Everyone has their pick of their best local record store. Whether you love the people who work there, love their selection, or both, every vinyl fanatic has their go-to brick-and-mortar to peruse. Visiting every single independent record shop in the country seems almost impossible, so sometimes we only hear about the fantastic work a record shop is doing from afar. The Record Exchange in Boise, Idaho is one of those shops you see online and dream of visiting. The shop has adapted and grown over its nearly 5-decade lifespan into a hub for the dedicated vinyl collectors in their community.
Glide had the pleasure of asking co-owner of The Record Exchange Chad Dryden a few questions about the shop, its history, and its strong sense of community. Read our full conversation below.
You guys just celebrated 45 years since you opened your doors, what was it like seeing vinyl rise back to the top? How has Record Exchange adjusted to this ever-changing business?
We’ve been talking about the vinyl resurgence for so long now it’s like vinyl has always at the forefront of what we do, but it truly was an unexpected, unprecedented development in the indie music retail world – never before in the history of recorded music has an “old” format roared back to replace a newer one as the medium of choice. We never got rid of our vinyl section entirely, so in one respect it was easy to build it back up, but in another way, it was a challenge to determine just how far to go with it – was vinyl a passing fad, would we misread the market and overstep the growth, would it go away as quickly as it came and leave us with a glut of inventory, etc. Fortunately, vinyl sales over the last decade have grown incrementally at a reliably consistent rate, and we’ve been able to keep up with it by steadily increasing our orders and expanding our floor space.
How has the shop changed the most over the years? What is the thing(s) you guys do consistently that you’re most proud of?
Vinyl’s comeback is the center of every modern record store’s story, and it’s hard to overstate its impact. Beyond that, the original owners decided decades ago to turn The Record Exchange into more than a retail store and position it as a cultural hub within the Boise music community, primarily through hosting live in-store performances featuring everyone from local favorites to international superstars. In 2015, we leaned even harder into this commitment to live music by building a permanent performance stage with full production capabilities and one of the best sound systems in town.
You guys hosted a big event to celebrate your 45th, can you tell us what the environment was like at the shindig? What was it like being a part of such a milestone?
It was an incredible event, one that doubled as a belated retirement party for the original owners, and it served to honor the past and usher in the future with several hundred of our longtime friends and customers in attendance. We are incredibly fortunate to be part of such a tight-knit music scene and to have the support of music listeners who have been coming to the store since the late 70s and those who have only recently discovered us. It’s amazing to look out on the floor and see four generations of customers sharing space in the vinyl racks.
You guys are no stranger to in-store events, what have been some of your fondest memories from some of those? Are there any artists on your bucket list you would like to have in The Record Exchange at some point?
Josh Ritter, who grew up in Idaho and speaks fondly of frequenting the store in high school, has performed at The Record Exchange several times over the years, and each performance and meet-and-greet has been an unforgettable experience for our customers. Personally, having Jason Newsted of Metallica and my young child exchange a fist bump in our office after a meet-and-greet, and picking up Glenn Danzig from a venue to drive to the store for a signing event, will never leave my mind.
After over four decades in the record business, you guys have seen it all. Where do you see the future of physical music going in the future? Do you think any other mediums like CDs or cassettes will make a comeback like vinyl did?
Cassettes have made a slight comeback, though nothing like vinyl, and there have been rumblings of a CD comeback that some months seem to be ringing true and other months not so much. If there’s one thing the vinyl resurgence has taught us, it’s that you can never turn your back on a format, even when it seems down and out. There will always be a market, no matter how small, for all of it.
The Record Exchange emphasizes building a community, what do you credit all of the loyalty to? How else does TRE go out of its way to involve the people who shop there?
I’ve mentioned before that if you look at the DNA of every successful music scene in the world, you will find a spirit of inclusion and collaboration that is focused more on community building than building up bank accounts. We celebrate this by partnering with several venues, radio stations, and independent businesses, and giving our customers a place to go that is more than just a record store, but a place to experience (and also contribute to) the unique fabric of Boise’s music scene.
What is the biggest used collection that someone brought in? What about your biggest find from a used collection?
Over the years we have purchased several collections numbering in the thousands of pieces. The biggest was probably about 10 years ago when we acquired 80,000 records from a used book store that was going out of business. We thought that collection would feed our vinyl inventory for at least five years, but 3.5 years later, we had sold all but the dregs of it.
What venues in and around Boise do you all most enjoy seeing live music at?
I’ve seen more shows at Neurolux than any other venue in the world, and it remains one of my favorites, even if it’s just to post up at the bar for a whiskey and a beer when there’s nothing on the schedule. But at the top of my list is Spacebar Arcade, an arcade bar that is steeped in DJ culture past and present and has the best collection of vintage and modern video games and pinball machines in the Treasure Valley. It is a home away from home.
With 45 years under your belt, what does The Record Exchange have planned for the remainder of 2023? Can you give us hints about what is coming next from Idaho’s premier record shop?
We have another vinyl expansion planned for 2024, the scope of which has yet to be determined. Earlier this year, we entered a partnership with our next-door neighbor Neurolux, Boise’s long-standing indie rock venue and bar, and one other investor with ties to the music scene to purchase our building and keep it out of the hands of speculative developers who have more interest in leveling buildings to make way for expensive condos and other projects that strip our downtown of its character and culture.
