Kansas City’s Revolution Records Serves Up Community Interaction & All Things Music (VINYL LIVES)

Revolution Records finds itself at the crossroads of community and passion. The Kansas City record shop is proudly curated for curious nerds and avid music fans who crave that classic record shop experience. The shop is curated for discovery, their shelves are lined with new/used LPs just waiting to be picked up, played, and loved, they also carry a treasure trove of other memorabilia like books and stereo equipment that are all curated with the music nerd in mind. 

Revolution Records have built a strong community around its shop by interacting with other locally-owned businesses to put together fundraising events to support a wide array of causes. Their unbridled passion for music and community makes Revolution Records a one-of-a-kind record shop that puts an emphasis on curiosity with a welcoming smile. Glide spoke with Promise at Revolution Records to discuss the shop and how they created such a harmonious shopping experience for collectors. Check out the full interview and be sure to visit the Revolution Records website below; 

Site: http://www.revolutionrecordskc.com 

Can you talk about the local music scene in Kansas City? How has it grown/evolved since the shop opened and what bands or artists have championed Revolution Records?

A lot of people don’t really know much about Kansas City, especially how cool it is. We’re an incredibly musical city. We’re known primarily for jazz, we have the national jazz museum not far away from the shop & more jazz clubs than I can count. My favorite thing to turn people on to when they first come here is the Mutual Musicians Foundation. Founded in 1917, they host the absolute coolest jazz show you can see in this city. After all the other clubs let out, musicians from all over the city head to the Foundation (as it’s best known by Kansas Citians), to jam until the sun comes up, yes literally until then.

We’ve been really fortunate at Rev to get to host a wide variety of events since we opened 7 years ago. We’ve had countless bands roll through, mostly local but plenty of touring acts as well. My favorite shows we do annually are definitely our birthday parties every August which we do as a benefit for the animal shelter we got my dog at, Wayside Waifs, & our Holiday toy drive for a local women’s Shelter called Hope House. That one we do every December on the First Friday of the month. Thinking about the best shows we’ve had here though, two have always really stuck out in my mind as being really special. We were so fortunate to host The Haskells Indian Nations University hand drummers here one night & something about the atmosphere was really incredible. It wasn’t very crowded that night & the way their drums & voices bounced off the walls just felt especially great. I think about that show quite a bit. They crushed it. Another one that stands out to me was a local band called Instant Karma who did a release party here. They where in the store all day creating a really nice installation in our stage area. They had old TVs broadcasting static & lit candles everywhere. Then about midway through their set the thunderstorm which had been raging outside knocked out the power. All that was left was the light of the candle flames & the band launched into an acoustic cover of “You Can’t Always Get What You Want.” & it was one of the sweetest shows I’ve ever been lucky enough to attend.

Aside from vinyl, you stock other goodies like posters, punk/radical zines, books, vinyl care products, & stereo equipment. How much of “the other stuff” is a draw for you and gets people coming back? It seems you have a well-stocked book selection.

Yeah, books are catching up with records for us in terms of sales & interest. KC doesn’t have a lot of bookstores, especially not any that carry a lot of classic & world literature, poetry, sci-fi, & stuff like that so I think what we do fills a void in our community. Books are kinda becoming my favorite thing that we sell I think in part because I feel like I can get more creative with it. There is just so much more in print to order for books than there is for records & it’s a lot easier to get weird with it & get all sorts of unique things that will really make someone’s day when they find it on the shelves. We also do a lot of movies too which I think just goes hand in hand with records & books. We’re just nerds who like cool stuff, and who cater to nerds who like cool stuff.

Is there one record you are entirely tired of carrying and never have to see again?

I honestly can’t think of any. It doesn’t affect me much to carry something in the store so if it makes people happy that’s cool. In my personal life, I have strong opinions on what I like & what I don’t I guess but at the store, it’s just nice to see people happy. It reflects well on the shop. I may not like what our customers like but I like that they are stoked to find something they love here or even just happy to be in a record shop. It makes it a more positive workplace if people are happy.

What is the rarest or most expensive record you currently stock or have stocked?

We had this crazy 78 once that was a rare Bo Carter release. It was one of only 4 known to exist. We put it online for $5k & it took a couple of years before we found a buyer but it sold for full price. That’s the wildest thing we’ve had so far. 

What is going on with CDs in your opinion? Are used CD sales on the rise and do you feel younger people are reacclimating themselves to them cause they can play ‘em in the car or like a more affordable physical product?

We’ve definitely noticed an uptick in CD sales but I think in general people are misunderstanding the market. People think that when sales are going up that means it’s time to increase the price but I disagree. CDs are totally just selling because they’re a cheap, fun option. If you jack up the price, you kill the market. Our goal is to still keep them reasonable so people pick them up more easily. We have seen in the past several years an increase in cassette sales & to me those feel more collectible in a way that CDs don’t. People will shell out money to have something on tape as opposed to other formats but I don’t see that happening any time soon with CDs. But I could be wrong, we’ll see. 

Can you tell me about First Fridays? How did those come about and describe the ambiance of the shop during a show like that and how would a local musician get the opportunity to play at a First Friday? 

The area that we’re in is the arts district in KC so the first Friday of every month the whole neighborhood has art, bands, food trucks, street vendors & other fun stuff like that. We have bands, an artist of the month, & we get a keg of beer, we basically just throw a fun party every month! If people want to play here they can reach out to us on Instagram or through our website & we can set something up!

Do you guys have a “locals” record bin? What would someone find in a bin like that? 

We carry local LPs, Tapes, & CDs so you can find a wide variety of good stuff in those.

I see you guys buy used records, has anyone ever brought an LP in that was rare or that you were shocked to see?

We do buy used records! We get rare/weird stuff all the time. I think one of the most shocking collections I ever saw was from this guy who said his dad had passed & he wanted to drive up from this town 5 hours away but he couldn’t really name anything in the collection. Honestly, I kinda tried to talk him out of it because I told him there would be no guarantee that his 10-hour round trip would be worth it but he did it anyway. As we were helping him unload probably a dozen boxes of LPs we were all feeling really bad for the guy because at the front of every box were records like Lawrence Welk & Al Jolson, stuff no store would take. We all knew he’d completely wasted a day & probably a ton of gas. So my coworker & I started politely flipping through these boxes & our jaws dropped. Every single box had, at the front, about three or four junk records then HUNDREDS of some of the best records I’ve ever seen. He had OG Stooges, VU & Nico with the peelable banana (multiple copies at that), 1st press Marquee Moon, and just tons of amazing stuff. I guess the son who brought them in thought the oldest records which had been his grandpa’s would be the most valuable so he put them all in the front so we’d see them first. Needless to say, it was worth the trip he made!

How much of your stock is new vs used? 

We’re mostly used but we still carry a ton of new vinyl & new books too. New is definitely catching up. We have at any given time lots of rare stock, usually up on the display walls around the store.

You guys have really cultivated a friendly environment at Revolution Records, what do you credit that to? 

One thing I’m really proud of about this store is that we’ve always stuck to our guns when it comes to what really matters. We’ve created a space in our community that is truly welcoming to people regardless of their gender, orientation, race, or income. We insist that our customers respect the employees and the fellow shoppers and we aren’t afraid to speak up when that respect isn’t happening. We try to make Revolution a bit of a community space where people feel safe & appreciated. When we have shows, they’re always free, even when it’s a benefit concert it’s always give-what-you-can. Prior to COVID, we had a monthly event called The People’s Market where we partnered with local groups to give out free food, clothes, household items, & even free seminars sometimes to anyone in the community. It wasn’t just for people experiencing financial hardships, it was for everyone regardless of income to share a meal together as members of the same community. We have a strong idea of what our values are & I think that can be alienating for some but can help build close relationships with others. Another factor for us in creating an environment like we have is just that we’re all big dorks who really like what we’re selling & are excited to meet people who like that stuff too. All of us who work here have made many friends just by talking to people in the shop about things we mutually love. That’s a great feeling, to be surrounded by people who really get the things you care about. I guess our customers might be big dorks too! We wouldn’t have it any other way. 

Revolution Records has some great merch, who is behind those designs? Can you tell us about the dog featured in your logo? 

Oh, we love to talk about the dog! Thanks for asking! That’s Jasper, he’s my dog who comes to work with me often. He’s a super sweet 8-year-old basset/lab mix adopted from Wayside Waifs, like I mentioned earlier. He’s a really good greeter & probably every customer’s favorite employee so it was a no-brainer to get him as the logo. My buddy Levi is a graphic designer & comic book artist who is incredibly talented so I asked him to do it. He came up with that design in only a night or two & it’s perfect. You can find him on Instagram as leviwastaken if you want to check out more of his work. The rest of our graphic design work is done by a handful of people, sometimes my coworker Pat, and often Jordan & Claire at Oddities Prints here in KC. They’re incredible, plus Claire works here sometimes when she isn’t too busy making rad stuff. 

For beginner collectors, what is your recommended turntable, and for seasoned listeners what do you most recommend?

I think for either, going used is the best route. I’m not super stoked about these newer brands on the market. The ones that are good like Rega or Music Hall are just way too expensive in my opinion. You could get a great high-quality turntable that’s used for half the price. Even a lot of the older, coveted audiophile brands typically aren’t more expensive than these newer brands. You could get a used Thorens for the price of a new Rega & I personally prefer brands like Thorens over that new stuff. Whatever you do though, just don’t get one of those combo players like Crosley. They use a fake needle that wrecks all your records. Avoid anything with the turntable, receiver, & speakers all built-in.

Head over to Revolution Records online to learn more…

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