Vertical House Records

This year was pretty epic for our record store. We moved into a bigger space, and then expanded on that space for additional square footage full of vinyl. With over 20,000 lps we’re excited to add our favorites from 2010 to the store and to our personal collection. If you have a list of favorites you would like to share, we’d love to hear what got your groove on this past year! With our list we are sharing a track from each album for your listening pleasure. Bring it on 2011, we’re ready for you!

Top 20 Albums of 2010

1. Sonny & The Sunsets – Tomorrow Is Alright (Soft Abuse)
Too Young to Burn

2. The Parting Gifts – Strychnine Dandelions (In The Red)
Keep Walkin

3. Nobunny – First Blood (Goner)
Live it Up

4. Harlem – Hippies (Matador)
Be Your Baby

5. Fresh & Onlys – Waterfall (In The Red)
Waterfall

6. Kanye West – My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (Def Jam / Roc-A-Fella)
Power

7. Strange Boys – Be Brave (In The Red)
Dare I Say

8. Hunx & His Punx – Gay Singles (True Panther Sounds)
Hey Rocky

9. Big Boi – Sir Lucious Left Foot… The Son Of Chico Dusty (Def Jam)
Shutterbug

10. Das Racist – Sit Down, Man (Mad Decent)
Puerto Rican Cousins

11. Happy Birthday – Happy Birthday (Matador)
Girls FM

12. Magic Kids – Memphis (Goner)
Superball

13. Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti – Before Today (4AD)
Bright Lit Blue Skies

14. Best Coast – Crazy For You (Mexican Summer)
Crazy For You

15. Flight – The Lead Riders EP (Zoo Music)
Turns to Blood

16. Diamond Rings – Special Affections (Secret City)
Wait and See

17. Personal & The Pizzas – Raw Pie (1-2-3-4 Go!)
I Don’t Wanna Be No Personal Pizza

18. Thee Oh Sees – Warm Slime (In The Red)
I Was Denied

19. Girls – Broken Dreams Club (True Panther Sounds)
Thee Oh So Protective One

20. Ty Segall – Melted (Goner)
My Sunshine

Top 10 Most Played

1. Sparks
Eaten by the Monster of Love

2. Boney M
Daddy Cool

3. Sam Cooke
What a Wonderful World

4. Big Star
September Gurls

5. Felt (track not available)
6. The Clean (track not available)
7. The Replacements (track not available)

8. Nancy & Lee
Lady Bird

9. Wanda Jackson
Funnel of Love

10. Orange Juice
Three Cheers for our Side

11. Tennis
Marathon

Vertical House Records Presents:
MONDAY FUNDAY DANCE PARTY!

with special guests:
Dan Sartain, Parlor, Divine 6/7 (new Barrier project)

Dan Sartain – Atheist Funeral

Vertical House & Huntsville Show DJ’s will be spinnin’ the best oldies, soul, r&b, psych and bubblegum! Always free! All night! The lovely Randy behind the bar!
Voodoo Lounge | 110 South Side Square | Huntsville, Alabama | 9:30 PM | 21+ | Free!

RSVP on Facebook!

Just as we expanded our store another 220 square feet, we get in a huge collection of records (3000+ LP’s, 45’s and 12″ singles) from the 60’s-80’s. Double bonus! We also scored a huge stash of pristine comic books! You owe it to yourself to come and dig through these gems and take a peak at the new store! We’ve got a little something for everybody: rock, psych, folk, pop, new wave, punk…and comics! Come by and see us: Wed-Fri: 12-8pm & Sat: 12-5pm!

While we never really thought it would happen so soon, we expanded our store again – without having to move out of Lowe Mill! Unless you’ve been to the mill, it’s kinda hard to explain this. The spaces are rented out pole to pole (which is roughly 220 square feet). Our friend Emily had a single space at the far end of our store (she was part of Virago – the art group that had the space before we moved over). When Virago closed, Emily wanted to keep her space, so we built a “wall” between us. It was kinda awkward, but when a new space opened up a couple of weeks ago, she decided to move in.

So last week we re-arranged the store and took over Emily’s former space. Now our store has three huge windows and overlooks the parking lot…I know that part doesn’t sound exciting – but trust me, it’s prime real estate at the mill. The best part? We now have 1000 square feet!

It took us about 6 hours to move everything around and get it situated. We lost a part of a record shelf (after it fell on my foot) and a peg board broke in half (over Andy’s head) but all in all, it went pretty smooth!

I snapped some ‘before’ and ‘during’ shots of the store. I haven’t had a chance to do the ‘after’ shots yet, but I’ll get around to it!

BEFORE

it was so crowded before!

DURING

the “wall” between us and Emily

this was her former space…on the other side of the wall

windows!!!

first customer in the “new” store!

On June 29th (yeah, I’m way behind…) we had Thomas Function and G-Side perform in our store! It was a bad-ass show to help break in the new space! We had a lot of people come out, especially on a Tuesday night – so you know the scene here isn’t totally dead.

Before sharing photos, I’d actually love to pass along an article that a guy named Justin wrote for Valley Planet that pretty much summed the show up perfectly! We can’t thank him enough for writing such an awesome review!

“The moment I drove through the gates at Lowe Mill it was clear that I was about to experience something very unique to Huntsville. From the colored lights shining on the water tower to the groups of people hanging out before the show, anticipation was in the air. I was there to see G-side & Thomas Function both of which have been praised as local greats, and both playing very different styles of music. My destination was Vertical House Records, nestled into the back corner of the second floor in the Flying Monkey Arts Center; my goal was to infiltrate Huntsville’s music scene. Since moving to the area in late January I’ve been clumsily trying to navigate the local venues in search of great music. On any given night there are at least ten different musicians playing at ten different venues, and that doesn’t include the multitude of open mic nights. With a lot of time and online research it’s sometimes possible to narrow down the options but even then some bands are scheduled to play a few different venues through the month and some venues are certainly better than others. Instead of sitting back I’ve decided to be part of the solution; I’m going to scope out as many bands, open mic’s, and venues as I can each month and present you with a distilled list of what is worthwhile.

The G-Side & Thomas Function show was my first visit to the Flying Monkey Arts Center, and Vertical House Records specifically, both of which only got me more excited about my musical journey. There was a small cover charge of five dollars, but parking was free and ample. Keep two things in mind when going to this venue: 1. there are few chairs, 2. bring your own beer (if 21 or over that is). Vertical House has a great vibe; ambient string lighting, burlap walls covered with records and the band plays under a mirror ball surrounded by bookshelves. There was no stage to separate band from audience and bubbles floated through the air, further blurring the line between the two. As I settled into the crowd I realized that this event was not only unique to Huntsville, but also to the music industry. It’s a rare occurrence when two distinctly different musical genres play back to back and even more rare when the same audience stays for both shows.

First up for the night was Thomas Function, a local trio that have been tagged as everything from punk to pop to indie rock, and they’ve earned all three. It was easy to find tracks online to get an idea of what I was getting myself in to, and like all good bands, their live show surpassed the recordings (Although I did miss the infectious clapping, and the organ in some songs). The bassist and drummer both sang backup for the lead singer/guitarist which helped make them a minimalist band without a minimalist sound. They played a very concise set with barely a break between songs keeping the intensity running high. If you haven’t already checked them out and are in the mood for a high energy show I highly recommend Thomas Function.

Next up was G-Side, a local hip hop duo that not only maintained the momentum, but built upon it. It was also easy to hear a few of their tracks before going, and again I was pleasantly surprised with the live show. They had two backup vocalists singing in a more R&B style that contrasted well and added depth to the show. With no effects, it was great to hear the raw vocals and see the impact they had on the audience. Their lyrics leaned towards the positive and were delivered with force. Even if hip hop isn’t your favorite genre of music, these guys will keep you entertained and make you part of the show.

Overall the show was a great success. Any time you see Vertical House, G-Side or Thomas Function on the Valley Planet Music Calendar, it will be worth checking out.”

Thomas Function

G-side

It’s Summertime, so it’s about time that Milwaukee’s Goodnight Loving made their way back to HSV! Last time they ripped it live at Bamalama Fest Oh Nine! On this tour they are supporting the release of their 4th album ‘Supperclub’ which comes out on Dirtnap Records on July 20th.

Opening the show is San Pedro, California’s Bombon…followed by Alabama classics the Pine Hill Haints and Thomas Function.

Check out “The Pan” off of ‘Supperclub’ below:

The Goodnight Loving – The Pan

Friday, July 9 at 9pm
PINE HILL HAINTS
GOODNIGHT LOVING
THOMAS FUNCTION
BOMBON

Admission $10

Location:
CROSSROADS MUSIC HALL
115 Clinton Avenue
Downtown Huntsville

Photo by Ashley Vaughn

TUESDAY JUNE 29TH
G-Side (Huntsville Hip Hop)
Thomas Function (Huntsville Rock)
Show 9:30pm, Admission $6

Presented to you by Vertical House Records and Slow Motion Soundz!

G-Side – My Aura
Thomas Function – Waverly

We’ve been testing out a new point and shoot, and since we spend a lot of time at the store, I decided to snap some shots. We’re not going to get the camera though because the video doesn’t work

(I’ve been experimenting with self-portraits. Look closely at the record player and disco ball shots!)

The Jacuzzi Boys are playing in our store on May 6th with Really Loud Hamburgers and we couldn’t be more excited! Hope to see you there! join our email list and well be sure to send you a friendly reminder.

We haven’t had the chance to do a full on photo shoot of our new digs, but I did get a chance to snap a few shots before realizing my camera battery light was blinking at me. Also, we want to say a HUGE thank you to everyone who joined us for Record Store Day – either in person or in their heart…THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU!!! It was our best day ever…for real, no lie! We love you guys so much!

You guys helped us score all those fancy papers in that shot above so endless thanks for those as well!! We couldn’t do it without cha!