music in miami

A modest mouse?

As to selection, SWEAT seems to me to have a deep inventory of indie music and jazz. And what they don't have they try hard to find via order. Aside from a few items I've requested that they haven't been able to get through their distributors (mostly classical stuff, e.g., an old Anonymous 4 album, Hermann Baumann) SWEAT has always been able to locate the albums I request. In just the past year, I've ordered a bunch of diverse albums through them, e.g., Fela Kuti's "Expensive S--t/He Miss Road," Grant Hart's "Good News for Modern Man," Lavender Diamond's "The Cavalry of Light," Talk Talk's "Laughing Stock," and Henson Cargill's "A Very Well Travelled Man." They seem to work hard to locate items I order, they keep me abreast of the status of my order and they're responsive.

Most importantly, the owners seem passionate about music. They don't just locate items in the store for you, they're happy to discuss the music with you and suggest other items you might like.

Anyway, I've already said too much on the subject. I just was surprised to see the small, local indie-record store I patron be mentioned on an ILM thread, and I wanted to give you another perspective on it. I hope you enjoy Miami; it's a great city.

_______________________________________________
(n.1) I'm not even sure, aside from SWEAT, Blue Note and one store on Lincoln Road, that there are any independent records stores left in Miami anymore.

and also, the fact that Sweat is the only place of its kind is ridiculous. sure, they have some good stuff, but it's kind of just a normal independent record store (and a small one at that) with a bit more of a dance music selection.

Anyway, if there are other good independent record stores in Miami besides SWEAT Records, I'd also like to hear about them.

Singer Cherine Anderson, a Jamaican film star, mixed neo-soul and reggae well. She was a highlight of a segment of the festival that segregated most of the female artists together. Miami rapper Trina capped the woman hour with a game performance that still failed to get the party started. It's admirable that the Diamond Princess repeatedly shouts out to ''her ladies.'' But like several of the show's raunchy dancehall artists, her show nonetheless seems geared for men.

the bold wasn't in the print version

there have to be more places like that and this thread is for sharing them.

On a broader level, record store choices are really limited here. VIRGIN MegaStore just closed its Shops at Sunset Place store after its 7 year lease expired. Specs caters to more mainstream, urban and Latin genres (although they do have a dynamite classical and jazz section hidden in the back of their South Dixie Highway store). And the only other places I've seen are Barnes & Noble, Best Buy and Borders.

one of those people told me about a 'house of music' between 125th and 135th on s dixie. not the easiest thing to google.

WE BE JOYS
3565 NW 9 AVE
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33309

Yesterday & Today
http://www.vintagerecords.com/

i'm going there tomorrow evening, will report back

I'm really curious to hear what you think of it.

The original location of Y&T Records was in West Miami, just a half-mile from Coral Gables; the selection was truly wondrous.

As Daniel and name means a lot have discovered, Miami is not easily navigated without a car. Distance and traffic makes shopping for more than the essentials an experience of unconscionable brutality. The thought of driving to Sweat Records from West Miami makes my skin crawl these days, and so, alas, I buy most of my stuff online.

I live in Coral Gables, and it's a pain to get to SWEAT Records. But SWEAT will order items and let you pay for them either via PAYPAL or telephone (with your C/C information), and they'll ship them to you. It makes the process painless, and -- as I said upthread -- it's nice to patron good local businesses when possible.

i'm back home, taking some time off from school

i went looking for disco, especially t.k. and its sublabels and i was not disappointed. i looked through almost every record in the disco / dance section and there were several dozen t.k. and marlin records. lots of salsoul. probably lots of other disco classics i'm not familiar with. a few post 1987 looking dance records but no techno or house i was familiar with, although there was a klf 12".

i didn't really look into the rest of the store but there were large sections for "rock/pop," jazz, various regional variations of latin music, blues, 40s and 50s vocalists, and "thousands" of 45s filed in cabinets that i passed on. the ska / reggae / & progeny section was disappointing but maybe the 45s make up for it?

not the place to go for new releases but great for a lot of other things.

I live just two minutes from Y&T. Will check it out this weekend.

The few promoters with a clue do what they can - but this town is a fickle bitch musically. most bands that do great elsewhere, do crap to mediocre here. and when they do have a good show -- the followup usually bombs.

and I say that as someone who booked shows here for a decade and now tours constantly.

FYI, record stores are dying everywhere - it's just the live music thing we're sucking harder at.

thankfully the sst-related bands had a solid work ethic, so i got to see black flag, meat puppets, husker du, minutemen, descendents... a lot of the time, my friends and i used to drive to atlanta to see shows.

used to be a lot of used vinyl places, and some awesome swap meet/ record fairs -- yesterday and today was def. aces back then but i'm sure it's not too bad now -- evan chern owns it right? he's a great guy.

best record store i've ever been to was YARDBIRD in coconut grove, run by michael dean. absolutely amazing, so grateful it was there and sad it's not been around for a long-ass time too.

so, they sells cds and vinyl, plus incense, bowls, candles, stickers, posters, sheets of shiny contact paper, things you hang on your porch that twirl around and look pretty, gimmicky t-shirts and hats, scarface posters, turntables, cigarettes, and candy. although you wouldn't know they actually wanted to sell anything judging by all the printed labels telling you DON'T OPEN THIS RECORD or DON'T TOUCH THE WINDOW or NO BAGS AT ALL or NO SMOKING (even though the place absolutely reeks of incense) or NO REFUNDS EVER every-fucking-where. you'd think they were doing you a favor letting you in their shop. that and you have to give them a driver's license to listen to records on their turntables. and the clerks themselves were pretty unfriendly.

the vinyl is organized into dance classics (just a bunch of records called, literally, DANCE CLASSICS with eg. a madonna track and a michael jackson track, no trax or transmat type stuff like you might expect), imports (aka uk house), domestic (american prog house and dnb, absolutely nothing i had ever heard of besides a moodyman record) and hip-hop/rnb. their "pick of the week" cds (which are usually a pretty good microcosm of the store's taste) were all tiesto-esque trance mixes and tribal/prog stuff DO NOT WANT

i eventually found a melchior 12" to make the trip out there worthwhile, but i didn't see a single other record i would even consider buying.

grade: D+ (being charitable because i love thomas melchior)

Incense
Shirts
DJ Bags
Bags
Hats
Sunglasses
Lunchboxes
Jewelry
Patches
Posters
Bobbleheads
Candles
Fairy Statues
Belts
Belt Buckles
Needles
Candleholders
Collectibles
Dunny dolls
Headphones
Body Cleansers
Wallets
Scarface Stuff
Slip Mats
Guitar Accessories
Bongos
Djimbes
Body Jewelry
Die-Case Toys
Lamps
Gum, Candy & Cigarettes
Energy Drinks
Hooka Accessories

lady sov i couldn't care less about but is that mayday aka derrick may? anybody know?

RASIN FESTIVAL 2006
When Sat Nov 25 9:30pm - Sat Nov 25 10:30pm
20061125T213000/20061125T223000
Where: BAYFRONT PARK, Miami, Florida

Created By"EchodHaiti.com Calendar"
r5lne50q4nc533mh91bpavhva0@group.calendar.google.comDescriptionC.H.S & KAMIKAZ INC.
Present

The 13th Annual
Haitian Roots Music Festival
RASIN FESTIVAL 2006

SAT. NOV. 25, 2006
(Thanksgiving Week end)

BAYFRONT PARK
Miami, Florida
(Direction - Map)

Featuring
T-VICE, DJAKOUT, BOUKMAN, AZOR, NU LOOK, KANPECH AND REV

Info:786-290-1069

GROOVEMAN MUSIC

1543 Washington Ave., Miami Beach, FL 33139; (305) 535-6257; e-mail [email protected]; Web www.groovemanmusic.com, noon to 10 pm

store and label run by george acosta, miami's most famous house producer(?), on the beach. seems to specialize in prog/funky/tribal house. worth a trip i guess.

IMPACTO
flagler and sw 47th ave, mostly latin stuff? i don't think it's my scene but i might check it out.

here is that tech man 1 song i was talking about in my last post. it's called Get Into The Music and it's from this record.

SATURDAY MARCH 22 at RED 737
737 Washington Blvd, South Beach

James Pennington[!!!!!!]
Blake Baxter[!!!]
K Hand
DJ Bone
Derrick Thompson
Mike Clark
DJ Genesis
John Collins
Reggie Dokes
Norm Talley

Him and Charlie the Quaker... who I guess is back on the air in Champaign/Urbana (for those who remember him).

I think that there are almost no good "new" record stores left in the world.

i hit up blue note records yesterday and they are moving!

new address:
Ravenswood Warehouse
4931 Anglers Ave
Building A #11
Dania, FL 33312

dude at the store said they should be open by next saturday.

where is dania?

north of the old location, near the coast. another 30 minutes driving, i guess.

That's really far (from downtown Miami or south of it). It's getting harder and harder to find good music stores, here.

Sweat Records changed its hours, too, which is also frustrating. Now it opens at 6 p.m., making it very hard for me to ever get there. It's also become a bit harder to place orders for delivery (for me it has, at least).

a record store that opens at 6 pm? jeezus, no wonder the lfam orders most of his stuff from forced exposure. that's some weird ass shit.

also btw, it's no great shakes up here in philly, either. we have more record stores, but other than one new/used and one all-used, the quality is horrific.

i think sweat changed their hours to get more of the bar crowd

Yeah, I think that's right. But it's not even a reliable 6 p.m. I once sat around for 20 minutes waiting for them to open, with only a "Back in 5 Minutes" sign on the locked front door. I don't mean to dump on Sweat Records; I've shopped there a lot and it's the best record shop I've ever seen in Miami (in my musically sheltered life, mind you). But that opening time is just very difficult to accommodate.

I had a good friend who worked there about a year ago; he'd get to Churchill's and see three or four people queued up outside.

It's rather embarrassing that a city this size has only one independent record store.

Haha. I might have been one of those people.

Normally I'd never wait 20 minutes for any store to open. I only did so because I want to patron them (I like locally-owned businesses), I was there and I knew I wouldn't be back anytime soon.

Now it will be mail-orders only from Sweat, for me. I just can't afford the time to get there during their hours.

also, yesterday & today records has a big sale this week. like 50% off on most items.

wait, 50% off vinyl except for "new LP's and certain collectibles"

10% off everything else (cds? i don't know what else)

Amazingly, in case you're in that neck-of-the-woods, I was in a Borders bookstore in Aventura that had a not-so-terrible music section, for a bookstore. It had a healty reggae section (including the new Trojan Lee Perry disc, The Upsetter Selection), lots of old-time blues, and a lot of decent new rock stuff.

Uhh . . . I meant "healthy" reggae selection.

i checked out the new blue note location yesterday. it's a lot easier to get to than i expected, mostly because it's right off I-95. it took me about 25 minutes to get there from coral gables. that place is is awesome. they keep the kraftwerk in the soul/funk section. lots of stuff on sale, too. i picked up a horace andy digital dancehall single.

i had a hard time finding their phone number. here it is: 954-961-3928

also, i had their address wrong.

corrected:

Ravenswood Warehouse
5931 Anglers Ave
Dania, FL 33312

it's in the warehouses behind the wachovia bank.

I forgot that you guys (elan and Daniel) are local. It's partly my fault that we haven't tried to hang out.

We should. Elan, you're in the Gables? I live basically across the street from the University of Miami.

SW Miami in the house.

i live near calle ocho and 57 ave

my parents live in palmetto bay. i'm there sometimes.

Cool! I'm in Westchester. We should plan a FAP then.

Sounds good. Suggestions for a convenient spot?

What's a FAP?

I had to look it up on the FAQ page. It means "Fancy A Pint, used "to ask fellow posters whether they would like to go out for a drink."

What about the Gables? Thursday night?

That works for me. I was going to suggest either Titanic (the UM hangout) or John Martins (the Miracle Mile landmark.

I feel like a long-toothed lech whenever I walk into Titanic. John Martins is fine. We'll finalize the details as the day approaches.

did I ever send you an email, Daniel? If not, keep an eye on your inbox.

I hadn't received one yet. I'll be on the lookout for it in the inbox.

I'll await the invite, too. I'll even buy an Interpol shirt.

Maybe I'll stay home. I may have underwear to wash.

i will be back in miami in between dec 21 and jan 20. i am not of drinking age, so maybe i'll fancy a pepsi or something.

my email: lfamular 4t oberlin d0t 3du

if tonight is still on, i can't make it.

We'll try again! I'm leaving in a few minutes to meet Daniel.

oh would i was there. it is terribly cold up here.

warm beds are great, but so are warm breezes.

some more record store reviews

SWEAT Records re-opened (in Little Haiti), but I haven't been back.

shit, i wrote a long thing and it disappeared

the new sweat location is cool. i miss being able to take drinks from the bar into the record store. i haven't tried it but they have a coffee bar.

Yeah, but that bar (where SWEAT used to be) is kind of seedy, no?

Karma Records

868 E. OAKLAND PARK BLVD. FT. LAUDERDALE, FL 33334
954-564-4898

Karma is mostly a dance music store, from what I saw. They had a smallish selection of new house records (sorry, I only looked at the house records) when I visited a couple months ago. The real treasure is in the thousands of used dance records they have in boxes all around the store. I found a lot of good stuff, and it was very reasonably priced. Also, the owner is friendly and very willing to talk to customers. She also has baby's playpen next to the counter, although the baby wasn't there when I visited. Also, you can smoke and drink beer in the store! I think that is not allowed when the baby is present. Some people might be turned off by it, but I think it's great!

The downside is that if you are traveling from Miami, it's a long drive. It took me about 45 minutes to get there at midday. That is why you should make a big deal about it and also visit this other record store in Fort Lauderdale:

Radio-Active Records

1930B East Sunrise Boulevard, Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33304
(just west of the Galleria Mall on Sunrise Boulevard)
phone: 954.762.9488
email: i✧✧✧@radio-active-reco✧✧✧.c✧✧
Monday-Thursday: 10am to 9pm
Friday-Saturday: 10am to 10pm
Sunday: Noon-5pm

Radio-Active Records carries a wider selection of styles than Karma, and they are divided up onto traditional record store cascading shelves. They even have specific sections for certain labels, which is always cool in my book. Overall. their selection is more curated. It's a double-edged sword, because you probably won't find any super rare treasures for cheap like you would digging at a place like Karma. Still, even with the higher prices, it's very reasonable. I found Carl Craig's More Songs About Food And Revolutionary Art 2xLP for $13. I didn't spend much time looking through non-dance related stuff, but they have a lot. My only complaint is even though they have a big space (about 2 or 3 times the size of Karma), they could have a lot more stock. But it's hard out here for a pimp record store... to expand. Business is tight. And they have a lot of really good stuff.

Overall, I would rate the trip to Fort Lauderdale for these stores a B+/A-. The only downside is the long drive and all the money I spent.

xpost

you mean churchill's? you make seedy sound like a bad thing! churchill's is not fancy, or even very clean, but people are respectful and the vibe is good. i've never heard of cars getting broken into or anything. the only bar i prefer more is The Bar on giralda avenue in coral gables.

also, i would like to take back some of the nasty things i said about Uncle Sam's Music on Miami Beach. when i wrote that i was a house music neophyte, and i was really into the minimal scene in europe. uncle sam's is not so into that scene. since i bashed them, i have learned a lot about music and bought tons of great stuff from them. the prices are good. they still have a lot of stupid tschochkes, but whatever. it's really the best dance music store in miami-dade county, with the possible exception of Super Soul Records in allapatah, but i have only been there once and didn't have enough time to really dig.

so, uncle sam's gets a B+.

sorry guys!

also, looks like super soul is doing the online thing as well, now: http://stores.ebay.com/SUPER-SOUL-RECORD-SHOP

super soul records seems like it could rival blue note, from the one time i went there. the guy have 50,000 records.

i will definitely visit super soul again before i leave miami at the end of the month.

anyways, daniel, the new sweat location is directly next door to churchill's. they share a wall. i also think that sweat is expanding their stock to go with the larger space. awesome!

uncle sam's on 14th and washington has expanded their stock of used dance records and it is awesome! it's stuffed with classics.

An email I got says SWEAT Records is one of the top independent coffeehouses in Miami (as voted by such-and-so magazine, I guess). Who knew! Still haven't gone there or bought from them in over a year.

No fault of SWEAT Records, mind you, but eMusic and/or the used disc store (Spec's) are such cheapter alternatives.

I got great out of print King Sunny Ade vinyl at Uncle Sam's a month ago.

we need another FAP!

Agreed! Are there more ILX'ors in South Florida, there days?

I think Jordan $ is around.

i'm here

what part of town are y'all in? i'm in the northwest gables.

We're nearly neighbors, Elan. I'm South Gables.

im in pinecrest/palmetto bay

shall we plan something for this week then?

im free any night but tomorrow

This week might be tight for me, but by all means, if you guys are available, set it up (I'm an old/boring ILX'or, anyway, trust me).

(If I can make it, I will)

i literally have nothing on going until the 23rd, when i leave

also, dunno if it matters but im not 21

Is Sunrise near Miami, Jamaican jerk chicken lovers?

The organizers of the seventh annual Jamaican Jerk Festival, presented by Air Jamaica and Publix, scheduled for this Sunday, November 9th, in Markham Park, Sunrise, Florida, have planned a special tribute to the legendary band leader Byron Lee, who passed away on Tuesday, November 4, in Jamaica. Lee's band, the Dragonaires, will make their first appearance since his passing, at the festival on Sunday.

Julianne Lee, daughter of the famed bandleader, assured listeners on WAVS radio on Thursday that the band will be appearing at the festival on Sunday. "The Jamaican Jerk Festival was very special for my dad and he asked that the show go on, as he had a close relationship with the organizers. This is going to be our first appearance without him and we are planning to celebrate his life in a special way at the Jerk Festival.

Sunrise is, depending on your speed, about 40 minutes north-northeast, in Broward. Take I-75 if you're in western Miami-Dade, the Turnpike to 595 if you're east.

hey, i'm headed to Miami today and was wondering if there was a great place to find calypso records?

Nice! Tinariwen to close Miami Heineken Transatlantic Festival on April 25.

BACHANAL IN DE PARK
THE NEW ALL INCLUSIVE DAY FETE
MIAMI CARNIVAL 2011
3pm - 11pm
FEATURING
KES THE BAND
RIKKI JAI - NADIA BOSTAN
BENJAI AND MORE
HOSTED BY DJ LAZ
CLICK FLYER FOR COMPLETE INFO
Location:
ARTS PARK at YOUNG CIRCLE
1915 HOLLYWOOD BLVD
Contact Info:
http://www.thr3ehouseinc.com

That's on Saturday October 8th

The list of entertainers lined up for Compas Festival 2012: CaRiMi, Djakout#1, Kreyol La, Harmonik, T-Micky, NuLook, Disip and Mizik Mizik, TPO, Alan Cave, Mikaben, Robert Charlot, Cubano, Belo, Tifane, BIC, Fefe, Jude Jean, Jean Bernard Thomas, Artizz, Larose and many others.

If only you Miami folks were into Haitian music. This May 19 event is at Bayfront Park. I have written about Haitian musicians in the W. DC area and am now getting emails about Miami Haitian shows.

Anything recommended for a Wednesday or Thursday night in Miami? Good soul, latin or funk weeklies? Absurdly broad question, but looking for a nice spot for after dinner late-midweek.

ilxers Jordan S. or Soto might know.

Do not know if this link is accurate but maybe it is. I haven't been to Miami in years.

http://www.miami.com/pass-the-salsa-a-latin-nightclub-guide-article

http://www.miaminewtimes.com/

^^^ not a bad one.

That event sounds great!

Thursday April 19

Arkadia I Fontainebleau Hotel I 4441 Collins Avenue Miami Beach
Miami Heat vs. Chicago Bulls Exclusive Afterparty
Hosted by R&B Legend
R.Kelly

Soto, you should go to this.

I'm spinning.

From Dave Marsh's Rap and Roll Confidential comes this odd item (are many stations anywhere playing Beastie Boys in tribute?):

Dear Miami Radio Stations,

Why have you not played any Beastie Boys songs since MCA died May 4? Is it because Pitbull didn't work with them? It has been six days and I have not heard one song, mention or "4 and 3 and 2 and 1 word up" on the radio. Every important celebrity on the planet has sent their condolences via twitter including Madonna, Justin Timberlake, Cee Lo Green and the freaking Dalai Lama and you can't play one tribute song? When MJ died it was "Rock with You" and "Beat It" all day long. Yeah, he was the King of Pop, but they are Kings of Hip-Hop (or what we used to call rap before it got gentrified.)
Dear Miami Radio Stations, I love you with your tropical beats, creole news station and college kids playing jazz (jazz hands for effect). But when a Hall of Fame hip hop band member dies of cancer, it's time to turn off the bachata "so nasty" beats and pay your respects. A fitting tribute would be the "Paul Revere” lyrics: "It started way back in history, with Adrock, MCA and me, Mike D" or maybe even "Shake Your Rump" lyrics with "I got arrested at Mardi Gras for jumping on a float. My man MCA's got a beard like a billie goat. Squaw squaw is the disco call." But I would even settle…..Yes, I'll say it. I would even settle for "Fight for Your Right to Party." Yes, it was satire and illegally appropriated or nationalized (fraternized?) by Delts and Fijis across the country (a heinous crime, and in Miami we know heinous crimes) but I would take it.

Miami Radio Stations, do you only care about the 18-34 demo? A few advertisers still buy the nearly AARP-ers in the 18-49 demo, no? Is it that the Beastie Boys are Jewish? White? Good standardized test takers and would have crushed the FCATs? Is it because they participated in Langerado, that ill-fated Lollapalooza knock-off music fest in the Everglades?
Miami Radio Stations, did you know there are thousands of us who moved here from the Tri-state area (read Long Island and New Jersey) who have a Beastie Boys poster still hanging proudly in our old room at our parents' house? There are thousands of us who bought Gucci watches because of the Beastie Boys. Ok, maybe a handful. There are hundreds of us who know "White Castle fries only come in one size" because of them. There are even more of us with "trees in our mirror so our car don't smell" (and so our car don't smell). Miami Radio Stations, you play Eminem and Vanilla Ice. They went to the Beastie Boy School of "How to Make It as White Guy in Hip Hop". Eminem even graduated with a PhD from the school (Vanilla was a drop-out).

Or is it really all because Pitbull didn't mix them into "La Gente Esta Muy Loca"?

Dear Mr. Worldwide (Formerly known as Mr. 305), please sample the Beastie Boys. They invented sampling in the 80's when you were five. Thank you.

Joanna Popper
[Joanna Popper is Vice-President of Marketing at NBC Universal/Telemundo]

Via a Yahoo Southern Soul group email:

Movie doc "Deep City: The Birth of the Miami Sound" the Willie Clarke/old-school Miami soul music film will make its debut at South By Southwest in Austin next week (Tuesday, March 11). That will be followed by a showing at the Miami International Film Festival a week from Friday (March 14) at 8:30 PM, at the Olympia (Gusman) Theatre. A showing later this month in Cleveland may also have been been scheduled. I