Photos: Dumb Records Grand Opening

IMG_8272We have been all about the Dumb lately here at blacksheepspringfield.com. Of course if you have not heard, there is a new record store called Dumb Records that recently opened up right next to Black Sheep. It is ran by some of the same folks who help make Black Sheep and Error Records possible. This past Saturday Dumb Records had their grand opening celebration, including some live acoustic acts and an art show next door at The Black Sheep. Today we are bringing you some photos from that day. Check a few of them out above and below, or click the link below to find the whole set of photos.

DUMB RECORDS GRAND OPENING PHOTOS

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Dumb Records Product Request Form

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With Dumb Records now being officially up and running, we thought it would be a good idea to let all of you know that product request forms are available for anyone and everyone! This means that if there is a certain record you want us to order for you, we’ll try our best to track it down and get it to our store. We also want to add that with every product we get as a result of you filling out our product request form, you will receive 10% off on that item. We have product request forms available at our store and also online, which you can find by clicking the link below.

DUMB RECORDS PRODUCT REQUEST FORM

Also make sure to keep up with South Town news by signing up for our weekly mailing list! By doing so you can stay updated on what records are coming around Dumb Records as well as the shows coming up at Black Sheep!

Dumb Records will continue to run from 10:00 am to 8:00 pm on Fridays and Saturdays, and also 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm on nights there are shows at Black Sheep. Since there are shows both Friday and Saturday this upcoming weekend at Black Sheep, Dumb Records will be open from 10:00 am to 9:00 pm both days.

February 23rd at Black Sheep: Our Lady, Run, Forever, Looming

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Look at this wonderful show coming up on Sunday, February 23rd! It looks like Black Sheep will get to witness another Our Lady performance on this special night, with their last Black Sheep show being way back in November. This show will also feature the return of good friends Run, Forever from Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. The last time Run, Forever came through Springfield was a very last minute show that happened close to one year ago. Also playing this show is the newer hit Springfield pop band, Looming. Looming also won your choice for best Springfield song and album of the year.

This show will be happening at 7:00 pm and admission will be $5. You can find a facebook event for this one right here. Also don’t forget to check out our shows page for more information on all of our upcoming shows!

Full Chroma Recording Experiences

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Last week we mentioned how The Science Of had plans for their EP in 2014 and now there is another band in the Springfield area that has recorded for 2014 as well. Full Chroma spent a day in November with Camron Yates at Waterfront Recording Studios to put together a four track demo.

“We intended to use our finished product as an advertisement for future gigs. The four particular tracks we’ve recorded have a diversity among them. I believe that they showcase our versatility in different styles of music and help to create a well-rounded EP,” Chris Nichelson, drummer, said.

Having only formed in 2013 this was a big step for the new band. They felt it was time to step away from Garageband and do some serious recording. But with that new level of professionalism came a learning curve.

“If I learned anything its that patience is 100 percent required,” Ben Gorden, bassist, said. “We wanted to learn about the process of recording as much as we could. I learned that 80 percent of the work is using computers.”

Patience seemed to be the biggest gain from the recording.

“It’s been a fun process but slightly stressful at times. The most frustrating part of it was having to record a certain part over and over again because I just couldn’t get it right. Pretty much just making sure everything was solid. There were definitely obstacles. Since none of us had had any studio experience it was very new to us,” Matt LaMarca, vocalist and keyboardist, said.

Naturally the band was happy with being able to get their stuff together in a studio.

“You never know how you actually sound until you hear a recording of yourself playing,” Josh Peters, guitarist, said. “The first thing that I noticed was that my guitar sounded completely different on the recording, if I had my amp on a setting that I thought sounded good, it might not have sounded all that great on the recording.”

Anytime they ran into trouble in their process though they all joked that Ben would be the one to leave to band.

“We have a recurring joke in the band, we always just volunteer Ben to quit. If something goes wrong it’s always, “Sorry guys, Ben quits!” Or “well I guess Ben quits!”. We just like to poke fun at Ben,” Josh said.

Luckily for Ben the band is pretty sure of their sound and who they are.

“When I work on a song I want all that passion that I feel to be portrayed into the song, and I know that all of my other band mates do the same. I mainly just think that it is that passion that sets us apart,” Josh said.

If you want to hear what they guys recorded check the Black Sheep Shows page or the band’s facebook to see when they are playing and possibly anding out their EP.

2/3 at Black Sheep: Table Drama vs. Orator, Endeavor, Like…With Jetpacks, Servants

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We’ve got some rad shows coming up in February- check it out! This show on the 3rd is going to be pretty epic and here’s why: Local wrestle-grind band Table Drama and Champaign based sludgy jammers Orator are having a face-off. Who will win? Come find out, listen to these crazy people and sludge around. Then Virginia based Endeavor will give us some slushy melodic hardcore to enjoy. They are no strangers to Springfield, they played at the Scott Blacula farewell show so come out and see them again! East Coast folks Servants will then give us some progressive jams to mosh to, and then our local video game mongers Like…With Jetpacks are gonna tickle our tech sides…with jetpacks!

This is on February 3rd for $5 dollars. Circle pits are required. Be There. Here’s the facebook event, check out our other upcoming shows too to see what else we have coming up!

New Band Pages: Asthma

1484256_604929712894370_1146879663_nToday we are bringing you a new band page for Springfield’s newest and potentially hazardous “filth punk” band. They are Asthma, and you can find out all about them on their new page. Go here to check out the new page, and be sure to keep your eyes and lungs out for any upcoming Asthma shows at Black Sheep or some newly recorded material that may surface.

You can check out any of our hundreds of band pages that we have put together for Springfield bands right here on our current bands page. Do you play in a Springfield band that we don’t yet have covered? We would love to hear from you! Shoot us an email at blacksheepspringfield@gmail.com and we will work with you to set up a page.

 

WUIS: “Dumb Records Is Latest Addition To Southtown Culture”

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Springfield media outlet and radio program WUIS have done a nice segment on the opening of Dumb Records. From the WUIS website:

A new record store is opening in Springfield this weekend. Making a profit off vinyl records may sound risky, but the four co-owners have a lot experience building a following in the punk music scene especially. Kevin Bradford recently joined us to talk about it. He owns Black Sheep Cafe, a music venue, and will be one of the co-owners of the record store at 1107 South Grand, called Dumb Records

You can head over to the WUIS site to play the audio for the 10 minute segment, which aired on Friday. To listen to that, GO HERE.

Again we want to thank all of you for making Dumb Records a reality. That includes all of you who helped us work inside the store leading up to the grand opening, all of the volunteers, all the bands and people who donated records, and all of you who came and checked out the shop this past weekend. All of your support means a lot to us. Dumb Records will continue to be open from 10:00 am to 8:00 pm on Fridays and Saturdays, and from 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm on nights when there are shows at Black Sheep.

Black Sheep + Dumb Records Mailing List

BdvZ4IKCUAEFYKK.jpg-largeHey you! Yeah, you! We know you already check this site and stay pretty updated with all things relating to The Black Sheep and Dumb Records. But now we are making it even easier for you to stay updated with a new Black Sheep/Dumb Records mailing list!

With the new mailing list we will be sending out a weekly email every Monday. This email will go over the main news articles on blacksheepspringfield.com for the past week. It will also tell you about what shows are coming up at Black Sheep that week. AND you will be the first to know of any new arrivals that come in to Dumb Records.

CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE TO OUR MAILING LIST.

We also want to say THANK YOU to all of you who came out to the Dumb Records grand opening and Black Sheep art show yesterday. Without your support none of this would be possible. Dumb Records will continue to be open from 10:00 am to 8:00 pm on Fridays and Saturdays, and from 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm on nights when there are shows at Black Sheep.

 

Dumb Records Grand Opening + Black Sheep Art Show TODAY

fffffffToday is a very big day for South Town and our music community! We’ve been filling you all in for awhile on the development of Dumb Records and the grand opening is finally HERE! After the weeks of painting, remodeling our space and collecting cool records, tapes, shirts and CDs, we’re finally ready to greet the world. This is exciting for everyone involved- including you! We will be happy to be a fresh Springfield connection for all music-from local bands, classic oldies, bands from the surrounding areas and hopefully even cool bands from other countries. This should give South Town a nice boost and give people more opportunities to get involved, so if you’re interested in getting involved or donating come around today and talk to us about it!

Dumb Records will be open at 10:00 am and the grand opening festivities will kick off at noon. Come in at any time until 9:00 pm and check out all of our records, cds, tapes and shirts and hang out. Not only are we opening this record store today, there’s going to be a full fledged art show featuring everything from spoken work to acoustic acts to local artwork taking place in the Black Sheep! Check out the facebook event to get the details on all of the acts we’ll be featuring. This whole day is going to be an extraveganza so try to come around and help us welcome this new addition to South Town! You can find Dumb Records at 1107 South Grand avenue, right next to Skanks Skates and Black Sheep Cafe. The events themselves will be free but bring around your spare dough to buy some records and get dumb.

The Science Of: Past EP and a New Year

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So what is the science of creating a strong first EP? An EP strong enough to carry a band through a year while gaining followers and solidifying their identify? The Science Of recorded their first EP back in January of 2012 and since then have played throughout Springfield and even graced the Black Sheep stage. But getting that first EP together was a big step for the band.

“The recording process was very intense and a lot of hard work. We initially booked a three day weekend at Waterfront. After we finished up that Sunday night we knew we would have to come back. You really test your skills in the studio and I think that shows in our EP. When it came to recording the EP we went with the songs we felt were the strongest and tightest,” Justin Hagerman, drummer and vocalist, said.

Experimenting for the first time came with a few difficulties for the band.

“The biggest obstacle was that none of us had recorded professionally as musicians and that made certain parts of the recording process very stressful, but it pushed us to become better musicians and I think we needed that kick in the ass to get going,” Josh Hagerman, bassist and vocalist, said.

With that push came “Which is What I Am”. By handing out free copies at shows in the Springfield area the band actively started to create a buzz about who they were. It was definitely a success after playing at the , Black Sheep and the Whirlwind Bar tour in just the past month.

“[We] pretty much solidif[ied] our identity since these were songs written over the course of several years of us being a band and some written before. I just see this EP as more of a starting point for us. Not to go somewhere but to get us going,” Tony Rose, guitarist and vocalist, said.

The work done on “Which is What I Am” helped in their next recording experiments.

“With working towards new material for the next EP we are going try to take more of group effort at writing; setting aside specific times for writing and creating these new songs. For what we’ll be putting on the next EP I think we will continue the dynamic of Josh and Tony both taking turns with leading vocals and guitars on different songs. I’d say at this point we have one song for sure that we will be putting into the 2014 release,”Justin said.

With slightly modified formulas, The Science Of hypothesizes they will have a great 2014.

“We are hoping to get to do some recording in 2014 and also put together a small tour if possible. A goal of 50 shows this year is what I’d like to see,” Justin said.

To check out what they have been playing this past year check out their facebook.