Record Store Day 2017 Australia: Interview with Frog Harris

G’Day Crusaders,

With Record Store Day 2017 fast approaching record stores down under, I recently had the chance to interview Record Store Day Australia board member Frog Harris. Brian ‘Frog’ Harris is a music trailblazer with over 38 years experience in the industry; from hosting his own radio show titled ‘Jukebox Saturday Night’ on Australian radio station 2UE and still actively operating his own record store Songland Records in the national capital Canberra.

CC: When Did Record Store Day Begin in Australia?

FH: To be honest, from when the word got out about that our American counterparts were designing this Record Store Day event we were quick to jump on board!

CC: At what point did Australian Music Retailers Association (AMRA) endorse Record Store Day?

FH: It is no-brainer, this day is designed to get people into Record Stores and relive past experiences. We encourage everyone to visit our stores, ask for a sample and you can handle physical music!

CC: What have been the social impact since RSD’s emergence to stores?

FH: Reminding the people who Record Stores Still exist!
Show young people what record stores meant to their parents, grandparents, etc.
The great thing about being a record store owner is the opportunity to network with other record store owners and the best thing about the event is being greeted by customers saying “Happy Record Store Day!”

CC: How have musicians benefitted from Record Stores and in particularly RSD?

FH: In fact record stores have been the place for band members to meet, a social hub for musicians to talk about their work as well as search for CDs, records and DVDs for inspiration and research.

What has amazed me and still does; for example: a Metal Band visits my store and the band members go their separate directions looking for records, not within their own genre but one visit the jazz section, one in the hip-hop section and another in the commercial pop section. This proves that no matter what genre you’re associated with, other music styles will inspire you.

CC: What does RSD mean to Record Stores?

FH: This the event of the year for Record Stores, This is our Christmas and it is absolutely essential for us to prepare for this day! There are 177 stores participating this year, we want people to come into our stores and join the party.

CC: In your opinion, why have vinyl records have made a comeback?

FH: We need to be clear, Record Store Day is not a day to solely celebrate the resurgence of Vinyl Records! What is interesting though, people buying vinyl from the age of 15 to 40 years of age. The curious minds wondering what these massive CDs are, sharing the interest with their parents, grandparents etc.
Lastly, MP3s have the shuffle function to play music at random. A vinyl record plays the album from beginning to end the way the artist wanted the listeners to hear their music.

On April 22nd visit Frog and his team at Songland Records! Look out for those special RSD released albums and place a donation!

Also, I’d like to thank AMRA’sÂ Sara Hood for her kindness and support!

Dodgy is a Senior ContributorÂ for Comic Crusaders spanning from Comics, Music, Manga, Action Figures and more.. He is also the proud host of the Indie Comic Podcast Flipside Focus and Marvel Comics Podcast on No-Prize Podcast and VP of the Undercover Capes Podcast Network.
Flipside Focus go to: http://www.undercovercapes.com/category/flipside-focus/
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Check out Songland Records: http://songland.com.au/
Australian Music Retailers Association: http://www.amra.org.au/
Go to Record Store Australia: http://www.recordstoreday.com.au/

Author Profile

Shane Tydeman

The Wonder from Down Under,
Dodgy is a senior contributor to Comic Crusaders. Co-Host of The Yeah-Nah Wepa Show! An advocate of indie comics and is creator of Indie Comics podcasts Flipside Focus, Sunderkatz and Think Indie Podcast!

An unapologetic movie fan, NBA fan, action figure, trading card fan! Also an advocate for Depression awareness!