IN THE RECORD EXCHANGE GIFT SHOP: RECORD STORE DAY TEES ARE HERE!

Record Store Day is still a few days away, but The Record Exchange already has Record Store Day tees in stock!

And this year, we have not just one color, but two colors: purple for the ladies (pictured above) and navy blue for the lads. Sizes? S-XL women’s, S-2XL men’s.

We’re pretty excited that the shirts are here, because that means we can start wearing them. And you, dear customer, can buy one in advance and wear it on the big day — seriously, it’s totally acceptable and not one of those look-at-the-douchebag-who-wore-his-Metallica-shirt-to-the-Metallica-concert things. It’s a badge of honor yo.

CHANGE YOUR FACEBOOK PROFILE PIC TO YOUR FAVORITE ALBUM COVER FOR RECORD STORE DAY, GET ENTERED TO WIN A $100 GIFT CARD FROM THE RX!

Want to win a $100 gift card and go nuts on Record Store Day? Then change your Facebook profile picture to your favorite album cover and get entered to win a $100 American Express Gift Card from your friends at The Record Exchange!

HOW TO ENTER:

1. Change your Facebook profile picture to your favorite album cover.

2. Send an email to chad[at]therecordexchange.com with the subject “Record Store Day” and a link to your Facebook profile so we can enter you in the contest. [NOTE: If you change your profile picture but forget to email us, we won’t know you changed your picture and thus you won’t be entered. And if you’re not entered, you definitely won’t win.]

Deadline to enter is midnight Thursday, April 14. The winner will be draw at random and notified on Friday, April 15. Then on Saturday, April 16, said winner can use the $100 gift card to go hog-wild buying some of the 200+ exclusive CDs and vinyl LPs available at The Record Exchange on Record Store Day.

FINN RIGGINS/HILLFOLK NOIR RECORD STORE DAY KICKOFF AND 7″ RELEASE PARTY APRIL 15; FREE, ALL AGES!

Finn Riggins and Hillfolk Noir will kick off the fourth annual Record Store Day (recordstoreday.com) at The Record Exchange (1105 W. Idaho St., Boise) with an in-store and RSD release party at 6 p.m. Friday, April 15. As always, this Record Exchange in-store event is free and all ages.

The split 7-inch, released through Tender Loving Empire (tenderlovingempire.com) exclusively for Record Store Day, features new, previously-unreleased songs. The limited-edition release will be available for the first time worldwide at the RSD kickoff event. Artwork for the 7-inch was created by Kelly Knopp (knoppart.blogspot.com).

TRACK LISTING:
A. Hillfolk Noir — “Indie Rock Song Blues”
B. Finn Riggins — “Some Are Knightz”

The event will include live performances by both bands.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Experimental indie-pop trio Finn Riggins (finnriggins.com) is the result of a longtime collaboration between Cameron Bouiss, Eric Gilbert and Lisa Simpson. Having met while completing their music degrees at the University of Idaho, the trio began playing music together in 2000, an endeavor that would ultimately culminate in what is now Finn Riggins. Finn Riggins has released four albums, with the latest, Vs. Wilderness (Tender Loving Empire), earning heaps of critical praise and providing the catalyst for extensive national touring, including opening slots for Built to Spill.

Fronted by singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Travis Ward, Hillfolk Noir (petometz.com) has been described as a dark, country-tinged, swampy-swingin’, hillbilly-delta-blues-ragtime word machine. The band calls it Junkerdash, but no matter the descriptor, you’ll find Hillfolk Noir’s psychedelic swamp-shack rags equally spooky and toe-tapping. Hillfolk Noir released a pair of critically-acclaimed albums, Live at the Old Idaho Penitentiary and Skinny Mammy’s Revenge, in 2010.

For more information on Record Store Day (April 16) at The Record Exchange, including in-store events and the release of more than 200 exclusive CD and vinyl titles, visit therecordexchange.com/recordstoreday.

RECORD STORE DAY PRE-PARTY AT NEUROLUX APRIL 15: VINYL DJ, LIVE MUSIC, KARAOKE, MAXIMUM MIRTH!

A Record Store Day pre-party will be held at 8 p.m. Friday, April 15, at Neurolux, 111 N. 11th St. Boise. $5 cover until 11 p.m.; $3 cover 11 p.m. to 2 a.m. A portion of proceeds will benefit Radio Boise. This is a non-smoking event.

Hosted by Radio Boise (radioboise.org), Go Listen Boise (golistenboise.org) and The Record Exchange, the festivities will include a DJ set by Vinyl Preservation Society of Idaho (vpsidaho.org) DJ Tony B. (funk/soul/hip-hop), live performance by electronic duo Owlright (myspace.com/owlright) and Almost Famous Karaoke (almostfamousdj.com).

The event will highlight the launch of Radio Boise — which is slated to go on air at 89.9 FM this month and begin serving the biggest area in the country currently without independent, non-commercial, community-programmed radio — and the fourth annual Record Store Day (April 16) at The Record Exchange (1105 W. Idaho St., Boise), which includes in-store performances and the release of more than 200 exclusive CD and vinyl titles. Visit radioboise.org and therecordexchange.com/recordstoreday for full details.

ABOUT RECORD STORE DAY: The original idea for Record Store Day (recordstoreday.com) was conceived by Chris Brown, and was founded in 2007 by Eric Levin, Michael Kurtz, Carrie Colliton, Amy Dorfman, Don Van Cleave and Brian Poehner as a celebration of the unique culture surrounding over 700 independently owned record stores in the USA, and hundreds of similar stores internationally.

This is the one day that all of the independently owned record stores come together with artists to celebrate the art of music. Special vinyl and CD releases and various promotional products are made exclusively for the day and hundreds of artists in the United States and in various countries across the globe make special appearances and performances. Festivities include performances, cookouts, body painting, meet and greets with artists, parades, DJs spinning records and on and on. Metallica officially kicked off Record Store Day at Rasputin Music in San Francisco on April 19, 2008 and Record Store Day is now celebrated the third Saturday of April.

CELEBRATE RECORD STORE DAY APRIL 15-17: IN-STORES, EXCLUSIVES & MORE!

The fourth annual Record Store Day (recordstoreday.com) takes place on Saturday, April 16, and this year The Record Exchange is turning the celebration of independent record store culture into Record Store Day Weekend. The Record Exchange will be open from 9 a.m to 9 p.m. on Record Store Day.

RECORD EXCHANGE RECORD STORE DAY HIGHLIGHTS:

• Record Store Day will once again feature a slew of exclusive, limited-edition releases on CD and vinyl. More than 200 titles will be available on Saturday, April 16, including releases from Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd, The Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Gorillaz, Fleet Foxes, The Decemberists and Mumford & Sons. (Full list and detailed descriptions are available at therecordexchange.com/recordstoreday.) The Record Exchange Coffee Shop will open at 8 a.m. on April 16 to allow customers to line up for the exclusives, which will be available at 9 a.m. The first 25 people in line will receive vouchers for a free gift bag with purchase; a $50 gift card will be randomly inserted into one of the 25 bags.

• El Ten Eleven (elteneleven.com) will play a Record Exchange in-store on Saturday, April 16 (TBD) prior to their concert later that night at Neurolux (8 p.m.). The Los Angeles instrumental rock duo, which recently released its fourth album It’s Still Like a Secret, has earned heaps of critical praise over its eight-year career, particularly for its musical acrobatics and high-energy live show. (Sample quote from Filter: “They drive somewhere between a roughed-up version of Sigur Rós and Ratatat you wouldn’t dare bring home to your parents.”)

Finn Riggins (finnriggins.com) and Hillfolk Noir (petometz.com) will kick off Record Store Day weekend with an in-store and exclusive 7-inch release at 6 p.m., Friday, April 15. In the spirt of Record Store Day, the two Boise bands decided to collaborate on a limited-edition split 7-inch (Tender Loving Empire) that will make its worldwide debut at The Record Exchange that night. Each band will perform a set on the RX stage.

• The Record Exchange is offering 20 percent off all used vinyl, CDs and DVD/Blu-ray April 15-17. This RSD weekend used sale includes collectible items!

• A Record Store Day pre-party will be held at 8 p.m. Friday, April 15, at Neurolux (neurolux.com), 111 N. 11th St. Boise. Hosted by Radio Boise (radioboise.org), Go Listen Boise (golistenboise.org) and The Record Exchange, the evening will include a DJ set by Vinyl Preservation Society of Idaho (vpsidaho.org) DJ Tony B. (funk/soul/hip-hop), live performance by electronic duo Owlright (myspace.com/owlright) and Almost Famous Karaoke (almostfamousdj.com). $5 cover until 11 p.m., $3 cover for Almost Famous Karaoke 11 p.m. to 2 a.m. A portion of proceeds will benefit Radio Boise. This is a non-smoking event.

Go Listen Boise (golistenboise.org) will hold a bake sale outside the store on Saturday, April 16, while local musicians busk on the RX sidewalk all day long. Proceeds from the bake sale will benefit Go Listen Boise.

• Delicious food from Superb Sushi (superbsushidowntown.com) and Parrilla Grill will be available inside the store on Saturday, April 16. Superb Sushi will donate a portion of proceeds to Go Listen Boise.

• The Record Exchange is holding its second annual Record Store Day Mixtape Contest. Make us a mixtape, and you just might walk away with our grand prize: a $50 RX gift card and assortment of exclusive Record Store Day releases. The winning mix will be played on the store hi-fi during Record Store Day. Full details available at therecordexchange.com/recordstoreday.