Thursday, May 14, 2009

Record stores survive MP3 era

Old or new, independent record stores — and contents inside — are priceless.

Indie Wax Records opened April 11 on Market Street in Boardman. Manager Heather Cannon says that she and her partner always wanted a record store because “there’s no place around here for us to buy records.”

Indie Wax sells mostly newer records but focuses on punk and indie rock. “Whatever new is coming out on vinyl.”

Their clientele ranges from high school students to senior citizens. She says the kids are amazed because they’re just discovering vinyl, and the older shoppers love the fact that a store still carries it.

“This area is so old-fashioned, but there’s enough of the old and the new that suits people,” Cannon says.

Their current selection includes recent albums from Bat for Lashes, Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Camera Obscura. Cannon says they also sell CDs, especially if a popular band hasn’t yet launched a new release on vinyl.

Cannon says they also have a $2 bargain bin that is comprised of used albums in decent condition. Not an actual bin, you’ll find the likes of Steve Miller Band, Journey and Styx piled on the floor.

Indie Wax records will sell local artists’ CDs, like The Zou’s “Archeopteryx” and Centrifuge’s “Desolate.” The Weedhawks have also left a few CDs at the store, and Cannon is anxious for more artists to take advantage of this.

“We sell all local music,” Cannon says. “Any local band who wants us to sell their music and they get all the profits.”

Cannon says by the end of the month, they’d like to have their first live performance. She says any local band is eligible, even if the band’s never played a show. She says they’re working on getting a PA system, so acts won’t be limited to acoustic performances, she says.

“Local acts, you know, I guess indie is the word for it,” Cannon says. Cannon says she wants to open her store up to teenagers and give them a place to hang out. She says most places in the area that feature original music are at least an 18+ venues, and she thinks it’s important to give kids in high school a place to experience local music.

“There’s just no where around here that embraces that culture,” Cannon says. “I think that’s important.”

The plan for Indie Wax, Cannon says, is to have three listening stations in the store, equipped with enough headphone jacks for friends to listen together.

Cannon says all of their prices are comparable to chain stores and the store will match Best Buy’s price on any album or CD.

“A lot of people have came in and said our prices are great,” Cannon says.

She says they are hoping to open a café in the store and offer free Wi-Fi.

Cannon says they are also going to display and sell local artists’ works: “[I want Indie Wax to be] a cultural hub for arts and music.”

Farther underground and less advertised, Underdog Records has been serving the Youngstown area for more than 30 years.

Owner Sonny Hopchek has been running the store since 1975. He moved Underdog to Hubbard after 20 years on South Avenue in Youngstown, and after shuffling around Hubbard a bit, is permanently located at 6181 Youngstown-Hubbard Road.

“I was down the road for a few years, in town,” Hopchek says, “I lose track of those things.”

Hopchek says in the ‘70s, he was in a band, The Todd. When they broke up, instead of organizing another act and going back on the road, he says he was inspired by White Wing Records in Niles and opened his store.

“They were kind of like my inspiration,” Hopchek says. “They were youth-oriented with good prices.”

Hopchek says when the band split, he and his roadie sold the equipment, and ended up with $2,000 to start his business — hence the name, Underdog: “You know, $2,000 got you a lot of stuff back then.”

Hopchek says he tries to be pretty diverse, yet complete in terms of stock. He says he’s been to stores that may only have one Led Zeppelin album, total. He says he tries to carry one of each.

He says he carries mostly albums from the ‘60s, ‘70s and current reissues. As for the independent stuff, he’ll order it if it’s requested or seems popular, but he says there’s no way he could stock all of the indie albums that come out each month.

“I’d be broke and out of business if I tried to do it,” Hopchek says.

Hopchek says his clientele changes as quickly as the latest albums. He says that while he keeps his regulars happy, he also goes to record shows/conventions in Pittsburgh and Cleveland in hopes of attaining new customers — young and old.

“You don’t see younger people buying CDs anymore,” Hopchek says. “They buy albums.”

Aside from the record store, Underdog also has a recording studio. Jimmi Bleacher, former lead singer of Salty Dog, runs Hopchek’s recording studio, and has recorded local acts such as 5 Elements and The Young Stonians.

Not only will Underdog record local’s music, it sells it too. Hopchek sells local albums from Adam Jacobs, The Youngstown Tramps, The Hern Brothers, S-Pomp, The Infidels and The Deadbeat Poets.

If Hopchek can’t get something for one of his customers, he sends them to McKinley Heights to talk to Jeff Burke.

Burke, owner of The Record Connection on Youngstown-Warren Road in Niles, took over the business in 1980. It had two previous owners ­ ­­— the original was RED Distribution CEO Ken Antonelli.

Burke says he began collecting records when he was about 7 or 8-years-old. Burke says the second owner, a good friend of his, was struggling with the store. Burke, 54, says he bought it for what his friend owed on the taxes ­— $13,800.

“My parents mortgaged their house and I paid every penny back,” Burke says.

When he bought the business, it was located in the former United Electric Building on state Route 46 in Niles, and he moved it to the Pinetree Plaza in May 1983.

Burke says that he carries cassettes, LPs, 45s, CDs and accessories, but his specialty is deep catalogue orders. Deep catalogue, as he describes, is hard-to-find releases and rarities

“This isn’t a ‘hit-house’ like other music sellers,” Burke says. “We usually find it. We’ve come to find out that people will pay the price.”

He says rock albums sell the best and he tries to steer away from the classical genre because they don’t sell well in this area. Burke says he also gets a variety of new releases, but the cost has been driven up so high that they’re not a big money-maker.

Burke says there’s been a resurgence in vinyl in the past few years. He says he’s always carried it, but whittled records down to two bins. He says he brought it back because of demand, and now vinyl takes up about half the store.

He says with the popularity of downloading MP3s, he doesn’t stock his store as heavily as he used to. He says he still has a decent assortment, and as far as independent releases, he claims to have one of the better selections.

“We still have a pretty good selection,” Burke says. “As far as independent goes, we have one of the better selections.”

“I like when people come in and say: ‘I’ve been everywhere else. You probably don’t have this.’ And I walk right over to the shelf and pull it off,” Burke says.

Like Indie Wax and Underdog, The Record Connection also carries local artists including Chris Mrofchak and Damian Knapp.

Burke says his clientele is pretty widespread from teenagers to mature adults. He says product knowledge and customer service is what has kept his store open.

But, he says, nothing will compare to the way things used to be. He says more than 10 years ago they used to have midnight sales for anticipated releases. His best selling CD, Pearl Jam’s “Vitalogy” (1994), sold 300 copies that night.

“It’s always been a really cool store,” Burke says. “This doesn’t exist anymore in a lot of places.”