In 2003, I was working as Advertising and Promotions Director for Easy Street Records (Seattle). Based out of the West Seattle location, I worked downstairs, away from the sales floor. At times that made me feel disconnected from the “word on the street” regarding new music. My favorite part of working (for many years) in record retail was talking with coworkers and customers about what they were listening to.
On a nondescript day, Easy Street received a promo pack from Arena Rock Recording Company. For me, opening that pack was one of those moments that happens thousands of times, but you never know which time it will change your life. Inside was a copy of mono‘s One Step More And You Die and a standard label-generated One Sheet. Initially, I started to set it aside for later – then I glimpsed a bolded sentence describing their sound which included Godspeed You! Black Emperor. I read the entire One Sheet and put the disc in right away. I was stunned and couldn’t imagine why no one had clued me in about mono yet. Turned out it was my turn to share with everyone else (and boy, did I!).
Noting their tour dates, I saw the Seattle show was coming up shortly. Immediately, I started making calls to set up what would be booking my first In-Store! When the day came, I was uncharacteristically nervous and excited. I had truly fallen in love with the album and couldn’t wait to see it performed live. At the time, mono was still an “opening band” and the in-store attendance was thin. Nonetheless, mono played a blistering set full of passion, despair and exaltation. Many of the employees (some who’d never heard mono before) confessed they felt like they were going to cry. Mono’s ability to draw intense emotions from well-guarded places ranks them in a fully elevated league of musicians.
When the in-store was over, we hugged, I gave them Easy Street T-shirts, and they left for their evening soundcheck. Seven years later, mono has over 30,000 Fans on MySpace, over 11,000 fans on Facebook, numerous gorgeous albums, are constantly touring and their faces light up every time they catch me in the audience. It still makes me feel like crying – sharing joy and intimacy through music is one of the most rewarding experiences I’ve had in my life.
Music is sharing – the musicians are sharing their creativity, hopes, secrets, love and loss. Music that moves me, moves me to share it and this is the human experience. Some of my favorite artists (of all time) I didn’t discover on my own, but were revealed to me by friends and customers. This cannot happen by shopping online, cut off from human interaction – like working in a basement. My joy was found by emerging from the basement and sharing my new love of mono. Make time for yourself and visit a record store. Stop in, talk to the employees, talk to the customers – we’re all fans. At the time, you won’t know if you’re about to buy a life-changing album, but isn’t it worth the gamble? Support your local record store.
Happy Record Store Day,
Jessica
P.S. I just noticed Arena Rock’s motto; how beautifully concise:
Where Happiness Costs So Little
P.P.S. At the time, Easy Street owner Matt Vaughan said with wide eyes, “That’s the loudest in-store we’ve EVER had”. It may still hold true.
http://www.facebook.com/EasyStreetRecords
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Mono-Japan/12609779342?ref=ts
http://www.facebook.com/RecordStoreDay?ref=ts
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