People join book clubs in order to find new books to read and meet other readers. So why aren’t there any record clubs for people who want to find new music and meet other fans?
Starting Nov. 5, there will be. The “Record Club” is the idea that Madison’s Jody Berndt came up with, a monthly get-together where music fans talk about an album – not only with each other, but with the musicians themselves.
The record club kicks off with Ezra Furman’s “Goodbye Small Head” at 7 p.m. Nov. 5 at Lola’s Hi/Lo Lounge, with Furman joining in via Zoom. Come at 6:30 p.m. for a public birthday party for longtime Madison concert fan Marco Pogo, a pogo-sticking presence at local rock shows for over 40 years.
I recently caught up with Berndt to get the scoop on her new club and how it came to be.
How did you come up with the idea of the record club?
As someone who’s almost 50, it’s really hard to make friends. I really love music and started going to all these shows by myself. I started seeing a lot of the same people, and you sort of build this sense of community. There’s people in this community who know a lot about music. Their wealth of knowledge [goes] way back.
So my hope is the record club brings together everyone from the spectrum of someone like me, who is really new to discovering music, and these hardcore music nerds who can come in and share their vantage point. It puts everybody on a level playing field.
What do you see your role as?
I’m just the facilitator. My role is to guide the discussion gently. If someone goes off randomly talking about their cat for too long, I can gently circle it back. Sometimes you talk about other things besides the record, but I do want to keep it a little more focused on the topic at hand.
Should people listen to the album before they come?
It would be ideal if they do, obviously. I guess if you don’t, you’re still going to get something out of it, because you’re going to listen to the discussion. Then I guess you could go back and listen to it afterwards. But it’s going to be a good vibe anyway.
How did you bring Marco Pogo into it?
I’m really excited to have Marco Pogo’s birthday party a half-hour ahead of the club. He’s been on the scene for a long time. I’m excited to give him a little spotlight. If people show up early, you don’t have to know him to get to know him.
What else should people know about the club?
Remember when you were a kid and there was the “Book It” program at Pizza Hut? They would give you little stars for every book you read, and you’d collect them on this little button. And when you collected five stars, you got a free personal pan pizza.
So I’ve actually made buttons that mimic the Pizza Hut button. So my idea is that people come and get their stars and their button. When they come five times, they get to put a record album recommendation in a hat, and they get the chance to choose the album we cover one month. And Lola’s will also give you a little pizza.
