Shadows Fall Brian Fair Meet & Greet at Purchase Street Records!

This past weekend, we headed to Purchase Street Records on Popes Island in New Bedford for the Brian Fair meet and greet. This unassuming parking lot with an adjoining Dunkin Donuts has become the mecca of Heavy Metal record shops(cds, cassettes too) on the East Coast. We hit up the shop around start time (1pm) and who did I find first in line? Youtube sensation and vinyl guru "The Flip Side with JC ", aka Joshua Costa. Now Josh and I go back to our teens and he's such a solid dude. I'm genuinely happy for all of his success with the channel. If you visit Purchase Street Records, you're more than likely to find him either behind the counter displaying his monthly recommendation or diving head first into the vinyl bins. Josh knows records and loves music. So it was no shock to see that he and his wife had brought copies of Shadows Fall "Of One Blood". Josh purchased one for himself and one to give away on his youtube channel (Mega CD & Vinyl Grail / plus we give away a signed Shadows Fall Album)

I brought along with me a Shadows Fall dvd called the Art of Touring (I picked up at Armageddon Records in PVD years ago) and a print out of my interview with him on this very blog. It was great to chop it up with Brian after all these years. I spent a good portion of the early to mid 90's following Shadows Fall around New England. I'd see them several times a year in small and large venues. Living in Springfield where they had a practice space, I'd oftentimes run into Shadows Fall guitarist Matt Bachand. I was fortunate to sit with Matt on Spineshank's tour bus years after I moved back to Southeastern Mass. Their last album "Fire from the Sky" had dropped around that time and we talked about that great recording.

Back to Brian. He's such a solid dude and makes everyone feel noticed when he's chatting it up. He signed both items I brought with me and we talked a little about the Dead, the work out videos I hope he starts doing again and seeing him play with Transient at the Brass Cat in Easthampton back in the day. Off I went with my signed items and my wife met Brian for a quick selfie. IT made my weekend. Brian would later put on a killer set in Providence with beloved metalcore act Overcast. There are some great videos of that set floating around on the internet this week. Check'em out!

A signed print out of Brian and I's interview for this very Blog!

All of this wouldn't have happened without Roger Chouinard the main man behind Purchase St. Records and the drum kit of an awesome band ALL SINNERS. If you are in the New England area, you must stop into the shop and while you're there pick up the latest ALL SINNERS release. This was another FREE meet and greet event put on by Roger and the shop. Such a rare occasion these days. It's events and people like Roger that not only keep Metal alive but also accessible to folks especially during this economy.

My signed copy of Art of Touring and a cool Hardcore Trading Card

See Links for More Info!
Purchase Street Records

Shadows Fall

https://www.allsinnerscult.com/site/about/

Purchase Street Records - New location, Same Awesome Selection

 

Purchase Street Records

53 Popes Island (Unit 2), New Bedford MA - Website: https://www.purchasestrecords.com/

"Welcome to your 2nd Favorite Record Store"

Roger Chouinard (proprietor of Purchase Street Records and nephew to the late legendary drummer Bobby Chouinard - Billy Squier) knows Metal. He's been keeping the music scene alive in New Bedford with an incredible selection of hard to find Heavy Metal vinyl records, cassettes and cd's for the last several  years. He also carries a huge selection of Band Patches, store branded tshirts(and hoodies) and stickers.

All Bins are Stocked!

 Yes, Purchase Street carries other genres of music (especially in his $2 dollar bin section) but the store has become the mecha of where to find great Metal(80s to current) in Southern New England.  

The store's previous location was actually on Purchase St. in New Bedford until recently. Roger has cheekishly titled the store as your "2nd favorite record store" but in this area it's quickly become #1. It garnered a lot of attention as it was right next door to the Greasy Luck/Vault Venue that hosted acts like Doyle, Twister Sister's Dee Snider and Queensryche's Geoff Tate. Many times the bands would sneak in before the day's set and raid the Purchase St. bins for vinyl/tshirts. The Vault unexpectedly closed this year and the street itself went through a facelift of sorts. Roger was able to find a much larger (3x the size) location just over the rotating bridge that resides on the historic New Bedford fishing harbor known as "Pope's Island". In the same lot as a Dunkin, Purchase Street has plenty of parking and browsing room inside. 

Huge Seleciton of Patches

Roger is a staple in the rock and roll/metal community. He's a musician in his own right helming the drums of his current band and rocking the stage once the closed sign is hung on the front doors of the store. He's successfully ventured into pro wrestling over the years as well, formerly owning a toy shop at the local flea that had store signings with some of the WWE's Hall of Famers (remember Papa Shango?).

It's not uncommon to hear Roger's take on a recent episode of AEW or have a tale to tell about a past local indie show.. It's why I always enjoy running into Roger at either the shop or a random wrestling event. He always serves up quality products and a firm handshake. Old school ethic with a smile.

Merch!

Some of my own personal grabs at the store opening were Tool's Opiate, Misfits Greatest Hits Volume 1 and Stevie Wonder's Songs in the Key of Life. I look forward to raiding the bins the next time I'm in the area and you should too!

- Grownman ((All Photos from Purchase Street Records Website)