Document text
Vintage vinyl may never go out of style Mail Tribune / Bob Pennell Brent Bowles specializes in what most folks practically give away at garage sales � vinyl LPs � at Rizo�s Records in Ashland. He says because they�re the "real thing" and affordable, LPs are making a comeback. By John Darling ASHLAND � Vinyl refuses to die. Old LPs have a mellow sound and they contain a 40-year record of America�s journey through rock, jazz, musicals and even easy listening. And they�re about one-fourth the price of CDs. Brent Bowles saw the trend and, four months ago, with backing from Ashland restaurateur Beasy McMillan, decided to make a business of vintage vinyl. It�s called Rizo�s Records and it�s tucked away in a basement kitty-corner from the Ashland library. Serious collectors often go away with a big armload of the old 33-1/3 rpm records. Disc jockeys who spin at clubs, parties and weddings can�t live without vinyl, Bowles said, because they can "get their hands right on the music" and do that disco finger-manipulation and beat-mixing that makes things hop. BUSINESS CARD: Company name: Rizo's Records Product/service: old LPs and unusual CDs Location: 33 Third St., in basement with Main Street entrance Phone: 541-488-3607 Hours: Noon to 6 p.m. every day Owner-operator: Brent Bowles "Vinyl is warmer and you can really bring out the base and the crisper high-end frequencies," said Marco Photinos, a steady Rizo customer who DJs at Kat Wok in Ashland. Bowles advertises for old LPs and picks up most of them when people unload big collections or sell them at yard sales and flea markets. He tries to sell them at $5 or maybe two or three times that if they�re rare and in good condition. As music lovers become more aware of the affordability of the vinyl treasure-house, it�s becoming harder to find, he added. "Vinyl has really come back in the last few years," said Bowles, who also DJs parties with partner Bobby Real as Technics Vinyl DJ Services. "People realize a lot of the old music will never show up on CD. The record companies may do a Greatest Hits CD, but if people want the real thing, they have to buy it now in vinyl." To promote the vinyl habit, Bowles also sells new and used turntables. Sales of turntables is dramatically up throughout the United States, he added. Vintage vinyl fans can find about 7,000 records at Rizo�s, plus 300-400 vinyl 45s. Bowles also sells CDs, but not your normal fare. Emulating European record shops, he leans toward the unusual and rare, not the Top 40 stuff you can buy at any mall. Free trading of music on Internet sites such as Napster has not only panicked the music industry but brought about a "dramatic drop" in sales at Rizo�s, Bowles said. Business has recovered a bit since media exposure and court actions, he added. Bowles is edging into the production business, burning demo CDs of local groups for distribution to area DJs, with eventual mass production always an option if a group catches on, he said. So just how rare are the LPs we let go at yard sales during the big CD makeover a decade ago? Well, said Bowles, consulting the fat LP catalog, the Beatles� Rubber Soul" album, which cost a few bucks in 1966, is now worth $40 to $90 in good condition. "I�ll get it for you a lot cheaper than that, though," Bowles said. Obituaries | Sports | Business | Classifieds | Tempo | Prime Times | So Oregon Sites | Outdoor Journal | Subscribe | Contact | Movies | Advertise | Real Estate Showcase | Archive | Editorials | Letters to the editor | Religion | Wake-up Call | NIE | Cyber Chef | Job Network | So Oregon Weather | WSJ Northwest | Forums | AP Wire | AP Money | F.A.Q. | Awards Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. The Community Newspaper Subsidiary of Dow Jones & Co, Inc Copyright �The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA