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ivan@stellysee.de
| From | keith radich <kradich@optonline.net> |
| Subject | Re: Greatest record store proprietor/clerk |
| Date | Mon, 15 May 2006 23:00:03 -0400 |
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Ok delurking just to jump in on this and mention that I am always surprised
at how many people or on this list are from Syracuse at on time or another,
I remember going to Desert Shore at least once or twice with the esteemed
Mr. Bash and also do not have any bad memories, but of course I was more
interested in the out of print stuff vinyl I could not afford hanging from
the walls :-) Also Record Theater was another favorite hangout, but I tended
to spend more time at the college store (Spectrum?) they always had great
supply of cutouts which were more in my budget.
Favorite record store owners I would have to go with my old buddy Mark
Geller from Records Plus out on Long Island, they were a short lived off
shoot of Record Stop in Lake Ronkonkoma, I also got to know Bruce from
Record Stop pretty well and still stop in occasionally. Not the place it use
to be back in the 80's at the peek of the new wave era and we hung around
checking out new stuff as it came in, but there are many good memories from
both SU and later Records Stop.
Ok I'm good for another 3 years :-)
Keith
> ------------------------------
>
> Date: Mon, 15 May 2006 11:39:04 -0700
> From: "David Bash" <bashpop@earthlink.net>
> To: <audities@smoe.org>
> Subject: Re: Greatest record store proprietor/clerk
> Message-ID: <09bc01c6784e$d8298620$6759fea9@unzvm7nqio0rwk>
>
> With respect to record store clerks, I didn't have the same kind of bad
> experiences with Alan at Desershore as did Bill Holmes. When I first went
> there during the fall of '77, I must have impressed him by pointing out
> the
> virtues of some obscure record he liked, because from moment one I had a
> good rapport with him, and always looked forward to going there. I will
> admit that he was a bit socially awkward (I certainly was as well, which
> may
> have fortified our bond), and that might have led people to misinterpret
> some of his actions, but then again, if he was really condescending to
> customers without it being warranted, that's not cool...
>
> I guess it's just one of those cirumstances when if you meet someone at
> the
> wrong time it begats a very negative interaction, which leads to further,
> and often escalated, negative interactions...
>
> For the most part, the record store clerks of my past were very cool. I
> would count Phil Galloway of Off The Record in Encinitas as the coolest
> one
> I can think of now. When I used to go there in the mid '80s, as soon as
> I'd
> walk in he'd put something on and say "this is really Bashian", and 90% of
> the time he'd be right! Eventually we became very good friends, and he
> ended up moving to the Off The Record in San Diego, which he soon bought.
> (as a footnote, Phil is now involved with Reelin In The Years, the very
> lucrative and Grammy Nominated video archive company, who just released
> the
> Marvin Gaye "The Real Thing" DVD).
>
> I presently love hanging out at Freakbeat Records in Sherman Oaks, CA,
> mainly because the store owner, Bob Say, and his colleague Tom, are very
> cool people who are happy to shoot the breeze about music...and they're
> happy to play anything you're curious about. They extol the virtues of
> old-school record shops, which is great in my book.
>
> Ironically, the rudest record store clerks whom I encountered were
> generally
> people who owned the shop who happened to also work behind the counter.
> One
> of the worst was Norman Feinberg of Infinite Records in Manhattan. He was
> consdescending to every customer I ever saw there, me included, in ways
> somewhat similar to those Bill Holmes attributed to Alan of Desert Shore,
> but with a much more creative use of language. He seemed to be the
> ultimate
> misanthrope, but knew he could get away with it because he had an uncanny
> knack for procuring the rarest collectables anyone has ever seen (can you
> say "Original Indonesian Elvis Presley 10 inch??), and he knew people
> would
> put up with his BS if they really wanted his records. In accord, his
> prices
> were through the roof, but again, his philosophy was, "who cares if the
> whole world tells me to f**k off, as long as there's one person who will
> buy
> the record I'm trying to sell?". Because he was able to get the goods, he
> was able to get away with treating people like garbage. I eventually
> befriended his assistant Bruce Grossberg, and therefore had the (dis)
> pleasure of often being around Feinberg. I can tell you truckloads of
> hilarous, pathetic stories about him, but I'll spare you. :-)
>
> Another "paragon" was Val Shively, who owned a record shop in Upper Darby,
> Pennsylvania. He specialized in rare '50s 45s, but had a healthy amount
> of
> soft pop '60s singles which he really couldn't care less about. I really
> wanted those records, so I had to incur his barbs everytime I went there,
> as
> he thought that people who collected that stuff were lower than pond scum.
> I have to admit, on an objective level he was very funny, but I didn't
> find
> it funny when the abuse was heaped on me, which was often. One day I
> decided I'd had enough, and vowed never to go back as long as he was in
> the
> store...and I never have.
>
> Thank you for the opportunity to cleanse my soul! :-)
> --
> Pop Rules!!!!!
> Take Care,
> David
>
>
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