September 2008 (PDF) - Antigravity Magazine

COVER FEATURELOCAL BUSINESS
STILL SPINNING: AG ROUNDS UP THE
RECORD STORES OF NEW ORLEANS
How’s that iTunes thing working out for you? Getting much out of that? Are you satisfied with your virtual library, your
stream of album covers 72 pixels strong and a song list that looks more like your email account than your book shelf?
Or is there something missing, something Pandora, Limewire, Emusic or any other online “service” can’t really give
you? If you feel that finding music is more like picking produce than using a search engine, than these next few pages
are for you. ANTIGRAVITY took stock of the record stores in New Orleans and found a reason to celebrate: we’re loaded. While
some of you might still be mourning the loss of such fine institutions as the Magic Bus and Rocks Off; or digging even further
back, Underground Sounds and CD Warehouse—there are plenty of fresh, new record shops to cater to your listening pleasure,
as well as a few survivors. We pried our fingers off our keyboards long enough to venture out into the city and find out the stories,
triumphs and philosophies behind these shops, their owners and the neighborhoods they call home.
DOMINO SOUND
It might have been easy to laugh at Matt Knowles, better
known as the reggae-lovin’ DJ Prince Pauper, when he
opened his Domino Sound Record Shack on Bayou Road a
little over a year and a half ago. Stocking only vinyl and cassette
tapes seemed quixotic at best and naive at worst, but Knowles’
stubbornness has paid off. A constantly updated inventory and
a broad selection from African to punk ensures a steady stream
of customers. And although part of the vinyl exclusivity is a
personal choice, it’s also turning out to be a sound business
decision: “We are pretty sure that the CD is going the way of
the 8-track and reel-to-reel in the near future and that vinyl will
most likely be the only current format that lasts as a way to get
music as a piece of art...a viable piece of something that you
can hold and look at and touch,” Knowle told AG in an e-
mail. You could describe the strip of Bayou Road that Domino
resides on in the same way. An Afrocentric bookstore teeming
with interesting titles and a Jamaican restaurant flooding the
streets with sweet-smelling barbecue make for an eye-opening
sensory experience. In the coming months, Domino will be
branching out as a record label in addition to being a physical
shop, with a release by Why Are We Building Such a Big Ship?
slated for October. —Dan Fox; Photo by Dan Fox
Domino Sound Record Shack is located at 2557 Bayou Road in
New Orleans. For more info, call 504.309.0871.
SKULLY’Z
The idea of a new record store on Bourbon Street probably
confused a few people as they tried to picture fighting
that crowd to get to any place they’d want to shop at
regularly. But it turns out that Skully’z Recordz is on one of the
saner blocks, across from the Clover Grill and Mary’s Hardware.
The size of a big closet, Skully’z makes up in selection what it
lacks in personal space. Just beyond a traditional New Orleans
section—a profitable nod to the store’s location—lies a wide
array of contemporary and classic releases of all genres. On a
recent trip I was able to pick up a couple of Kimya Dawson
CDs in addition to Beck’s latest and Saul Williams’ self-titled
album. Owner Scott Wells’ business plan is the same as anyone
running a successful shop: he makes the place one he would
want to visit. Wells is experiencing a steady demand for vinyl,
which he says is actually fueled by people under twenty-five.
Another surprise? How well the new Madonna album, Hard
Candy, is doing on vinyl. It makes an audiophiles’ heart crackle
with hope. —Dan Fox; Photo by Dan Fox
Skully’z Recordz is located at 907 Bourbon St. in New Orleans.
For more info, call 504.592.4666 or go to myspace.com/
skullyzrecordz.
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