Block party: Speakertree Records joins revitalized Fifth Street 500 block
By Liz Barry on Aug. 06, 2008
Something is happening on Fifth Street.
At Starlight Café, young hipster types drink $2 PBRs, while Accordion Death Squad - an emerging band from Charlottesville - unleashes the dark tones of Balkan gypsy music.
Three doors down, Speakertree Records - a new independent record shop - is celebrating its grand opening with a night of live music by artists from as far away as Brooklyn and Philadelphia.
Outside, throngs of people roam the sidewalk, for some fresh air or a cigarette. They hop between Starlight and Speakertree, where a total of six acts perform.
For a night, the 500 block pulses with life. It’s a glimpse into what downtown Lynchburg could become - a vibrant urban center, a hub for music and the arts.
Block Party
Last July, Starlight Café opened, paving the way for several new businesses on the 500 block. Within a year, an eclectic group of shops opened their doors: Machu Picchu Peruvian Restaurant, Folk boutique and Diva salon.
Speakertree Records is the newest pioneer.
The tiny independent record shop would feel right at home in Brooklyn or Portland, where vinyl-collecting hipsters are a dime a dozen. But in Lynchburg, it’s a rare breed. The closest competitor is Plan 9 (formerly The Record Exchange) on Candlers Mountain Road, which is part of a small chain of record shops in Virginia and North Carolina.
Speakertree carries a large selection of new and used records, as well as CDs, art, magazines, zines and screen-printed T-shirts. It’s is a one-man show, owned and run by 28-year-old Blair Amberly, who is selling thousands of records from his personal collection.
But Speakertree is more than just a store; it’s a presence.
From the street, a large mural draws you in with a montage of yellow clouds and silver stereos and geometric squares. A “Now Open” sign covers a cracked windowpane on the front door.
Inside, the walls are lined with artwork and colorful bins full of vinyl records and CDs labeled by genre on index cards: soul, jazz, hip hop, indie rock, folk. The selection ranges from obscure collectable records to major classics. When it comes to contemporary music, the shelves are dominated by artists on small, independent labels, rather than Top 40 hits.
The store is also a venue for music and art, with plans in the works for more concerts, movie screenings, art shows and even a drum circle. Amberly’s hope is that Speakertree will become a hub for music culture in Lynchburg.
He set the precedent opening night, with performances by local favorites The Late Virginia Summers, and two acts from up North: The Extraordinaires, a folk rock band from South Philadelphia, and Tavo Carbone, a singer-songwriter from Brooklyn.
500 Block
A week after the grand opening, Amberly mans the counter, sorting through the hundreds of records he will soon add to the bins. The brick storefront at 522 Fifth Street is now his home away from home. Amberly believes the city is entering a Renaissance period, and that Lynchburgers are hungry for good music.
“Lynchburg is on the cusp of being really great,” he says.
He looked at other locations, including spots in Forest and outlying strip malls, but nixed them for the downtown location. Since opening, the store has attracted the attention of passing drivers and pedestrians. In the two weeks he’s been open, Amberly says he has already had some repeat customers.
Matt Moorin is one of them. The 18-year old student at Central Virginia Community College is on his fourth visit in one week.
“Did I tell you about the collection I got the other day,” Amberly says when Moorin enters on this Friday afternoon, pointing him to a crate filled with obscure punk and hardcore music from the ’80s.
“Oh my God, I’ll pay you as much as you want for this,” Moorin says.
Ten minutes later, Moorin is still poring over the albums.
“I’m freaking out. I never thought I’d come by any of this stuff here.”
Though the word is still out on whether Lynchburg can sustain a place like Speakertree, the shop has garnered an outpouring of support.
“I like seeing stuff going into downtown because it’s been such a dump for so long,” says James Mudie, 18, a first-time customer, who is particularly excited about the vinyl collection.
Christa Peterson, 31, a physical therapist assistant from Lynchburg came back to the record shop after checking out the opening night show.
“I like the creativity of it,” she says. “The chain stores are really cookie-cutter. This reminds me of Richmond or Charlottesville.”
Very Vinyl
Vinyl is now en vogue with the Myspace generation. Though they grew up listening to CDs and mp3s, this younger crowd is drawn to the vintage appeal of vinyl records.
“It’s hip again to buy vinyl. It’s part of pop culture,” Amberly says.
Even with the music industry in turbulence, vinyl sales have spiked this year and could reach an all-time high, according to Nielsen SoundScan, a company that tracks the music industry.
Record labels are tapping into the trend. Artists like Metallica, Wolf Parade, Iron & Wine and Portishead are releasing vinyls records with an accompanying code to download the files online. That way, customers do not have to choose between the collectability of vinyl and the portability of mp3s.
Plan 9, which has been in business in Lynchburg for more than two decades in some shape or form, has seen a steady interest in vinyl among the younger generation, says longtime manager Adam Lee.
Why vinyl? Sound is one reason. In CD and digital formats, the sound quality is compressed, Amberly says. The sound of vinyl is more expansive and nuanced, and the crackles on older records give them extra character.
Moorin agrees. “I like the way it sounds better. It’s got that warm sound.”
Vinyl also provide room for large cover art, a must-have for many music fans. Records are also collectable, with some rare albums going for high prices.
Backstory
Opening a record shop was long a pipe dream for Amberly. At yard sales and music stores, he says he’d often buy doubles of records, hoping to sell them one day in a store of his own.
While growing up in the suburbs of Northern Virginia, Amberly became obsessed with hip hop. Over the years, his musical tastes broadened, as well as his music collection.
Now, Amberly is putting the majority of his more than 3,000 vinyls up for sale.
Amberly admits that there is risk to his venture. But to him, it’s worth it.
“I’m not going into this blindly. I’m not doing this to become a rich man,” he says. “It’s a labor of love.”
But he says he can’t let go of all of his records. His top five that he will never part with are “Amnesiac” by Radiohead, the self-titled McDonald & Giles album, Steve Grossman’s “Some Shapes to Come,” Public Enemy’s “It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back,” and, of course, Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get it On.”
For more information on Speakertree Records, visit the Web site at speakertreerecords.com (no “www”) or call (434) 485-8262.
The store is open Tues. - Sat. from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sun., 12 p.m. - 5 p.m.
The next show, scheduled for Aug. 16, features a side project of The Late Virginia Summers, an local experimental group.
Clothing & Shoes, an folk rock band from Raleigh, will also perform.
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