Midwest Exclusive Color Variant
Maggot
Brain
Funkadelic
Tape restoration at 54 Sound Studios, Ferndale, MI
Lacquer cut at Elysian Masters, Pasadena, CA
Independent Record Stores Only
Midwest exclusive
The Record That Never
Stopped Playing
In July 1971, Funkadelic walked into United Sound Studios in Detroit and recorded one of the most extraordinary guitar records ever made. George Clinton told 21-year-old Eddie Hazel to play like his mother had just died. What came out was ten uninterrupted minutes of grief, fury and transcendence — recorded in a single take. The album hit the Billboard R&B Top 20 on release. Then it kept going. Fifty years later it still sounds like it was recorded this morning.
Cleveland's Midnight Ritual
No city took this record in the way Cleveland did. Beginning in 1976, DJ Bill "B.L.F. Bash" Freeman started spinning Maggot Brain in full on 100.7 WMMS — first at 3:30 AM Saturday nights, eventually settling around last call Sunday mornings. He ran that tradition for nearly two decades. Cleveland bars would empty out. People would sit in parking lots with the radio all the way up.
When WMMS moved on, 98.5 WNCX carried the torch. Mr. Classic on the Saturday Night House Party began playing it shortly before midnight every Saturday — a tradition that held for more than 20 years. In Cleveland, Maggot Brain at midnight is a ritual.
A New Generation Deserves This
Vinyl is having its moment, and not just among the people who remember it the first time. A whole new generation of collectors is discovering independent record stores, digging through crates and learning what it means to own music that demands your full attention. Maggot Brain is exactly the kind of album that stops a new collector cold. They pick it up, read two sentences about it, and they have to hear it. That generation deserves a pressing this good.
About This Pressing
Mastering engineer Dave Gardner and tape restoration specialist Catherine Vericolli spent weeks at 54 Sound Studios in Ferndale, Michigan getting the original 1971 master tapes back into shape before anyone cut a single groove. Lacquers were then cut directly from tape machine to lathe by Gardner and Vericolli at Elysian Masters in Pasadena, CA. Most reissues don't work that way — and you can hear it.
The Stores That Keep This Music Alive
The Vinyl Groove Records has always been about more than the records on the shelf. Supporting independent stores — the people who know their regulars by name, who still get excited when a good collection walks through the door, who keep entire genres breathing — that's the whole point. This pressing brings 24 independent record stores across the Midwest together around one iconic album. The kind of community-first thinking that makes independent retail worth fighting for.
David pays attention. After years behind the counter at TVGR, he's had more conversations with collectors than he can count — watching what gets swept up the moment it hits the floor and what sits. Maggot Brain is one of those albums that almost never makes it to the shelf.
Family owned and operated since 1980. One of the largest stores in the USA, stocking wide varieties of new and used records, CDs and cassettes.
Bio coming soon.
Culture Clash opened weeks after its founder closed Boogie Records in 2004. Now in downtown Toledo, it's the city's favorite record store and home to frequent live music events.
Culture Shock Clothing & Records has been bringing vintage finds and mind-expanding genres of vinyl to Rockford, Illinois for 20 years. Every piece of music, stereo gear and knick knack on the shelves tells as many stories as the customers do.
Metro Detroit's oldest operating record store, in business since 1956.
Since 1972, Down In The Valley has provided the Minneapolis metro with the freshest selection of new and used vinyl, CDs and movies, along with smoking accessories, shirts, posters and more.
Opened 9 years ago and been kicking at it ever since.
The Electric Fetus has been a gathering place for music heads and counter-culturists in Minnesota since 1968 — a place to get turned on to something a little out of the ordinary, with a comprehensive selection of new and used CDs, DVDs and LPs.
Flipside Records — over 46 years in the record business.
Found Sound is a full service shop catering to the needs of all music lovers.
The Government Center is a record store, live venue and community hub for all things music in Pittsburgh.
Late Nite Records has the records you've been digging for. New and used vinyl 7 days a week, open until midnight.
LUNA music is a 31-year-old, full-service Vinyl LP/CD/Cassette shop, stocking new and pre-loved titles. Voted Best Record Shop eight years in a row by NUVO Newsweekly, twice mentioned in the New York Times and featured in The New Yorker's 2025 Holiday Gift Guide.
Mill City Sound is an independent brick and mortar record store buying and selling new and used vinyl and CDs.
Independent record store and label from Cleveland, OH. Specializing in used records ranging from common to impossible to find, plus new releases. Also a community and store space for the West side.
My Mind's Eye, a record store in beautiful Lakewood, Ohio.
Family owned business at this location for 40 years. In business since 1966 — one of the oldest record stores in Chicago.
Chicago institution with 3 locations. Here since 1989.
Opened in October 1980 as the successor to White Records, which opened in 1973. Located in Niles, Ohio, The Record Connection has been the go-to place for music lovers from all over the area. Selling new and preowned LPs, CDs, tapes, turntables and speakers. Proudly celebrating Record Store Day since 2008, with in-store appearances by the Foo Fighters and Joe Walsh in 2015.
Third Man Records Detroit opened in 2015, housing a record and novelties lounge, mastering studio and Third Man Pressing manufacturing facility.
Established in 1986 in Columbus, Ohio, and 100% independently operated, Used Kids Records is a bona fide Midwest institution and a cultural beacon for music lovers of all ages and tastes.
Independent new and used record shop in Sterling Heights, MI. Opened in 2017 in Warren, MI before relocating to Sterling Heights in 2024.
Since 2004, Waiting Room Records has been the leading independent record store in Normal, Illinois — stocking new vinyl, CDs, cassettes, movies, books and more, plus buying and selling used records and rare special orders.
Welcome Back Records carries new and preowned media alongside vintage clothing and full audio equipment sales and service through their Hardcore Hi Fi division.
Frequently Asked Questions
Everything you need to know about this pressing.
What is the Maggot Brain Midwest Exclusive color variant?
A limited color vinyl pressing of Funkadelic's 1971 masterpiece, coordinated by The Vinyl Groove Records in Cleveland and available exclusively through independent record stores across the Midwest. The pressing features a brown base with pink splatter — a color variant made specifically for this release.
Where can I buy the Maggot Brain Midwest Exclusive vinyl?
The pressing is available at 24 independent record stores across Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota and Pennsylvania. See the full list of participating stores on this page.
When does the Maggot Brain Midwest Exclusive release?
September 11, 2026. Available at 24 independent record stores across the Midwest. Only 600 copies pressed worldwide, exclusively for Midwest independent record stores.
Is this a new remaster of Maggot Brain?
Yes. Mastering engineer Dave Gardner and tape restoration specialist Catherine Vericolli restored the original 1971 master tapes at 54 Sound Studios in Ferndale, Michigan, then cut lacquers directly from tape machine to lathe at Elysian Masters in Pasadena, CA — mastered from the original tapes, cut direct to analog.
What makes this Maggot Brain pressing different from other reissues?
Most reissues of Maggot Brain have been mastered from digital transfers of the original tapes. This pressing uses the actual 1971 master reels, physically restored and cut direct to lacquer — the record the way it was meant to sound from the beginning.
Why does Maggot Brain have a special connection to Cleveland?
Since 1976, DJ Bill 'B.L.F. Bash' Freeman played Maggot Brain in full on 100.7 WMMS every Saturday night for nearly two decades. 98.5 WNCX later carried the tradition, with Mr. Classic playing it before midnight every Saturday on the Saturday Night House Party for over 20 years. In Cleveland, Maggot Brain at midnight is a ritual.
Who was Eddie Hazel?
Eddie Hazel was Funkadelic's lead guitarist — 21 years old when he recorded the Maggot Brain guitar solo in a single take at United Sound Studios in Detroit in 1971. George Clinton told him to play like his mother had just died. The result is one of the most transcendent guitar performances ever recorded. Hazel died in 1992 at age 42.
Is this pressing available outside the Midwest?
No. This is a Midwest-exclusive color variant available only through the 24 participating independent record stores listed on this page. It will not be available through national retail chains or online marketplaces.
Local? Join us at noon 9.19.26
The Midwest Exclusive pressing of Maggot Brain lands September 11. If you're in Cleveland, come pull your copy in person. Doors open at 11, and there's a special noon moment you won't want to miss. Brown and pink splatter, 600 copies, gone before you know it.
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