A few years ago, I focused on Maine diners. I love the design of the real old ones, hopefully I caught some of their 'flavor' in photos I took.
Since then, I've been thinking about 'projects' and one that's been kicking around in my head is Used Record Stores. Never having been in one, I ventured to Brunswick, Maine to visit Vinyl Haven. (The name is a pun ... one of the islands off the midcoast is the lovely Vinalhaven.)
The store is owned by David Hunt. For nearly 40 years, he's been buying and selling records and equipment. Today, if you have a cassette recorder, a Garrard turntable of a Kenwood stereo amplifier and you want it repaired (???? really?), he's your man.
Mark, the manager and a former professional musician, greeted me when I shuffled in, not sure what I would see or what sense of the place and the business I would get. Now, I want to go back and visit a few more such stores.
Before I went to Vinyl Haven Records, I was also thinking about visiting Bull Moose, a chain of music/book/video stores that's flourished in Maine. Some folks credit the owner's computer programming skills for devising software which greatly aids the business' inventory and supply chain. But enough biz-talk.
The benefit of going to Vinyl Haven, and then seeing pix of Bull Moose on the Web, is to realize there is a difference, even though both stores sell music. The Moose is a retail chain. Promotions, new releases, promotion. Vinyl Haven is an experience born of a love of music and LPs and hifi gear from the '60s and '70s. I hope I can capture some of that flavor.
