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Innersleeve Records, Amagansett
best for a trip out East
For many Long Islanders, Innersleave Records is a bit out of reach for regular visits, and owner Greg Wright empathizes with them. He said he fairly compensates any westward islanders who travel to the island’s most eastern record store in Amagansett. “We’re out here in the sticks so we like to give a little extra incentive for coming the extra miles, the extra time,” he said. “And it’s beautiful, it’s a great day trip to take out here, not to mention the potential to rub shoulders with a celebrity or musician in here.”
After working in record stores since he was 12, Wright opened Innersleeve in 2012 and said he is looking to open a second location elsewhere on the island, an effort sidetracked by the COVID-19 pandemic.
He said the pandemic also made acquiring and maintaining inventory difficultly, an issue he had not experienced his first eight years in business. It also became difficult to acquire and sell second-hand guitars and new gear, and Wright closed the listening station he had set up for customers.
While most record stores on this list separate their stock of new and used records, ring worn old pressings and freshly wrapped new pressings of the same albums rest back to back in the same bin.
“We have found that people will sometimes surprise themselves and buy something they didn’t expect to buy because it was in front of them,” he said “I think its better mentally to see the full catalogue than to think you have to look in multiple places to get it all taken care of.”
Outside the shop, passers-by are welcome to take from the free record bin. They may not find the best selection there, as Wright explained it is filled with items he “can’t even get a buck for,” mostly beat-up easy-listening records. However, he said various community members find a way to turn the trash into treasure.
“We have a big artist community here and people grab covers and made artwork and collages,” Wright said “Somebody took records and painted them and put them up on all these telephone poles with different messages. Some people get really excited about it.”
Innersleeve Records will carry new RSD releases this year.
