Record Swap – Memphis Flyer

This year’s Zine Fest has a new component — the Memphis Listening Lab/WYXR inaugural Record Swap. According to Zine Fest curator Erica Qualy, this is such a perfect pairing because the birth of zines as we know them today was started as a response to the punk music culture in the 1970s, when copiers were made available commercially. People started creating fanzines and raising awareness in a way they hadn’t been able to before.

Qualy remembers hopping on the zine scene more than a few years later. “My friend and I first found out about zines in high school while browsing at the local library. We came across the book Zine Scene: The Do It Yourself Guide to Zines by Francesca Lia Block. We were entranced.”

She says they immediately went home and started brainstorming. They pulled an all-nighter until their first zine was born. Nearly 20 years later, Qualy is curating Zine Fest 6.

“Funny how seemingly small instances in your life can be the building blocks for a future,” says Qualy, inviting the public to join the revolution. “You don’t need to wait for anyone else to publish your stack of poems, your short stories about alien invasions, your comic about the dog and cat duo that saved the world. You can do it yourself. Make a zine today.”

Zine Fest 6 will be held in the upstairs Central Atrium of Crosstown Concourse, with DIY zine-making stations and vendor booth spaces.

The record swap will take place on the bottom floor of the Central Atrium. The Memphis Listening Lab, outside vendors, and the radio station inside Crosstown Concourse, WYXR 91.7 FM, will be selling music and merchandise.

Record Swap & Zine Fest 6, Crosstown Concourse, 1350 Concourse, Saturday, Sept. 4, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., and Sunday, Sept. 5, 10 a.m.-3 p.m., free.

This Saturday afternoon, Goner Records and the Stax Museum will host the Soulsville Record Swap, a giant swap meet featuring albums, 45s, music memorabilia, and everything in between. Goner Records has been hosting a record swap for the past three years, but co-owner Zac Ives said this is the first time that Stax has gotten in on the action.

“The new director over at Stax reached out about six months ago, and this is one of the things we discussed doing right away,” Ives said.

“We were both really excited to work together, and we have some other things planned for the future.”

Don Perry

Ives said that vendors are coming from as far as Seattle to sell records this Saturday and that all vendor spots have been filled. In addition to awesome music memorabilia from Memphis and beyond, the Soulsville Record Swap will feature food trucks from Central BBQ and Hot Mess Burritos. The Stax Museum will also be selling deeply discounted CDs, books, apparel, and more. Admission for the event is $5, unless you want to get in an hour before everyone else (10 a.m.), in which case the cost of admission is $10.

“All of our record swaps in the past have been great, and working with Stax is going to make this event our biggest one yet,” Ives said.

Because no Goner-related event is complete without a pre-party and an after-party, there will be both. The pre-party goes down on Friday at Memphis Made Brewery from 7 to 10 p.m., and the after party will be at the Goner Records store from 7 to 10 p.m. as well. Both parties will feature DJs that have yet to be announced.

If you’re a fan of Memphis music (you better be), there’s no better place to spend your Saturday afternoon.