Category: Music

bookmark_borderGhosts of DFW music history blog series

Posted on by PAO Productions
Silver Dollar Rock House photo, courtesy Rockulapresents YouTube channel

The 1980s and '90s were arguably the heyday of local, home grown music in North Texas. On the west side of the DFW metroplex, the 1980s bore witness to the birth of the local metal scene in Arlington and Fort Worth, and, on the east side, the solidification of the rock/punk/pop scenes in Dallas, all of which led directly to the national prominence of the area in mid to late 1990s radio and culture. "Ghosts of DFW music history" is an ongoing blog series in which I visit the former locations of DFW area music venues and record labels of days past, showing them as they are today and putting each into the context of its time. Each entry will feature a bit of historical background, an up to date photo of each location as it is today, and period flyers, photos, and/or memorabilia. As this series progresses, direct links to each of the planned posts will be added below. Once the entire series has been posted, this page will be retooled to serve as an official table of contents. Please enjoy the installments and feel free to comment if you remember or were a part of those days!

Featured posts:
East wall of 2111 Commerce, © 2023 Peter Orozco
East wall of 2111 Commerce Street, former site of various iconic punk clubs in the 1980s
All material on this page is © 2023 Peter Orozco (all rights reserved) except the following:
Silver Dollar sign photo reproduced from Rockulapresents YouTube video upload, used per terms of Creative Commons Attribution license. Original footage taken by Laurel and/or Dee Wilson of Dallas Music Videos.

bookmark_borderAutographed albums

Posted on by PAO Productions
I've acquired a good number of autographed albums over the years, many from having purchased directly from the artist and having them signed, and some as incredibly lucky finds while shopping secondhand. These are some of the more notable ones.

The Best of LaVern Baker

Bought at Half Price Books in 2021 I bought the disc for the music, casual fan that I am. I paid no attention to the writing scribbled across the front until a day later when I actually took a good look at it, realizing to my surprise that it appeared to be an autograph. After researching and comparing my specimen with examples of her signature found online, it does appear that this one is legit. Continue reading "Autographed albums"

bookmark_borderRemembering the Live at Lost Art Open Mic CD

Posted on by PAO Productions
In November 2010, I put out a CD. Well, kind of - it wasn't exactly a commercial release, and the sound quality wasn't anything to write home about... and it wasn't even of my own work. A twenty track compilation of eighteen open mic performances bookended by introductory and closing remarks by my creative partner Alex Pogosov, it was put out to promote the open mic we had been running together since May of that year. Live Lost Art Open Mic CD, front Continue reading "Remembering the Live at Lost Art Open Mic CD"

bookmark_borderA guide to avoiding fake oldies compilations (re-recordings, live versions, and fake artists)

Posted on by PAO Productions
Legacy Entertainment notification of re-recorded songs
Maybe it's happened to you. There's an artist or a song you really like, you come across it on a compilation CD somewhere, excitedly buy the disc, and eagerly pop it into your CD player... only to find that the songs you thought you bought were in fact shadily marketed re-recordings and not the original hits!

Continue reading "A guide to avoiding fake oldies compilations (re-recordings, live versions, and fake artists)"

bookmark_borderNew and used music stores in the DFW area

Posted on by PAO Productions
New and used music stores in the DFW area
With the decline of physical media over the last decade, the experience of digging through bins full of items in search of that hidden gem, or stumbling across that item you never thought about before but now just have to have, is increasingly on the wane. Fortunately, there are a surprising number of brick and mortar stores still active in the Dallas-Fort Worth area ready to cater to that very need, serving those audiophiles and music lovers among us who still appreciate that old time experience.

SOME IMPORTANT NOTES:

1 - For this post, I am only reviewing places that specialize in or do a substantial amount of business in the sale of physical music and music-related items, and that exist as brick and mortar stores open to the public. I am not considering places such as dedicated flea markets and internet based businesses.

2 - Creating a scoring system, and determining how much to weight each item being scored, have been challenging. None of the ratings or reviews in this post should be taken as indicative of whether a particular store is worth your business or support. Some of the stores reviewed are corporate, but others are owned by individuals or families, and some play roles in their local communities that go beyond the sale of physical media. All are evaluated based strictly on how well they are likely to serve the buying needs of a music fan with somewhat broad/eclectic tastes - I'm not looking at things here from an investment perspective. Other factors worth considering, such as how well a particular store serves a specific music market, genre, or neighborhood, are not factored into the ratings. See an explanation of the ratings here.

(Special thanks to Alex Pogosov and Alison Pham for their suggestions and feedback)

Forever Young Records (Grand Prairie)

2955 S State Highway 360, Grand Prairie, TX 75052 Forever Young Records This retailer has been serving the DFW area since 1984, and it's one I used to frequent regularly during my last year of high school.

Pros: