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Photo by Doazone
Updates
On behalf of Bob, Liz and the Larsen family, we would like to reach out and thank
all of you who gave so much and so enthusiastically – to support and save a small, local business in peril.
Words can not describe the initial pain and hopelessness, nor the feeling of love, support and in the end – hope – we have experienced in the last few months. While we watched the building burn down our thoughts were, “Where do we go
from here, and what do we do now?”
Friends of the store that we refer to as “the Sound Station Army” and whom we consider family, got together immediately to come up with a plan to sponsor various fundraising events, including this donation web site.
Over $5,000 was raised in less than 7 hours !!! In total, the Sound Station Army has raised close to $30,000.00 to help resurrect what they considered to be “Not just another record store, but a local musical institution” from the ashes. However, none of this would have been possible without your support.
Now, thankfully because of your loving assistance, Sound Station will undergo a rebirth, and reopen its doors fresh and anew, along with our promise to continue to provide an oasis of music while supporting local musicians.
Sound Station was dead and you all came to its rescue and brought it back to life.
At this time we are proud to tell you a search for a new location is underway, and we hope to have our doors open to you very soon. We want Sound Station to stay in the immediate area that it has stood for over 23 years.
One door closes - another door opens. After all, music brought us all together and made us a community. Anything this fun and this rewarding needs to swing and rock on!
Love,
Bob, Liz, and The Larsen Family
A lot of money has been raised so far, and a few of you have asked what's happening with it. Just to be clear, the amount we raise here is not handed to Bob and Liz until April 21, 2012, so a bit of patience is going to be required from all of us. Here is a message from Bob via the Sound Station Facebook page:
" Just so you all know - we are looking to rent in the VERY local area - would LOVE to be near the "old" location"
In other news, there will be another benefit show with local acts at The Crossroads in Garwood Thursday, March 8th (78 North Ave, Garwood, NJ). There are a few other shows in the works, so keep checking back for updates!
2/20/12
The benefit shows have been going so incredibly well. The show inside the Trolley last night was a hit, every band killed it. What a great night! Bob told me that it was the first time he's legitimately had a thorough good time and smile on his face all night since the tragedy has struck.
In other news, Mark Spivey wrote a great article about Sound Station and the cause for The Courier. Read it here.
2/16/12
There will be a benefit for Sound Station right downtown at the Jolly Trolley in Westfield Sunday, Feb 19! Bands start at 8 PM. So far we have
Birds In Hats
Minor Motion
Pilots In Orbit
+ More TBA!
Should be a great time, come on out! The Trolley (known officially now by The Office) is at
411 North Ave. E,
Westfield NJ 07090
Facebook event HERE
2/14/12
All new "Save Sound Station" T-shirts are ready for order over at Prime Grime Clothing! Pick up yours today, 100% of proceeds go to our cause!
Buy Your T-shirt
2/9/12
A hand crafted, home brewed "Sound Station Brown Ale" is now on tap at Trap Rock Brewery (279 Springfield Avenue, Berkeley Heights, NJ)!
$1 from every pint sold goes directly to Sound Station in efforts to help rebuild the store. For a little extra they'll fill up a jug of it to take out! Share, Support, Drink up and help spread the word!
2/7/12
A message from Bob Larsen via Sound Station’s Facebook page about February 3rd’s benefit show:
“Liz & I need to thank everyone that was involved in making Friday nights benefit show possible especially Andrew Tab Bulloch & Backpack Superheroes. This was the 1st night Liz & I have gone out in public since the fire & we couldn’t have done it without everyone who attended. We loved seeing you all. It was especially nice for me to see Liz laughing & having fun. The benefit was a total success & they raised double what they planned on raising! Thank you Michael Weintraub not only for being our designated driver but also such a great person. Liz & I want all you Hip Hop heads that were there in support to know you will have a place to go to get all your favorite cds & records or just have a place to chill when we reopen! We love you all.”
The benefit raised a whopping $900 for the cause. It will be reflected in our overall total soon.
You can watch clips of the show here.
2/1/12
David Urbano made a great video about Sound Station, the fire, and our cause. You can view it in the Updates tab up top, or right here.
1/27/12
3 PM
News about upcoming Benefit Shows:
The main event for our benefit will be on Record Store Day 2012, April 21, at The Crossroads in Garwood, NJ. Featuring the biggest names in hometown bands such as Traveling In Stereo, Minor Motion, and The Grains. There will also be a matinee all-ages show, featuring all bands from Westfield High School showing their support and thanks for Bob, Liz, and Sound Station.
Throughout the day, there will be a CD-donation set up. All attendees are encouraged to bring any CDs, records, tapes, as well as musical equipment of any kind (record players, walkmen, etc) to donate to the fund. We will be selling all musical donations at the Records Store Day show as a Sound Station flea market. All proceeds will go to the Help Sound Station fund. There will also be Save Sound Station t-shirts for sale.
The first show with proceeds going to the Help Sound Station relief fund will be at The Stanley Cup. (1410 Elizabeth Ave, Linden, NJ) on February 3rd. It is being put on by the Hip Hop super collective Backpack Superheroes. $5 with all proceeds going to Sound Station. Starts at 9 PM.
1PM
We are now featured on three different sections of the IndieGoGo main website: Popular, New This Week, and Music. See here.
1/26/12
8:26 PM
There will be a story about Sound Station and our fundraiser on New Jersey News 12 airing at 5 PM and 6 PM tonight.
1/25/12
2:26 PM
A message from Bob Larsen, owner of Sound Station, from his Facebook page:
" It will have to be in the immediate area as the community is pulling together so hard for it. We wouldn't think of reopening away from all of you. "
1:39 PM
We have more than doubled our goal in less than 48 hours. The drive remains open and our cause is only growing. There are several benefit shows for Sound Station in the works for the local area, as well as T-shirts being printed for sale.
There will be an official “Help Sound Station” benefit show on Saturday, April 21, 2012, Record Store Day, at The Crossroads in Garwood, NJ. It will be a double show including an all ages matinee and a 21+ night show featuring all local bands. We will be selling all merchandise as well as a Sound Station Flea Market. More details to come.
What’s left of Sound Station will be demolished sometime next week.
Last night, a group of people organized outside of Sound Station and created a memorial for our shop with posters, CD inserts, CDs, records, pictures, and other decorations on the fence surrounding the wreckage. All are welcome to come by and contribute. See how it looked last night below.
We have also started writing letters to Sound Station telling them what the store means to us and what they have done for us and tacking them up to the telephone pole outside the shop. Everyone is encouraged to do the same.
You can also stay updated through Patch.com's Westfield site: Read here.
1/23/12
10:37 PM
Our Story
Westfield, NJ has always been a town rich in youth culture, and one of our soaring traits is our celebration in music. For most of us that grew up here, the word music brings to mind one place: Sound Station. The headquarters for all things music: CDs, records, tapes, and especially knowledge. Sound Station has been a pivotal place for generations growing up in Westfield. Their open doors gave many of us that didn't quite fit in anywhere else a place to feel welcome and accepted. A place where everyone of all ages, even the youngest of kids could hang out and bond over something that nowhere else really gave us a space to: our love of all kinds of music. Family owned and run, the record shop has kept a local music scene thriving with their constant stock of relevant new releases, classics, hidden unknown gems, a table for local bands' releases, and live shows right in between the aisles. Bob and Liz always greeted you with a smile, helped you find what you needed, and made you feel like family. The Major Generals to our Sound Station Army.
Photo by Nate Shoobs
On Sunday, January 22, our town suffered a terrible tragedy. A fire raged on South Avenue, destroying a few local shops, including what was to many a home, Sound Station. Help us raise money to get Bob, Liz and Sound Station back on their feet after what is sure to be a treacherous road of hardships and more heartbreak. For all of the times the shop made our town, our music scene, and our spirits bloom. For all the times music has helped you when you thought you had hit your lowest.
Photo by Tanya Breen
The Impact
Your contributions will go straight to Bob Larsen, Liz Walsh, and the relief of their business after this disaster.
What We Need & What You Get
It's going to be a long road. Anything helps, but there will be a lot of expenses. We will be raising money from now until Record Store Day 2012, which falls on April 21. Although $5,000 may not seem like a lot in comparison to how awful the damage done to our precious musical safe haven was, our goal reflects the humble attitude of Sound Station and it's owners. Never flashy people or business. We are hoping that the donations received will skyrocket this goal.
Contributors will receive copies of flyers, hand designed by Liz, of the last few live shows put on inside Sound Station. Leave your information with your donation if you would like to receive one.
Other Ways You Can Help
The best way to help besides a contribution is to spread the word and share this page. Under the image at the top of this page, there are several options for ways to tell people about our cause, and you can always copy and paste this link (http://www.soundstationnj.com) or ( http://indiegogo.com/helpsoundstation ) anywhere on the web. The more people hear, the more we can raise for Sound Station. So go forth and share.
You can contact Bob and Liz through the comments section on this site, or visit the shop's Facebook page ( http://www.facebook.com/soundstationnj ). A kind word goes a long way.
Photo by Kaity Anness
Created By:
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Mark Bucci
Organizer, Collector
