Small communities such as Murray often have hidden treasure troves for a variety of interests. Terrapin Station, the local record store in Murray, is the place for the music lovers of the community.
April 20th was national Record Store Day. National Record Store Day began in 2007 by gathering owners and employees of independent record stores to spread the word about not only the merchandise, but also the culture that surrounds small record shops.
Terrapin Station, located on 12th Street in Murray, kicked off Record Store Day by opening at 10 a.m. with special discounts and more than 50 exclusive vinyl records and CDs available for customers.
“We had about 10 to 15 people waiting outside the store before we even opened,” said Tim Peyton, manager of Terrapin Station. “It was a great day for business because we had about 200 people in one day.”
For 28 years, Terrapin Station has been providing the community with a wide variety of music, DVDs, turntables, books, posters and tobacco products. The store also functions as a live-music venue.
A regular customer of Terrapin Station, Brandon Dowdy, sophomore from Murray, says Terrapin Station is a special place in the community for many reasons.
“One great thing about Terrapin Station is the local character and prosperity,” Dowdy said. “It is one of a kind and has distinct character. I don’t know of any other record store that would allow me to sleep on a couch for three hours on a school break.”
Another point Dowdy raised included the economical and social impact the local record store has on the community.
“The money made by a locally-owned business stays within our local economy, helping boost our economy in Murray,” Dowdy said. “But, it’s also a place for loungers, a place for someone to chill and talk to friends.”
Record Store Day brought six bands from the surrounding areas to Murray to play a live show. At 6 p.m., all the merchandise was pushed aside and the live music began and continued well into the night, said Peyton. The bands that played included Voyage of Slaves, Quailbones, Hi-Fi Ninja, Red Measure, Shark Week and Savage Seduction.
“A lot of the bands are local and have played here before,” Peyton said. “They are do-it-yourself bands who support genuine, honest, do-it-yourself record stores.”
Terrapin Station has been participating in Record Store Day since 2008 because it is a service to its customers and their community. In addition, many of its customers enjoy supporting the record store for the same reason.
“Record Store Day is important for local support,” Peyton said. “It is hard to survive as a record store now with digital downloads of music, but most people don’t like to give up the social interaction that comes with purchasing music and collectibles.”
According to recordstoreday.com, Record Store Day takes place on the third Saturday in April every year. Artists and stores alike are aware of this day and put out special releases for the occasion. All across the nation, small record stores present their customers with special vinyl records and CD releases made exclusively for Record Store Day. Some stores go as far as to provide a cook-out or meet and greets as a way of saying thank you to their customers.
Record Store Day was conceived in 2007 at a gathering of independent record store owners and employees as a way to celebrate and spread the word about the unique culture surrounding more than 700 independently owned record stores in the U.S. and thousands of similar stores internationally.
Story by Hunter Harrell, Staff writer.