Ernie November: A Music Store Not for the Masses

Ernie November provides lifestyle store for niche audience.

BY MICHELLE PAWELSKI // PHOTOS BY SHILOH FRANCIS

Keith Coombes was 15 years old when he decided Cheyenne, Wyoming needed to expand its music profile.

“I wanted something different for my boring, lame, cowboy town.”

And the teen was determined to make it happen.

Using the small earnings garnered from his paper route, Keith started to bring punk and metal shows to his western hometown creating a new music scene for those who wanted something different. The young entrepreneur would give his bands everything from sales at the door and use his paper route money to pay for whatever venue he could get.

“I went to an illegal show at a vacant building in Denver and talked to some bands and put it all together a month later. It was trial and error. It was nice to be that naïve,” said Keith who now manages the Rapid City Ernie November and has been with the eclectic retail and music store since 1996.

Ernie’s, as it is lovingly referred to by locals, has been operating in Rapid City since 1987, the second store opened by a couple of music lovers who no one else would hire and who wanted a place for the community’s misfits. The first store opened in Sioux Falls in 1983 followed by Rapid City in 1987, Billings, Montana in 1993, and Cheyenne in 1996.

The draw of Ernie’s and what has sustained the music store in a time when online streaming is the norm is that it sells much more than media. “We realized back in the day basically the sky’s the limit. We can sell whatever we want. We are a lifestyle store and that’s what attracted me (to Ernie’s) in 1996. I wanted to be a buyer and use my own creativity to bring stuff in I wanted.”

Aside from having a large selection of vinyl, CDS, and DVDs, the independent music store also carries T-shirts, tapestries, incense, posters, lava lamps, stickers, and a variety of other offbeat items. Ernie’s success is also attributed to the personalized guest service of their staff. If they don’t have something, they will find it.

Keith had been working a professional job at the Musicland in Cheyenne but knew the corporate life was not for him. He knew one day he wanted to work at Ernie’s and move his way up in the company.

Keith started working at the Cheyenne store in 1996 and has been with the company since. He didn’t veer far from promoting the unique music scene and started bringing shows into the back of the Wyoming Ernie’s. With the town lacking music venues, Keith was again not going to wait around for something to happen. He brought in dozens of brutal death metal and hardcore punk bands including some big names like Ringworm, Goatwhore, Negative Approach and MDC. Keith and his friends and coworkers did more than 200 shows.

Live music at Ernie’s not only provided another means of entertainment for locals, it brought a sense of camaraderie, Keith said. Something he found many years earlier when visiting Rapid City.

In 1991, Keith traveled to South Dakota with a band out of Laramie. “I was blown away at how cool Rapid City was in 1991.” While it was about the same size as Cheyenne, the music scene was energetic with a sense of fellowship he didn’t see in his hometown.

“That really just stuck with me,” Keith said.

So, in the beginning of 2019 when Keith and his wife were looking to move out of Wyoming, Rapid City provided a perfect opportunity. He now manages the Rapid City’s Ernie November’s and buys merchandise for three of the four stores.

Keith is seeing a resurgence in the interest in purchasing vinyl and CDs. “It’s exhilarating to see people half my age getting excited about their record purchases. It is more of an engagement than listening to music on your phone.”

Keith believes every community should have an Ernie November.

“I think the biggest thing about Ernie’s is that it feels like a hometown store because it is. It has a heart and soul. It is a labor of love with the energy we put in to making it successful.”

It is also not a store for everyone.

“Ernie November was never for the masses. It was never our goal. We pride ourselves on being brash at times, being real, not placating.”

ERNIE NOVEMBER // 1319 W MAIN ST. RAPID CITY // 605.348.0768