Groove Merchant at Rappcats: Legendary Bay Area store comes to Los Angeles for a two day pop up record shop, with thousands of hand picked vinyl rarities, posters, handbills and other ephemera.
January 14-16, 12-6PM each day.
Rappcats, 5638 York Blvd, Los Angeles 90042
On January 14th and 15th Rappcats is bringing its favorite record store in the world to LA for a two day pop up record shop. “Cool” Chris Veltri, proprietor and force of the fabled Groove Merchant record store for over two decades, has put together an event that encapsulates on what he calls the “spirit of the shop – DISCOVERY!”
The leagues of influential collectors and musicians who sing Groove Merchant’s praises are myriad, from Rappcats’ partners Madlib and Egon, who’ve been buying from Veltri since the 90s, to Q-Tip, Questlove and Rza. They’re drawn by Veltri’s unique characteristics – he takes a graceful, grateful approach to collecting and sharing knowledge, and he’s both ahead of new trends in collecting and well schooled on the classic ones. From 60s modal jazz and library albums to 70s African funk and American funk 45s to 80s boogie soul and synth-heavy no wave or new age, you can grab any type of record at the Groove Merchant and probably learn about what you’ll be collecting in ten years from the dude behind the counter, as he pulls out heat from unlabeled boxes. Many times those records included the likes the PE Hewitt private-press jazz LP’s issued by Now-Again, Bay Area outsider electro-funk grail TJ Hustler, and Donald Trump’s early 70s psychotic psych 45 “Fuck Funk.” All these rediscoveries Veltri himself made and they spread out throughout the record collecting world through his store.
But this Rappcats pop up isn’t about Veltri boxing up the Groove Merchant’s crates and hauling them down the I-5 for a jaunt in his onetime hometown. He’s been stockpiling records for the event for years and is pulling numerous rarities from his personal collection for the sale. Paper goods – gig posters, handbills, movie slicks – and other ephemera will abound too.
“I will be bringing upwards of 2,500 records. They’re will be a supreme focus on the American Private press with over 1,000 LP’s represented. They’re will be a very strong showing on international music of all shades in all genres. There will be Jazz, Rock, Folk, Soul, Disco of the under the radar variety and of the classic variety. They’re will be Grails and loads of $5 jammers. Above all, they’re will be a lot of shit you have never seen.
I will also bring a eye-popping wall of posters and music ephemera, many of which rarely surface in any shape or form. They’re will be gig posters, handbills, books, clothes, rare photos, pins and badges.”
Veltri also produced a book which debuts at the Rappcats pop up: Record People – Found Photos 1950-1986.
