appreciating (and maybe patronizing) your favorite record store, and tipping your hat to the clerk who turned you on to Whiskeytown back in the day.

If you can't make it to the store, or even if you can, it's worth a few minutes to take a look at the Web site for Record Store Day -- chock full of quotes from artists and listings of indie stores and events they're planning for their big day.

Here at HickoryWind, we'd like to honor Record Store Day by inviting you to join us in singing the praises of your favorite store, past (as too many of them are) or present. I'll start.

I'd say a good portion of my CD collection -- 50 percent, easily -- comes from Horizon Records in Greenville, S.C. And of that portion, probably half again are CDs I never intended to buy, probably never even had heard of before walking into the store. But like any good record store, Horizon is designed -- visually and sonically -- to turn you on to artists you've never heard of. There are listening stations galore, there's always something amazing playing on the PA, and owner Gene and his gang are always brimming with recommendations. The vibe is so friendly that you almost always end up chatting with fellow patrons, as well as the staff, about your great finds. There's even a cafe attached now -- new since I discovered Horizon in its original location while I was in college -- so you can eat and drink while you're on a music adventure. You really don't ever have to leave. Of course, you don't have to show up, either. Horizon was my lifeline while I was in Japan, indulging my mail order requests and even tossing in freebies and stickers so I could have a little of the in-store experience.

So on this Record Store Day, I'd like to offer a big ol' online hug to my friends at Horizon. You guys may drain my bank account, but you always enrich my love for music. And I love you back.