SALEM — It’s 10 a.m. on Thursday when Paul “Baz” Bazylinski parks his car in front of The Record Exchange on Washington Street and rushes toward the front door. He’s lugging a stack of vinyl albums. Nothing new there. Baz has worked at this heavenly hangout for music lovers since 1984 and has run the business since the death of founder Skip Kolhonen in December 2017. It’s an hour-plus drive from his home in South Berwick, Maine, but there’s no place he’d rather be.
The Record Exchange, one of America’s oldest record stores (it opened in 1974), has survived the pandemic and, thanks to its incredibly loyal customers, is open for business again, just in time for August 29’s nationwide Record Store Day celebration.
“It’s been busy, very busy. And it’s been a challenge,” said Bazylinski. “The Record Exchange community is a family. Our customers are our friends.They are loyal and kept the store alive (during the pandemic), buying gift cards and phoning and texting words of encouragement.” Hundreds of “love notes” from customers have been posted on the store’s Facebook page and many have stopped by to say ‘hi’ and hug from outside while Baz worked inside.
“This has always been a place where friends get together and records and CDs can find a good home,” said Baz.
It’s been a long strange trip for Baz since the coronavirus virus arrived in the spring.
Baz voluntarily closed the store on March 16, one week before Gov. Charlie Baker announced his four-phase reopening plan. The three-month closure allowed him to sort through inventory; he re-organized the jazz section, putting a focus on rare hard bop and post-bop records. He also got to tidy the place up a bit. Longtime customers are accustomed to seeing piles of vinyl and towers of CDs scattered throughout the store.
It was a slow, cautious reopening that started with curbside pickup on May 27. Customers called the shop to request or ask about records, CDs and DVDs, or used Facebook to relay their want list and requests.
“During the curbside phase, I mostly met people at parking lots or on Salem Common,” said Baz. “We’d communicate by Facebook Messenger, settle on a price. I’d show up with the records in a bag, I was handed an envelope with money in it, and I’d put the bag of records on a park bench. We’d both say ‘Thanks a lot’ and promised to catch up when things were more normal.”
Appointments were required to enter the store the first two weeks after restrictions were lessened in June. One person per hour, 45 minutes to shop and 15 minutes for Baz to clean up and disinfect. On week number three, appointments continued and walk-ins were limited: no more than four customers in the store at one time and six-foot social distancing was enforced. “It was nerve-wracking,” said Baz. “But people have been wonderful. They have followed guidelines and protocols. I can’t be more grateful. I feel blessed.”
Appointments were discontinued on week four. Customers patiently waited outside for their turn; as one of four customers exited, Baz got out the Lysol wipes and disinfectant sprays before letting the next person in line enter. The store has since been open four days a week, Wednesday through Sunday.
Bazylinski has been a one-man show during all of this. His two assistants, music dynamo Barrence Whitfield and Kinks superfan Jimmy Beaudry, both beloved by Record Exchange regulars, have not worked in the store since the March 16 closing. Baz can’t wait to bring them back.
Some exciting new releases enticed music lovers to brave the virus and head to the store: Bob Dylan’s “Rough and Rowdy Ways” on gold vinyl, Neil Young’s lost 1975 album “Homegrown,” and Beastie Boys reissues.
“We’re a touchable place. Customers want to pick up a record and look at the cover, read the song list on the back. But safety was and is the most important thing. Masks are required and we hand out vinyl gloves to customers as they enter the store,” said Baz.
The city of Salem has kept small business owners informed every step of the way through this COVID nightmare, said Baz. “The city of Salem has been superb. There have been several Zoom meetings, with Mayor Kim Driscoll, the police chief … Dr. (David) Roberts of North Shore Medical Center. They have been very competent and very helpful. I am enormously grateful and appreciative to the city and the Salem Economic Development Recovery and Revitalization Task Force for providing the PPE kits to help us and all small businesses reopen.”
Baz is still appraising and buying albums, CDs and DVDs, though it’s been particularly challenging during the pandemic. Thursday morning, Dave Assa, who is spending the summer with family in Marblehead, dropped off three boxes of used CDs, most from his dad’s music library, for Baz to examine. The Grateful Dead and Bob Dylan were well represented. “I’ll be sure to wear a tie-dye T-shirt when I look through these,” said Baz.
“This place is an institution,” said Assa, who was accompanied by his son. “My dad is a huge music fan, and he’s spent a lot of happy times here through the years.”
Baz is now focused on Record Store Day, which been postponed twice, but three RSD Drops (the current term for record releases) are set for Aug. 29, Sept. 26 and Oct. 24. Featured this month are many limited edition-vinyl albums including hot releases — I’m sorry, drops — David Bowie’s “Changes Now Bowie,” Billie Eilish’s “Live at Third Man Records,” Charlie Parker’s “Live at Midnight,” and The Cure’s “Bloodflowers” 2-picture-disc-set.
“It’s a celebration of our customers, and a chance to celebrate independent music stores. We will have only two customers in the store at the same time, since all the Record Store Day vinyl will be in one section of the store, arranged alphabetically,” said Baz. The Record Exchange will be open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Aug. 29, and the line will form at the Pond Street corner of the store. More details are available on The Record Exchange Facebook page.
Bill Brotherton can be reached at [email protected].
