Music: Local bands pressing for vinyl

During the making of last year's tongue-twisting, ear-blistering album by the Rank Strangers, "Tucke des Objekts, Die," frontman Mike Wisti was haunted by the thought that the music he labored over would wind up micro-compressed onto iPods and laptops instead of cranking out of home stereos in its full ragged glory.

"The whole time we were working on the record I was thinking -- and this is depressing -- what's the point of CDs anymore?" recalled Wisti. "It's as if digital technology has led us to a place where music is no longer about how it sounds, but about how convenient it is to store it."

Wisti came to a conclusion that many other local bands are making: Vinyl is the way to go. Or at least it's one way to go in this transformational era of musicmaking.

The only physical pressing of the Strangers' album was on vinyl. Two other bands, Chooglin' and First Communion Afterparty, recently issued live albums on vinyl. (Chooglin's comes with a CD copy inserted inside.) Many others have doubled up and sold their latest albums in both vinyl and CD, including Tapes 'N Tapes, Haley Bonar, Vampire Hands and most of Rhymesayers.

In case you haven't heard, vinyl is enjoying a resurgence worldwide. Sales were up a whopping 89 percent in 2009. Many indie record stores in town have expanded their vinyl offerings, including the Electric Fetus, Treehouse, Eclipse and Cheapo. Treehouse alone has sold 125 copies of Skoal Kodiak's vinyl LP, said owner Mark Trehus, who also issues vinyl on his label Nero's Neptune (coming up: a Spider John Koerner set from 1963).

In the case of FCAP -- whose members are mostly younger than the CD format (26 years old) -- going vinyl was a way to attract hardcore music lovers.

"Vinyl is something the true music freak will want," said singer (Mama) Carin Burno, who believes "everything sounds authentic" in that format.

Christian Fritz, who puts out FCAP's records on his label Mpls. Ltd., has been dealing in vinyl since the early '90s. He watched the cost of manufacturing vinyl go from half of what CDs cost to more than three times as much (about $1,800 for 500 vinyl LPs, compared with $500 for the same number of CDs). Still, he understands why bands want to do it.

"In the age of iPods and MP3s, vinyl still makes an album feel like a real album," Fritz said. "It's crazy to look at places like eBay and see how much some original vinyl pressings go for records that are readily available on CD. I can totally envision kids 30 years from now trying to track down an original Vampire Hands record when they would have a much easier time just downloading it in some crazy HD format that hasn't been invented yet."

It might not even take 30 years. Vampire Hands singer/guitarist Chris Rose said his band has nearly sold out all 500 vinyl copies of last year's album "Me and You Cherry Red." The vinyl editions even sold better than CDs on tour. The group plans to issue its next record on St. Ives, the vinyl imprint of the mega-indie label Secretly Canadian.

"Ultimately, the big plus to vinyl is the overall aesthetic," Rose said. "I don't really come at it from an audiophile angle. I like that it's a more committed experience to listen to a record, rather than just hitting shuffle. You're conscious of what you're listening to and you're more physically connected -- flipping the record, placing the needle, etc."

Afternoon Records proprietor Ian Anderson is so confident the demand for vinyl will continue to increase that he has talked to national indie distributor Noiseland about creating a local vinyl-manufacturing site. His label's latest vinyl offering is a high-grade 180-gram copy of Bonar's "Big Star" that sells for about $18.

"Minneapolis, in particular, seems to be hot on vinyl," he said. "It's sort of more the boutique approach to releasing records. A vinyl record is always something you treasure more than a CD."

However, Anderson also offered this note of realism: "Digital music is still the main force to be reckoned with."

Even Wisti has to concede on that note: As of a couple weeks ago, that great Rank Strangers record is also now available on iTunes.

Motion City goes major After three albums with Epitaph Records, Motion City Soundtrack has signed with a major label, Columbia. The quintet has been recording demos here and in Los Angeles for a fourth album that could be out by the end of the year.

MCS isn't leaving Epitaph empty-handed, though: It helped introduce the label to another younger, synth-tinged, emo-ish pop/punk Minneapolis band, Sing It Loud, whose Epitaph debut (issued in September) was produced by MCS guitarist Josh Cain. Sing It Loud will literally be touring every month between now and the end of summer, including two months on the Warped Tour (local stop: Aug. 2, location TBA).

Dark Horse lights up The ratio of his songwriting in the Beatles was only about 10-to-1 compared with the mighty Lennon-McCartney machine, but George Harrison outranks the other guys in terms of Twin Cities birthday tributes.

The longer-running of these gigs is tonight's Dark Horse Revue led by Randy Casey at the Varsity Theater, a "Wah-Wah"-filled jam with a lot of the Hookers & Blow/Honeydogs contingent (Adam and Noah Levy, George McKelvey, Matt Darling), John Eller, Janey Winterbauer, Dave Russ and more. It benefits Harrison's Material World Charitable Foundation (8 p.m. Friday, $10).

The other show is anchored by a guy who actually played with Harrison during the "All Things Must Pass" sessions and the Concert for Bangladesh, Badfinger guitarist Joey Molland, who will perform with his band Shakespeare's Pipe along with 33 & 1/3 and KYX. It benefits MusicForAllChildren.org (8 p.m. Thursday, $5) and is a kickoff to a "British Invasion Weekend" at Famous Dave's Uptown next weekend, featuring the tribute bands Tumbling Dice and Rubber Soul.

Random mix After a trip to the Americana Music Conference in September and a December tour with burgeoning Texas tunesmith Carrie Rodriguez (during which they opened for and helped round out Carrie's band), Romantica has been channeling its momentum into the studio. They spent this week and another last month laying tracks for the follow-up to their adored 2007 disc, "America." They return to the stage Saturday at the Cedar Cultural Center, a great pairing with Kid Dakota (8 p.m., $10-$12). ...

Florida punk band Against Me! recorded a version of the Replacements' "Here Comes a Regular" for a Warner Bros. Records 50th anniversary CD featuring the label's current acts covering older ones. Other highlights: Flaming Lips doing Madonna and Mastodon covering ZZ Top. It's out April 7. ... P.O.S. debuted at No. 1 on Billboard's Heatseeker chart (for new artists) after the first week of release for the now aptly titled "Never Better." ...

He poo-poohed the idea of a new Jayhawks record in recent interviews with Mark Olson (online at startribune.com/music), but Gary Louris said he has been going through "piles and piles" of old Jayhawks recordings for a possible series of expanded reissues or a rarities collection. "I was always the geek about keeping everything the band did," said Louris, who has been working on the project with über-fan P.D. Larson. ...

The newest act on St. Paul's Red House Records, sweet-voiced and dry-witted Texas troubadour Danny Schmidt, will bounce from this weekend's Folk Alliance Conference in Memphis to a show at the 318 Cafe in Excelsior on Tuesday (8 p.m., $6). His Red House debut, "Instead the Forest Rose to Sing," lands March 10. ...

Last week at the 318 Cafe, Andy Ulseth bemusedly told the crowd, "Let me make it clear right up front: I used to sing with Casey Carlson of 'American Idol,' but she won't be here tonight." He wasn't kidding. He and Carlson were Eden Prairie schoolmates who used to perform together, but now she's out in Los Angeles pandering to Simon Cowell. Set to headline the 400 Bar Feb. 27, Ulseth is doing just fine on his own with a melodic, boyish but brainy brand of acoustic rock exemplified by his terrific Fleet Foxes cover. Bet they'd never allow that one on "A.I."

chrisr@startribune.com • 612-673-4658