TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — What's old in music is new again and this time around, vinyl is here to stay.
This discovery surrounds a local shop that's putting it's stamp on Southern Arizona ahead of Record Store day.
There's a lot of action on one of Tucson's seemingly peaceful side streets.
"Oh yeah, I don’t think there’s ever been a better time to be into collecting records.”
Collection means commerce and from the time Jacob Sullivan flips the switch at Wooden Tooth Records... (I had to ask him where the unique name came from):
“I think Wooden Tooth was inherited. It was the name of the business that previously occupied the space were reopened her first location and when we moved in, they had left a giant metal sign that said wooden tooth hanging right out over the sidewalk.”
There's a lot of hauling and hefting and perusing and choosing for customers Jagger (yes, he was named for Mick Jagger) Plenge and his girlfriend Sam.
“I often listen to his recommendations because … ('with a name like Jagger you have to) … I cheat and I like listening to things that maybe I wouldn’t have picked up a time. Try something new," Sam told me.
“In the albums, the physical copy, you get to hear the whole story of what the artist was trying to portray”
The needle really hit the groove for Jacob and his business partner 11 years ago this month when the idea to open a shop like this became more than a dream. A few years later they decided to let it be their sole focus, wading in the vast world of vinyl.
“It’s still like a kind of magic when you put that needle on and you hear music coming out of this disc that seemingly should not have all of this information stored on it and yet it’s all there," Jacob said.
For a medium that was all but silenced in the digital age, business is booming again well into the 21st century.
“Anything that has been hard to find on vinyl or out of print for a long time is being repressed and then every new album that comes out today for the most part is going to get a vinyl pressing," Jacob said.
If you're looking to cash-in in this buy, sell, trade exchange, Jacob's the guy to dust off your collection. But don't be surprised when he says...
"There's nothing in here we can use today."
It's not personal. It's just another step in the search. No luck for today's customers unless the real reason for coming in was something more.
“There is kind of a return of physical media where it’s like you’re getting away from subscription service where it’s OK I own this," Jagger said.
“Yeah, I mean I think people are kind of you know, yearning for a physical experience. A tangible item that they can hold in their hands and have an interaction with and connect to. I think there’s something alluring about being in a store and flipping through the bins and, you know, being able to see the art work on a bigger scale that you do on your phone and you can flip it right over and see not only the songs, but the credits, you know. Who produced it and plays on it."
Maybe it's time for you to take Wooden Tooth Records for a spin.
Record Store Day takes place typically the third Saturday in April.
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Dan Spindle co-anchors Good Morning Tucson on KGUN 9 and is an award-winning storyteller whose work has earned him honors from the Rocky Mountain Southwest Emmys, the Associated Press and the Utah Society of Professional Journalists for both anchoring and reporting. Dan is passionate about history and loves to explore the Grand Canyon State. Share your story ideas with Dan by emailing dan.spindle@kgun9.com or by connecting on Instagram, or X.
