Music store shares the beat of classic tunes, on vinyl and CD
A jingle of vintage jazz fills the room as Chuck Paulson surveys his musical museum, a shop of widespread collections.
A colorful caricature of Jimi Hendrix occupies one wall. The Beatles don another.
Paulson welcomes you. Pick an era and he prescribes something for your tailored ear. There’s ’50s B.B. King, ’60s Rolling Stones and ’70s Doobie Brothers. Offer a genre – rock and roll, punk and funk, folk and pop, country and heavy metal, rhythm and blues – and Paulson delivers a list of classic artists whose unmistakable sounds come to life on spinning vinyl and CD.
Passionate about music of yesteryear, Paulson feels at home today at his new business off East Main Street. True to his store’s name, the Auburn man keeps the sound perpetually alive throughout the work shift.
And curious customers drop by to hang out.
“This is what I’ve always wanted to do – work, meet people and listen to music all day,” said Paulson, who joined longtime friends Phil and Joy Mitchell to open All Day Music, which specializes in collectibles and memorabilia, from vinyl records to CDs, posters to T-shirts. “We have thousands of records and we thought it would be fun to share it with others.
“We try to have something for everyone music-wise because we enjoy listening to everything,” Paulson added. “If there is something you are looking for, just let us know and we will find it.”
Paulson and the Mitchells grew up in Auburn, enjoy the community and wanted to give something back by trying something different, like stepping into a sound machine. Paulson is in the art glass business, Phil Mitchell a sales manager for an electrical wire and cable company. Both, however, are serious music connoisseurs with large personalized collections that started about 40 years ago.
Both wanted to open and expand a locally-spun record-collecting market. They buy, sell and trade while keeping the record tables stocked with possibilities.
“I like finding music that’s really good that you might not have heard of,” Paulson said.
So far, the idea seems to be catching on. Inventory has grown with the clientele.
“What we really wanted to do was have some fun with it,” Mitchell said. “What’s interesting is what we find popular.
“We’re appealing to a lot of new collectors,” he added. “There are a lot of new people out there who are beginning to collect vinyl. It’s not limited to people our age who grew up with it.”
Because of its high-quality sound, vinyl remains golden today. Vinyl, as Paulson and Mitchell insisted, is making a comeback.
Their shop has at least a thousand vinyl records, mostly 33s and some 45s, from as far back as ’30s jazz. The selections are varied, from Patti Page to Frank Sinatra, The Supremes to Led Zeppelin. There is also a section devoted exclusively to Northwest artists.
Customers and musicians are welcome to drop by, sample the music in the store’s listening room. A mega-sale is planned for June.
The store also is active in promoting local bands.
“We hope everyone embraces what we are trying to do,” Paulson said. “Auburn is a great town and deserves something unique.”
Mark Klaas can be reached
at 253-833-0218, ext. 5050,
or mklaas@reporternewspapers.com
