Despite the morning rain, which was heavy enough to cause flooding in some areas, I headed out to the Northside neighborhood of Cincinnati to visit Shake It Records, one of two popular independent record stores in the city. Shake It is not only a retail store, but also an indie label, with a small catalogue consisting mostly of local punk and indie bands, as well as a few CD reissues built around the city’s soul and country music scenes. The store is truly awesome, with a music book selection and plenty of new and used CD’s upstairs, then a really cool basement downstairs full of new and used vinyl. Down the block and across the street is Sidewinder Coffee, a local Cincinnati coffee bar with some sweets and a limited food menu, which makes a great place to sit down with a latte after an hour of record shopping.