Celebrate the last show before our summer break (and Father’s Day too!), this Sunday, June 19 (and a peek at Ringo Starr’s recent concert).

ringo
Ringo Starr at The Warner with His All Starr Band, June 18, 2016.

Celebrate our last show before the summer break in July (don’t worry, we will be back in August ) and Father’s Day! You can find a special gift of Dad’s favorite music from back in the day or something for yourself that brings back the best memories of your father. Remember the show is always FREE! Visit us from 9 am – 3 pm at the Arbutus Fire Hall. Enjoy great vendors and their expertise in music and collectibles. We also have great food on the premises for purchase and the atmosphere is always fun and friendly for every kind of music lover!

Yours truly just had a treat last night attending the Ringo Starr and His All Starr Band  at DC’s Warner Theater. Maybe some of you were there as well. There were true legends up on that stage and they made it clear it was a love fest. The guys get along so well and it shows in their incredible blend as a band. There have been approximately 12 iterations since Ringo started touring with this concept 1989 and it is still going strong. It was hit after hit from the original people who wrote and performed huge chart toppers, and all superstars in their own right. The band members included Todd Rundgren on guitar, Mister Mister’s Richard Page on guitar, Santana’s lead singer Gregg Rolie on keyboards, Toto’s Steve Lukather on guitar (he can stand toe to to with any rock guitarist living)the multitalented Warren Ham on percussion and saxophone, and drummer Gregg Bissonette and of course, the original Beatle – Peace & Love, THE Ringo Starr! Ringo still looks great and sounds great! He was delightful and full of fun, often interacting with the audience. One person even brought a”Ringo Starr for President” sign and he held it up on stage.  Each member sang a few songs from their vast repertoire. So many hits, the audience wished they could play them all!

These artists represent three decades of some of the best music ever recorded – from the 60s to the 80s – but the music is timeless and the talent is off the charts! If the band comes around again, it is a must see. In the meantime, we know you can find lots of their music and memorabilia represented at the show this Sunday! In fact, we saw some goodies at our show in May from The Beatles:

beatles bubblegum cardsBeatles collectible bubblegum cards.

beatle memorabiliaBeatles ephemera.

More photos of the concert:

the band

todd and page2Richard Page, Gregg Bissonette and Todd Rundgren.

Join us for our special 4th Sunday show, May 22!

vendor with comics

Tom Engle with some of his comic book treasures from the 1970s.

It looks like April and May switched weather this year! A rainy, relaxed Sunday is the perfect day to come out and search for all your favorite music treasures. In May, the show always falls on a special fourth Sunday instead of our usual third Sunday. This year it’s May 22! Time and location are the same: 9 am – 3pm at the Arbutus Volunteer Fire Department and admission is always FREE! We also have food on site to purchase for breakfast and lunch.

70s love comics

In April, we spoke to one of our favorite longtime vendors, Tom Engle. You can always count on him to find rare and unusual items. This time he brought hard to find 1970s romance comics (Oh the drama, the clothes!), vintage music magazines such Downbeat and Metronome whose great covers were graced with legendary jazz artists such as Benny Goodman, Count Basie, Dizzy and Frank Sinatra.

vintage downbeat mags

IMG_4981_2 music mags with sinatra

Tom also had a great collection of picture discs for sale – huge in the 80s – with great art and novelties such as a 3D disc packaged with 3D glasses.

As a collector, Tom loves rockabilly, Baltimore and DC groups, garage bands and novelty instrumentals from the 60s. He even played in some local bands back in the 60s and 70s! Tom started seriously collecting around 1983. Along with joining our record show throughout the year, he also has a booth at the Antique Depot in Ellicott City.

Though fellow vendors and buyers tease him, Tom’s goal in selling records and music memorabilia really is “to find records a good home.” And Tom always delivers! Stop by his booth on Sunday!

No April showers but a shower of music collectibles! Join us this Sunday, April 17!

Spring has finally arrived! Join us this Sunday for our April 17th show at the Arbutus Fire Volunteer Fire Department for tons of music collectibles and deals from our vendors. The show is always FREE with breakfast and lunch offered for sale as you peruse the many booths filled with treasures and great finds. We are open from 9 am -3 pm and look forward to seeing you there!

Our pre-Easter holiday show last month was hoppin’ with a great crowd and some interesting finds. “Bunnies” could be found as well as soundtracks to some childhood TV favorites, Beatles and a whole lot of KISS imports. Russ Katz came with his company, The Vinyl Revivers. He explained and demonstrated the clever system he created to clean those precious vinyl records.

 

Spring is springing! (maybe) Join us for our next show this Sunday, March 20!

IMG_4520

Snow on Sunday? Say it isn’t so and come on out to our March show at the Arbutus Fire Hall.  Always FREE and great bargains and finds galore! Last month, there was a huge turnout. In honor of Black History Month and Valentine’s, there was a whole lotta love and soul to be found, from every era and all forms of media – records, books, DVDs and more – representing some of America’s best from jazz to pop! See you this Sunday, 9 am – 3pm. You never know what music treasures you will find!

Shake off the Winter Blues! Join us for our show this Sunday, February 21!

Bowie Book
The first show in January was a great kick-off to the new year! It has been an historic winter so it’s time come out and enjoy hunting for all your music favorites at our February show this Sunday. We have tons of great vendors and the tables are all sold out so there are many deals and treasures to be found. The hours are 9 am – 3pm and admission is always free!

We have sadly lost so many music legends already this year – first the chameleon, David Bowie, followed by Glenn Frey of The Eagles and Earth, Wind and Fire founder Maurice White – all gone too soon and giants who contributed so much to our music history and memories. Rest in Peace gentlemen – you have left a great legacy.

It was no surprise that there was an abundance of Bowie music and memorabilia on display and for sale at our January show.

Bowie albums

Bowie ziggy radio

ziggy

young americans bowie

station to station rare

bowie CD display

Link

We hope you had a great holiday season! Our December show was a hit with lots of people buying their last minute music gifts! All our great vendors will be back so come and see us this Sunday at the Arbutus Fire Hall from 9 am – 3 pm! Here is the upcoming schedule for what promises to be another great year for our show!

arbutus2016 flyer.jpg

Jingle all the way to our show! Come for last-minute music gift shopping this Sunday, December 20!

a jolly christmas from Frank Sinatra
It’s countdown to Christmas and all the other year-end holidays! There is one more chance  to get that last-minute shopping done for your favorite music-lover – or even a special something for yourself. We know you have been nice all year, supporting our show and all of our great vendors. Join us this Sunday, December 20 for our last show of 2015! Search for great bargains and treasures from 9 am to 3 pm. Admission is always free and breakfast and lunch are available for purchase.

In honor of Frank Sinatra’s 100th birthday, here are a few holiday classics sung by ol’ blue eyes and some of his pals, Ella Fitzgerald and  Nat King Cole.

https://youtu.be/6gT7yBqdBZw


ella wishes you a swinging Christmas
https://youtu.be/NWI-EoTfu20

https://youtu.be/89gVQvFV7hQ

Get a jump on the holidays! Join us this Sunday for our November 15th show!

T shirt

It’s getting closer to the holiday season so there are only two more months to find those special gifts of music for friends, family – and perhaps even a little something for yourself! Join us this Sunday, November 15, 9 am-3 pm at the Arbutus Fire Hall. Our vendors are overflowing with special finds and remember, it’s always free! 

We also are excited to announce our schedule for 2016! So mark your calendars for next year!
arbutus 2016 flyer.jpgAt last month’s show, we had a special attendee! Frank Merrill joined us after being on a road trip for 30 days. Like our great announcer, Derek Shaw, he is also a huge roller coaster fan but there is something even more important about Frank. He not only has a record collection of over 400 thousand records but he is the largest collector of radio station surveys in the world. What a honor to have him visit the show!

Frank Merrill

Frank Merrill

A fall nip is in the air! Join us for our show this Sunday, October 18!

We had a fantastic show last month and there is more in store this Sunday, October 18 at the Arbutus Fire Hall! Our great vendors will be returning with lots of music and unique music items. Come on down from 9 am  – 3 pm and remember, it’s always FREE! Here are a few great discoveries from last month’s show:

Below: Draw the Line is the fifth studio album by American hard rock band Aerosmith, released December 1, 1977. The portrait of the band was drawn by the celebrity caricaturist Al Hirschfeld best known for his black and white portraits of celebrities and Broadway stars.

Aerosmith's 'Draw the Line' Al Hirshfeld album cover

Aerosmith’s ‘Draw the Line’ Al Hirshfeld album cover

Below: Comic book style interpretations of Grateful Dead songs: Grateful Dead Comix No. 1 Comic (left) – January 1991 published by Kitchen Sink Press. Grateful Dead Comix No. 4 Comic (right) – December 1992.

greatful dead comix

Below: Love Me Do’ Limited Edition Apple Shaped Red Vinyl – Beatles 7″ 45

beatle apple colored vinyl

The Beatles, apple-shaped colored vinyl

 

 

Fall is finally here! Join us for our next show this Sunday, September 20!

Record Display

Record Display

Our first fall show is coming up this Sunday, September 20 and we look forward to seeing you there. It’s always FREE and we are open 9 am – 3pm! We had a great show in August after the summer July hiatus – lots of goodies and new items from our vendors and a great turnout by music lovers.

One cannot help but notice the artistry that is rarely found these days. First some fun. Remember the campy and fun TV series in the 60s – Batman and Robin? They made a record soundtrack and it is a rarity.

Batman and Robin Record

Batman and Robin Soundtrack Record

Below is a gorgeous poster for the band, Creedence Clearwater Revival, by the famous rock poster artist, Dail W. Beeghly, done in the 1960s.

creedence clearwater revival poster

Creedence Clearwater Revival Poster

We also found some great sheet music from more 60s bands including The Monkees, The Mamas and the Papas, The Rolling Stones, and The Royal Guardsmen.
60s sheet music

Our own Frank Ruehl had a another great treasure – four prints of The Beatles, illustrated by the distinguished artist, Nicholas Volpe. He painted portraits of many famous celebrities and world leaders. He won a Golden Grammy in 1958 for Best Album Design for Frank Sinatra’s record “Only the Lonely” and had a lifetime contract to do the portraits of the actors and actresses who won Oscars for Best Performance each year. Volpe also completed portrait commissions of President John F. Kennedy, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, General Dwight D. Eisenhower, and President Ronald Reagan.
beatles john lennon
beatles paul mccartney

These drawings were originally done in pastel on black paper. There are also notable because the first sitting for these drawings was done shortly after the band had come to New York City in 1964 for their historic performance on the Ed Sullivan Show. The final sitting took place in Las Vegas. Capitol Records created posters from the final illustrations.
beatles george harrison
beatles ringo starr