It’s About Record Shops.
18.
Welcome to Deluxe. It’s a funny old process putting each issue together. We always start off with a few people we’d like to talk to, or we follow up on personal recommendations for shops we want to meet, but it’s always fascinating how each seemingly unconnected set of articles always manages to, well… connect. It leads us to firmly believe that record shops remain at the centre of the universe and intrinsically link everything of any worth. Whilst out for a drink with our good friend James, we discussed Anacortes’s Karl Blau and K Records (of neighbouring Olympia) at some length, Karl becoming an accidental touchstone in both of this issue’s shop profiles as both guest and staff. The same night we reminisced about historic Totnes shops, the same ones that we’d end up taking Joe Mount on a ghost tour of, and ones that stocked the self-same single that was Jane Weaver’s first purchase back in February 1982. Before we started all of this was unknown to us, but as ever, it’s all about record shops.
www.deluxenewspaper.com Interviewed, edited and compiled by The Drift Record Shop Designed by jenny@atworkportfolio.co.uk Illustrations by Lee O’Connor Sub edited by Lu Overy Printed by Newspaper Club Distributed by Forte Music Distribution © 2019 Deluxe Newspaper
Contents. 22 - 25
I can’t remember anything other than it was probably the late 1980s and everyone liked the Stone Roses. Interview: Jane Weaver
6 - 11
Packing up, settling in and DIY. Shop Profile: Lost Padre, New Mexico
26 - 31
The world needs more record stores, not less. Shop Profile: The Business, Washington
12 - 20
Ghost Tour Interview: Metronomy
DELUXE 18.
Shop Profile.
Lost Padre
Lost Padre Photos - Zippy Guerin
New Mexico, USA
Shop Profile.
George Casey opened Lost Padre Records in the early summer of 2018, quickly becoming a Santa Fe, New Mexico highlight. So quickly in fact that he outgrew his first store and needed a new home. We caught up mid-migration to talk packing up, settling in and DIY.
GC: A few local friends here plus a couple of regular record store helpers: Jono Berssenbrugge and Morgan Jacobs. The funny part is that Morgan actually painted the same space we’re moving into 2 years ago for a different business so I guess she’s got the experience to help! D: (laughing) Man… I fucking hate moving. Moving records is a horrendous task isn’t it? GC: Yes, records are heavy! The standard box for records here in the US comes from Uhaul (a DIY moving service) which holds about 95 LPs, making them typically weigh 60 pounds each. I wear a lifting belt for that reason, having thrown out my back once before. D: What are you most excited about? GC: The energy of the new location is pretty exciting. I loved our first spot but it was on a noncommercial strip next to some legal offices and across from an elementary school (whose kids were just a little young for Metallica LPs). The new location is in one of the busiest shopping centres in town, and we’re sandwiched between the best coffee shop and a new hard kombucha / beer bar. The space is also a bit bigger and better laid out than the previous shop, so that is going to be very cool. D: Have you changed the Lost Padre offering/ dynamic at all?
GC: We’ll have more titles in stock, and more new titles especially. It’s hard to offer new albums Deluxe: So this is an interesting interview for us, when the wholesale cost is high and there are no as you are technically a closed record store aren’t returns, but this new space offers more visibility you! Tell us first of all, how is moving going? for the audience most likely to buy new releases George Casey: It’s going well! We are moved into (customers aged 25-45). our new space and are putting some finishing D: What was the process for moving? Was it touches before we get open. We expect to be fully enforced? Or did you just hit a point where you open by Friday September 20th at the latest. needed to change it up? D: Are you any good at DIY? GC: It was a bit of both, actually. I had decided GC: No, I am not unfortunately! I grew up after our first year or so, which was pretty good with parents whose DIY skills barely included but levelling off in terms of sales, that we needed hammering nails into the wall. I’m lucky to have a to move to a more convenient and visible location. lot of friends who are carpenters, painters, etc. At about the same time, the business we shared D: Skills aside, do you actually like a little bit of the last space with, a skateboard shop, closed down. And this new space became available as painting and decorating? GC: Even though I’m no good at it, I did enjoy the well. So it seemed the obvious way to go. painting part. When you’re painting with an idea D: Let’s go backwards, how did you end up in Santa of what you’re putting in that space, it’s exciting to Fe? You were previously New York based right? see your colour going up. GC: Yeah, I lived in New York for about 11 years D: Who have been your best moving buddies? before moving to Santa Fe. I quit an office job DELUXE 18.
Lost Padre about four years ago now to sell records full time; at the time I was selling records online from my home in Brooklyn. My wife and I decided we wanted to move somewhere a bit more affordable and less populated than NYC so we set off on a multi-month road trip in the US, mostly through the Southeast. We tacked on a few days out West as we wanted to take the time to see New Mexico and Utah. While we had been to Santa Fe before, we never considered moving here until we visited on the road trip and enjoyed it so much. A friend of a friend set us up with a sublet in the hills above Santa Fe for a couple of months and we suddenly felt like we didn’t want to leave.
New Mexico, USA
in small clubs in bars. In NYC I DJed and booked bands, mostly garage rock and punk bands. So music has mattered a lot to me for a long time and I had daydreamed about opening a physical shop for years before doing so in 2018. D: Before you owned one, had you worked behind the counter before? GC: No! I had actually never worked at a record store. However I spent countless hours in a few of them over the years, particularly my college record store, Rhino Records in Claremont, California (still there) and a flea market booth in Ladson, South Carolina (near my parents’ home). Sometimes I’d spend 3 or 4 hours at a time in these places so I kind of picked up how they ran a bit.
D: What most resonated about Santa Fe? GC: We came to Santa Fe because we liked the pace of life, and stunning natural beauty and because it was affordable (at least compared to New York!). But the local environment seemed ripe for the kind of record store I wanted to open as well.
D: It’s quite a bold move opening a store... how did it all come together? GC: I had always wanted to open a store because while I am into the collecting element of records, the social aspect is of equal value to me. I’m a pretty outgoing person and I love to talk about music. I also kind of think the record store has an important community function for people to come and meet each other, hear local music and find their place. As it happens, I was selling online after we moved to Santa Fe and a local friend introduced me to a guy who owned a skateboard shop in a historic house in the city center. The house had an open space, like a big living room, perfect for a small retail shop and the skateboard shop owner and I hit it off immediately. The rent was pretty affordable and it just seemed like the right thing to do so six months after arriving in Santa Fe, I found myself with a shop!
D: Pre New Mexico, what was your connection to the music world?
GC: There’s a family connection: my grandfather was one of the first rock’n’roll DJs. Having served as a Marine in WWII, he got out in 1945 and went to college on the GI Bill, studying communications. He was from Cleveland and went to work at a local radio station where a somewhat famous DJ named Alan Freed also worked. Freed taught my grandfather about rock’n’roll and suggested he move to a city that didn’t have it and start a station. He decided to move to South Carolina where he started a radio, and later, TV station. He had one of those terrific “radio voices” we hear less and less D: What would be your advice to anyone looking these days. But he was into all kinds of music from to open their own store? classical to Elvis. GC: Think carefully about what kind of shop you’re D: I have heard Alan Freed mentioned a few times, going to open: who are your customers going to I’ll be sure to look him up as I love a good radio be and what are their lives like? I’ve learned a lot voice. So family was an influence? in the first year by just doing it but I kind of had GC: Well, I got the music bug in college in an idea of what kind of store it was going to be. California in the late 90s. At the time, most people For example, there are stores that cater to hi-fi/ were dumping their vinyl for CDs, so you could buy audiophile junkies-- prices are higher but it’s more amazing things for a $1 even at record stores. I of a niche. There are also stores that specialize in quickly got hooked on the analogue format and a genres: metal or jazz, for example. My shop does little later started obsessing over rare and obscure a little of everything with a focus generally on the 45s, mostly from the 50s and 60s. Garage bands stuff I like, so it’s not everyone’s perfect shop but it and little known regional soul singers were of great covers a fairly wide audience. But if your town has interest and I amassed a collection of thousands a shop like that already, maybe look for the target of those records, eventually ending up as a DJ audience that’s not being served so well.
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DELUXE 18.
Shop Profile.
Lost Padre
D: For someone who hasn’t visited yet, what is the album, consider it our fault. vibe at Lost Padre Records? D: How about weird records you’ve picked up? GC: We are a friendly, low key shop. While everyone GC: We’ve gotten a lot of great collections in involved is knowledgeable about records and recently, and too many stories to recount here. So music, we are not curmudgeons or snobs! I like the most interesting recently were the records of a everything from lounge to psychedelic folk, but I guy who moved to Taos in the 80s to make a Dennis will talk to you about the Beatles if you want. Hopper documentary but ended up partying with him too much to finish it; a fellow in his early 70s D: (laughing) Sure… which is your favourite one? GC: Tough one. I’d go with Ringo because he’s who was a close friend of William Burroughs with just out there enjoying living! If it’s favourite songs, a collection spanning dixieland to hardcore punk; it’s probably Lennon. First solo album is probably and a guy who used to take pictures of people my favourite solo Beatles, followed by Wings’ first at Andy Warhol’s Factory who designed the tour poster for the Sex Pistols’ one US jaunt! There’s record. really no end to the stories we hear... we’re hoping D: As a sort of mission statement, what is important to start publishing an occasional zine with some to you in how you set up Lost Padre? of the best tales. GC: It’s essential to be an open and friendly place. D: I encourage everyone to make zines. How about A place where a fanatic or someone just getting instore shows at Lost Padre? into records can co-exist. I do want there to be unusual stuff as well, not just the classic rock GC: We’ve had some amazing musicians play in staples. If you’re going to a shop, you want to the store. Last winter, I got a message on a very see something you don’t know that might end up cold Sunday that indie troubadour Karl Blau (K Records) was coming through town and looking being amazing. for a show on a Monday. We’re not even open D: How about as a customer, what do you look for? Mondays but I said sure! It was so last minute and GC: As a customer, I look for just that - something the weather so bad it ended up being maybe 20 interesting I don’t know. That’s a lot of the fun. of us but Karl played an amazing set of Waylon And I like a relaxed, open vibe. I don’t have a lot Jennings tunes. We also had Earl Ball in the shop; of patience for shops where the purpose seems Ball was Johnny Cash’s piano player from the late to be boosting the owner’s ego or putting people 70s to the late 80s. He had mountains of stories down. and played for two hours! And was a very nice D: What was your wildest experience behind the fellow to boot! counter at Lost Padre? D: That’s so funny. We spoke to The Business in GC: We’ve had some interesting times in the past Anacortes, Washington only the other day and Karl year and a half! A few months ago, a middle aged - many moons ago - worked behind their counter! guy comes in and starts stacking up cheap classic GC: That sounds right! We had Karl back a few rock LPs - the Carpenters, Bee Gees, America, months ago for a bigger show. He always delivers etc. Probably 20-30 LPs. He points to a Velvet and is a sweet dude. Underground & Nico first pressing on the wall and D: What stores have particularly inspired you? asks “Why is that one so valuable?” So I explain the Who do you admire? background of the Andy Warhol sleeve, first versus GC: That’s a great question because some stores second pressing, etc. Later when he’s checking really leave an impression. The record dealer I out he mentions he’s on vacation between tours. used to visit weekly in South Carolina, in the early So I ask him what band he plays in. The Cowboy 2000s, was named Larry. He was a Vietnam vet Junkies! What’s strange about this is that the from the Pacific Northwest and he knew his stuff. Cowboy Junkies are probably most famous for a I spent six or seven hours each Sunday going cover of the Velvet Underground, so I was a little through his thousands of 45s; he was endlessly surprised to find he had never heard about the patient, friendly and a fair pricer. It was a booth in rarity of the first album! a flea market but the place was filled up with his D: (laughing) That’s so trippy. personality. It was a great honour to buy his stock GC: If they cover the Carpenters on their next out for my business and one of the record shelves DELUXE 18.
10.
New Mexico, USA
and I was living in Corpus Christi, Texas, which is pretty weird too. There was a used CD store that was great because you could request any title. They’d put you in the computer and call you if anyone brought in a USED copy! They also had a weird service where they shaved your CDs if they skipped, but I digress... It didn’t have a lot of atmosphere. I also used to go to a chain of shops called Half Priced Books (still going) for used vinyl. I did like those stores because books always make for a cosy shop experience.
from that booth is a Lost Padre shelf today.
In terms of shops in the US, I was just back to NYC for a visit and there are a few worth a mention: Academy Records continues to be a good bigger shop. For smaller scale, I like Record Grouch and Almost Ready records as well. These are all run by people I try to emulate because they know what they are doing! Elsewhere I think Permanent Records in LA, Burger Records in Anaheim CA, Wooden Tooth in Tucson and Wax Trax in Denver are great, and overseas nothing is like Groovie Records in Lisbon, Portugal - they are both a D: Why do you think record stores matter these used shop and reissue label and they do amazing days? What purpose do they serve? things. GC: It’s no secret that society is more and more D: Does it feel like a good community of stores in fragmented all the time. We spend endless hours the States? staring into little screens in the palms of our GC: To some extent it does. I get visited by dealers hands, and we’re told that we’re “connecting” with and I visit shops anywhere I go. Like anything there the world and other people in this way. I personally are personalities involved but I have definitely met believe that we’re losing something of pretty huge some very cool people at some smaller shops value which is the personal connections you make while travelling. There is definitely a certain kind in face to face meetings. There’s a randomness of person who owns a small record shop and we to the old retail experience that goes beyond the understand each other a bit. algorithm dreamt up in a distant tech startup that D: How about more personally, what was your first simply can’t be replaced. For example, people record shopping experience? have bumped into each other at my shop who GC: It’s a bit lost to time, I definitely remember haven’t seen each other in years; others have getting the George Harrison cassingle (yes, a literally found other people to play music with or ridiculous format) for Got My Mind Set On You buy a used guitar from; still others picked up tips after begging my parents endlessly. I inherited a on music to buy from myself or another customer. huge number of tapes from my older sister so my All of those things don’t happen as readily with the first purchase was pretty late, probably sophomore technologies we have in our pockets. year of high school - the Dead Kennedys’ Fresh I think the record store is important because it is, Fruit for Rotting Vegetables and Neil Young’s when done right, a community resource as much Mirrorball were both acquired about that time. as it is a business. And we could all use a little The 90s were weird with the format changes more community right now.
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DELUXE 18.
Ghost Tour Illustrated by - Lee O’Connor
Just a day before the release of his sixth studio album - Metronomy Forever we took Joe Mount right the way back to rural Devon and Totnes High Street for a record shop tour‌ but nothing like you might expect, this has more in common with a Christmas Carol.
Interview.
Metronomy
Ghost Tour
music, but the guy clearly realised the times were changing and that he had to adapt and stock some alternative rock. I think when we were getting into music the Red Hot Chili Peppers were super popular, that and the Levellers. The guy behind the counter was probably asked by so many people if he had either, he just changed his business model Joe Mount: Am I ready? I am totally ready, I might accordingly. Deluxe: So… I am not sure which character I am the ghost? - and I don’t really want to frame you as Ebenezer Scrooge, but we are going back through the ages today to visit record shops past and present-ish and get a feel for how that influenced us. We don’t have to draw any conclusions either, are you ready? even remember one or two more than you…
D: Shooting fish in a barrel.
D: Well, before we start let me ask you this, JM: Exactly! what was your very first ever record shopping D: I was going to mention the posters, because experience? JM: You know what, this is already going incredibly well, because it would have been in Woolworths in Totnes. I remember distinctly they had a proper singles collection as you went into the shop on the right hand side, with cassette singles, records and later CDs. I remember buying a California Raisins LP. Weirdly it was before I knew what it was and what they were but it was in my price range. I distinctly remember my Dad saying that it would be something like Pinky and Perky, but little did he know that it was essentially soul music. It is sung by raisins but the raisins had great voices. I love that refusal to acknowledge that part, it’s like, “Why would they have stupid voices?” D: (laughing) Them being raisins has no bearing on their beautiful soul voices. JM: The best track on that record (laughing) was “Heard It Through The Grapevine”, which was of course the only track that made any sense, crossing over between both soul music and the premise of the band.
on the back right-hand side of the shop he had one of those Athena style poster browsers. Funnily enough when the shop finally shut down we inherited it, but it wasn’t really usable and I ended up having to take it to the tip… my point was however that he had a range of Levellers posters and I remember that many of our contemporaries had “Levelling the Land” on their wall during that period… did you have that? JM: No I didn’t. To be honest with you I inherited a lot of my musical tastes from my sister and she was hanging out with people that would have been listening to the Levellers, she had CDs and maybe even a long-sleeve t-shirt? But I definitely remember seeing that poster at everybody’s house. I think to be honest even my sister wasn’t objectively into them, it was just a weird thing that everybody liked them without listening to them? In their field (laughing) - excuse the pun - they stand very much alone.
D: That’s so brutal (laughing). I really like the idea of a genre shop, even acknowledging that Waterside JM: Yeah, it’s a great record… I definitely have it Music both was and wasn’t really a genre shop. somewhere. What kind of genre record shop would you gladly D: We’re going to take a trip backwards through spend a few hours in? D: Do you still have it?
time, and start geographically at the very bottom JM: Nowadays, God knows… I used to go into quite of Totnes high street, at Waterside Music.
a few leftfield electronic music shops when I was
JM: Great place, great shop. I remember buying in Brighton, but these days… Funk? Soul? It’s hard quite a lot of things from there, I bought Nirvana, possibly Soundgarden? It was pretty good that to tell. D: We’re going to leave Waterside Music and go shop. D: Worth pointing out for those who don’t know, it was actually a classical music specialist, but a fair chunk of the shop - quite extensive in fact - was err… not classical.
across the road and up the High Street a little to number 17. We’re going to Zounds… Do you remember Zounds? JM: Wait.. what?
JM: That was all on the left hand side of the shop D: (laughing) Well, apparently there was a record as you went in, I remember that as well. shop. I actually read a bit and found out that it
D: You’re proving surprisingly good at the in-shop closed in the summer of 1985… but then someone geography of all this. else said that it may have continued for a short JM: I remember it being mostly quite specialist while under the name Mirage. It had a listening
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DELUXE 18.
Interview.
Metronomy
booth by all accounts. JM: Oh gosh, I was what, four years old? I have no recollection of that I am afraid, do you? D: No, I have to be totally honest, I found a picture of the paper bag and then did a little bit of digging backwards which is how I know what I know, but I never was aware that there was a record shop there either. I know what building it was, we can still visit. JM: Nope, afraid I just don’t know what one. D: I guess that’s quite interesting in a way that it just came and went. Do you think about legacy with Metronomy? JM: I used to. I think these days what you realise when you become an adult, then a parent, they’re the only real legacy. I was so into the mythology of the Beatles, thanks to James Hoare most probably, I remember watching all that stuff and thinking “Wow, this is all incredible”. As you get older you become, not necessarily more cynical, but more aware of things like that… they were the architects of all that stuff you know? They sure did a lot in a short period of time and were very important, and I noticed a while back that they produced the films, it was all self-made and part of a quite modern approach to raising profile and awareness. The only reason that my children have heard the Beatles is because I have some connection to them. The legacy of anything only lasts a couple of generations really, unless it’s something super important like … the first man on the Moon? You know what I mean? Everything is quite short-lived, and I think it’s a lot more fun to try and enjoy it for what it is. D: I mean, Zounds is basically shut today isn’t it? Let’s keep going up the town. The next stop is down an alleyway just up a way, it’s called Catalyst. JM: Ooof... D: Do you remember it? I am very hazy… I feel like they had something to do with coach trips and maybe a hairdresser? JM: It sounds weirdly familiar… There was a record shop that used to be the upstairs part of somewhere else, they sold drum and bass almost exclusively. Maybe that was it? It sounds kind of like the same shop. D: It was the mid-90s, so the sort of time we’d have been kicking around. JM: We’re talking about the same shop, I think I may even have tried to sell some of the very DELUXE 18.
earliest Metronomy CDs to that one. D: Devon always seems to have had an affinity with dance music, not always necessarily discerningly so, but how much of an influence did the dance music scene have on you? JM: I remember more the skateboard scene having an influence on me to be honest, hanging out with older people who were into stuff like Mo Wax and Warp. It was Mo Wax that really led me into that direction of intelligent dance music. Before that everybody seem to just be into drum and bass. That was just always so intense, people went mad for it... D: Were you fond of a dance? JM: … no. D: (laughing) Me neither… that was always the stumbling block for me. JM: I think to be honest even when I was a little bit older and went to clubs, I used to just actually enjoy listening to music, listening to any music really loud is always good fun. D: We’re going to leave dance music where it is and head up the hill a bit now to number 53, we’re going to Backtrax. JM: Oh yeah, I remember Backtrax! I remember it very well, but I think I left the area and was more of a visting customer, but it was quite good. D: Exclusively catalogue. I occasionally really want a CD or tape for the car and wish that I had a really good catalogue shop at my disposal. What do you currently have in your car? JM: Gosh, (laughing) In my car all I have is a tape that I can adapt to plug my phone into. D: Oh man, you have all of recorded music history in your car... JM: I have Outkast’s “Stankonia” CD, the one with “Miss Jackson” on it, I found it at a car boot sale, but it’s really scratched so it doesn’t really work that well which is really annoying. But Backtrax was the location of one of my best buying stories ever. I went to Rowcroft Hospice shop in Totnes one day and I found someone had dumped this amazing record collection, perfectly kept vinyl including stuff like Exodus, Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On”, Todd Rundgren, Steely Dan… They were all in absolutely pristine condition and 50p each. Half of the collection I didn’t know but I bought all of them just because they were in really good condition and only 50p. I spent maybe £10 or something
14.
Ghost Tour
like that and went through them and kept half and then took the ten or so that I didn’t want down to Backtrax and sold the ones that I didn’t want and made loads of money. D: Oh man, went for a mooch, doubled your money and got turned onto Todd Rundgren all in one day... JM: Yeah, so in a Totnes hour and a half or so I managed to really make some great deals, the Backtrax guy had a good deal too because he bought them for a few quid each and marked them up. I think the “What’s Going On” record was a first edition, certainly early and it might be worth a bit of money actually, it was a great day. It was a sad ending to Backtrax wasn’t it?
‘Everything is quite short-lived, and I think it’s a lot more fun to try and enjoy it for what it is..’
D: It was, yeah. When I was doing a bit of research I ended up speaking to a few people and it was DELUXE 18.
Interview.
Metronomy
a really sad story how it came to close, it was a bring me up to speed. I had to show him a picture tragedy at Christmas. so he could remind me exactly which unit it was. What I really like about it is that their name was JM: God, that’s really sad. D: I mean, we were the other record shop in town kind of to the contrary, he didn’t in fact sell records so lots of people came in throughout that period that were all that rare. and wanted to talk to us about all the lurid details. JM: Which as you say is weird. People are such twats sometimes. D: What is the worst named record shop you have JM: Either way, we are remembering Backtrax ever come across? fondly. JM: Gosh… I feel like in Brighton, I’m not going to D: We are going to leave them though, we’re going to walk a little bit further up the High Street and go to the market square and underneath the Civic Hall to visit Rare Records.
be able to remember a specific one, but there were quite a few dance specialist shops that had really lame names but I can’t remember them I’m afraid.
JM: Brilliant. Rare Records, Great shop. I don’t D: Feel bad for them, but seeing as we’re not think I ever bought anything there (laughing). buying anything, let’s move onto the last shop on D: I had a mental block and really couldn’t our trip. We’re going to go up to number 91 High remember the name of the shop the other day so Street and World Video & Music… or of course, I actually texted James Hoare and he was able to Drift Records V1. DELUXE 18.
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Ghost Tour
turning of the tide for World Video & Music was the D: Did you ever go in for music? Or did you go in release of the Buena Vista Social Club soundtrack in 1997. That was the big change and it showed us to rent video tapes? that music could sell… and how. JM: Well now you’re talking about something interesting because we’re covering the other JM: I definitely remember buying a gift for my mum hidden story of Totnes, the VHS rental library ghost and dad around that period of time. trip of Totnes, because we used to go to Video D: … Buena Vista Social Club I’d assume? Venture, but then World Video & Music became JM: (laughing) Most probably. We had a definite the place to go to because you could get more Friday and Saturday night video rental ritual at the interesting films. shop, and I remember being quite excited about JM: Oh yeah!
D: All the racy ones.
JM: Exactly. And the CD presence started off as a CD rack then started encroaching onto the shop right? I’m not sure I actually bought music from there to be honest, we rented a lot of videos. When was the tipping point of it becoming more about music?
the fact that it was getting more musical, but this was all about the same sort of time that I would have left Totnes I think.
D: One notable time you popped back to Drift (as it had then become) and you bought the Holiphonic Records early edition of the “Pip Paine (Pay the £5000 You Owe)” CD as a beautiful book bound D: We’ve spoken about this before, but the big edition. I may have in my head made this up, but
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DELUXE 18.
Interview.
Metronomy
we were we the first people to have had them? JM: Did you get them for me personally? D: I can’t remember whether it was you or perhaps your sister. thinking about it (laughing), it could well have been both of our mums being involved in the transaction as well. JM: (laughing) As I recall I had quite a few of them as the first version had lovely packaging but there was no real distribution deal in place, so I personally took some to a shop in London, a jewellery shop called Tatty Devine which I knew, so I took some there. Weirdly there were some randomly specific buildings that had it and you were one of a very few places. D: I can accept “one of”. JM: When I say “one of” it really would have been one of maybe, two or three places. D: It’s part of our legacy. We’ve reached the top of town now, this is kind of the end of the tour now. The last question is this, based on these fine buildings, I want a recommendation from each of them. What would you ideally purchase? We’re in a classical music shop first, so what do you want from the classical music canon? JM: (laughing) Except, from that specific classical music shop I would have purchased the Red Hot Chili Peppers. D: (Laughing) Fine. Next, a standard UK indie shop circa ‘82 - ‘85? JM: I probably would have gone for a bit of Siouxsie and the Banshees, is that about the right sort of time? D: Oh perfect. Rave period dance shop? JM: How about the KLF. Can I have the KLF? D: You can, and there you go! Another Devon connection to it. JM: The rumour used to be that KLF stood for “Kennicott Liberation Front”... I don’t think it was true. It is quite funny that you could grow up thinking that there was some feasible way that your Sixth Form College name could be the “K” in the KLF’s name. D: Next, rock and roll, prog or psychedelia made almost exclusively by white men? JM: Yeah, Yes? No, actually… Weather Report. D: ‘Not’ Rare Records, alternative music around 1993? JM: God… what was happening in 1993… Blur? DELUXE 18.
Ghost Tour
‘You know what, if I went and looked through my record collection I am sure that I would remember more things that I specifically bought from you.’ D: Very much so, I did in fact buy either “Leisure” or “Modern Life Is Rubbish” from Rare Records. To the last building then… JM: OOOH!!! I remember what I bought from World Video!! D: What? JM: God it’s all coming back to me, I did buy records from you, I bought Cornershop “When I Was Born for the 7th Time” from your record shop! God amazing, I remember buying that from World Video & Music. You know what, if I went and looked through my record collection I am sure that I would remember more things that I specifically bought from you. D: They probably have our stickers on them. Man, this is the end of the tour… the end of the Christmas Carol, I hope you have either had fun or learned something? JM: I have, from the California Raisins to Cornershop. I think we need to get to the bottom of this Catalyst thing because I feel like there is some connection between this shop down an alleyway and this shop that has the top floor of the other place, maybe like a cafe down stairs? D: Oh God! You’re right… you had to go upstairs didn’t you? Okay… there was somewhere else wasn’t there, it was above Fat Lemon’s cafe. JM: I just hope that wherever it was I can still buy my KLF record.
20.
Photos - Nic Chapman
Jane Weaver
A genuine musical polymath, Jane Weaver is doubtless one of the most respected electronic composers of recent times, and certainly one of our favourites. A writer of incredible warmth and sensibility, her earliest record shopping experience definitely won’t be Heavy Metal. Definitely.
Interview.
Jane Weaver
Deluxe: First things first, have you ever worked behind the counter in a record shop? Jane Weaver: Not really. I worked in a cafe in Widnes called “North”; it also had a clothes shop and a record shop. I remember helping out one day in the record shop bit, but can’t remember anything other than it was probably the late 1980s and everyone liked the Stone Roses. All the baggy hits.
D: I have not seen Marcell Jankovic’s Fehérlófia - on which it is based - how did it become part of your world? What about it was so evocative to bring it to the reimagined score series? JW: I just really like the graphics, and the fact that a horse gets pregnant and gives birth to a boy. I’m mainly singing about conception and birth, which is something I’ve not really done much of before.
D: These days, there seems to be quite a lot of negative energy expressed towards chain shops. What are your experiences with chain shops?
D: Thanks for making a Dinked Edition with us… that sure looks pretty! How did the artwork come together?
JW: I haven’t got a problem with chain stores, as a consumer I prefer independent shops but when I was younger I used to love going into HMV, it took a lot more bravery going into a small shop as a young person.
JW: Andy Votel did the artwork. Our kids made some ink pictures at Green Man Festival in 2018, Andy was photographing the ink in water and it looked like a horse within a horse...freaky, so that’s the sleeve.
D: Growing up did you have HMV then?
D: How important to you is the visual side of releasing music?
JW: I bought most of my first singles as a kid from Asda, Woolworths or WH Smiths. I think they were probably 79p or 99p so pocket money. Albums usually were a bit more of a luxury so they’d go on your Christmas list.
JW: Very, there’s so much bad stuff around. To me It’s so important, I really can’t be bothered with lazy graphics, people using crappy fonts on their PC and thinking it’s good enough, I like working D: Why do people look down their noses at them? with artists and filmmakers who care about what they are delivering and how it will look. JW: I guess people like to feel they are getting D: Have you ever purchased anything something special, something more boutique based only on a sleeve? perhaps, when they buy from a smaller shop. JW: Yes, my first clear vinyl record ( aged 9 or D: Do you think they still serve a purpose 10) was by an all girl trio called... Trix, called “In in the record shopping scene? this Universe”. At the time I liked the sleeve, JW: For sure, if it encourages when I played the song I thought it was awful. physical sales. Browsing through the D: Would you describe yourself racks anywhere is always fun. as a record collector? D: Next month you are releasing a JW: No... I have small collections of stuff, but new album, “Fenella”. Tell me a little I’m slow at listening to vinyl, I’ve got a backlog, about how that came together? especially when I’m writing. I don’t think it’s JW: It was for a project for Festival number 6. mindful to have big collections of things hanging At Speedlearn cinema tent curated by Finders around your feet, but I live with someone who Keepers Records in 2016, Andy Votel suggested collects all sorts of stuff and it gets everywhere. the film, our friend Andy Rushton made an edit to D: (laughing) Describe your home storage set up? work to, and Pete and Raz from the band went up to a remote cottage in Scotland for a few days to JW: ...Disorganised. I’m always losing records I need to DJ with, especially if they get mixed up record. We did the gig with me vocalising, but I only managed to finish the lyrics and mould stuff with other family members’ records… Carnage. into better shape this year, and now it’s a record! D: I’m only laughing as the idea cracks me DELUXE 18.
24.
‘ The purchase was a 7” inch single of Iron Maiden’s “Run to the Hills”, and that was in Asda ’
up a little bit. Conservatively, how many records would you estimate you live with?
JW: A comfy corner always helps, couches and plants.
JW: I genuinely don’t know, they are all over the place, I’m thankful that we both have office space for stock.
D: What part of record shopping could you gladly do without?
D: I feel like I should suggest that you guys open a record shop… Solid stock, good vibes... JW: It would be nice, but we also need time to sleep.
JW: People who stand right next to me, looking over my shoulder. D: On your travels, which shops have impressed you? JW: I did love going to Ameoba in LA.
D: Yeah, thats fair, it’s a 24/7 deal so respect that you see that. However… IF you did open one, what would it be called?
D: Going backwards again, how about more personally, what was your first record shopping experience?
JW: Backlog!
JW: The purchase was a 7” inch single of Iron Maiden’s “Run to the Hills”, and that was in Asda in Halebank, Widnes. My mum would have been shopping for groceries, my brother and I hung around the record counter there!
D: What, for you, is important in a record shop? JW: Helpful staff, who know their stock and also have great suggestions about other stuff you might like. I also think they should bring back listening booths. D: How would you bring that vibe to your shop?
D: Do you still own it? JW: YES! DELUXE 18.
Image - Julian Koller
Shop Profile.
The Business
Washington, USA
Although forty-odd years old now, The Business in Anacortes, Washington state, is one of the United States most modern set ups. A vital community hub, through the front door it’s retail, out the back door it’s small batch distribution. We had an opportunity to talk to owners Nick Rennis and Evie Opp about packing and unpacking boxes. Deluxe: A lot of stores we speak to have been founded and operated by the same people, but The Business has been operating for forty odd years under a few stewards… so tell us about your journey to becoming involved and becoming owners? Evie Opp: You’re exactly right. We are the fourth owners of The Business. The store was started in 1978 by Glen DesJardins, not originally as a record store. Bret Lunsford (Beat Happening, D+) was the second owner and ushered in the record store idea. Liz Lovelett (now a WA state representative) was the third owner. Back in 2010, Liz was starting a family and shop life was becoming hectic and that is where Nick came into the picture. Nick Rennis: I had just closed The Department Of Safety (the all-ages music venue, recording studio, gallery, residency space) in town and felt that Anacortes would be bereft without a hub for counter-culture. D: The store has been in a few locations throughout the last four decades right? NR: Correct. Three locations. D: Do you remember visiting older incarnations? NR: We’ve only lived in town long enough to actually have visited the shop in its second location, which is also where we took it over. D: How is the vibe different across the different spaces?
NR: The first location still exists and is now an antique store. It’s an old one-storey building surrounded by a bunch of chain stores. It doesn’t really “feel” like Anacortes and gets little foot traffic. EO: The second location was in a prominent brick building right on the corner downtown. The third location is a bit further into downtown on one of the most historic blocks in the City. The vibe has fittingly evolved with ownership, and we are definitely partial to the current location. It’s easily the most stunning space to be in and has to be the best block in town. D: For someone who hasn’t visited yet, what is the vibe at The Business these days? NR: The Business is a small record store focused on new, independent music on vinyl. We also carry CDs and tapes, but to a lesser extent. D: What is your record store CV? Had you worked behind the counter before? NR: I had worked retail jobs in the past and Evie had not been in retail up until this point, but neither of us had worked at a record store. D: What was your wildest experience behind the counter at The Business? EO: Wild experiences happen pretty frequently since Anacortes is such a small, weird town. Of course, we get lots of folks wandering through who have no idea what we are doing and no
27.
Shop Profile.
The Business
amount of explanation will get them to any level of understanding. Our second location was located between two bars, so many of the wild experiences happened there. Probably, the time a guy grabbed both of our hands and began a loud, drunken prayer tops the list. He then began dancing and Nick had to escort him out. As he did so, the guy kissed him on the mouth. That was pretty unpleasant and wild. D: (laughing) Any other notable shoppers? or surreal moments? NR: Often. We are a popular vacation destination, since Anacortes is the portal to the San Juans, so we get to see random notable people fairly regularly. The notable shoppers we enjoy seeing are usually recording in town at the Anacortes Unknown studio. There are usually interesting folks around. EO: Most of our in-stores feel pretty surreal. We have a tendency to bring in fairly large touring artists who end up performing to a dozen or so folks. It’s pretty special. D: Any super rare records you’ve picked up or seen through the shop? NR: Because of its deeply rooted history in the Northwest indie scene, a few weird rare things trickle in occasionally despite us not peddling in used records. Lots of the older Sub Pop and K Records stuff that is sought after. In one batch of donated mouldy oldies there was a random rare Halo Benders 7” which was a nice surprise. D: I read that both Karl Blau and Phil Elverum have worked behind the counter over the years. Did you work with either? Did they have good shop skills? NR: They both worked under Bret, so we have not worked with them in a retail sense. They both know their stuff, so certainly they had great knowledge to share with shoppers. We do work with both of them on the backend stuff currently, and they’re both fun and business-savvy artists to be partnered with. D: What do you look for in prospective staff? Actually, do you recruit people? NR: We actually don’t really have staff! It’s just the two of us. We recently hired our first employee who really only comes in when we’ve got big projects. He grew up in town and we watched him beginning his foray into independent music. Very early on, he told us that if we ever hired anyone DELUXE 18.
else it had to be him, so he got the call! D: I am guessing it’s a pretty enviable job in the Anacortes area? EO: It’s a totally enviable job. There’s really not much that’s available or appealing for young folks in town. We wish we could hire more, but it’s just so small and specialty. Hopefully someday! D: Interesting to us that you also handle wholesale. How did that come about? NR: When Evie arrived in town, the scope of The Business broadened to include wholesale. We started working with P.W. Elverum & Sun and K Records out of an urgent need for help in that area. Once we did, it kind of took off and we realized that a lot of our friends working in the world of independent music needed help doing the same thing. In a fairly short amount of time we now do wholesale for around 80 labels and self-releasing artists. D: How has that changed the dynamic of what the store offers? NR: Certainly a lot of the store is stocked with distributed artists, but probably the main change is that there is a visible front and back end. You can see us constantly working on packing orders and invoicing while you are browsing the shelves. It is an active hub and customers can feel that even if they don’t really know the scope of the project. D: Does that put you in a good position to track how other stores are doing? You are playing both roles in effect. EO: It gives us a gauge on how well stores are doing at any moment, broadly speaking. It’s really nice to have a network of stores that we work with as it really feels like an ecosystem. We don’t feel like we are competing with other record stores. We want every record store to succeed and thrive, and we want to help where we can. D: Do you feel part of a community? NR: It seems like most record stores who handle new, independent titles are pretty well connected with other stores across the country. We know who each other are, roughly, if not personally. There are some of the older shops who are grumps about changing along with the landscape of selling music and who are pretty disconnected, but on the whole it seems like a good community. D: What stores have particularly inspired you? Who do you admire?
28.
Shop Profile.
Photo - John Ellison
The Business
Top - The Business & Kikagaku Moyo Middle - Store eye view Bottom - Evie and Wolves In The Throne Room reissues
Shop Profile.
The Business
NR: Growing up in the Chicagoland area, Reckless Records and Record Breakers were huge and played a massively influential role in how we set up our store initially. Other fiercely independent non-record shops like Quimby’s also have been hugely impactful. The art gallery that occupied our current location before us also set a bar in terms of aesthetic that we try and maintain. D: Why do you think record stores matter these days? EO: Record stores matter as community hubs, economic pipelines for independent artists, and culturally to subvert the normal channels of “content”. D: I guess what I was getting at is, what purpose do they serve? NR: As a community hub, record stores have always been inclusive places for misfits to seek out other likeminded folk and as an open space to talk about pretty much anything. As economic pipelines, record stores are essential to independent artists that continue to make beautiful objects for a living. As counter-culture hubs, record stores need to exist to subvert the ways most folks are consuming media. They are liberating forces that disrupt the algorithms and major marketing worlds. D: Maybe more then, that they need to diversify? EO: It has been our belief for some time that stores actually need to narrow their focus rather than diversify. If you offer a specialty to the world, the world will seek you out for that thing. If we sold a bunch of memorabilia, major label releases, and used stock we probably wouldn’t still be in business. NR: It is important for record stores to adapt to current trends and be okay with it. We have always encouraged the “try before you buy” model and see it as a proven way to get people to engage with new music and explore what we have to offer. Many record store owners would bristle at that, but knowledgeable customers tend to spend more money in our store than ones who come in blind.
Washington, USA
D: How about more personally, what was your first record shopping experience? NR: Aside from the suburban upbringing and shopping at Best Buy for cheap CDs, the aforementioned shops were massive revelations. EO: I was a frequent browser at Vintage Vinyl in St. Louis in my formative years. D: What was your first purchase? NR: I can’t actually remember the first purchase, but my collection was focused mostly on 7”s early on. Friends would come out of the record store with one LP and I’d emerge with a stack of 7”s and a snarky look: “I got so many more records than you chumps!” I was often picking up Dischord titles or whatever Punk Planet magazine was telling me to buy. EO: My first purchase as a kid was a CD copy of No Doubt’s Tragic Kingdom. D: Do you still own Tragic Kingdom? EO: The Tragic Kingdom CD is tragically not a part of our life. D: How about the punk 7”s? NR: Not the original copies, but replacements! D: How did it feel shopping for the first time? EO: As a rural kid, being in a record store in the big city was revelatory. NR: It felt like home. There was a microcosm that was only apparent in very small friend groups, or zines, and then finding a record store that had people of all ages buying things you’d never heard of was so exciting... and continues to be! D: What would be your advice to anyone looking to open their own store? NR: Do your thing. Work hard. It can be relentless, but if you show some amount of dedication and are knowledgeable and honest you can likely succeed. The world needs more record stores, not less. Find a community that needs your help and get to work.
‘As counter-culture hubs, record stores need to exist to subvert the ways most folks are consuming media.’
31.
DELUXE 18.
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