RRR was a Berkeley CA record store that myself and my friends Ray, Mik, Rick Doug, Russ and Reenie worked at in the late 70's -since Ray went on to be Sonic Youth's Road Manager their new CD is a ref to that great underground now defunct punk/new wave/import record store from my youth.From the net:
"To digress: anybody remember Rather Ripped records in Berkely? Alas, I never shopped there, but used to order from their catalog. Maybe the coolest store in America at one time, they were the hook-up for obscure imports and indies, and were probably the Residents' exclusive retail outlet for awhile. Subject of a notorious bootleg bust in the 70s, too. I hope the SY title is a tribute."
3 comments:
Although I frequented many record stores in Berleley in the early 80s I don't remember visiting RRR, but I did have their newsprint catalog. It was printed tabloid-style and had tiny printing. There were thousands of records in the thing (or so it seemed). I was especially impressed by the import section. I ordered a Monty Python LP and some singles, including the soon-to-be-banned "Stairway To Gilligan's Island", by Little Roger & The Goosebumps. It seems Led Zeppelin's lawyers were not happy with the groups hybrid of "Stairway To Heaven" and the theme to 'Gilligan's Island'!
i used to visit Rather Ripped Records at least every Friday night between 1977 and 1979. i'd go there both because of the cool factor but also because it was where i spent a good chunk of my paycheck from working at the Record Factory in Walnut Creek buying obscure recommendations, bootlegs and t-shirts. i was out of the country when they closed so don't know much of the history of their last days. it was like a mecca though. the coolest place i ever hung out in the SF bay area.
I used to hang out at RRR during the late 1970's when I was an undergraduate at UC Berkeley. I have many fond memories of hours spent flipping through the demo albums (the ones with the corners cut off) and I remember Doug Krull introducing me to members of the Irish band Horslips at the store. I subsequently managed to see Horlips perform at a local town hall in Killarney. I was also introduced to Greg Kihn and Gary (can't recall the last name but he was a guitarist for Earth Quake).
Doug and the crew at RRR truly opened my musical horizons.
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