Well Worth the Wait in Line: Record Store Day at Salzer's
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| Record Store Day Morning Outside Salzer's Records |
This year's celebration of Record Store Day was an excellent example of a rule I learned from friends when I was in high school. Perhaps "rule" is a bit pedantic, since it is something they did which was meant to enhance an already fun thing. Either way, it is something I've tried to do each year on the holiday for music lovers, the artists who create music and the people who run the stores some us still dare to haunt.
In my youth in Orange County, California, a close circle of friends of mine worked at Disneyland and could get a few friends in for free on occasion. The result was lots of visits to the theme park; way more than most people would do at the time. Because of this, their belief was every time you went to the Magic Kingdom, you had to do something you have never done there before. I applied this axiom to Record Store Day during the second celebration of it, and have done so ever since.
This year, I managed to pull off something new, though seemingly rather silly to some, that I had been trying to do for the past couple of years. Start the line at a record store. Hardcore RSD attendees know what I'm talking about. That awesome moment when you are the first person in line at a yet to open record store. Technically, you aren't really in a line, yet. Eventually, and in most cases it is sooner rather than later, you are joined by a like minded music fan, and from there the queue begins to truly form.
This year, after waking up at 0-dark-thirty, I made my way north, out of the environs of Los Angeles, away from the more obvious purveyors of recorded sound, up the coast to Salzer's Records; one of the last brick and mortar music bastions before you enter the long and winding road of Highway 101 to all points North.
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| Open, open, open! |
Arriving just before 6:00am, I was the lone person in the parking lot, but I wasn't for long though, as just a few minutes after setting out my chair and kicking back to enjoy the early morning air, I was soon joined by a gentleman named Ben, whom I would chat music with throughout the morning. This is actually one of the things I look forward to most about Record Store Day; meeting new people and talking about whatever music we enjoy. By 7:00am there were a dozen people in line and it grew exponentially from there, eventually wrapping around the building.
Salzer's is a dictionary perfect example of what an independent record store can be. Sharing its parking lot only with a small office building, it is a two story structure, with architecture and signage that unequivocally declares from afar, "this is a record store, all are welcome." It manages to achieve this even to those flying by on the freeway just a hundred or so yards away. While it doesn't resemble it exactly, it is hard not to compare Salzer's to the titular store in the film Empire Records, and much like the characters of that film, the people who work there are all clearly dyed-in-the-wool music lovers.
Salzer's is a record store I have visited for well over 20 years, and on this occasion, I had the pleasure of meeting the founder and owner, Jim Salzer, who ranks about as high as one can get on the cool-o-meter in my humble opinion. The store regularly hosts live performances from local acts right outside its doors, with fans watching the single-foot-high riser stage from the parking lot. This year for Record Store Day, instead of having a band play later in the day or evening, they featured an acoustic set from half the members of Ventura band, The Pullmen, which was perfectly timed, starting at 9:30 and ending just before the doors opened.
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| "Western Trash" band, The Pullmen, live on Record Store Day |
Unlike previous years, there were not many of the Record Store Day exclusive releases I felt I had to have. Once I got a copy of the Deep Purple/Type O Negative split 7" on translucent white and purple vinyl and a couple things for friends who couldn't attend RSD or who hadn't found what they were looking for at other stores in LA, I felt my mission to be first through the doors was accomplished.
The best thing about Salzer's on Record Store Day is how organized they are. On the third annual Record Store Day, I went to a store in Long Beach, where I was body checked and scratched by a couple of overzealous attendees in a disorganized stampede for Exclusives. Salzer's makes things so much easier and let's small groups in to manage the crowd. They also do a great job of handing out freebies, which included a very organized table where people could help themselves to sampler CD's and other swag after they shopped. This year, they even brought out a truck load of old kitchen chairs to ease the feet and backs of some of those that didn't bring a chair.
The only thing which could possibly make Salzer's a better record store location, is if In-N-Out Burger would open an establishment within walking distance of it, as my traditional Record Store Day lunch is usually In-N-Out Burger as the headliner (though on occasion I've made a pilgrimage to The Sunset Grill to stare out at the auburn sky.)
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| Quality you can taste! |
Salzer's is a fantastic place for music fans to visit even when it isn't Record Store Day, something which I highly recommend you do. They have a great vinyl section and always have an interesting selection of import and unusual titles available, along with rock & roll related accoutrements and swag on their second floor. Should you find yourself along the southern edge of the central coast of California, make plans to visit Salzer's at least once, and make sure to follow Salzer's on Facebook.
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