Bringing Old Music to a New Generation

Warren Zevon's "Excitable Boy" record playing on the record player

Off to the very left of the festival, just south of the goat petting area, were two tents that instantly caught my eye. The first one, a coffee stand selling cups of caffeine and promoting their recent opening on South Broadway. The second, a table backed with crates of vinyl records. The crates were organized by genre of music and by price. Looking through each crate, you could see a wide variety of all types of music. From Elvis Costello to Elvis Presley, there were records in mint condition and ones that have seen better days.

                As I was searching through the assortment of records, I struck up a conversation with one of the owners. His name was Josh and he was not shy in talking about his collection of records he had for sale. After browsing through his crate, I asked him about the store itself and what music selection they’d carry. “These crates are just a part of the music Yellow K Records will be selling” he said. “A lot of our focus on ‘the classics’ but we also have some newer albums.” This was true. One of the albums in Josh’s crate was My Chemical Romance’s, The Black Parade.

                I asked him if he was the sole owner of the store and he directed me to a man named Kenny. Most of the records on and around the table were his. He was more business oriented so I really only asked him how much my purchase would cost in total and whether or not I could listen to the records before I bought them. He obliged and showed me the ‘lounge area’ that had two couches and in between them, a record player. It was a pretty surreal experience considering the only time I’d seen a record player in in my grandfather’s house.

                Once I was finished listening, I went to purchase the albums I wanted. Kenny helped me and when talking about to him, I learned that their record store would be opening on October 1^st on 22 South Water Street here in Frostburg where The Vapor Room use to be.  I took the pamphlet and hung out by the goats but kept an eye on the stand. The tent seemed to gain a lot of traction with various ages of people but what was surprising was young people browsing the collection.

                A man and his wife came to the tent. The man was wearing a shirt that had several band names on it and introduced himself as a local pastor. His wife mentioned they collected vinyl records and were thrilled to learn that Yellow K Records was coming to Frostburg. The two of them seemed to be in their mid-to-late 20s and spent nearly an hour chatting and perusing the tent. The couple purchased 3 records and seemed intent on going home and listening to them. The two owners seemed very pleased that their store had caught so much traction and were happy that the people of Frostburg shared their interest in music.