The Folks That Worked in Record Stores

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Tribute, Feb 25, 2018.

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  1. notesfrom

    notesfrom Forum Resident

    Location:
    NC USA
    Note he's filing that in the 'family-friendly' section; or maybe that's just the motto for the entire stock.

    Quite the transformation for the leather-clad, scruffy Beatles.
     
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  2. the pope ondine

    the pope ondine Forum Resident

    Location:
    Virginia
    used to shop at penguin feathers in Virginia back in the day, very mellow and down to earth people behind the counter (head shop upstairs so that might've had something to do with it) and those good ole .99 cent bins
     
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  3. John B Good

    John B Good Forum Hall Of Fame

    Location:
    NS, Canada
    I almost got to work in a good used record store. But the owner apologized and said he'd had to hire his brother-in-law :(
     
    DavidD likes this.
  4. RickA

    RickA Love you forever Luke, we will be together again

    Location:
    Tampa, FL
    The guys at Vinyl Fever Tampa Florida were the best. I missed them so much.
     
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  5. Tribute

    Tribute Senior Member Thread Starter

    There was a time when the serious record stores had experts in every major category of music, especially for classical and jazz - those styles where collectors were big on history. A few of these people in the biggest city stores had major influence on many fans developing tastes and interests over many years.
     
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  6. HappyFingers

    HappyFingers Forum Resident

    Location:
    London, England
  7. Joti Cover

    Joti Cover Forum Resident

    Bought many a record there in the late 70s....cheers!
     
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  8. Brian Lux

    Brian Lux One in the Crowd

    Location:
    Placerville, CA
    Those record store folks were and are a fine bunch, for sure.

    My first favorite record store was this little hole in the wall place near my house, back when just about every neighborhood had a little record shop. For pocket change you could go in and buy the latest single you like. I miss such places!

    Tower Records in Mountain View was a place I visited A LOT back in the 80's. Always great inventory and knowledgeable staff.

    When I lived in Santa Rosa, CA I used to spend a lot of time in The Last Record Store. They always had good stuff and that's where I first learned the phrase, "I enjoy the ritual of turning the record over" from one of the regular guys there. I went back later after they had moved and told the owner (great guy- can't remember his name) and asked what he had in the way of Ramones LPs. He said, "I can see why you're interested, you have a Ramones haircut", haha! That I picked up a new copy of Ramones Mania for a very reasonable sum.

    Red Devil Records in San Rafael CA is a great shop. Barry always has great stuff and sends weekly updates.

    Dimples on Arden and on Sunrise both in Sacramento are great places to go and very cool staff at both.

    Ron's Real Records in Grass Valley, CA is great and Ron is great- super nice guy, knows is stuff and is one cool cat!

    There are many more records stores and record store people I've been to and know and will list more as I think of them.

    Kudos to all my record store people!
     
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  9. notesfrom

    notesfrom Forum Resident

    Location:
    NC USA
    Doesn't look like a fun job, to me.

    Music lovers are cranks. :D
     
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  10. Tribute

    Tribute Senior Member Thread Starter

    That comes out of tradition. Without a crank in the place, no one gets to hear the music.

    [​IMG]
     
  11. Driver8

    Driver8 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Maine
    I worked in a record store PT while in college. It was a bigger chain, so we had some restrictions about what we played and promoted.
    My boss was a huge 80's metal fan and we are still friends to this day. Despite our difference in musical tastes, we both shared the same passion for the music we loved and respected that about one another.

    The promo material was great. I still own cds that we sent to us for promotion. We got free tickets to select concerts too. I loved those days.

    After graduation, I quit. About a year later I started again part time. Not because I needed the money, but because I loved working in a record store. The restrictions about what we could play in store relaxed. I still remember the day that I sold 4 copies of Wilco's Summerteeth, just by playing it in-store. There was one guy who would come in weekly and ask for recommendations for what to buy. It was flattering to have someone share my musical tastes.

    I'm friendly with a guy who has worked at local music stores for as long as I've known him. He turned me on to the Beach Boys and tons of great power pop. I'm grateful to know him. I recall many afternoons between classes in college, I'd drop in to the store that he worked in and he send me out of there with 6 great cds (3 for $10).

    I believe I'm currently friendly with a local owner. We talk records, I show him what I've purchased. He points me to great titles in his store that may have otherwise gone unnoticed. I'm in there 2-3 times per week. we talk about music, politics, small business ownership, what we found at local yard sales, etc. He's kind to me, allowing me to buy stuff before it's priced and on display. He helped me obtain a Led Zeppelin II (RL) for a very reasonable price. I bring my stuff to sell to him first. I know what he wants and can make a buck on.

    Discogs, eBay, and Amazon are all great, but you miss the human interaction. Sure, there are a few quirky folks out there (ex: the guy who stopped responding to me when I asked if he sold cds) but lots of great record store owners.
     
  12. elaterium

    elaterium Forum Resident

    The good reverend does have a terrific music collection. Dwight is a genius BTW.
     
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  13. Fender Relic

    Fender Relic Forum Resident

    Location:
    PennsylBama
    I never worked a record store (except to help my wife do inventory at her store) but I was surrounded by family and friends who did. My wife worked at and managed a store for 9 years 1977-1986. She still has close friends from those days. My oldest son worked in 4 different stores as he went thru HS and college. Our best friends worked one for many years....just had dinner with them tonight...friends for 40+ years.

    Record stores were my favorite hangs and I knew them all within a 100 mile radius. Usually they were a great place to meet musicians working the counters and bins or working musicians flipping the bins elbow to elbow and talking music the whole time. Our local chain store in the mid 70's to 90's was a great hang and hub of a close knit community. They worked together, partied together, helped each other do life together....great times.
     
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  14. Scott S.

    Scott S. lead singer for the best indie band on earth

    Location:
    Walmartville PA
    People that work in musical instrument stores are the worst humans on earth.
     
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  15. melstapler

    melstapler Reissue Activist

    One hard part of owning a record shop would probably be the constant struggle of selling versus keeping an item. I know it would be extremely hard for me to part with certain titles and it's nice to have the freedom to walk over and grab a particular title when you get the urge to listen.
     
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  16. melstapler

    melstapler Reissue Activist

    Definitely. I'd take the worst record store clerk over the best music instrument store clerk any day. Music instrument stores remind me of car dealers.
     
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  17. the pope ondine

    the pope ondine Forum Resident

    Location:
    Virginia

    agreed......except there was one tower record store where the staff thought they were actual rock stars and sneered at us mere mortals walking the aisles. but most record store personal were great (especially independent)
     
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  18. Chris DeVoe

    Chris DeVoe RIP Vickie Mapes Williams (aka Equipoise)

    My wife was working at a record distributor (a "one stop" in industry jargon) and would occasionally get other perks. She found this one jean vest digging through the back of our closet:

    [​IMG]
     
  19. melstapler

    melstapler Reissue Activist

    How neat! K.D. Lang forever!
     
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  20. Chris DeVoe

    Chris DeVoe RIP Vickie Mapes Williams (aka Equipoise)

    He and Rhonda used to be my downstairs neighbors.

    I was at the 30th anniversary party for KKFI-FM yesterday, and Dwight came up in conversation. I was reminded of Hunter Thomson's dictum that "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro."

    I'd worked with Dwight doing video on a number of his projects with BCR and shows at the Kemper, but I was more involved with his wife Rhonda's band The Psychowelders. We used to set up a big video screen behind the band displaying the output of an Amiga computer running this software called Invision Live processing the live captured video from a camera. We called it Psychovideo.

    Vickie was digging through the closet looking for KKFI t-shirts. She did find this neat Psychowelders shirt that is far too small for me to wear again.

    [​IMG]

    Black printing on a black t-shirt. Pretty freaking cool.

    elaterium, you know you're reinforcing my fringe theory that there are actually only 200 people in Kansas City.
     
    Last edited: Feb 26, 2018
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  21. Mr Bass

    Mr Bass Chevelle Ma Belle

    Location:
    Mid Atlantic
    I have been in all kinds of record stores across the US and in Canada and W Europe over the years but never found it that unique a store experience apart from the hunt for records of course. The period that had a different feel about it in terms of US record stores was in the 90s during the Vinyl Dark Ages. The vinyl phobia and CD celebration was at its peak and even friends and family wondered if there was something wrong with you still buying records.I actually bought a large number of records and backups in the early and mid 90s because I thought they would be difficult to find in later years (the internet wasn't really active yet until the late 90s). I'm speaking only of the US because overseas that was not the case.
     
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  22. Carl Swanson

    Carl Swanson Senior Member

    1969-1972, Pacific Records in Huntington Park, Inglewood and Hollywood, CA. HP was the only store when I started, and they bought Inglewood and Hollywood in the next year or two.

    A year or two after I left, they began the transformation to Peaches Records and Tapes.
     
    DavidD likes this.
  23. Audioresearch

    Audioresearch Forum Resident

    Every Saturday at 11 a clock in the morning I go to my local record shop in Hengelo.
    Popeyes Records. I meet other music lovers and I get a cup of coffee.
    Then Johan (the owner) get me some albums in a paper back. I listen to them at home.
    I buy some and I bring some back. This i do 20 years. I never get bored with it.
     
  24. melstapler

    melstapler Reissue Activist

    Mike Fratt (manager of Homer's Music in Omaha) is a great guy. Based on his similar taste in music and background in radio alone, I know @Tribute would hit it off very well with Mike. People frequently travel from other states to shop there and from what I understand, it's done quite well for an independent chain. I've logged countless hours and spent untold amounts and often think about their stores. Due to the nature of Omaha as a city, I've noticed that many folks will fight harder to preserve the music and fine arts scenes and that passion has kept the region alive and vibrant.
    [​IMG]
     
  25. Malinky

    Malinky Almost a Gentleman.

    Location:
    U.K.
    Bob Dylan at Budokan isn`t worth £5.99!
     
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