WSPC SESSION NOTES FOR SEPTEMBER 2013

To open this month's activities, I wanted to share with you a new session note about the "On This Day In Music" monthly feature and the endless gratitude I feel must be shared.

With all of the seemingly useless information that swirls around inside of my head concerning music, movies, literature and aspects of pop culture, I am actually not as well versed as Synesthesia may have been leading you to believe. Yes, dear readers and listeners, my knowledge of music, I feel, is indeed fairly vast but also know that it is also a case of me knowing a lot about what I know a lot about. For the music that is most treasured to me, I have tended to immerse myself in all conceivable areas of it. For instance, take a band like Genesis, a personal favorite. I may have and know the facts and (some) dates of album and single releases, which then extends themselves into my knowledge of the band members, the lengths of their respective tenures, solo albums, guest appearances and so on. Those sorts of items are very easy for me to retain and reproduce at will, rapidly so and with complete certainty.

What I am not very knowledgeable about at all happens to be what has made up the content of the "On This Day In Music" monthly feature. The actual release dates (that is the actual day and not just the year) of albums and furthermore, the birthdays of the musical artists that I have made a point to celebrate. If you were to come up to me and ask me the date of when John Lennon was assassinated, I could tell you without skipping a beat because that date (December 8, 1980) has been forever etched into my consciousness. But if you were to ask me what John Lennon's birthday was...well, that would be a head scratcher as that is something I simply have never really known with any absolutely certainty whatsoever (for those of you playing along, John Lennon's birthday is October 9, 1940). For me to compile all of the material that is housed on this site, I owe every piece of information that I have shared with you to my friend Steve Manley, the owner of Madison, WI's very own B-Side Records, the legendary record store located on Madison's gloriously and eternally funky State Street.

When I first visited Madison at the age of 14 in 1983, one sight that literally blew my mind apart instantly was the vision of State Street, which was then loaded with one record store after another. It was nothing less than my personal Mecca to see the likes of Discount Records, Rose Records, local emporiums like Sugar Shack and even one store that specialized in classical music, all lined up and down the street alongside B-Side like brothers-in-arms all supplying music, sweet music to all who chose to enter their respective domains. During my college years, those stores were joined by The Exclusive Company and for those four years and for many, many years thereafter, I frequented every single one of those stores and I even briefly worked at Discount Records for a spell after I graduated from college in 1991. 

B-Side was the store I was actually somewhat afraid to venture inside of as the owners and staff had a certain collective nature that felt impenetrable and impervious to any sense of musical frivolity. It was obvious from my first visit that these people did not suffer musical fools lightly and that vibe could be felt instantly. It felt a little like the record store clerks from Nick Hornby's extraordinary novel High Fidelity, as well as the outstanding John Cusack starring 2000 feature film adaptation directed by Stephen Frears. 

I felt as if I had to earn some sort of unspoken trust that I was a serious music collector and passionate music lover, that I wasn't into any sense of fads or just loved an artist solely due to a hit single or cool video. I was a college radio DJ and a drummer and I hopes that through osmosis, the B-Side staff would catch my vibe and allow me to pass into their realm without fear of ridicule. Even so, I tended to make most of my purchase at the other stores and I continuously felt myself treading lightly whenever I entered B-Side. Over time, I realized that to earn some sort of unspoken credit, I had to also understand which record store was the most serious about music itself. And I learned fairly quickly that whenever I had a album release question or artist question that became increasingly off the beaten path, the staff of B-Side Records always, and I mean, ALWAYS knew the answer when all of the other stores shrugged their shoulders and stared into space. And over the years, B-Side became my record store of choice.

In the 22 years since graduating from college, and living through all of the sea changes within the music industry, B-Side Records is now the ONLY record store standing on State Street, and in conversations with Steve, this achievement is no small feat and definitely a sometimes arduous one. I did not frequent B-Side for many years due to not working or living within the campus area but I eventually found myself compelled to make the effort to return to B-Side and support not only a long-standing local business, but the very best record store I have had the pleasure to visit (and with no disrespect intended towards Mad City Music Exchange, Strictly Discs and the still standing Sugar Shack, all great stores which are all still surviving in various location in Madison). And now, with just a few minor exceptions, B-Side Records has made its full return to existing as my TOP record store of choice and I feel so fortunate to have earned the friendship of Steve Manley, who is always on the top of his game when hooking me up with the new, the old, the arcane and all in between. Thanks to him, I already have the new albums by Nine Inch Nails and John Legend in hand and I hope to be writing features on both of those this month or shortly thereafter.

This lengthy preamble leads me back to the "On This Day In Music" feature because the content of that feature is about 98% due to Steve and B-Side. Each day upon the B-Side Facebook page, Steve posts the birthdays and musical milestone that have occurred on that particular date. From there, I cherry pick the ones that are the most meaningful to me and house those facts and factoids here. Steve's daily commitment to this sharing of musical knowledge is paramount to the continuation of this Synesthesia feature but it is also a blessing for all of us as far as I am concerned. For what else is music but a gift to all, and what else are these people who possess the talent, skill, ability and inspiration to pluck something out of the ether and turn it into something that that is for our need for art and entertainment, for our spiritual nourishment, and potentially something for the ages. For music to be created, grow, build, survive and extend long beyond any of us are part of existence, we need to celebrate, cultivate and appreciate the gifts that we have been given. Steve Manley provides that service copiously, consistently, diligently and without a need for attention grabbing fanfare. Why he actually continues to perform this feat is something that you would have to ask him yourselves but I think that is it just because he loves music so very much that to not share the information and the history would be a crime.

I love music that much as well and if this site is one way to pass the torch that Steve has ignited, then I am humbled to do so for as long as I am able.

Thank you, Steve and B-Side Records for enriching my life for over 25 years. And for all of you who may be reading these session notes, as always, grab your sticks, guitar picks, microphones or just find your favorite music be it on vinyl, cassette, CD or digital files and...just sing, dance and always PRESS PLAY!!!

And also...DON'T FORGET TO SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL RECORD STORE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!