Steelworker Records [Tampa FL]

It's funny that I might write a negative review of a record store where I buy things, but write a positive review of a store where I walk out empty handed.  For me, this is because once you get a certain amount of records, it no longer matters what you buy (or not), you are only doing it for the enjoyment of the entire experience.

I made my 9th lifetime visit to the wonderful city of Tampa a couple weeks ago (two nights), then my 10th visit last week (6 nights, just got home yesterday).  It looks like this place and Microgroove are just about the only two shops in town.  I visited Microgroove many years ago (over 5 years ago, unbelievably!) and just checked back on visit #9.  Unfortunately it looks like now they are mostly new vinyl.  I desperately tried to make time to get to Steelworker but it never came together.  I'm glad I could get over there last week and see what was going on, because it is just a nice place, plain and simple.  The store is part of a small strip mall that also includes a comic book store and a movie/video store.  I don't know how these three shop keepers came together but I can't think of more intelligent marketing.  I am positive they get a ton of 'cross business'.  Very smart.

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A super clean and organized place with the very unique system that does not organize by genre, only alphabetically.  No doubt for a store of this size that is manageable, but I've been to other similarly sized stores (or smaller) and don't remember anyone doing this.  Without my little jazz corner to hide in I kind of went blank.  I was surprised to find a fair amount of jazz in the bins however, along with a good portion of death metal.  All the while, some live reggae was going on, projected on the wall.

The owner greeted me when I walked in, he was having fun watching YouTube videos with a pretty girl on his knee.  Is there a more enviable position to be in than this? They were giggling and having a blast and I was admittedly jealous.  I glanced at the cassettes and CDs but couldn't find anything.  Eventually I had to ask who was performing on the projection.  He answered quickly, as if it was almost dull to him (clearly a big reggae fan), and I don't mean that in a critical manner at all.  I have tried desperately to figure out who it was, or find the video on YouTube to no avail.  At this point I am confident that it is Ken Boothe (but not 100% sure) but I'm sad that I can't find this performance and relive my afternoon in Tampa, here at home.  Steelworker Records is a nice store and I hope they have a successful business in years to come, I hope to find out that is the case on my inevitable next visit to Tampa.

Casey's Closet Thrift Store [Gibsonton FL]

I've run through the Gibsonton/Apollo Beach area twice now, most recently back in September.  I had more time on this trip than the others so I tried to take advantage.  I first stopped over at Almost New Thrift but they were closed and left a note on the door to that effect.  A bit dejected, I checked the map once more and saw Casey's.  When I see the word 'closet' in the name I worry that it is only clothes but I had nothing to lose.  So I headed over.

What I found was a real dump on par only with Fantastic Andy's.  But oh yes, they did indeed have vinyl! There was a bunch of LPs but what interested me much more was the extremely well organized box of 7" (seen in the upper right of this photo below).

I was unable to take advantage of their buy one get one free sale on LPs but I did grab two 45s.  First up was maybe the only picture sleeve in the building, not my favorite David Gates song but one of his most famous.  The second one is actually more exciting.  I have liked this song for a while and am still haunted by the weird compilation I found missing its platter (which contained this song).  A worthwhile hunt indeed!

9871 US Hwy 41 S, Gibsonton, FL 33534
(813) 672-1797

Cocoa Beach Community Church Thrift Shop [Cocoa Beach FL]

There is nothing better than being out in the middle of nowhere on vacation, with your loved ones.  Better yet, stop at a quiet abondonded beach and run around in the ocean for an hour, then stop into a tiny church thrift store and look at some records!

This makes (I think) the 14th year consecutive I have spent in Orlando in the fall.  Coincidentally, I was just in Tampa for a week just a bit before, but that was for work.  I used to come out to Cocoa every year when I'd be in O-Town but I stopped years ago since I gave up on renting a car.  Well this year I did and it was well worth it, our dip in the ocean alone was rewarding enough and this little thrift store was everything such a place is supposed to be.

What an odd record, especially way down here in Florida.

Located at 133 S Orlando Ave, Cocoa Beach, FL 32931 - I did my dig, a total of three nice bins.  I did come out with something believe it or not! I have always loved the track since I was a kid and it was current.  Nice to have the 12" with the remixes.  This lady (below) was super loud and bordered on obnoxious but she meant well.  She did not know I took this photo but you'd swear she did.  Her personality shines through.

My biggest regret of all is not being able to attend the below.  A party - WITH SPAGETTI?!?! - at a church, a week before Halloween, with live music??? And not 1/4th mile from the ocean? This was of course the day we were leaving, by 5pm we were long since home.  I'll forever regret missing the Dave Counts Band but I'm certain a great time was had by all.

Goodwill [Orlando FL]

I previously hit a Goodwill in O-Town back in 2015 but I'm 99% sure this is NOT the same one.  Should have had better record keeping to confirm/deny that but it is all I can come up with so you'll have to roll the dice if you are trying to use this blog as a guide to find the old junk I encountered in this bin.

The 'inventory' was at least 50% laserdiscs but yet somewhere deep within the bowels of this old wire bin, I was able to extricate an old 45.  It would have been even more momentous if I hadn't recently picked up the Canadian version of the LP (already have the US version as well).  So if you ever stop by and want to hear 'More', I have three different versions for you.  I almost let it go as a result of this redundancy but for 59 cents, I can live with it.

                                          

St. Vincent [Ruskin FL]

I first visited the Gibsonton/Apollo Beach area in April of 2016.  On my last day I wanted to stop here but had trouble finding it.  Well I ended up going back about 1 1/2 years later to work at the same place and this time I went in on my first day when I still had time.  Little did I know just how bad that week would be.  Glad I had a few moments of enjoyment before I descended into Hell.  Even more glad I am done with it.  Ironically, as I type this I am now on vacation in Orlando, barely an hour away.

I don't remember ever being at a St. Vincent's that had so much marking with signs etc.  Even the building is marked THRIFT STORE in huge letters that you just can't miss.  However the record selection was slim, though they did have a classic barbershop album and a really cool homemade record bin.  Reminds me very much of one I built myself long ago (mine is only two levels).

Goodwill [Tampa FL]

Nearing total exhaustion at the end of my week spent working in the Ruskin/Gibsonton area, I tried to swing by a St. Vincent (Ruskin) and had trouble finding it, then got called back to the job site before I could investigate further.  Later that afternoon, my work finally completed, I spent my last night in the Westshore area of Tampa.  I checked into my hotel and took a shower then immediately took the #36 bus north on Himes to the Goodwill 'Super Store'.

They came equipped with a display option for their vinyl I had not run across in a Goodwill before (though I did see one elsewhere recently).  They actually had an unbelievable handful of vinyl snuggled away amongst the junk.

I rambled on recently regarding my hunt for the Johnny Rivers album you see here - of course this one is in far better condition than the one I scored.  The record you see upper right I scored a while back at my favorite thrift store (now sadly closed) and clearly there was an Al Kooper fan in town who donated these because lower right is another of his projects.  That album I grabbed out in Ohio almost a year and a half ago.  I'll admit to not giving the Mike Bloomfield collab album much rotation but 'Projections' I have done some critical listening to.  The closer for side A bridges the gap between a number of genres and can really suck you in.  Highly recommended.

This of course leaves the album upper left which I am familiar with of course but have never encountered in the wild.  When I was a kid, I had a box of my mom's 45s from when she was a kid.  How I wish I still had those! I had the single for the track most famous from the LP.  And as I guessed, the album was indeed worth more than a $1 and I will carry my regret for a while.  As you can see it is in pretty clean condition as well.  I also see now that it was produced by Kit Lambert, On a recent flight, I watched an awesome documentary about him and Chris Stamp who managed and largely discovered The Who.  Highly recommended.

I hesitated to replace an album I just got, only to knock the condition level up a couple points and I also hate to carry vinyl on planes.  I've done it a number of times and I never get used to it.  I am always so scared they are going to get bent in the overhead bin.  Totally irrational but a 'real' worry nonetheless.  So while carrying a single album on the plane seems like too little reward for my concern, I could have grabbed the Arthur Brown album AND 'Rewind', which clearly seems like the right choice now, but alas it is too late.  So go spook what I left behind - it's waiting for you.

T-ampa T-hrift T-rouble aka T^3

I have hunted in Florida and Tampa a couple times specifically before.  However, those trips were strictly on my own personal holidays while this trip was business related.  My time was precious but my colleague had a rental car which I commandeered and set out to see what I could see! 

I called the Collection Connection to ask if they had any records and got a 'yes', so I scooted over there.  When I arrived, a woman was outside smoking and as I walked past she stopped me and asked if I was the guy that just called about records.  That's never occurred before - something about me just reeks of records! So in I went and along one wall in the back was a bunch of crates.

I actually found one of those loose from its jacket then went back to find its jacket and match it up.  The obsessive in me could not help this small game of mah jong.  And you don't see that Eng record everyday!

I constantly seem to find more and more Johnny Rivers songs that I like, and I am constantly on the lookout for the collaborative album he did with Jimmy Webb.  This looks like it is more or less his debut and I have some remorse over not grabbing it.  

As I walked out (empty handed), the kind clerk asked if I had found anything and I said thanks, but no.  "But wait...there's more!" - she had another stash in a locked case (you can see the Elvis record on top of the pile, shrouded by other junk).  I looked through them all, they were individually priced $10-$25....nothing of interest.  So I made my way out.

The next day I headed in the opposite direction during some more downtime to check out Hidden Treasures.  This was a much smaller store with a smaller selection of vinyl.  Alas, nothing of interest but still worth the trip (as I seem to so often say!)

Metropolitan Ministries Thrift Store [Tampa FL]

Last year on my day trip to Tampa I hit a local (and excellent) record store.  I was pleased to find that there was a thrift store within walking distance and when I called they confirmed the presence of vinyl.

I walked north on Florida Ave. from downtown and watched things get progressively more dicey in short order.  I walked by a couple homeless shelters and saw more than a few people just crashed out on the pavement at midday.  I started to question my own obsession and bizarre motives that brought me here.

Sweating pretty well, I arrived and wandered around the small and crowded shop for a few moments before I located the records near the front, adjacent to the register.

I didn't find anything - just the usual thrift store fodder.  So a two mile walk in the Florida heat through a questionable neighboorhood wasn't worth it...or was it? Does a heap of records mean 'success'? If so, based on my career stats, I am a loser.  Proud to be.

O-Town Jaunt (Post #200)

So I set out on another 20 miler to hit some old and new spots on a Tuesday afternoon.  I took link 50 all the way into the city down I-4 with my bike in tow so I could cruse around.  I had hopes to top things off with a nice lunch near the station before I got back on the bus.  I studied the map the night before to plot a course as best I could, knowing full well some improv would be necessary.

Retro Records was the only of the three stores I hit last year that I had any interest in visiting again.  Conveniently, it was right on my route.  However, they did not open until 11am and I wanted to get started earlier.  I considered going counter clockwise around the loop but Goodwill opened the earliest and I wanted to get that out of the way.  So I skipped over it...I considered going back at the end but after over 20 miles, I was done.  Not to mention I had a couple scores at that point anyway so I was ready to head out.  I did leave one nice one behind last year and I was tempted to see if it still was there.  But no need to revisit old haunts when there are plenty of new one around!

GOODWILL

Like yesterday, I made the commitment to go WAY out of my way to hit a Goodwill knowing full well it might be a ton of garbage.  Well they did not disappoint in that regard.  But at least I got some silly pics to prove I wasted part of my day/life riding the 7 miles over there.

this single needed moar beard

I guess this was someones intention to cash in on the 'Licensed to Ill' excitement as it is from approximately that era, but I just gave it a listen and it is the most obnoxious thing I have ever heard.  Man, that's bad.

found this label attached to another ridiculous late 80s release, I can't help but assume that DJ ___ ___ (I can't read that nonsense) was the owner of all three of these vinyls

EAST WEST CDS

Somehow this one slipped past me during my research last year. Or maybe I decided it was too far south to check out (I did not have a bike last year).  Either way, it was the spot I was most excited about and while it disappointed in many regards, I'm happy with what I pulled out of there.

The shop keeper was kind and we chatted a bit.  Someone visited him (I never turned around) who apparently is a musician and going to play a show opening for Jon Anderson of Yes.  Then this mystery person bragged about how he knew Chris Squire before he died, etc... Being a serious Yes fan, I was a little impressed but it also reeked of exaggeration.  Things got worse when I left when the shop keeper told me about how he had personally sold Charlie Watts of the Rolling Stones a record worth $2000 that he paid $3 for.

                        

But I don't go to hunt for records to make friends so I can let all this nonsense go.  But I cannot let go a messy shop with boxes of records everywhere, most unmarked and a wild arrangement of vinyl racks that leave off then pick up on the other side of the small space.  I was in the final bins when I finally found something interesting for a fair price ($12)...when I saw it was an original issue on blue vinyl, it was an easy decision.

SOUTH ORANGE THRIFT

I have no idea what this place is called, it doesn't seem to have a name and did not appear in Google maps at all.  I was en route to my next stop when I saw the big sign above and hit the brakes to check it out.

Unbelievably, they did have some vinyl. The 7" records were all without sleeves so that did not interest me at all.  The 10-12 LPs were all junk except for one which was pretty beat.  The bottom seam was blown out on both the jacket and inner sleeve but the platter itself was pristine.  I couldn't not pass up this opportunity to put my M.O. discography to rest forever (no other releases besides the two I already have really interest me).

So I brought it up and pointed out that no prices were marked and that the record was pretty jacked up...I offered the shop keeper a buck.  He didn't even glance at the vinyl and was adamant that 'LPs are $2 and 45s are $1'.  I can't believe I paid him, but I am ashamed to admit I tolerated his tone and paid the man.  It will be my pleasure to never return.

VILLAGE THRIFT STORE

I called the day before to ask if this place had any vinyl.  The person that answered (likely pictured below) instantly answered that she did not want to buy any vinyl because the demand is so low.  I had to cut her diatribe short and tell her that I wasn't looking to sell anything - I wanted to see the vinyl and buy it! She said she had some but 'not much'.  Good enough for me.

Well the place was a real hell hole.  I have been in so many thrift stores it boggles the mind and I've seen some warzone type dumps of junk all over the land.  But this may take the cake...you truly could not easily walk around.  Much of it was clothes, there were some housewares along one wall.  There were just garbage bags of unknown goods piled up high 'Hoarders' style behind the register!

I wandered around for a while trying to find the damn records and was itching to get the hell out of there.  Finally I had to identify myself as the gentleman caller from the day before and they directed me to the corner of the store where the box was totally hidden under yet another overloaded rack of clothes.  All junk, save one, which I own and love.  I hope someone can pick it up and appreciate it one day.

Also I am extremely proud to mention that this is post #200! Next month will also be the two year anniversary of this blog.  It's been an intense couple years and I'm proud of the work I've done and the stories I have to tell.  Here's to one hundred more!