Do you ever find yourself thinking, “Man, all of these reasonably priced downloads from Hanson Records’ Bandcamp are great and all, but I really wish I could have touched my palms to the rough skin of Aaron Dilloway’s creepy monkey mask thing while I bought them.” Oh my god, you too?! Good news then, as FACT reports, on Tuesday, November 26, Dilloway’s Hanson Records will open its first-ever brick and mortar record shop in Oberlin, Ohio, so we’ll both be able to touch our palms to Dilloway’s rough skin (masked or not) all we want! More like Woahberlin, Ohio, am I right? Because, this is definitely something that would make me exclaim “Woah!” if I hadn’t lost my vocal chords in that freak accident during the 2004 Summer Olympics.
After running the label for almost 20 years, the once-and-right-now-and-also-future-noise-king decided he’s tired of scuzzy dudes with french fries in their beards climbing through his basement window looking for tapes. Now those scuzzy dudes are going to have to climb up to the second floor of the building at 25 1/2 West College Street in Oberlin (above Smiths Home Furnishings) if they want to break in and root through tape stacks. Honestly, that seems like it’s for the best. What I’m saying is that dudes with french fries in their beards could probably benefit from a little cardio now and again, and three out of five doctors agree that using a baseball bat to hit metal doo-dads with contact mics attached to them does not count. On December 5, the store will host a grand-opening party from 5-8 PM featuring live performances and DJ sets from as-yet-unannounced folks from the local scene. If I can get my mom to drive me, I’ll totally be there.
• Hanson: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Hanson-Records/164637297020970