2005-03-13 - 10:02 p.m.

Saturday I braved the snow to drive up to Easthampton in search of a particular local artist's CD that I'd heard a snippet of a local artist (Mark Schwaber) I've been reading about. I figured I'd have lunch at my favorite restaurant and check out the decent used music store next to the restaurant. After having to endure what I was pretty sure was a drunk driver on Route 5, I arrived in Easthampton to find both the Apollo Grill and Turn It Up! were closed. I was devastated.

I then drove over to the record store owned by the aforementioned artist. Well, I drove to where I thought it was. Parked the car, got out, walked down the block, saw no record store but saw a cute little Tex-Mex place called Mi Casa. Stopped and had lunch, a steak salad with avocado, and it was really good, and pretty cheap, too. Left the restaurant and walked back up the street, and the record store was right on the next corner from where I'd parked. D'oh!

The store had a nice used LP selection. I spent about 45 minutes browsing all the wares and spent $87!!! Bad me - I have no more room to store music.

CD Loot:

Mark Schwaber, two years and thirty minutes (what I went to get)
The Maggies, Breakfast at Brelreck's (Can't wait for the Winterpills album)
Full Frontal Folk, Storming The Castle (See previous entry on covers)
Cry Cry Cry (only because it was used; I won't pay full price for anything Dar-related, but yaye to an official copy of the Nields cover)

LP Loot:

Jackie Gleason, Music Around The World: For Lovers Only
Toots Theilemans, Contrasts (Command label!)
Tony Mottola, Guitar...Paris (Command Quadraphonic!!!!)
Enoch Light, Provocative Percussion (Command label!!!!)
N/A, The New Sound of Music: Percussive Stereo (Yaye, more stereo)
Jane Siberry, The Speckless Sky (a Springfield City Library disc!!)

I've listened to all the CDs so far and they're great. I've listened to one side of two records so far and can tell I'm gonna like them. I think Toots is a whistler from reading the liner notes - I'm kind of scared. Maybe he'll join Mrs. Miller and Mary Schneider in my Music So Bad It's Good category.