Music and memories: Kalispell store part of resurgence of records

Connor Crevier has found that some people will pay a good deal to own their favorite music in its most tangible and collectible form.

“Records have a lot to do with feelings and memories,” he said. “If a guy can find a record of something he used to listen to in high school, he’ll pay for it.”

As the proprietor of Old School Records at 134 First St. W. in Kalispell, Crevier started his business in August with his own record collection and now has a stockpile of thousands of used records (with a few new), including many boxes of purchased and donated LPs still to sort through.

He also sells used CDs and cassettes, turntables, a few instruments and a variety of music-related items and memorabilia.

Crevier, 21, opened the store partly as a business and partly as a gathering spot for local musicians and the musically minded.

The store contains a small stage where musicians can practice or hold small shows. Crevier said he rolls away the record displays to create an open space for crowds of up to 50 who might congregate for a concert.

Crevier is in two bands himself — Fortress, a heavy metal group, and My Animal Face, which is more grunge rock.

Though the store is located near a senior community, Crevier said he has not heard one complaint about noise from the music events, even though they might play until 3 a.m.

“We’ve never had a single complaint, which is surprising,” he said. “A lot of my friends are into punk and metal ... they can be a pretty rowdy bunch.”

Crevier’s record selection, though, is not concentrated on any style of music. His vinyl stock includes country, rock, pop, punk, metal, jazz, old standards, new wave, hip-hop records and more.

Records have developed a following among more than just collectors or nostalgia buffs. Music fans have purchased tens of thousands of vinyl versions of recent releases — such as Daft Punk’s “Random Access Memories” and Vampire Weekend’s “Modern Vampires of the City — targeted at college-age listeners. A growing number of classic albums by groups such as the Beatles and early Rolling Stones also have been reissued in recent years.

Vinyl pressing plants are reporting being pushed to their capacity, and estimates are that 25 million vinyl dics were pressed in the United States in 2012.

“They’re coming back real big in cities like California and New York,” Crevier said of records. “We’re way behind here. People are sick of having their music in the air instead of in actual physical form.”

The overwhelming majority of Old School Records’ stock is used, but Crevier expects to have more new records in the future.

The used records can be sold for hefty markups, though, especially if they’re rare. Crevier will offer a good price for an album if he thinks the market will reward his investment. He paid $30 for a rare version of the White Stripes “Elephant” on vinyl and sold it to a local customer for $80.

Some less risky investments have also been extremely lucrative. He put $3 each into three Slayer albums that sold for $50 each. And his best markup was on a Kanye West album that sold for $108 after he had purchased it for $1.

Those kind of profits are not the norm, though.

Crevier said the business is almost more of a hobby, though he said he saved for two years to be able to open the store, which is located on part of an older site for his parents’ business, Crevier’s Academy of Cosmetology Arts.

Old School Records was busy right after it opened in the summer, Crevier said, with lots of tourists and “Canadians like crazy. A lot of Canadians are record collectors.

“I had one man who just happened to be walking down the street with his whole family and he was so excited to see I was here,” he said. “He spent something like $200 in one sitting.”

He is happy to be providing a place for his old friends and fellow music lovers to hang out, and said he’s probably made “50 new friends” through the store.

He also has seen a lot of people excited to find albums that might be castoffs to other people, but have special meaning to the buyer.

“Records bring a lot of joy to people,” he said.

Old School Records is open 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., Tuesdays through Saturdays. Call 393-2501.