If You Rewind, They Will Come

Cassette Store Day returns for its third year this Saturday, October 17, in Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and America. It still hasn't caught on nearly as well as Record Store Day, and appeals mostly to indie rock fans. Green Day, The Blank Tapes, and Poster Children are about the only nationally known names on the list of American artists releasing limited edition tapes. Still, it’s likely that each act involved has a loyal following. There are also a number of various artists compilations; which speaks to the enduring popularity of mixed tapes.

The Handcuffs are veterans of the Chicago club scene, and have landed a number of their catchy indie rock songs on some of TV’s hippest shows. They're offering a special Cassette Store Day release called All The Way From Chicago that will include 10 carefully chosen tracks from their trio of CDs, plus a cover of Mott The Hoople's "All The Way From Memphis." There’s no option for colored vinyl in this format, but the cassette will feature a portrait of lead vocalist Chloe F. Orwell by Swiss artist Mark Staff Brandl on cover, and include a Handcuffs baseball card. It's also available from the Semi-Pro Records Bandcamp site.

Bric-a-Brac Records, at 3156 W. Diversey, is the only Chicago store shown on the Cassette Store Day website. An employee at Reckless Records on Madison downtown told me today they might get in a few releases. Give your favorite record store a call and ask if they're participating. 

Just to give you an idea of how they celebrate Cassette Store Day in London, the Lion Coffee + Records venue will have live music from the fittingly named band Island Cassettes (who'll be releasing their Dungarees cassette) and DJ sets from Jen Long, Mairead Luv (you can't get more English than that), Dead Air, Rockfeedback, and others. As far as UK cassettes, The Kaiser Chiefs will be offering a special version of their Education Education Education And War album. Other selections include All That May Happen by Emile's Telegraphic Transmission Device, Primary Colours by Now Wakes The Sea, and This Frequency Of Light Is All I Know by Jargo.