[JPL] A traditional retail record shop success story, 20 years & growing....

[Arturo]

Here's a great write up on Denver's Twist & Shout Records that will
celebrate 20 years next month. They have been strong supporters of
jazz89KUVO since day 1. The article also mentions the other sucessful indy
shops of Metro Denver, always a high ranking market for music, books and
live music. Twist has an excellent jazz department, their 2nd best selling
category after rock/pop. They also carry a large inventory of local
musicians recordings, vintage vinyl and stereo equipment. Twist & Shout has
won NARM's best indy shop 5 years running.


Nearing 20th year, Twist & Shout a survivor story

If he were in any other line of work, a 20-year anniversary for Paul
Epstein's business might scarcely raise an eyebrow among anyone but the
owners and longtime customers. But Epstein is co-owner, along with his wife,
Jill, of Denver's Twist & Shout record store, 2508 E. Colfax Ave. And in the
era of growing online music sales, Internet piracy and risk-averse major
labels, keeping a record store not just alive, but successful, is a
Herculean task.

"I'd have to be blind, deaf and dumb to say the industry itself isn't going
through some fairly heavy changes," Epstein said. Though he's come out
speaking for record stores' place in the modern economy, he's careful not to
be seen as too optimistic. It's possible that the sky really is falling.

"I've been pretty specific that it wasn't falling on Twist and Shout," he
explained.

The store, also known by the affectionate shorthand "Twist," was saved from
the brink of death once in 1988 when Epstein and his wife bought the
business, then Underground Records, at a tax auction.


"Underground was kind of what an independent record store was in the '60s
and '70s. It was half record store, half head shop, half groovy social
gathering place. We kind of ran with that identity," he said.


Though the store has changed locations multiple times since then, it's
carried along the character Epstein found so important. A trip to Twist&
Shout reveals more miscellany on the walls all the time, from a collection
of signed guitars to an IV bag full of supposed blood, which the store
originally had on display in promotion for the metal band Carcass. And in a
move that invokes both homey clutter and slick business efficiency, tops of
shelves from front to back are stacked with books, toys, films and other
nonmusical swag.


"We've tried to become a pop culture store that's largely driven by music,"
Epstein said. Not that it's as easy as just breaking out a toy and book
catalogue or two. It requires coordination with the community and the odd
displays of local good will to earn the respect of the community. Last
year's decision to host East High School's WORD: The Power of Self
Expression and the associated performance from local up-and-comers Flobots
may have paid off in more than just warm, fuzzy feelings by now, to say
nothing of the release show Devotchka put on March 18.


"The local scene is really exciting for us retailers," Epstein said. "The
successes of Flobots and Devotchka and the Fray have been exciting for us.
To sell these kinds of numbers of local albums -- we can't even sell
national albums at these numbers."


It's a lesson the record industry has been slow to catch on to, and Epstein
spared little scorn for the industry that has confused its duties with
becoming nothing more than a hit machine.

"Everything is so much about the objectification of culture and the
immediate gratification and sale of stuff instead of a long-term
appreciation of art and enhancement of the human spirit," Epstein said. "Art
is important. It's not just commerce. It's important to the human
experience."


Epstein is excited, though, about the extent to which some forward-looking
folks in the industry have come around. April will see the arrival of not
only Twist& Shout's 20th anniversary, but of National Record Store Day
celebrations held April 19 and 20, which, at Twist, will include guest DJs,
musicians and more. Just like the anniversary, making a big deal of it might
seem self-aggrandizing in any other field. But record stores have a special
place in peoples' lives, Epstein said.


"Community is not just streets and parks and hospitals. There's a cultural
component to any successful society that involves the arts the pursuits of
the mind. We take that pretty seriously." The neighborhood actually supports
a number of stores. In the same area there's Independent and Wax Trax, and
other ones further out. "I think there probably always have been more here
than in other cities. Back in the heyday 10 or 15 years ago there were four
or five world-class record stores in Denver. You could shop like a fiend
here and find everything and it's still like that. There are probably more
independent record stores surviving in Denver. You also don't want to forget
Jerry's Record Exchange and Black and Red. The industry is shooting itself
in the foot so quickly with the race toward download technology and the
abandonment of physical goods, which has more than just a passing connection
to the artform. The physical thing is part of the artform. As long as decent
music is coming out, and the local scene is really exciting for us
retailers - the successes of Flobots and Devotchka and the Fray have been
exciting for us to sell these kinds of numbers. Meese is coming along too.
They're going to be huge. To sell these kinds of numbers of local albums -
we can't even sell national albums at these numbers."



Paul Epstein's take

On April 19th we will take part in the inaugural National Record Store Day.
The idea is that the country will take a moment to celebrate what Don Mclean
in his song "American Pie" called "The Sacred Store." That is, the
independently owned music store. Amazingly, the much beleaguered music
industry is shaking its mighty mane and some good stuff is falling out.
There will be lot of musicians playing at record stores (the amazing Jackie
Greene at Twist and Shout), and there is going to be a slew of collectible
items by many of the biggest and or hippest artists around. By coincidence
these festivities fall on the same weekend we will be celebrating our 20th
anniversary of our store. We will be doing lots of fun stuff around this
auspicious occasion as well.


All this hoopla has gotten me to thinking about the history of our store and
all the indie stores everywhere. People are generally surprised when I tell
them that Twist and Shout continues to thrive, even in this harsh climate
for traditional music retailers. However, if one has been watching, they
will surely have noticed that many music stores have morphed into what could
be called culture stores. We now take movies and clothing and toys and
stereo equipment and a hundred other categories as seriously as we take CDs
and Lps. What was traditionally a monolithic tribute to one facet of the
(counter) culture is now reflective of wide variety of interests and tastes.
We (collectively) continue to fill a pop-culture need.


So, why the enduring nature of the record store? Well it goes back to the
word "record." Record does not refer to the 12 inch platters we sell. It
refers to an attempt to preserve a moment of great art or history. It is the
physical manifestation of a brilliant idea or a beautiful sound. It is a
record of something worth remembering. The whole point is that it is a
thing, a cherished possession, a keepsake to hold in your house and your
heart. While I understand the impulse to save space, and I get that modern
people don't want to have so much stuff, I am reminded that museums and
libraries and universities are full of stuff. It is the stuff that acts as a
record of our existence. You can quote me on that-it's for the record.


To read article with pictures: click or cut n paste
http://denver.yourhub.com/Denver/Stories/News/About-Town/Story~446294.aspx