From the furthest corner of Ohio comes a record shop dedicated to diversifying not only their shelves but everyone who walks through their doors. Culture Clash is located in the heart of Toledo and has withstood the test of time and continues to grow and expand its reach with every passing day. The shop has become a favorite among locals through the in-store concerts and meticulous curation process that lines their store with a fantastic selection of LPs. Along with selling everything from stereo equipment to vinyl cleaning supplies, Culture Clash has dedicated its space to true collectors and newcomers all the same while keeping the music at the center of it all.
Glide had the pleasure of speaking with Tim Friedman, the illustrious owner of Culture Clash. We discussed the shop’s history, the story behind Culture Clash’s logo, and much more. Check out Culture Clash’s website and read our full interview with Tim Friedman below:
You took over Culture Clash back in 2017, what was the first order of business when you showed up on day one? Have you made any major changes since becoming the owner?
In most of 2017, I was still working at my previous market research position and splitting my time learning the ropes at the store. It was essential to preserve the legacy that Culture Clash had earned in Toledo, and I’m certain that I announced at my first staff meeting that nothing would change and they would continue operating as they had for the months following the former owner’s passing. It was important to keep the spirit of the store alive, while those of us carrying it on developed our own place within that ongoing legacy. So in truth, I can’t think of a single year since 2018 that we haven’t gone and made significant changes to better suit our store and our customers. We overhauled our point-of-sale, started a popular rewards program, freshened up our branding and broadened our vinyl selection, launched a live recording vinyl series, moved downtown, and we’ve got plenty more up our sleeves yet.
Can you give us a brief history of the shop? When did the shop open and how has it evolved over the years?
Evolution is the lifeblood of Culture Clash. Toledo was home to Boogie Records from 1973 until 2004, but within months of closing, one of its founders launched Culture Clash independently. Even then, the store’s location adapted to the city and the times, ultimately landing on a corner that would soon become home to long-running road construction. Founder Pat O’Connor then painstakingly hung records across the roof of the storefront to draw attention to a business that needed all the attention it could get at the time. I knew Pat to be so cool and welcoming – he’d always shoot his arm up to wave ‘hi’ and ask what I’d been listening to. He’d offer sincere recommendations and wouldn’t pretend to know what he didn’t. Pat passed suddenly in December 2016 and – with the support of my wonderful wife Lizzie – I soon realized that I was capable of stepping up to carry on the legacy.
As my first lease at this same location expired, the pandemic had just begun and the landlord – having stripped the records from the roof in an effort to sell the building – was increasingly unreliable. My wife and I looked at a number of possible new locations, but store manager Torch actually scouted what would become our new home in downtown Toledo by August 2020. We moved in, had our pal Mark Metzger craft us some new record bins and a dedicated stage for in-stores, and took every pandemic precaution while our longtime customers followed us and new ones discovered us. The thing was, within that first year, our new downtown landlords also wanted to sell their (much more beautiful, spacious, and historic) building. So, instead of moving again, my wife and I (more than) doubled down on our investment – hey, we may as well love our debt if it’s going to be around forever – and we bought the whole building, complete with bar space and a few residential apartments. We’re now in the process of converting the entire main floor into a cohesive event space with records and beverages.
It’s been a constant evolution that will continue until we’re too old or tired to keep chasing an expanding dream. Fortunately, I can focus on the demands of now being my own landlord because the store is beyond fortunate to have Natasha Sanchez (Torch) as its manager. Torch and I have shared the curating and buying of products for years, and we just promoted Cyd Gottlieb to assistant manager this spring.
Did you collect records as a kid? What shops do you remember visiting when you were younger and did they inspire the work you’re doing on Culture Clash?
I’ve always collected music and found homes inside of many record stores growing up. Born in the ‘80s near Cleveland, I grew up with tapes and CDs before my iPod absorbed my CD collection and before vinyl absorbed my life. I discovered Midwest emo by buying CDs at My Generation and Bent Crayon, honed my taste in sad-bastard music and indie pop at Music Saves and even spent time behind the counters at The Exchange in Elyria before working at Finders Records in Bowling Green. Each of these places made an impact, but the friendly conversations and welcoming vibes at both Music Saves (Cleveland) and Culture Clash best demonstrated what made me feel so much more myself in record stores than anywhere else. There’s no need for condescension, gatekeeping, or judgment in these places where it’s so easy to connect with other humans over the music that makes them smile, dance, feel, and cry.
You guys have some distinctive merch and a very cool logo, who designs it all? There also seems to be a space theme that strings all of your merch together, what does outer space represent to Culture Clash?
We’re so thrilled with our branding and merch lately – thank you!! I worked closely with local artist and designer Erin Kunz back in 2019 to establish this Culture Clash Universe (my staff HATES when I call it the CCU) and we’ve been delighted to commission additional local artists to create album artwork, posters, etc., inspired by the outer space theme.
Honestly, because I inherited the name Culture Clash, I had to discover what it means to me. The store’s founder specifically aimed to carry more types of physical media and art than his previous record store, which partially inspired the name. In the past, the store had already used a clip-art-y spaceship in some signage, and I wanted to make sure the name didn’t evoke racial or social division – which is antithetical to who we are and how we intend for our space to feel. We always want Culture Clash to feel welcoming, and our non-human aliens to feel inclusive and representative of the diversity of the humans we see in the shop each day. In a way, there’s a healthy dose of irony in the name Culture Clash, which delights me. Our signature speech bubble is easier to explain; I also like comics.
I see that Culture Clash is housed in a century-old building, how did the shop land in this location? What are some great or challenging parts of working with such an old building?
Store manager Torch put this 135-year-old building on my radar and it was instantly clear to me the potential it has as an open-floor record store, venue, and bar. Unfortunately, such a simple concept has proved challenging to achieve, given the age of the building and the particulars of the certificate of occupancy. We’ve got a whole heap of construction planned for (as soon as we can afford it) this year to bring it up to code so that we can safely and legally hold large events.
The greatest things are our parking lots (plural!), the high ceilings, and room to grow, and fortunately, our biggest challenge, outside of the necessary construction, is our staff having to confront their fears of the dungeon-like basement storage area.
You guys host some great in-store performances, what are some personal highlights from one of these shows? Are there any artists on your bucket list you hope to see perform at Culture Clash?
It’s true, we’ve been fortunate to host a whole bunch of incredible in-stores! Our last location saw Dehd, Lou Barlow, Damien Jurado, Advance Base, and oh man, Advance Base played with Sound of Ceres, who put together an extravagant laser-light-fog show in our former cramped space which totally ruled. Downtown, we’ve had two huge Record Store Day events so far, and 2022 saw Mike Adams At His Honest Weight as well as Fred Thomas’ Idle Ray. These are two Midwest dudes whose music has really resonated with me for years so it was such a blast to see them here in our store! But I’ll tell you the moment that continues to inspire me was just last April when local rapper She Speaks arrived ready to play a few backing tracks from her iPod. After brief introductions with the jazz musicians on the same bill, the band agreed to back her up, and the set was so alive and representative of the positive “clashing” of cultures that we love playing a small role in facilitating. I’m optimistic and excited about all the future collaborations we’ll get to foster here!
I see on your website that you guys buy used collections, what is the coolest/most rare vinyl you’ve found when shifting through a collection? What are your standards for keeping a record to sell?
It took a few years, but I can now say I’ve bought and sold both peeled and unpeeled Beatles butcher covers. The Brian Eno Working Backwards box set never made it to the sales floor and I am very happy with it in my home collection, but my personal favorite discovery came from a donated tub of odds and ends. We all looked through the tub but eventually, I identified an early sealed VHS copy of Star Wars that we were able to sell for a pretty absurd price online.
Every record is unique and comes with its own assessment, but if the record and the jacket are in good enough condition to play and look at, we try to find space for it. Between our budget bins of $1-2 LPs and our occasional free LP offerings, we’ve got room for “garage sale” and “Goodwill” records, while we individually evaluate and price more desired pre-spun records based on our Toledo market. Out-of-towners frequently applaud our prices, which we hope keeps Toledo in their mind when they return home or pass through.
What is your curation process like overall? How do you balance your personal taste with what is best for the shop?
Curating a record store is such an amazing responsibility. It’s so true that while your own tastes can’t get too in the way, a record store is bland as hell without the apparent styles of the staff represented in the bins. Admittedly, I injected a lot of my own interests in the first couple years. Now, store manager Torch and I have developed a partnership with curation where we are both actively buying new LPs to make sure we not only have something for everyone but also are prepared to evolve with our customers. We are both immensely proud of the deeper selections we’ve established in our World, Soul, and Hip Hop sections. It’s so gratifying when someone holding an eclectic stack of records from varying genres tells us that we have everything, and we’re always tuned in when returning customers start expanding their tastes!
What is the most expensive/rarest vinyl you guys have in stock currently?
We’ve had one pre-spun LP on hand for a couple of years and it will be so satisfying when the right person discovers it. It’s an album called ‘Sideways’ by jazz saxophonist Steve Lacy. A contemporary of Cecil Taylor, John Coltrane, Thelonious Monk, and Ornette Coleman, Lacy’s 1974 recording was released in 2000 with abstract hand-painted cover artwork by Judith Lindbloom. It’s a gorgeous piece of 12”x12” art that I’ll miss looking at when it ultimately finds its next home.
I see you guys have a selection of music from local artists, how do Ohio hopefuls get their albums in your shop? Why do you feel it’s important for record shops to support the local art scene?
Forgive the tangential flashback, but when I was in high school I was the number one fan of a mediocre local band my friends were in. I built their website on Angelfire and sold their CDs at improbable times and locations. I recently ran into someone whose sole memory of me in high school was selling this band’s CD at a choir concert. The point is, I’ve always been a passionate fan and I love to champion excellent art from my community. And the thing about Toledo is that apart from our own music scene, we’re nearby to scenes around Detroit, Cleveland, parts of Indiana, and even Chicago. We offer consignment deals for local artists and keep a very small percentage of each local album sale, and I’m always making excuses to include regional music in our local section. And the technical answer is that it’s easiest for us to work through Instagram DMs or emails to store@cultureclashrecords.com.
Culture Clash sells some really great stereo equipment, what turntable would you recommend for beginner record collectors and what would you suggest for more seasoned listeners?
We always like to hear about customers’ current setups – even if non-existent – to pair them with a turntable and speakers that will work for their specific needs. That said, we’ve long been fans of the Audio Technica LP60X. It’s so simple to set up and use either with an existing stereo system or a simple set of bookshelf speakers. It’s not lost on us that vinyl is a time-consuming hobby, and many people want a simple way to play their favorite records.
We also like to keep up with the quality products from Pro-Ject and these days the Debut Carbon EVO is our favorite recommendation for those looking to upgrade and find a turntable that both suits their aesthetic and uses quality materials for a superior sound.
What does the future of Culture Clash have in store for its loyal music lovers? What can we expect from the rest of 2023?
We’re definitely not slowing down anytime soon and as we work toward building construction and full usage of our space, you can expect even more events and in-store performances that take advantage of our versatile space. We anticipate that by year’s end, customers will be able to grab a craft beer or mixed drink, browse the record bins, check out local art in the bar’s gallery space, and take in live music all without leaving the coolest corner in Toledo, Ohio; Monroe + 10th!
