Record Shop peddles vintage vinyls
By Maggie Beidelman
SAN JOSE -- If there is one thing my experience reporting has made clear, it is that a story can be wheedled out of just about anyone, anything, anywhere.
And my random adventure to The Record Shop is a case in point.
So, take Bus 22 into Downtown San Jose. Hop off somewhere in the middle of the main drag. Walk a few blocks, and you just may be fortunate enough to encounter a unique urban boutique.
Crossing the store's threshold, a mini metropolis of CDs, collections of music-inspired attire and 12-inch vinyls glisten under an array of contemporary lighting.
On the right, a guide to the "Hundred Best Cocktails" rests on a mantel mounted to the brick walls of the small space.
On the left, a listening station stands in the corner offering the likes of Coldplay and The Rolling Stones.
A miniature red telephone booth sits proudly on the counter, eagerly awaiting a curious hand to reach inside and retrieve one of its many informational flyers.
A man dressed in all artsy-black leans over the backside of the counter, conversing on a curly-corded black telephone. He fairly emanates friendliness from his tall figure, and a warm smile indicates to me that he welcomes a chat about his business.
"This all started out as a dream," said Samuel Garcia, The Record Shop's purchasing manager.
He co-owns the establishment with his siblings, with whom he'd long dreamed of running a music store.
But it wasn't until their father developed a brain tumor and serious form of cancer that they made their dream into a reality.
After discovering his illness, the family came across a building for lease while driving on Santa Clara Street in downtown San Jose back in 2003.
The empty edifice seemed perfect for the kind of business they had in mind. On that very day, Garcia's father told his children, "Do what you want to do." As in now, before it's too late.
"Before I knew it," said Garcia, "I was signing the lease to the space," even though he'd just quit his job and was planning to relocate to San Diego. "At first, we wondered, did we do the right thing?"
Now they can answer that with an unequivocal "yes."
And just over two years later, business is up and running in two locations: 76 S. 1st Street in Downtown San Jose and a clothing-only store in Burlingame called The Shop, located on Broadway.
"Our hearts are now in it," said Garcia. To prove it, he gave me a quick tour of the back room of the shop to show a picture of the man who inspired the dream: his dad.
The Record Shop's niche is dance and electronic music, celebrating "music as an art form and fashion." They are also one of the few retailers of vinyl records, an homage to the roots of urban music.
Music-related clothing is available for purchase, such as Authentic Hendrix and Caffeine, which are both music and clothing labels.
According to Garcia, the collection of Ben Sherman shirts, belts and even toiletry bags is no accident: "What makes us different from the department stores is that we try to keep collections together to cater to our usual consumer crowd of working professionals."
The shop also offers clothing labels Industry, Blue Marlin and Pony, and by the end of this month will sell Paul Frank and Modern Amusement merchandise, along with their new summer collection.
The business can be found online at www.therecordshopsj.com. The Record Shop is committed to the dance community and promoting up-and-coming underground artists in the local area.
The shop looks forward to expanding into Southern California within the next couple of years.
Walking out of The Record Shop, I felt like I'd gleaned a new understanding of San Jose's somewhat hard to find real urban culture: a lifestyle of up-beat music, trendy clothing and an unwavering enthusiasm for style.
Contact Maggie Beidelman at (408) 551-1918 or mbeidelman@scu.edu.