As I think about it, record conventions like WFMU Record Fair and the Dreambeat Conventions are the closest I get to that community feeling of being surrounded by music consumers in one setting. They are the descendants of my experiences of watching people roaming around Sam The Record Man in search of their perfect beats.
From childhood to my teens, Sam The Record Man was packed with people on most days until its last days. Boxing Day was nuts as expected with people lining up for blocks to get in the store as if the artist was performing there.
Sam The Record Man was the music store in Montreal in my mind. I bought my first of many hip hop albums there, including King Tee’s Act a Fool. There were specialty record stores carrying more hip hop and artists that never saw the inside of Sam The Record Man but Sam was the among the cheapest for a young, record-ravenous Solespin to get the music he craved.
I miss the store and the days of when Sam was The Record Man among record stores. I never thought I would see the days when stores like Sam The Record Man would disappear. I thought I might have carried the tradition of taking my child to Sam The Record Man but that is not going to happen. I am sooner to tell them about the store rather than bring them to it now that the franchise no longer exists.
I'm thankful to have at least have those memories to speak, blog and reminisce about anytime I pass by or look at the Montreal corner where the store once stood.
On September 24 of 2012, I learned that Sam Sniderman had passed away.
RIP and again thank you for the wonderful years of music and memories.
No comments:
Post a Comment