Small record store in Concord finding its groove post-pandemic
CONCORD -- Vinyl record sales have seen a huge spike in the last few years, and the pandemic appears to have played a role. A small shop in Concord is taking advantage of the rise in interest.
It may be small, but Tone Army Records in Concord has thousands of vintage platters to choose from.
For a while, owner Michael "Sesh" Sessions wasn't sure if he'd ever be able to sell them. For a business that revolves around rhythm, his timing was terrible.
"The plan was I was going to spend all of 2019 getting everything ready to open up the shop. I was buying as many records as I could, all the bins I built myself," said Sessions. "I was able to open the shop at the end of 2019 unfortunately unaware that the world was gonna flip upside down. And then three months later, in March, I had to close the shop, and then was able to reopen in June."
Sesh, as he's known, runs this place as a one-man band. Unless you count shop "assistant" Lisa. She happens to be a mannequin..
"Lisa is the hardest-working employee here," said Sessions. "She stands in the window and stares at people, and it brings people inside."
Without her, the hole-in-the wall record store would be hard to find. The building looks more like a place you'd hear easy-listening playing in the waiting room of a dental office. Session uses folding sandwich-board signs to advertise..
"Honestly the sign works harder than I do," said the owner. "I just sit in here and listen to music."
The first customers in the door on the day KPIX 5 cameras were visiting grew up in the streaming age. One of the young music buffs ended up buying something arguably even more retro than records: cassette tapes..
While cassettes may be making a comeback, vinyl is in the middle of a revolution. According to entertainment data firm Luminate, sales have shot up by more than 360% since 2019, when the store first opened its doors.
"The reason I got into records was I just really appreciated the inconvenience of listening to music on records. It was this whole event," explained Sessions. "Like, you had to go find a record, and then you had to have the equipment to play it on and cue it up and sit down. And the whole experience is getting involved in the music."
It is an experience that a lot more people are seeking out these days, keeping his small business spinning.
"The fun thing about records is now that it's back, they [record companies] make new records," said Sessions. "Some of the younger kids are getting into it as well, but then you have your grandpas who are trying to recollect their old records that they had in the '70s."
More information on the store and its operating hours is available on the Tone Army website.
