In the heart of the great state of Connecticut, there is an unassuming building that houses one of the greatest musical assets the state has ever seen. Redscroll Records is an established safe haven for the state’s music nerds, quickly becoming a breeding ground for local and well-known musicians across a plethora of genres. Redscroll is single-handedly changing the perception of Connecticut’s art scene, providing countless records, tapes, and CDs to the public while also building an indie label to release some of the highlights of their bustling art scene.
Glide had the opportunity to ask Rick, Co-owner of Redscroll Records, some questions about his shop, the story behind the record label, and everything in between. Check out our full conversation below:
It appears there is a lack of record stores in Connecticut- what role does Redscroll play in vinyling up that area?
There are some good stores in CT for sure. Some have closed since we opened and some pretty cool ones have also opened. We strive to reach folks from all over whether it be as a destination shop or through our online shops (Discogs, Big Cartel, Bandcamp). We specialize in left-of-center music – carrying a wide range of common titles to be sure, but our passion for music pushes us to always be discovering new and old music we have not yet heard that lights a spark in our mind/heart/soul/gut/whatever part you’d associate with that. We hope to inspire that feeling in others with the selection we bring into the shop and with the associated Redscroll Records label releases, podcasts, in-store shows, and out-of-store events we sponsor or help with and/or participate in.
How did you choose the location and do you feel you’ve helped start bands or created more music fans?
Wallingford is centrally located in Connecticut. It’s been home to the legendary Trod Nossel Studios and we can view the also legendary Oakdale Theater from our front door. It’s also home to a lot of legendary (I know it’s going to lose meaning the more I say it!) punk venues like the former Knights of Columbus hall (since torn down and turned into condos) and the Wallingford American Legion Post 187 (known locally as the WamLeg – and run officially as the WamLeg after the American Legion decided to vacate the building until recently; the landlord decided to sell the building). Cherry Street Station in town is holding the torch these days with lots of rock and punk and likewise shows. I could go on about the history of music in Wallingford, but generally being in New Haven County and centrally located with easy highway access is key.
I honestly don’t have to wonder if we’ve fostered any music fandoms or new bands because at this point we’re in our 17th year of operation and kids who used to come in with their folks now come in on their own and tell us about the role we’ve played in their musical journey/life. It’s pretty wild to think of and definitely helps keep the passion alive for me too.
Were there any record stores that you went to as a youngster that you wanted to kind of model or let inspire you?
Tons! Some key shops that no longer exist:
Brass City Records (Waterbury, CT. Walt was a mentor to so many. One of the best to do it! There is a picture of him in his shop here in the store – a nice good luck charm/guardian angel.)
Phoenix Records (Waterbury, CT. This shop had a couple of iterations with a few owners. It was renamed Phoenix after the original burnt down. It was after it was sold off to Karl that I came to know it best. Karl and Damon who managed the shop were very passionate and knowledgeable about rock and metal specifically and I was very into testing that in a CD buying pre-everyone-online era.)
Trash American Style (Danbury, CT. Malcolm can be seen touring the world as a rock star these days in Antiseen or Profanatica. He can also be seen hawking wares at various events still, though there has not been a physical shop in some time. He and Kathy ran the physical shop and it was where you went for punk music and also for the dry sardonic wit of Malcolm who was also very helpful in his way. If you know you know and if you don’t then find him on the road!)
Kim’s Super Video (St. Marks Place, Manhattan, NYC. The incredible selection there for CDs on the first floor and the second floor full of otherwise hard-to-find electronic 12″s was heaven for me.)
Cafe Soundz (Montclair, NJ. This was a small specialty shop, but if you liked what they had it seemed massive! Broad stroke: goth and industrial. Bobby, who ran this shop, was an opinionated stereotype of a shopkeeper and that was part of the fun – we didn’t take that note for our store even if I didn’t take that note for myself. A lot of what I bought he’d ridicule in fact, but it was all in fun; he did stock it after all!)
I could go on with this list for a long time, but those are some key shops for me personally that no longer exist.
You guys have some great store exclusives, how do those come about and what role does Redscroll play in the design/selection of these LPs?
We have relationships with a lot of like-minded shops and labels and distributors. It’s just kind of through ongoing conversation that these have come up and sprung into being. The Chat Pile that we recently had an exclusive color of was offered to us just as a color variant specific to us and we didn’t ask any further questions; we just loved the idea and said yes. We have one we’re working on right now that we are having a little more of a conversation about in regards to packaging and color. It’s mostly about what the band wants with this one. We’ll see!
You guys also have a label where you put out some incredible hardcore, how did Redscroll Records come to be? What are your picks for some of the label’s essential albums?
Hardcore is just one of the types of things we release! We’ve had solo acoustic guitar releases (Alexander) darkwave synth-pop (Revenge Body) psychedelic electronic rock (Hex Inverter) shoegaze dream pop (Dirt Devil) indie rock (Steve Hartlett) and modern synth composition (Antoni Maiovvi) and on and on! Redscroll Records as a label did start with a hardcore compilation in 2000 called “I See Dead People” (so of the time!). From trading that and subsequent releases with other labels and distributors (more often referred to on that level as distros) a small mobile operation began. Josh started the label and would bring the Redscroll releases and all the things he traded for to different punk shows and sell at those types of events. It grew and in 2007 he and I partnered to open the physical store. Check out our Bandcamp to see what we’ve most recently released: https://redscroll.bandcamp.com/
I see you guys host an interview show, and the most recent episode with Ajna was great. How did the show start and who are some guests on your bucket list?
How the show started is kind of a convoluted memory to me. I’ve been doing college/community radio since I graduated high school. I still work at WESU in Middletown. I’ve also done stints at WNHU in New Haven and WFCS in New Britain as well as a couple others. At some point, Josh asked if I’d want to do a podcast for the store and it just seemed like an extension of that. I already had the experience and a bit of the knowledge base so it began.
The blurb on what the podcast is:
The Redscroll Podcast is a monthly show (new episodes on the first of the month) that works as a companion to what we do at Redscroll Records in Wallingford, CT USA. We are a record store that has a heavy emphasis on the left-of-center/underground music of the world. Whether it be underappreciated or just has a niche audience, marginalized or just off the radar it’s all of interest to us. With the show, we’ll generally have a localized focus. We’ll discuss what is in our personal rotation at the moment. We’ll talk to guests who have to do with all of the above. And we’ll talk about specific dealings with the store.
We are locally focused and the state’s biggest music get would have to be Charles Ives so perhaps a seance is for that episode. Other than that there’s no shortage of musical talent in the state and we love spotlighting a different act each month.
What is the rarest record you’ve had in your store? You guys also buy used vinyl collections, what is the largest collection you’ve ever had to flip through? What are some diamonds you’ve dug out of these collections?
We’ve had some great collections that we’ve taken in. Early in our shop’s existence, we took in a collection from someone who had entertained the idea of opening a shop one day and had multiple copies of a lot of great hard rock and heavy metal. We also got a jazz collection from a retired shop owner (I don’t recall the name of it, but it was in upstate NY and he retired to CT) that had a lot of early Blue Note stuff. Neither Josh nor I am the type to really hang onto specific rarities in our minds – we leave that to museum curators, but those collections were fun. Among many others really – even just as far as collections go. We’ve had some great recent ones as well.
You guys host some in-store performances as well, who are some artists Redscroll has hosted? Who are some acts on your bucket list that hope to host in the future?
We’ve had The Body and Mind Eraser hold some memorable performances in our old storefront’s basement. We had a Mountain Movers show early on in our current storefront’s history that was very memorable and fun. We just hope to have fun shows here for folks who can use a space like ours. I’m not holding out for a particular act or anything. Come what may!
What is your curation process like overall? How do you balance new vs. used LPs and does your personal taste play a role in it at all?
For used records, we’re always taking in stuff! We welcome collections just about every day! We generally accept music of all types from the mid-60s to the present day (and exceptions to that rule for early Rock’n’Roll, blues, and some jazz). The biggest part of that curation is really just the condition – we are very much trying to pass along great music in great shape so we do our best to discard the chaff.
As far as new records go both Josh and I have our certain distributors and labels we have relationships with and we each deal with them and sometimes it overlaps, but we’ve got our sectors basically and we go through new releases almost every day as well. We’re not afraid to ask folks who work for us or different trusted folks in our circle (shopkeep or otherwise friendly folks) what their hot tracks might be or what they think of something coming out. We basically talk about music all the time and read different websites and magazines/zines and just basically try and pay attention. Our personal taste comes into it when we think we can pass that love for music along! So, yeah, pretty often. Chat Pile is a big one. Home Front this year has been on the top of our list and that’s done well for us sales-wise aided by the number of times we’ve played it in the shop. I was just playing Natural Wonder Beauty Concept and sold a copy so that definitely helps!
With a new month just starting, what does Redscroll have planned for the rest of 2023? Any exciting news/events for fans to look forward to?
MORE! Black Friday and the associated sale. Cuddling in the inside warmth as winter draws near while a record plays in the background. Some release announcements, perhaps. Some more giveaways on our social media feeds. Perhaps some more partnerships. MORE! Records, podcasts, t-shirts, totes, CDs, cassettes, volumes! MORE!
