Super Bowl isn't the only event happening today. On a more bittersweet note around the same time as the Giants/Patriots game over in the UK is a big J Dilla fundraising tribute party - just one of numerous events scheduled this month, on both sides of the Atlantic, that will honor the greatly revered late hip-hop producer and emcee who died six years ago around this time (Feb 10th, 2006) following a battle with lupus. Fittingly money raised at the British Dilla event today, which is titled J Dilla Changed My Life and will be held at Scala in London, will be donated to both Lupus UK and the J Dilla Foundation with all the DJs performing for free to benefit both causes. Also in the house today will be Ma Dukes - the mother of the late great artist born  James Dewitt Yancey and was also known as Jay Dee (not to be confused with an early 90's European house music act of same name). For more exact details on today's London event, that will be hosted by Phat Kat, visit the official Facebook event page.

Other J Dilla tribute events this month include ones in Detroit, LA, Baltimore, San Francisco, and New York where on Feb 19th at the Brooklyn Bowl the sixth annual Donuts Are Forever celebration will start at 8pm and will feature such talents as DJ Neil Armstrong, Prince Paul, and the hip-hop group Tanya Morgan. Of this NYC accidentally annual event Derreck "Dee Phunk" Johnson,  a partner in Rare Form - the event's organizer, said, "We never went into this planning for it to be an annual series. The original Donuts Are Forever in 2007 was a commemoration of the first anniversary of his passing.  But when we witnessed the turnout, we were dumbfounded.  We were fans and we knew there were a ton of other fans out there...but just seeing the physical manifestation of that love blew us away.  And five years later...here we are on number six." Details.

Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving and traditionally one of the busiest shopping days of the year, is fast approaching. The folks at Record Store Day have helped to organize a series of exclusive items just for indie record stores to be released on Black Friday. The list is pretty big, so we wanted to highlight some of the titles and give you the chance to view or print the entire list (PDF) so you can be prepared on Friday November 25. Just a heads up that the stock may differ between the three stores as well. 


We will hold exclusive RSD releases behind our front counters. Line will form outside the store no earlier than 8 a.m. on Saturday. Product is limited to stock on hand and available to customers on a first come, first served basis. Limit one per title per customer. Store opens at 10:30 a.m.

Huge Black Friday Turntable Sale at Amoeba Hollywood! All turntables 20% off, plus even bigger deals on Audio-Technica LP 60 and Crosley Keepsake turntables. Limited to stock on hand. Friday 11/25 only.

We will feature exclusive RSD releases on our sales floor. Product is limited to stock on hand and available to customers on a first come, first served basis. Limit one per title per customer. Stores open at 10:30 a.m.

Hey y'all, there are still some of our Record Store Day treats left for sale on our website! Pick em up now so you don't miss out -- these are all limited edition releases in very limited quantities! This is just a sampling -- find all the titles right here!

Omar Rodriguez Lopez - Telestrion



Superchunk - Here's Where The Strings Come In [Remastered]



The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Fire



The Decemberists - Live At Bull Moose (CD)



New York Dolls - Fool For You Baby [Dom Dom Dippy] (7")

Photos by Kaitlin Layher and Ryan Stark
Words by Spenser Russell-Snyder

At 8am on Saturday, April 16th, crowds began to line up in front of the Berkeley store. They came to get their hands on the hundreds of new and exclusive records released on this year's 4th Annual Record Store Day.

In the first hour of being open, the "Broadway" aisle of the store was jam packed with people picking up 7-inches, LPs and even select 10-inches from the likes of 13th Floor Elevators, Big Star, The Rolling Stones, Nirvana, Grinderman, Phish, Wild Flag, The Beach Boys, as well as countless more from the hottest names in music, past and present.

But Rock 'N' Roll wasn't the only thing Amoeba Berkeley brought to Record Store Day this year. We also debuted a GIGANTIC used Jazz collection, filled with near mint original pressings from Horace Silver, Hank Mobley, Jackie McLean and literally thousands more! No matter what kind of music you were into on Saturday, we had what you wanted!

Amoeba was THE destination for Record Store Day events as well! At noon we had the legendary Al Jardine from the Beach Boys play a few songs and tell a few stories about the old days recording Smile and Pet Sounds. Al brought with him an exclusive 7-inch record to benefit the Red Cross' Japan relief effort. He ended up raising over $1,000 for the organization and thrilled long time fans by signing copies!