YEP, THAT’S A LIVE SCORPIONS ALBUM. Newly opened Revival Records up on Clairemont has upwards of 6,000 LPs to sort through. They have a lot more than Scorpions.

Perhaps it follows similar resurgences of retro T-shirts and Puma sneakers, or the fact that you can get them for spare change at thrift sales. Whatever the reason, the so-called “dead format” of vinyl records have made a comeback in a big way, and everyone is responding – from major labels and artists to baby boomers looking to make a buck from their dusty collections.

On the local level, Eau Claire has seen two used record stores start up recently, both of which immediately reported great responses to their openings.

“It has been unbelievable,” Billy Siegel said a mere week after opening Revival Records.

Previous to this, local audiophiles had to scour thrift stores, garage sales, the internet, and rare stores like Eclectica on Grand to get their hands on some precious vinyl.

    But now they can finger through about 6,000 LPs at Revival Records (most of the owner’s collection), and another 400 or so at LongPlayReplay (also the owner’s collection). Both of them also buy used records.

Revival’s stock covers everything from classic rock and old blues/jazz to soundtracks and hip-hop, while LongPlayReplay leans more toward classic rock.

“I’ll do everything in my power to keep this going,” a customer said while checking out at Revival. “I’ve been waiting for a place like this for years.”

Though a used vinyl purveyor is an important and necessary addition to Eau Claire, Revival also deals with LPs from new artists, something the vinyl-loving community has been clamoring for.

    In the past year or so, Eau Claire has seen a slight movement in that direction from corporate spots like Hot Topic and Best Buy, though a decent percentage of their “new” LPs are merely reprints of what this generation refers to as “classics” (like Guns N Roses, Wu Tang Clan, Metallica, Weezer, Green Day, and Radiohead). Revival has 90s reprints, too, but the new monthly inventory balances the big-selling classics (Bowie) with reprints (Smashing Pumpkins) and new stuff (Shiny Toy Guns).

The other important piece to the vinyl equation is local and regional artists, which until now were only sometimes available at live shows. Revival’s big push is “anything to promote the local scene,” Billy said, citing the corkboard near the entrance with show posters and announcements, his willingness to distribute show tickets, and an interest in stocking local vinyl. A week after opening, he already put in an order for Bon Iver’s For Emma, and would love to hear from locals about other albums he should stock.

He keeps a binder at the counter for requests of artists and specific albums they’d like to see in his store. When he finds them online or gets them in used, he calls the requester.

Selling vinyl for new artists and local artists have been assessed as high-risk situations, as music stores fear the internet will steal their clients and bands fear only a few listeners will buy vinyl, which has a high cost and requires printing in large numbers.

But if the success of these stores is any indication, the listeners in our market are ready to patronize stores again, and aren’t afraid to fork over money for what was until recently known as a dead format.

    Revival Records • 2541 E Clairemont • 514-4202 • open every day, roughly 10 to 5

    LongPlayReplay • 110 W Grand Ave. • 552-2176 • LongPlayReplay.com • open sporadically

NEW VINYL SALES STATS (click to read)