Jank Guitar Store offers 'build your own album' option

It's still a joy to play vinyl records on a turntable and stereo receiver I've had since high school, or even throw in the occasional cassette tape on another player in my basement.

Yes, I did graduate to CDs and eventually to an iPod and a Bose Bluetooth speaker. And no, there isn't an 8-track tape to be found in my home.

Still, the news coming out of The Jank Guitar Store in St. Charles about musical digital distribution and a "Build Your Own Album" option reaches into an area maybe slightly beyond my music tech skills.

Now offering its customers a "new music retail experience" through the release of the "Playlist: The Collection" platform, Jank is encouraging users to access lyrics and liner notes for songs and the aforementioned build-your-own option by choosing favorite songs from the digital collection.

Calling this digital music platform the first of its kind, Jank Guitar Store owner Scott Corbin believes it will bring more interest to guitar playing.

"I'm very proud of this piece of work because the main ingredient of this special genre called 'Jank' is guitar," Corbin said. "As a professional guitarist and someone who just loves and appreciates the instrument, a strong, defining guitar presence means a lot to me."

"Playlist: The Collection," a compilation of 82 songs performed by the group Casely and The Jank, represents the first album to be released on the guitar store's platform.

The album, which enjoyed more than 875,000 downloads upon release in Asia late last year, will be on a special limited release in St. Charles prior to a nationwide release in mid-June, Corbin said.

Available on the store's website, The Jank Guitar Store provides an MP3 version of the collection, plus a high-definition WAV audio file version of each song along with its artwork.

I'm left with this question. Will it play on my 45-year-old turntable?

Time for moo goo:

Having ordered sweet and sour chicken from China Wok in Geneva pretty much every time we go there, it was finally time to try something different.

And it was for this reason: I just felt like saying "moo goo gai pan." It sort of rolls off your tongue. But my wife wondered what it really was.

Other than it being quite tasty, I wasn't entirely sure what I was eating. It's been described as an American version of a Cantonese dish, and it certainly had all sorts of vegetables and some chicken chunks. So, that's essentially what it is.

And it's fun to say.

Weather and restaurants:

It might be difficult to gauge a town's Restaurant Week success or failure, but we do know this: Warmer weather brings out diners in droves.

The warm Saturday night prior to Geneva's Restaurant Week resulted in nearly every restaurant in town being packed. And that's a good thing.

St. Charles will have its Restaurant Week from Feb. 27 to March 3, while Batavia's is March 20 to 24.

Sure, we don't mind braving cold temperatures or snow in these parts, but a surprise dose of warm weather in the winter, especially on a weekend or during a week of restaurant specials, seems to be something we can't resist.

Dress drop-off:

Young women with prom dresses cluttering their closets can donate them to the Community Helpers Impacting People in Need (CHIP IN) organization in Batavia until Feb. 16 by dropping off gently used and clean dresses at the Batavia Public Library. Purses, jewelry, accessories and shoes are also accepted.

For four years, CHIP IN has collected used dresses to distribute to girls from throughout the area who may not otherwise be able to obtain a dress for their big high school event.

However, this year's giveaway of more than 200 free dresses is open to all girls, regardless of need.

After collecting the dress donations, the organization plans to host its dress giveaway from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Feb. 18 at the library.

dheun@sbcglobal.net