Market Friday. Castle Rock - the oldest rock store in Russia

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Small stores and street stalls selling music products: tape cassettes, vinyl, T-shirts with rock symbols, posters with portraits of rock stars, began to appear on the streets of our city in the early 1990s, as soon as the total control over ideology disappeared.

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Before that, the main source of music was tape cassettes and tape reels that we copied from each other. After a few copies, the quality of the recordings deteriorated to such an extent that it was difficult to hear the words of the songs, and there was no point in discussing high and low frequencies (but it was still a warm analog sound:)). Therefore, the same records, but copied using professional studio equipment, sold out instantly, disappearing from the shelves like hotcakes.

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The products that were sold in such stalls and stores looked unpretentious at first. The band's name was signed on a tape cassette with a ballpoint pen or a simple pencil, and the top of the graphic design was a typewritten song list.

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This situation was quickly remedied: the tape cassettes got specially printed bright covers, the range of music records expanded thanks to cooperation with young Russian rock bands. Now people came to these stores not only in search of better quality, but also to get acquainted with new music.

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Castle Rock store was founded in 1993 and now it is not only a store, it is a legend, a place which keeps the memory of thirty years of rock events, and also a meeting place for Russian rockers, a ground for informal communication and search for like-minded people.

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The store is located in the second courtyard, this unfortunate location is compensated by the wide popularity of the address in the rocker environment. In the first courtyard there is nothing that reminds us of rock music, except for a sign above the far arch and a lot of informal-type visitors. The arch leading into the second courtyard and the courtyard itself is decorated with bright graffiti.

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Above the main entrance to the store is a portrait of Mikhail Gorshenev, the founder of the horror-punk band "King and Jester". The songs of this band are very interesting in style, they are like horror fairy tales. The lyrics near the portrait : "I will live," he shouted, "Forever!" ("Я буду жить", - кричал он - "Вечно!”) is a line from the song "Return of the Sorcerer." Mikhail Gorshenev died at age 39 from the effects of drugs and alcohol.

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On the other wall is a long horizontal drawing dedicated to one of the oldest Russian rock bands, Alice, and a portrait of Keith Charles Flint, vocalist of the rock band The Prodigy. On the archway there are portraits of other famous rock musicians.

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The store is located in the basement and consists of two vast spaces, each with a separate staircase to go down. In the first room, a bulletin board hangs near the entrance: this is where musicians look for band members, songwriters and other like-minded people.

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Quotes from the announcements: "Band looking for vocals"; "Bassist find me!!!"; "All-consuming desire to play rock music is important"; "Normals please do not disturb."

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In the second room there are several showcases, which are a small museum. Here you can see a concert coat of Mikhail Gorshenev, once bought in this very store and later donated to the store for the exposition, other memorabilia, a wall with handprints of musicians.

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SmartphoneGoogle Pixel 3a
LocationSaint Petersburg, Russia

This is my entry for the #marketfriday challenge by @dswigle.

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