This is the first of what I hope will be several road trip posts. One of the reasons I created this blog was so that I could share information on great places to shop for music. My road trips aren’t as frequent (or planned) as they once were, but I always keep my eyes open for thrift stores, independent record stores, and flea markets - anywhere I might have a chance to dig through some dusty vinyl crates. I just need to get myself a digital camera so that I can be ready to document my little unplanned adventures.
“Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.” –John Lennon
Life is what happens to you when you are too busy crate digging!
Back in the days when most stores were closed on Sundays, families would file out of church at 10:00 am and head to their local flea market for lunch and an afternoon of bargain hunting. When I was a kid this was a weekly pilgrimage. As an older teenager, it was a great hangover distraction. Forty ounces of fountain peach drink, a deck a smokes, and I was ready to go.
In those days flea markets were huge affairs - my local one covered a couple of square kilometres and was filled with antiques, collectibles, tools, clothing, books, records, coins, crafts, furniture, produce, and various food stands.
But then the heartless juggernaut of globalization came along and fucked everything up!
Rampant speculation in real-estate and construction of new highways led to massive development and even greater suburban sprawl. Sunday became open for business just like any other day. Super-stores, box-stores, dollar-stores and discount stores began popping up like mushrooms. Suddenly the slow, lazy pace of a Sunday afternoon at the flea market began losing its appeal and gradually my local market was replaced by a block of super-stores.
Over the last twenty years I have found a handful of smaller, less diverse, and struggling flea markets in and around my area, but they just didn’t add up to my expectations.
So when I heard about the record booths at the This and That Flea Market, I just had to check it out! As luck would have it, my first visit to this place was on the day of their annual 50% off sale. Ooooh yeah baby! What incredible synchronicity!
While not as big or diverse as the flea markets of my youth, This and That certainly is a collector’s paradise. Antiques, jewelry, books, magazines, posters, memorabilia, and LOTS of records.
It was such a beautiful day that I started my browsing in the parking lot. All the records I found here were only $1-$2, but most were not in very good condition. I immediately struck up conversations with the vendors and customers who were all quite relaxed and enjoyable. The vendors also seemed quite eager to promote each other and after pulling out about 20 LP’s I was referred to booths inside for more crate digging. I put my stack aside and told the vendor I would be back in a few minutes.
A few minutes turned into a couple of hours. Before I even set foot in the building I could see at least 3 seperate record booths. The first booth was obviously for bargain hunters - just boxes and boxes of unorganized records laid out on a few tables. I was about to pass it over when an original copy of Dave Brubeck’s Time Out caught my eye (one of my all-time favourite LP covers). I slid out the vinyl. Some minor surface marks, not too shiny, but very clean.
“How much?” I said to the guy at the table.
“Sorry, this is not my space, I think everything here is a dollar, but ask that guy over there.”
He went back to his digging as I walked across to the next booth to greet the vendor.
“How much?”
“Everything on that table is four for a dollar.”
I came back to the table and spread the good news. I grabbed an empty milk crate and held it up.
“How much?”
“Five bucks.”
“Works for me. I have a feeling I will fill this.”
I nearly did. The 25-cent bins didn’t offer much, but there was a surprising number of NM and VG+ 1980s re-issues of 1970s classic rock, and a few worthy VG+ albums from the 1980s: U2, Tom Petty, etc. I scooped most of these but ended up dumping them when I discovered I would need space in my crate for stuff from other tables. Besides, I was working against the clock, which was cutting into my sleep time.
The next table had a very friendly vendor who had a great selection of VG+ or better LP’s for $3-$7. Everything was nice and clean and packaged in plastic sleeves - and half price ($1.50-$3.50). I had to really restrain myself here, as there was so much to choose from. I could have picked up most of the Brand-X catalog for a mere $8, but I opted for a brand new 180gm, 3-LP, Live Jimi Hendrix release and a very nice copy of Ry Cooder’s Paradise and Lunch (1974). There’s nothing quite like Cooder’s slide playing.
This table also had a $0.50 bin of soundtracks and other odds and ends. I picked up Duke Ellington’s “Anatomy of a Murder” - violins and suspense go well together, so I am looking forward to this one.
By this time I was eager to leave and get some sleep, but I decided to take a quick look at the next booth and was presently surprised. I went straight to the jazz section and started flipping through: Verve, Blue Note, Atlantic, Muse, Riverside - all very clean shiny copies for $3-$5. I was in a hurry and so I pretty much scooped the whole section - about $55.
“Cut me a deal on these?”
“Sure. What you got here. Hmmm. Nice picks. How’z $40 sound.”
“Works for me.”
“You like jazz?”
“You bet.”
“Great. I’ll bring more next week….got lots of it at home.”
“Great. See you next week!”
This and That Flea Market
870 Taunton Road East, Whitby, Ontario, Canada
