There are some record shops that change your perception of how a dedicated shop owner can completely change your record shopping experience. Their tireless work to stock their shelves with unique selections that toe the line between personal taste and popular releases. The husband and wife team of Michelle Kinsman and Tim Zatzariny Jr. have seemingly redefined what it means to put love into what you do. All from their humble shop in the small town of Woodbury, New Jersey, On The Record has been pouring love into every step of the curation process since it opened in 2018. There are no lengths this duo won’t reach in order to bring their shoppers the best and most valued vinyl available and doing so without losing touch with their own musical roots.
Glide spoke with Michelle Kinsman and Tim Zatzariny Jr. to discuss their passion for curation, how On The Record came to be, and much more. Check out our full conversation below.
The story of how On The Record came to be is beautiful, can you give our readers a short version of the story? Do you guys still listen to the song you first connected over?
My wife, Michelle Kinsman, is the co-owner of the shop. We met at a mutual friend’s barbecue in 2007. When the song “Formula, Cola, Dollar Draft” by the Philly band Marah came on at the barbecue, we realized we had a strong musical connection and struck up a conversation. In fact, we think we were both at some of the same Marah shows in Philly before we even met. Yes, we still listen to Marah, and make it a point to see them live whenever they play.
You guys call yourself “music nerds”, what sort of albums did you grow up listening to? Did those albums shape your approach to the selection of records at On The Record?
For me, it was a lot of good classic rock — The Who, The Stones, The Kinks. A lot of my early tastes were dictated through listening to the radio station WMMR out of Philly, back when FM stations were still strong influencers. Also, my mom had a killer collection of Philly Soul on vinyl, so that shaped my musical taste, as well. Michelle grew up listening to ’70s and ’80s rock music with her dad — they share a love of Elvis Costello. I guess you could say growing up with music always in the house helped both of us refine our personal tastes. As far as On The Record goes, we try not to assume everyone shares our tastes, but we love sharing our favorites with customers.
In your Facebook bio you guys mention that you buy record collections, what is the craziest collection you have come across, and have you ever found any rare gems in an old collection?
We recently picked up a collection of about 4,00 records, and we barely had room for them all. The owner had such varied tastes — everything from Iron Maiden to private-press bluegrass. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a collection that covered so much ground, and that was in such good condition. In a collection I picked up a few years ago that was mostly chud (the industry term for records that are either so damaged they’re unlistenable or that no one really wants), I found a rare solo record by George “Mojo” Buford, who had been Muddy Waters’ harmonica player. So, that was a nice surprise.
Who designed your logo? Did you have to decide between a few or how did you decide to go with the one you use now?
Jim McHugh, an artist who’s been a friend for many years, designed our logo. He also designed the logo for my band, Red Desert Motel. For the On The Record logo, I gave Jim a bit of direction — I wanted the letters to be in a newspaper font since I was a news reporter and editor for many years. But, the rest was all Jim.
I see you guys do in-store performances, who are some of the artists you’ve had visit the shop?
We host shows every First Friday of the month. We’ve mostly hosted local bands — The Koosmans, Red Means Run, the Naked Sun, and the Miners. Our stage is small, so usually, the performers are duos or trios. Our goal is to host national touring acts, as well.
Is there a bucket list artist you’d like to have perform at On The Record?
We’ve been in touch with management for Tommy Stinson from the Replacements, so we hope to have him in the shop sooner rather than later. Tommy, can you hear me? We’d also love to have a reading or acoustic performance by Patti Smith, who grew up just down the road from our shop. Some of her family members are regular customers in the shop.
How long has the shop been open? Can you give us a brief history of On The Record?
Our current location opened in June 2021, so we’re coming up on our second anniversary here. Before that, for three years we were in a smaller space a few blocks down the street, which was more of a co-op.
What is your curation process like? Is there a word to describe the selection you guys carry?
We spend a lot of our free time inspecting and cleaning records. Our standards are pretty high in terms of condition, and our customers seem to notice this. I guess the best word to describe our selection is “refined.”
You take a lot of pride in your curation process, do you have a science behind it or do you just go off your taste?
A lot has to do with the condition of the records and the covers, as well as whether we think a particular artist will sell in the shop. We try not to let our personal tastes influence our curation process too much because then you’re just making a record store for yourself. We’re a fairly small shop, and that’s good because it makes us more selective in terms of space.
What is the rarest/most expensive record you’ve sold at your store?
A sealed vinyl box set of Neil Young’s Greendale, which was an original pressing from 2003. I’m a big Neil Young fan, and I didn’t even know that one existed until it came into the shop. That was a tough one because I really wanted to keep that one for myself. But, luckily, common sense prevailed.
What was the process like for selecting the location of your shop? Was it always the plan to open up a hometown shop or were there other locations considered?
We had outgrown the co-op location and knew we wanted our own, freestanding location. We wanted to stay local, and in downtown Woodbury, since we also live here. We looked at a couple of spots downtown, and the one we chose seemed perfect in terms of size and location. Also, we have a great landlord who’s very supportive of what we do, so that’s a plus.
What does On The Record have planned for 2023?
More live performances, maybe a small, single-day music festival in our back parking lot. To us, On The Record isn’t just a business. We want it to be a community hub where people can hang out, talk about and listen to music, and just have a good time. As we like to say, we’re in the happiness business — no one comes into our shop to be sad.
One Response
We feel so lucky to have a shop like On The Record in our town!