It was a hot day in July when Jampac Records owner Walter Gibson had floor fans placed around the Monroe shop because the building does not have central air.
鈥淥h no, this is a real old-school record store,鈥� Gibson said. 鈥淎nd the thing is we bought this building about 20 years ago when downtown was probably a cat, a dog and a horse on the highway. That鈥檚 about it.鈥�
While other businesses saw a decline in customers during the pandemic, Gibson says his sales increased. That鈥檚 in part because he focused on selling online. From this small store in Monroe, he ships records to customers all over the world.
鈥淵ou have to be global,鈥� Gibson said. 鈥淚f you鈥檙e not global, you just won鈥檛 make it. And that鈥檚 how we made it, because when they shut down that increased our online sales.鈥�
Gibson estimates about 80% of his business right now is online. Before the coronavirus pandemic, it was split about 50-50 between online sales and customers walking through the door. Some of the customers who still shop in person are kids who 鈥� to Gibson鈥檚 surprise 鈥� are not looking for today鈥檚 pop stars, but singers from the 1940s and 1950s.
鈥淎 12-year-old girl comes in here and talking to you and saying, 鈥楧o you have Doris Day?鈥欌�� Gibson said. 鈥淚鈥檓 trying to figure out now what new artist is this? She鈥檚 talking about Doris Day. 鈥極h, that Doris Day!'鈥�
'If I Download It, I Won't Have Anything In My Hand'
Gibson started Jampac more than three decades ago. He鈥檚 not surprised by the surge in vinyl sales during the pandemic as people had more time on their hands while isolating at home. Part of the interest, he says, is that people are getting tired of downloading music.
鈥淲ell, everyone is coming to the same conclusion,鈥� Gibson said. 鈥淚f I download it, I won鈥檛 have anything in my hand. I鈥檓 buying air. If I鈥檓 buying a record, at least I have something to look at the next day.鈥�
Gibson says there鈥檚 one song in particular that best sums up the pandemic for him as both a small business owner and an individual: McFadden & Whitehead鈥檚 鈥淎int No Stoppin鈥� Us Now.鈥�
鈥淎s long as I can hear that song, I鈥檓 energized to keeping on doing what I need to do regardless of whatever obstacle is in front of me,鈥� Gibson said.
In Matthews, Noble Records is located at the end of a strip mall on Independence Boulevard. Customers walking in are immediately greeted by the huge wall of records to the right.
鈥淲e call it the 鈥榟oly moly wall,鈥欌�� said Noble Records owner Dillon Smith.
The holy moly wall is where the rare and expensive records are displayed, as Smith says, for customers to drool over. He points to one in particular: 鈥淗onky Tonk Heroes鈥� by country legend Waylon Jennings.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of really great players on here,鈥� Smith said. 鈥淭his is one that people look for. It鈥檚 super hard to find. I don鈥檛 hardly ever see them.鈥�
Noble Records specializes in rare and hard-to-find albums. But the shop also has $1 and $3 sections, brand new albums and new reissues of old favorites.
鈥淲e鈥檝e got Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, Grateful Dead, Queen, Fleetwood Mac, King Crimson, the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, stuff like that,鈥� Smith said.
'People Like The Tangible Aspect Of It'
Smith opened Noble only a few months before the pandemic hit. He was scared the shop wasn鈥檛 going to make it after Gov. Roy Cooper ordered all non-essential businesses to shut down in spring 2020, so he found other ways to reach customers.
鈥淚 was kind of of the mentality that if I work really hard while everybody else was chilling, I would probably do OK,鈥� Smith said. 鈥淎nd so that鈥檚 what I did. That鈥檚 when I really vamped up my YouTube channel.鈥�
Smith says his videos on brought many new customers into the store once it reopened. And just like at Jampac Records, many of Smith鈥檚 customers said they had always wanted to get into vinyl and that the shutdown had finally given them the time to do it.
Like Jampac鈥檚 Gibson, Smith agrees one of the appeals for vinyl newcomers is how immersive the experience is compared to streaming music.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e starting to go back and say, 鈥楬ey maybe we鈥檙e missing out on a huge element,鈥� which is the sound quality, the artwork, the total package of an album,鈥� Smith said. 鈥淧eople like the tangible aspect of it more than anything.鈥�
Smith saw a surge in business during the holidays and says the shop is now financially back on track after the uncertainty brought on by the shutdown. He鈥檚 optimistic about the future. For him, the pandemic is best summed up by a song he spun a lot over the last year: 鈥淩ock and A Hard Place鈥� by singer-songwriter David Ramirez.
鈥淗e just talks about how hard times are really hard, but that鈥檚 when it makes you a stronger person,鈥� Smith said. 鈥淎nd that鈥檚 how you evolve in life and that鈥檚 how you get to a better place. Under pressure is when you are refined.鈥�
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