Vinyl record lovers will have their annual chance to pursue their hobby at the annual Kelowna Music Collectors Show slated for Sunday, April 2, at the Ukrainian Catholic Church.
The show brings together vinyl record sellers from across the Okanagan Valley, and as far away as Drayton Valley, Alta., and Hope to buy and sell records and share in the nostalgia of a music era dismissed with the advent of musical recording technology.
“We see more and more people coming to our shows all the time who have grown tired of the sterile sound of the digital stuff…you hear more detail in the sound compared to songs compressed on a CD. It is just a nicer, warmer sound,” said Kelowna resident John Gowland, one of the event organizers.
Gowland, who boasts a record collection topping 9,000, says a digital recording tends to cut off the mid-range to high treble and low bass sound levels that vinyl records do not.
He cites the British music invasion of the 1960s and the early ’70s started by The Beatles as the golden era of the record business when music artists and producers began experimenting with sound quality and songwriting techniques in the recording studio.
He said the artwork of albums back in the day remains another point of interest for many.
Gowland says records up for sale are checked for quality and tend to sell in the $10 to $15 range, significantly less than newly pressed records retail for in stores.
“We don’t put out any records for sale at these shows with scratches on them. They are all checked and cleaned,” he said.
Gowland said vinyl records tend to hold their quality if stored in an acclimatized area and not exposed to excessive heat or direct sunlight.
“I have a big locker across the lake where I store mine and I’ve also got a lot stored throughout my house,” he said.
The Music Collectors Show starts with an early bird entry from 9 to 10 a.m., admission being $5, and then opens from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., admission is $3. The church is located at the corner of Coronation Avenue and Gordon Drive.
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