What Alison is talking about has already happened in many cities , and , of course , smaller towns , as well. It broke my heart , the last time I went to Dallas , and there was nothing left but a used CD store and Bill's (Which was , then , just barely located in Dallas.) . Real Records , and , perhaps some others , have turned up since then , but I NEVER take it for granted that Chicago stll has record stores , and is still turning up more record stores....Of course , many lean toward "Alternative Music" (Some of us are old enough to remember when Alternative Music WAS.) , BUT WE NEED TO GET BEHIND OUR LOCAL RECORD STORES (And the ones in places you may visit.) , BEFORE THEY GET WAY THE HELL BEHIND US !
As far as swag I hope to find , if I can even see past all the people (Easily 50 - 75% of whom never go to these stores , the rest of the year.) , I just hope to find some deals. I won't deny it.....I don't have a plan....If I thought more stores had one-offs for RSD that were more in keeping with my tastes , I guess I'd actually wake up , like , at 8:00 AM on a Saturday, to get there before they sell a whomping 20 copies and have to say they're out. ....But , that's just me. I can't make it to all the stores in one afternoon. For that you'd need a car , no speed limit , and a kickass statue of Shiva on your dashboard to ensure you can actually find parking. But ,to HAVE the stores to miss, that's not a bad thing at all.
Good luck with your Buck Owens coloring book, Alison. If I'd have even known such a thing existed , I'd have been looking for it , too.