Throughout the past 35 years, owner Gary Haller and the House of Records have seen dramatic changes in the music world. Haller remembers seeing CDs for the first time, and his employees remember him professing that one day CDs would be stocked wall-to-wall. He also remembers when computers first came around, and the difference they made in the business world. He remembers high times and low times, but most importantly, he remembers a majority of good times.
House of Records was established in 1971 by three original owners, including Haller. Haller recalls that in the early days, the owners started “a tiny little cubby-hole downtown.” The business grew and relocated to a space at 14th Avenue and Oak Street and then to its current location at 258 E. 13th Ave.
As an important cornerstone of the music community, House of Records places particular importance on independent artists. The store holds albums and artists for all genres, and it holds a particularly large collection of college alternative. The store also carries rare and collectable albums and receives specialty orders directly from independent record companies.
The staff especially enjoys selling albums by local artists and tries to emphasize local music. As a strong supporter of local music, House of Records used to host concerts in the late ’80s, but because of cramped audiences, the staff now prefers to stick to music recordings.
On a mid-August afternoon, Haller sits in the back office of the House of Records. The room is filled with vinyl and cluttered with audio equipment, paperwork and demo CDs. Haller gives off an optimistic vibe; he loves his job, he loves his co-workers and he loves music.
Also in the room is Gary Sutherland. Sutherland started working at the store in the late ’80s during his junior year at the University’s School of Journalism and Communication. Sutherland has worked at the House for more than 15 years, and Sutherland said it has affected his musical play lists and his musical criticism.
“I don’t mind listening to bad music. I mean, I’m just curious,” Sutherland said. “I like music from an emotional-visceral standpoint, and I like music from an intellectual-clinical standpoint, too. So I can listen to music and pick it apart, or I can listen to music and fall on the floor drooling. Both ways affect me and really keep me going. I just love music.”
Haller and Sutherland warn that the average customer won’t find anything from the Top 100 in this store.
“I’ve always been against the big record companies, and that’s kind of why I started the business,” Haller said laughingly.
Haller said that business has been in a steady decline for the past five years, “but it’s been leveling off lately.”
Haller is also wary of the future of independent record stores.
“I think these businesses will die eventually. I’m not really sure how long it will take, but it’ll be fairly sad when it does.”
Haller does not look at this death of record stores as the end, but as an evolution into the digital world. He is eager to witness what the future of music recording and listening will hold.