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 Thursday, August 9, 2007 10:31 AM CDT |
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Reduce, reuse, recycled rhythms
Once upon a time, recycling meant eye-boggling sessions decoding the numbers embossed (just barely) on the bottoms of various depleted containers of plastic and glass. Then, peeling off the labels mounted with super-atomic-indestructible glue. Then, rinsing out the oft-times harrowing residue. Then, turning the family SUV into a low-rider, thanks to the tonnage in the trunk. Then, making the tail-dragging pilgrimage to the nearest (ha) shopping center parking lot bin. But that was then, and this is now. And now is when the term "recycled" also connotes one of late summer's most welcome Twin City traditions: the annual GLT Recycled Music Sale. With no harrowing residue. The event is the ultimate music buff's garage sale, especially for retro-buffs heavily into the lost worlds of vinyl, 45s, cassettes, laser discs and 8-track tapes. But also CDs, sheet music, stereo equipment and other goodies. This year's sale, Aug. 17 through 19, will return to its recent digs at the Crossroads Center factory outlet mall in Normal, where parking is plentiful and the storefront space ample. According to Linda Healy, WGLT's director of events and promotions, the event's importance can't be denied: Grossing $17,000 to $20,000 a year, it is the station's biggest source for fundraising revenue. Just as it attracts hundreds upon hundreds of music buffs to its bargain treasures, the sale also required hundreds of volunteered hours to function over its four-day haul (the first day, Aug. 16, is a members-only preview sale; see accompanying story). According to Healy, donations trickle in throughout the year, but it's the month before the sale when the vinyl begins stacking up hard and fast at the sale's 15 drop-off locations in B-N, Peoria, Morton, Washington and Eureka. As the donations come in, they're deposited in storage units; when the sale week arrives, everything is moved to the sale location for sorting, organizing and alphabetizing. For quality control, says Healy, "GLT engineer Mark Hill tests all the donated stereo equipment and labels them clearly as to how well (or not well) they work. Everything is priced accordingly." The sale itself is divided into three components: the preview sale for GLT donor members, from 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday (Aug. 16); the regular sale itself, from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday (Aug. 17-18); and the closing day half-price sale, from noon to 5 p.m. Sunday (Aug. 19). Over the years, the sale has provided a number of memories for those who work it and/or deal with it. "Two years ago," says Healy, "a local family decided they really didn't play LPs anymore and didn't need the equipment to play them, so they donated everything to the sale. Last year, they were back, looking to replace everything, as they found they couldn't live without their LPs!" "GLT benefited twice on that deal!" says Healy. Volunteer Debra Ciskey recalls the time she was working the checkout line "with a volunteer I will not name here." She continues: "We were trying to get the credit card imprinter to work -- an old-style manual machine used with carbon charge slips -- and I almost took off his finger with the slider. Well, it drew blood, and we couldn't find any Band-Aids, so he wrapped a paper towel around it. He survives!" And you thought selling recycling music was all fun and high notes! At another sale, recalls Ciskey, "(GLT music director) Jon Norton had us playing 'guess that artist' as he found recordings of artists doing music FAR removed from their usual fare. One of them was Donny Osmond getting down and dirty." She confesses further: "We ended up playing the entire album." Way to go, Donny! For volunteer Megan Devlin Petty, working the sale "is like walking down memory lane; recordings I gave away (possibly to GLT) 10 or more years ago, after a period of time assume a sentimental significance that seems worth at least $1 (old LPs) and certainly 50 cents (old 45s), even if I only play them once." It gets more complicated: "And then there are the things I forgot I bought out of the same sense of nostalgia the previous year, so that I get it home and find I already have it," admits Petty. "I have done this a couple times with old soundtracks. This is where the art of turning old vinyl into useful containers via microwave melting comes in handy." Be wary, though, notes Petty: "This is a good way to date yourself. We boomers can have fun with vinyl, but can be overwhelmed by the range of recordings available under CDs. I have decided I am old because in a large number of cases, I cannot figure out from the CD label which is the name of the CD and which is the name of the band." Sigh. Meanwhile, GLT "Morning Edition" host Jim Browne remembers the time several years back "when I found one of the original Dolby Noise System modules, complete with the schematics on the back! No chips in this baby! All diodes, transistors, coils, capacitors and transformers!" The exclamation points accompanying this discovery can be attributed, says Browne, to the fact that "I used to be a bit of an electronics geek, and I took it home, where it's now next to my reel-to-reel tape machine." He admits that "sure, there's a good chance it may never get used, but I'VE GOT IT! And it was less than $20, thanks to the GLT Recycled Music Sale!" At a glanceWhat: Annual GLT Recycled Music Sale When: GLT member preview sale, 6 to 9 p.m. Aug. 16; regular sale, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Aug. 17 and 18; half-price sale, noon to 5 p.m. Aug. 19 Where: Crossroads Center, 310 Wylie Drive, Normal Admission: Free Information: (309) 438-5083 By the numbers266 hours needed to set up the sale 3 storage units needed for donations at Twin City Storage 256 volunteer hours worked during sale 50 tables needed to sort/organize all merchandise Members, volunteers, etc.Members Per tradition, card-carrying "Friends of GLT" get a special perk for their public radio donations at the annual Recycled Record Sale. It comes in the form of a special first-dibs dive into the stockpile the night before the regular sale opens to the non-card-carrying public. The preview sale for this year's event is set for 6 to 9 p.m. Aug. 16 at the sale's Crossroads Center site in Normal. If you're not a member, but would still like to be one of the proud, the few, the first, WGLT memberships can be purchased at the door. For more information, call (309) 438-5083. Volunteers It takes a lot of helping hands to sort through that mountain of vinyl that towers over the Recycled Music Sale. If you'd like to pitch in, there are several options: help during the sorting/organizing period at various day and night hours is needed today through Tuesday; help during the sale itself is needed Aug. 16 through 19. If you're interested, contact Linda Healy at lihealy@ilstu.edu, or call (309) 438-5083. Donors It's never too late to fork some unloved/unwanted vinyl or tape over to the Recycled Record Sale! In fact, donations are accepted until the day before the sale (Wednesday, Aug. 15). Among drop-off sites: Bloomington • Samuel Music, 1717 R.T. Dunn Drive • Kidder Music, 802 S. Eldorado Road • Horine's Pianos Plus, 1336 E. Empire St. • Bloomington Public Library, 205 E. Olive St. • Schnucks, 1701 E. Empire St. Normal • Normal Public Library, 206 W. College Ave. • Twin City Self Storage, 2019 Eagle Road • Vitesse Cycle, 206 S. Linden St. • Waiting Room Records, 113 W. North St. • The Music Shoppe, 1540 E. College Ave. Eureka • Eureka Public Library Morton • Morton Public Library Washington • Washington Public Library Spin it again, SamThough the annual GLT Recycled Music Sale is famous for the stacks and stacks of vintage vinyl that if offers up for sale every mid-August, there are (as the sale's fans know), lots of other audio stuff on hand. And, this year, some audio-visual stuff, too, thanks to "a friend of GLT" who donated a collection of laser discs -- remember them, technofiles? -- some of which were never even taken out of the shrink wrap. And never fear, the laser disc player has been submitted, too. Here, then, is the lowdown on everything you can expect to find next weekend (Aug. 17, 18, 19) at the Crossroads Center on Wylie Road in Normal: • LPs for a buck • CDs for $3 • 45s for 50 cents • Cassettes for 50 cents • 8-track tapes for ... it depends • Sheet music for 25 cents • Books for 25 cents • Stereo equipment for ... it depends • Musical instruments for ... it depends • Laser discs for $3 each • And a laser disc player For the record (so to speak), all of the above items involving artists and titles have been sorted and alphabetized, so you won't have to sort through hundreds of stacks of platters for ZZ Top's "Tres Hombres." E-mail this story | Print this story | Search archives | RSS Show comments |  Hide comments | Hide comments on all stories |
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