Sunday 19 May
 
 

Various artists — Never Give Up: Celebrating 10 Years of The Postal Service

Few indie bands have had the impact on current music that The Postal Service has. Even fewer have done so with only one album.
05/15/2013 | Comments 0

Big Worm — Bench All-Stars

Fans of the comedy classic Friday may recognize the name Big Worm, but the Big Worm behind Bench All-Stars is rooted not in South Central L.A., but on the streets of Oklahoma City.
05/08/2013 | Comments 0

Code 22 — Going Soft: The Acoustic Album!

The guys of Oklahoma City’s Code 22 seem like a likable group of fellas. Their latest release, Going Soft: The Acoustic Album!, is likable enough as well — so likable that on first listen, I took its clean, acoustic sound and clear, unstressed vocals as an alternative praise-and-worship band.
05/08/2013 | Comments 0

Eureeka — Polysynthetic Fields

It’s always refreshing to hear music that embraces its own eccentricity, yet presents it in an accessible and meek fashion. Eureeka — the Norman-based duo of Jordan Vargas and Devin Wahl — has tapped into this rarified air on its self-released EP, Polysynthetic Fields.
05/08/2013 | Comments 0

Tom Skinner — Tom Skinner

Sincerity is nearly dead in songwriting. The image of the earnest singer with eyes tightly shut and a crack in his voice as he plunges to emotional depths has become a joke.
05/08/2013 | Comments 0
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Music

Hangin' out in the Alley


Alley Records is a vintage vinyl lovers’ dream come true

Stephen Carradini June 15th, 2011  

An authentic Kurt Cobain signature is a rare thing, but you can see the late Nirvana leader’s pen on a copy of a limited-edition, 1991 7-inch split between Nirvana and The Fluid hanging on the wall at Alley Records.

The artifact isn’t for sale, but pretty much everything else is on the block at 918½ W. Britton. That includes firstedition Elvis Presley 45s, rare pressings of Neil Young albums and much more vintage material.

The recently opened store is run by Ronnie Jay Wheeler, who is also an Americana artist with two records to his name. Thus, the shop features a great deal of folk/ Americana, but it also offers rock, rap and more.

Wheeler has been collecting the music and music-related art around 30 years, and got the idea to open a combination record store and art gallery in the late ’90s with his wife. Rebecca Wheeler’s studio takes up the front half of the space; patrons of the record store must walk through the alley to the back door to peruse the rarities from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., Tuesdays through Fridays.

Featuring mostly vinyl, hardly a new release anywhere and memorabilia covering the walls, the store is a vinyl lovers’ dream.

“I’ve had a lot of audiophiles come in and say, ‘We’ve needed something like this,’” said Wheeler. —Stephen Carradini

 
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