Tucked just north of the business end of High Street, in Melbourne’s Thornbury, is the suburb’s very own independent record store.
With its yellow trimmings and grinning T-Rex logo emblazoned on its store front window, Thornbury Records has been providing both local bands and music-lovers with an outlet and resource to distribute (or buy up) the best in local and international music in a keen selection of vinyl, CDs, local zines, as well as turntable accessories and repairs.
The High Street music store also formed its own indie record label last year to distribute releases from Money For Rope, Damn Terran, River Of Snakes, and Heavy Beach, which features the store’s owner and manager Clayton Pegus in its lineup.
Mr Pegus wanted to help celebrate his shop’s 2nd birthday by hosting Thornbury Record’s very first in-store performance, inviting a selection of Melbourne bands to help commemorate the event.
In fact, regular live shows had always planned at the store, but the large stage built into one corner of the venue has gone largely unused in its two-year tenure, mainly due to noise regulations from Darebin Council, and the costs of enforcing proper soundproofing.
But Pegus is now giving the floorboards their proper christening by inviting all-electric rock bands Atolls, The Ocean Party, Mightiest of Guns, and ‘mystery band’ Silence Wedge and the Sour Creams to perform at this Saturday’s 2nd birthday bash (on February 9th).
But how to rock out without alerting the sensitive ears of local residents? How to avoid another grumbling letter to local council from individuals like Bourke St’s local fun police figurehead, Mr. Edmonds?“The only sounds to be heard… will be the shuffling of feet and dull whacking sound of the virtual drum kit.” – Clayton Pegus, Thornbury Records
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The team at Thornbury Records have come up with a creative solution, in what they’re dubbing the Silent But Deadly Birthday Fest!, to inventively circumvent the problem of local grumblers while still being able to enjoy some live music.
“We plan to overcome the technical boundaries of a live performance by plugging all instruments directly into a sound desk and transmitting the resulting sounds to around 50 sets of headphones within the store,” Mr Pegus tells The Herald Sun.
“The only sounds to be heard by those not adorned by our wireless headphones will be the shuffling of feet and dull whacking sound of the virtual drum kit.”
As the Thornbury Records newsletter puts it: “There will be a BBQ, there will be cake, there will be bands, but there won’t be any noise. It will be a silent gig,” all taking place during the store’s usual opening hours of 11am-5pm.
Its an inventive tactic reminiscent of fellow independent record store Pure Pop Records, the St Kilda shop-come-music venue using its ongoing ‘Buy A Brick’ scheme to help in aiding the venue’s soundproofing costs after suffering at the hands of local council, and noise complaints from local residents.
Pure Pop is also currently in the thick of hosting its Summer Of Classic Albums live series, an extensive new concert programme featuring a diverse pool of homegrown talent, such as Julia Stone, Pony Face, Courtney Barnett, and Ella Hooper covering iconic albums in an acoustic, running the gamut from Beatles and Bowie, to Destiny’s Child and Crowded House.
Devised to conjunction with the ongoing ‘Buy A Brick’ scheme to help in aiding the venue’s soundproofing woes with local council, the extensive new concert series features a diverse pool of talent, such as Julia Stone, Pony Face, Courtney Barnett, and Ella Hooper performing everything from the Beatles, Bowie and Bob Dylan to Destiny’s Child and INXS.
Thornbury Records Silent But Deadly Birthday Fest!
Saturday 9th Feb, from 11am-5pm
591 High St, Thornbury VIC 3071
more info: ThornburyRecords.com
Mightiest of Guns(12.30pm)
Atolls (1.30pm)
The Ocean Party (2.30pm)
‘Mystery Guests’ Silence Wedge and the Sour Creams (3.30pm)
