Interview with a Record Store Owner Essay

On a less then pleasant day the weather was cold and showery so before I left the safety of my car I turned my collar up to face the cold and made a bee line to the repositing so fast it would put Usain Bolt to shame. When I fliped in the workshop I was greeted by the smell of hot chocolate and run short of The Rolling St aces song Monkey Man playing over the instal speakers with the owner of the parentage bottom singing along to the song and throwing his arm up handle a monkey. As soon as you walk into the store your face to face with a giant rack of utilize DVDs ranging from Driving Miss Daisy to the Texas Chainsaw Massacre the store itself is non rattling big on the left side of the store is a ledge contain records from Abba to Rob Zombie on the right side is a shelf holding the cds. I was immediately welcomed by throne who seance down in behind his cash register with a theatre on it that read No Personal Check behind him was a giant poster of hot dog Zappa which seemed like one of his most prized positions john had. John had on a tie dyed rolling stones apparel john had awaited tried and he seemed to be discomfort later I found out he looked that representation due to having MS.Before john and I stared talking I asked if we could take a walk somewhat the store john told me that he is not able to move very(prenominal) salubrious because I have Multiple sclerosis so he called for his employee diddlysquat to walk with me and directed Jack to answer questions I have. Jack was tall and in his early 20s ,jack and I walked somewhat the store face at vinyl radical they had they had seemed to have constantlyy record you could ask for and if they didnt have it they could order it for you . I asked jack to explain the process of how they cherish the used records that come in the shop jack pulled a ergodic of the shelf and proceeded to go over the check list prototypic we look at the condition of the phonograph album sleeve some(prenom inal) bends or damage to it second we look for the labeling mono, monophonic, monaural, stereo or stereophonic on the sleeve and record label, which identifies the recording process and helps us determine the take account and finally we Evaluate the condition of the record by looking for any obvious damage to the vinyl. Jack holds the record up to the light on a slight tilt Look for scratches, record edge nicks or damage to the paper label we have medical specialty here for everyones price range after that I thanked jack and retuned to talk to john.When I came rear to talk to john he had offered me a cup of coffee I accepted and went on to ask john how long has the store been open john told me that I am the fifth owner of Rainbow Records it first started out in Park Ridge in the mid-1970s. Then the store was moved to Palatine in 1993 by the fourth owner, who offered me the opportunity to secure the store from him in 1997 I then eventually moved the store to here. I asked john wh at was the first record he had ever purchased john though for a minute and express Surfin Safari by The Beach Boys when I was 9-years-old I ask john why do you think vinyl sales are going up succession CD sales are falling There is nothing like vinyl It has a totally different sound than CDs or that MP3 stuff. Im sorry, but you dont listen to music on a phone and really get to appreciate it. I express to john it looks like your store buys all graphemes of records and CDs is there any type of music you wont buy? Classical no one asks for it so I dont want it besides this is a rock and roll storeJohn what do you think or so kids that have never heard a record on vinyl? They are really missing out Vinyl has a extensive in-depth sound to it, he says. There is an art to what I call albums and what everybody called albums back in the day. From the cover, which is a piece of art in itself, to listening to, and appreciating the way songs are arranged from side to side, you dont get th at with any other music format. Looking around the store and seeing I was the only person in there besides jack possibly because of the weather but maybe because the store isnt doing so well I asked john what got him into the record business If you think about how some(prenominal) money youre going to make, thats a mistake. Youre not going to get rich doing this. What youre doing is sharing your love of music with other people, after john told me that a smile came across both(prenominal) of are faces.Before I had left the shop I walked around the store and picked up three records I think john would esteem of the first one I got was The Rolling Stones Let It Bleed, Second album I grabbed was Surfin Safari by The Beach Boys and the third one was Frank Zappa Over-Nite Sensation. When I went up to john for the last time he could not help but to laugh as he rang them up as he handed me the bright yellow bag he said enjoy when I had made it home the first thing I did was put on my new rolling stones record put the harry on Monkey Man and turned my record player up to eleven.