What is What Cheer?

What Cheer Records + Vintage + Antiques (Illustration by Leif Goldberg)
the scene above shows Rhode Island’s founder Roger Williams being
greeted by friendly Narragansett Indians who said “What Cheer, Netop?”
to Williams. in half-old-English and half-Narragansett, this means “Hi Neighbor”
(later becoming the slogan for Rhode Island brewery Narragansett Beer!)
our shop What Cheer? opened in 1999 with “What Cheer, Netop?”
as the inspiration for our store’s name. this phrase has long been celebrated
in Rhode Island and has been used in naming many different businesses
and things, including being used by the City of Providence, and also by a
marching band called the What Cheer? Brigade (which began in 2005).
here are some photos of what’s at What Cheer?
while it’s a little ways down the road, we’re gearing up
for the Holidays at What Cheer in Providence. among the
thousands of records we have in stock, we have a sizable selection
of Holiday and Christmas Records including “the” holiday classic
album ‘A Charlie Brown Christmas‘ by the Vince Guaraldi Trio.
click here to buy it online, or get it in store at What Cheer?
we got a batch of sealed 1988 remastered pressings
of this Holiday Classic on vinyl LP record albums. get yours
before they’re all gone!
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What Cheer Records + Vintage of Providence presents
the Somerville Rock + Roll Yard Sale on Sunday 7th September 2014
in Union Square – Somerville, Mass. this is the annual event
we do along with the Somerville Arts Council !
the hours are 11am – 5pm and it’s Free!
there will be Live Music by Reindeer (ex Swirlies / Scarce)
Michael Tarbox, Chris Monti and Keith McCurdy of Vudu Sister
and Spinning Vinyl all day will be DJ Subject To Change.
the Somerville Rock And Roll Yard Sale
Union Square Plaza
90 Union Square
Somerville, MA 02143
the Somerville Rock & Roll Yard Sale will feature a large number of
vendors selling Records + Vintage + DIY Handmade Goods and More!
you can even get a hand silk-screened poster of the design above featuring
Boston legend Ric Ocasek of the Cars by the one and only
Uncle Pete of Swampyankee Design.
ABSOLUTELY CREATIONS (Northborough,MA)
A NUBIAN NATION RECORDS (Dorchester, MA)
BIG PHIL’S RECORDS (Lowell, MA)
CHEERS 2 CHAIRS VINTAGE + RECORDS (Somerville, MA)
DAVID COLOMBO RECORDS (Somerville, MA)
DOM CASUAL RECORDS (Rye Brook, NY)
EMINENCE FRONT (Somerville, MA)
ESOTERICA JEWELRY (Somerville, MA)
EVOLUTION NOW HANDMADE + VINTAGE (MA)
EXILE CDs (Rye Brook, NY)
EYECANDY WEARABLE ART (Wrentham, MA)
GARRICK POTZ RECORDS (MA)
GINA’S CREATIONS (Cranston, RI)
HUNGER OF THE UNDEAD (Lincoln, RI)
I’M YOUR PRESENT (Providence, RI)
IN YOUR EAR RECORDS / CHRIS ZINGG (Warren, RI)
MAD’S LUCKY 13 (Medford, MA)
MARI GALLI (Cambridge, MA)
MEMORY RELICS (Roslindale, MA)
MIKE CURTIN CDs + RECORDS (Queensbury, NY)
MONKEY CHOW (East Boston, MA)
MUSIC GEMS (Newton, MA)
PRESCRIBED VINYL (Wellesley, MA)
RECORDS : THE GOOD KIND (Vernon, CT)
ROTTEN APPLES CRAFTS (Springfield, MA)
SOMERVILLE ARTS COUNCIL (Somerville, MA)
STUDEBAKER HAWK RECORDS (Western MA)
SWAMPYANKEE POSTERS (Portsmouth, RI)
SWIFT AND FAIRE CO. (Boston, MA)
THE MOUNTAIN MAKERS (Keene, NH)
TOMORROW’S PEOPLE VINTAGE (Somerville, MA)
TOT ROX (Somerville, MA)
UNION PRESS (Somerville, MA)
WEINBERG DESIGNS (Somerville, MA)
WHAT CHEER RECORDS + VINTAGE (Providence, RI)
WILDING DAVIS + COMPANY (Roslindale, MA)
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just in at What Cheer from Third Man Records is the
new LP ‘A Letter Home‘ by Neil Young. it was recorded in
Jack White / Third Man’s 1940s Recording Booth (think
Photo Booth, but it makes records and not photos).
the album is raw, primitive and real.
get this LP and many others from Third Man
at What Cheer? we’ve got White Stripes, Wanda Jackson
their recent Sun Records 7″ Reissues, and more!
on Saturday 3rd May 2014 What Cheer presents the
Providence Rock + Roll Yard Sale as part of the 4th Annual
InDowncity Providence Cinco de Mayo Block Party.
this event will feature a large number of vendors selling
Vinyl Records and other Music Memorabilia, great Vintage Goods
and DIY Handmade stuff. there will be food trucks, outdoor bars
plus a DJ and a Live Mariachi Band.
*
celebrate Record Store Day RSD14 at
What Cheer in Providence on Saturday 19th April!
we’ll have a Sale + Limited Edition RSD Releases
and Live In-Store Performances by Arc Iris
the Brother Kite andCotton Candy
along with lots of special limited edition
Record Store Day RSD 2014 vinyl releases, we’ll
also have a limited amount of the most-excellent new
Crosley Peanuts / Charlie Brown Cruiser Portable Turntables!
if you’re looking for one of these, let us know as we may
be able to arrange a pre-order for you.
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on Saturday 1st March 2014 at 6pmWhat Cheer? will
be hosting a Live In-Store Performance to celebrate the release
of the album ‘Island Intervals‘ by Providence’s Death Vessel
on Sub Pop Records. DV’s Joel Thibodeau is an old friend of
What Cheer’s and his new album is incredibly good!
Death Vessel’s ‘Island Intervals’ was recorded in Iceland
with the Sigur Rós people and sounds as otherworldly as their
own records. the album is officially released on Tues 25th February
and we’ll have it available at What Cheer? beginning then. it’ll
also be available on CD and LP at the in-store performance
on Saturday 1st March at What Cheer?
in the coming weeks we’ll be adding lots of
vintage Comic Books to our inventory at What Cheer?
featuring many titles published by Gold Key back in
the late 1950s – the mid 1960s
while we don’t order every new release, we often order stuff
that we’re fans of and are excited about. we’ll also special order anything
you’d like, so if there’s every anything we don’t have in stock, let us
know and we’ll order it for you. this week there were a handful of releases
that we were excited to bring to the bins at What Cheer.
Marissa Nadler ‘July’
Depeche Mode 180 gram Vinyl Reissues
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on Friday 29th November 2013 we’ll be Celebrating with a Sale
and a Special Black Friday Record Store Day Event at What Cheer?
in Providence. we’ll have Limited Edition Black Friday RSD Releases
and all Used Stuff at What Cheer will be 25% Off and New Stuff will be
10% Off and all Bargain LPs, 45s and 78s will be just 10 cents each
this One-Day-Only (all special Record Store Day items are excluded
from Sale). there will also be Live Music + the Event
is Sponsored by Narragansett Beer.
Black Friday 29th November 2013 open 10am-8pm.
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our Next Event will be Sunday 25th August
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What Cheer has Been on Thayer Street for 1-Year Now!
SUN 2 JUNE 2013
we’re Celebrating our 1-Year Anniversary of being at our
New Location on Thayer Street on Sunday 2nd May from Noon-5pm.
it’s been great being here at Thayer and Angell Streets and we
really appreciate everyone’s support in making the New Location
a Success. stop in and help us Celebrate this Milestone!
click here for our facebook event page
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TUESDAY 28 MAY 2013
Holy Happy Hollisters, Batman! we just got in a
bunch of Nice Copies of vintage Happy Hollister books
all with Original Dustjackets !
we got in 23 Different Happy Hollister Books most of which are pictured here
# 1 The Happy Hollisters
# 2 The Happy Hollisters on a River Trip
# 3 The Happy Hollisters at Sea Gull Beach
# 4 The Happy Hollisters and the Indian Treasure
# 5 The Happy Hollisters at Mystery Mountain
# 8 The Happy Hollisters at Circus Island
# 9 The Happy Hollisters and the Secret Fort
#12 The Happy Hollisters and the Old Clipper Ship
#13 The Happy Hollisters at Lizard Cove
#14 The Happy Hollisters and the Scarecrow Mystery
#15 The Happy Hollisters and the Mystery of the Totem Faces
#16 The Happy Hollisters and the Ice Carnival Mystery
#17 The Happy Hollisters and the Mystery in Skyscraper City
#18 The Happy Hollisters and the Mystery of the Little Mermaid
#19 The Happy Hollisters and the Mystery at Missile Town
#20 The Happy Hollisters and the Cowboy Mystery
#21 The Happy Hollisters and the Haunted House Mystery
#23 The Happy Hollisters and the Castle Rock Mystery
#25 The Happy Hollisters and the Swiss Echo Mystery
#27 The Happy Hollisters and the Punch and Judy Mystery
#28 The Happy Hollisters and the Whistle Pig Mystery
#30 The Happy Hollisters and the Mystery of the Golden Witch
#31 The Happy Hollisters and the Mystery of the Mexican Idol
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SUN 5 MAY 2013
Cinco de Mayo Providence Rock + Roll Yard Sale
on Sunday 5th May 2013 What Cheer Presents the Cinco de Mayo
Providence Rock + Roll Yard Sale + Block Party! this is the place to be
on Sunday. besides a Rockin’ Block Party, there will also be lots of
great Local Vendors selling Records + Vintage + DIY Handmade
the Event is from Noon-6pm and it’s Free Admission!
for Record Store Day we’ve ordered many of the ultra-rare special
limited edition vinyl releases. getting these records is always quite the
ordeal, and nobody ever gets everything they’d like to, but we’ve
just unpacked and priced what we did get and we’re psyched!
we carry Crosley Record Players at What Cheer. we’ve got 2 Models available in an assortment of colors. these are portable, affordable + adorable!
the band LOW has long been a favorite of us at What Cheer.
this wonderfully moody Duluth, Minnesota band has been around since 1993 and are signed to Sub Pop Records these days. you can buy their new album Low ‘The Invisible Way’ at What Cheer Records + Vintage in Providence, Rhode Island. right now we’ve got the “Loser Edition” in stock on Vinyl LP Records. these copies are pressed onto Colored Vinyl
and come with a free mp3 download of the entire album
and it comes with a Free Bonus EP on CD as well!
for years, Thayer Street was a mecca for Music Lovers. great stores like
In Your Ear and others offered bins of Vinyl and CDs with a dash of attitude throughout the ’80s and ’90s until being squeezed out by greedy landlords. back in the day, local record stores would often host “in-store performances” to help promote local music. What Cheer? is reviving this tradition on Saturday 9th March by presenting a special In-Store Performance by the Providence group the Detroit Rebellion to celebrate the release of their new EP ‘Fork In The Road’ which you can download and/or hear here. the live performance will be at 4pm and our friends at Narragansett Beer are Sponsoring the Event so we’ll have some of their bubbly goodness on hand! click here for the event page for this.

What Cheer carries the Book “New England Breweriana”
Among the Many Books that are available at What Cheer? in Providence, RI is a true gem called ‘New England Breweriana‘ which is co-written by friends of What Cheer?’s Ed and Greg Theberge. This Book is “the Bible” for collectors of New England Beer / Brewery Items, including those of Narragansett Beer, Hanley’s Ale, Etc. Buy this Book at What Cheer Antiques + Vintage! it’s $30 and In-Stock Now (also Available through Mail Order).
This comprehensive book showcases the advertising legacy of over two hundred New England breweries, featuring a multitude of exquisite lithographs, trays, signs of all types, cans, bottles, foam scrapers, tap knobs, and other items produced during the last 100+ years. A foreword by noted breweriana author Will Anderson starts off this beautifully illustrated book, while the text provides background information about company history as well as the items presented. Dimensions, dates, and values are provided in the captions. Among the wonderful array of companies included are Cremo, Largay, Wehle, Frank Jones, Eldredge, Haffenreffer, Hampden, Van Nostrand, Narragansett, and Hanley. Breweriana and advertising buffs alike will delight in the colorful memorabilia from brewers of the past who once fiercely competed for market dominance.

get ‘Oblivion Hunter’ by Lightning Bolt at What Cheer in Providence
the band Lightning Bolt is to many the “Sound of Providence” and has remained awesome since 1994. we’ve got their new album ‘Oblivion Hunter’ in stock on Vinyl at What Cheer? and below you can hear a track from this killer Lp.
just in at What Cheer? are copies of Chickfactor 17 – the 20th-Anniversary Issue featuring interviews with grass widow, joe pernice, frankie rose, joe boyd, black tambourine, liam hayes and plush, rachel blumberg, bill callahan, sharon van etten, tae won yu, caitlin moran, maira kalman, fence records, king creosote; a jukebox jury with the corin tucker band; lots of silly polls and tons of reviews!

Chickfactor 17 is Available in Providence at What Cheer?

Just In at What Cheer are 1950s ‘La Vie Parisienne French Pinup Magazines!
we’ve got a huge stack of these Incredible 1950s ‘La Vie Parisienne’ Magazines. they’re all in nice shape and are $15 Each. the whole batch will soon be priced and available at What Cheer?
this was a French weekly magazine founded in 1863 and popular at the start of the 20th century. It was originally intended as a guide to upper class and artistic life in Paris, but it soon evolved into a mildly risqué erotic publication. It featured the artworks of Georges Barbier, Gerda Wegener, Chéri Hérouard, Georges Léonnec, Maurice Milliere, Sacha Zaliouk, Umberto Brunelleschi, Fabien Fabiano, Léo Fontan, René Vincent, Vald’Es (Valvérane & D’Espagnat), Joseph Kuhn-Régnier, Armand Vallée, Louis Vallet, and Zyg Brunner.
What Cheer? is a Place to Explore, with Drawers upon Drawers Full of
All Sorts of Fun Stuff. Here are some pictures of the sorts of things you might
find. If you’re looking for Inspiration or Supplies for an Art Project,
maybe we’ve got just what you didn’t know you wanted.