This week marks 32 years of music from Stinkweeds! Although we have grown in many ways over the years, we still feel a very strong connection to our past. We’ve worked hard to maintain an identity that goes back to that first store opened by an ambitious 19 year old who just wanted to have a place in the Valley that sold music other record stores didn’t carry. That store turned into a hub for independent music lovers and touring bands, looking for their homes away from home. By the mid 90s, Stinkweeds had grown a reputation as THE venue for eclectic and experimental bands, many of whom went on to make big names for themselves. It took stores and venues like Stinkweeds to give a chance to these unique voices to help spread the word. This is something we hope to always hold onto as a record store.
Luckily for us, many of the past instores were captured on video! So, for our 32nd birthday, we decided to create a place for all of these videos to live. The Stinkweeds Records YouTube page will host all of these videos, so you can take a walk down memory lane, or share for the first time, in the experience of seeing some of your favorite bands playing in a small record store in your home town.
There are videos of bands like Sleater-Kinney, Elliott Smith, Low, Blonde Redhead, No Age, Menomena, Sharon Van Etten, Luluc, Twilight Sad and so many other AMAZING artists! Many of these videos will be featured in our “Playlist” since they were originally posted by various customers.
Many of these instores happen just before these artists become household names. It’s a unique chance to see great talent in an intimate setting. We feel this applies to our more recent performances, from up and comers like Gabriella Cohen, Secret Sisters, the Mattson 2 and some of our favorite, current local bands like Flower Festival and MRCH, who played our Record Store Day Party, this year!
Along with instore performance videos, we’ll be adding content that’s more focused on the shop and the people who keep us going…like YOU! If you have any Stinkweeds related video content that you would like to share, please send it along! We think we’ve got some awesome Stinkweeds history already on display, here. But, we’re really looking forward to creating a future with all of you.
From all of us at Stinkweeds, thank you for 32 amazing years of music, community and fun!