All good things must come to an end. The bricks and mortar shop that is Big City Records is closing it's doors this Friday. It will be a celebration of many, many years of scoring selling and trading records, hosting party flyers, mixtapes, meeting and greeting colorful locals, global travelers from the far corners, countless digging stories and tales of legendary collections and beats shared and repeated in and out of those 4 walls, much NYC DJ and music recording history, tee shirts, vintage posters, knowledge, good vibes, top bins, bottom bins, wall records, premium boxes, cheap boxes, etc etc etc. I've copped countless records at Big City that are meaningful and will always have a place in my collection, as well as much knowledge I've turned around and shared with others.
Let's not forget to mention Jared, who always did an amazing job of pointing things out that he knew would spark my imagination, and he knew exactly when to challenge me and open my horizons, and help me push my own boundaries. IMO he is already a legend as far as people in this culture go, and countless record heads have benefited from his extremely refined taste level. From big name DJs and producers, to the guy buying his first rare groove LPs, Big City did it right for all. Something about Jared and the vibe in Big City made it the great equalizer. As much as I was impressed or excited to see dudes like Q-Tip, Warren G or Lord Finesse shopping next to me on a random afternoon, at the end of the day we were all exactly the same, just dudes flipping through crates of records looking for that magical tune to inspire us in one way or another. It felt no different than standing next to any other local I might bump into in there, because that was the kind of place it was, no pretense, all music love.
If you make it out this Friday, you will get a chance to meet up with the heads, say goodbye to Jared and Steve, and the bonus beat at the end of this is that you may end up in the video being filmed for Oxygen's "Gone Digging", released through Big City Records, which is a must have piece of wax for any head that has ever scoured the bins. As Jared mentioned, they will be filming the video, and just hanging out, so bring some tunes, some good vibes, your kids and have a ball.
It may be the end of the road for some, but a new beginning as well. Good luck to Jared, and Steve who I understand will continue the business through the web, and perhaps a location in New Jersey. I'll keep you updated on any info I receive on that front.
In the meantime, enjoy Oxygen's "Gone Digging", and Main Source's "Just Hanging Out" as posted by Jared for the final Friday...
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