A memoir of 25 years (1975-2000) spent working in the world of records & music in Seattle, with occasional side trips into writings on Led Zeppelin and other adventures from my musical life.
I remember queuing up outside auditoriums for my tickets. There were many that my friends and I queued all night long. Great fun.
$7.50 for LZ in 1975. A quick calculation on an inflation calculator says that would be about $45.50 today. Not bad for the biggest rock band in the world (back then).
Regarding Cellophane Sq., did they have an outlet in Bellingham that became Everyday Music?
Oh yeah, I did some box office lines a few times - GFR at Shea was the most fun, I got there early in the morning and of course there were people who had been there all night and I ended up with nosebleed seats, but hanging on the line was almost more fun than the concert.
Did an overnight for Springsteen in 1980 - I'm not that huge a Bruce fan but I had friends that were and I considered it "training" for the upcoming Led Zep tour which I was planning to follow down the west and east coasts. It was cancelled due to Bonzo's death but I was about 5th in line for the Bruce tix and got 3rd row seats, and it was pretty spectacular.
And you're correct - Cellophane Square's Bellingham location on Magnolia & Railroad eventually become an Everyday Music. We got bought out by a dot.com in the late '90s and they went down in the boom (story to follow, eventually!), taking Cellophane Square with them - Scott Kuzma, owner of Everyday and a great guy if there ever was one, bought the 3 Cello Sq. locations under fire sale conditions in the early '00s and ran them well into the years of the big vinyl revival.
My daughter went to Western Washington University for two years (and then transferred to Hunter College in NYC). I remember some older posters in Everyday Music that still had Cellophane on them. It's no longer EM, and I'm not sure if it is still a record store. The last time I was in Bellingham was 2019.
EM is hanging on by a thread. Only one still stands (the one opposite the Crystal Ballroom in Portland).
To my young UW student self, fascinated by punk and alternative music, but largely ignorant of all else, Roxy Music held a certain mystique. It sported a provocative window display, and inside it was DARK and crowded with punk and goth t-shirts and posters, as well as used leather jackets and skateboards.
It wasn't until the Geesmans hired me in the fall of 1989 and I spent some real time in Roxy (I was mostly posted up the street at Yesterday and Today selling Metallica t-shirts and crack pipes) that I realized how very STALE the record selection was there. Much of it consisted of (what I perceived to be) forgotten avante-garde new wave artists from Europe. The price tags suggested that much of it had been there for many, many years - perhaps dating back to Campus Music (?) No doubt much of it was important music that I was too ignorant to recognize, but not everything ages into a classic. Some eventually found its way into the "5 for a dollar" boxes at Second Time Around.
I bet you're correct Rob, a certain amount of obscure & slow-moving titles from the original Campus Music probably sat in Roxy & Y&T's racks for quite a while. . .
Hi Hugh! I’ve been loving your columns about Cellophane Square and the scene on the Ave! I’m honored to have been mentioned, regarding your memories of Campus Music. Those days with Kim, Steve, Dennis, and Jim & Jimmy are among my fondest memories. I LOVED hanging out and kibitzing about music with you! Miss you old friend. Cheers.
Thanks Gary! Always enjoyed hanging and chatting with you too - I loved going into Campus Music. It was a great era for music and the UD was such a cool community, warts 'n' all!
The Melts! A whole chapter could be written about the melts. I remember discovering dozens of new "cutout" LPs in the Bellingham melts, including multiple copies of Dave Edmunds "Subtle as a Flying Mallet".
I remember queuing up outside auditoriums for my tickets. There were many that my friends and I queued all night long. Great fun.
$7.50 for LZ in 1975. A quick calculation on an inflation calculator says that would be about $45.50 today. Not bad for the biggest rock band in the world (back then).
Regarding Cellophane Sq., did they have an outlet in Bellingham that became Everyday Music?
Oh yeah, I did some box office lines a few times - GFR at Shea was the most fun, I got there early in the morning and of course there were people who had been there all night and I ended up with nosebleed seats, but hanging on the line was almost more fun than the concert.
Did an overnight for Springsteen in 1980 - I'm not that huge a Bruce fan but I had friends that were and I considered it "training" for the upcoming Led Zep tour which I was planning to follow down the west and east coasts. It was cancelled due to Bonzo's death but I was about 5th in line for the Bruce tix and got 3rd row seats, and it was pretty spectacular.
And you're correct - Cellophane Square's Bellingham location on Magnolia & Railroad eventually become an Everyday Music. We got bought out by a dot.com in the late '90s and they went down in the boom (story to follow, eventually!), taking Cellophane Square with them - Scott Kuzma, owner of Everyday and a great guy if there ever was one, bought the 3 Cello Sq. locations under fire sale conditions in the early '00s and ran them well into the years of the big vinyl revival.
My daughter went to Western Washington University for two years (and then transferred to Hunter College in NYC). I remember some older posters in Everyday Music that still had Cellophane on them. It's no longer EM, and I'm not sure if it is still a record store. The last time I was in Bellingham was 2019.
EM is hanging on by a thread. Only one still stands (the one opposite the Crystal Ballroom in Portland).
To my young UW student self, fascinated by punk and alternative music, but largely ignorant of all else, Roxy Music held a certain mystique. It sported a provocative window display, and inside it was DARK and crowded with punk and goth t-shirts and posters, as well as used leather jackets and skateboards.
It wasn't until the Geesmans hired me in the fall of 1989 and I spent some real time in Roxy (I was mostly posted up the street at Yesterday and Today selling Metallica t-shirts and crack pipes) that I realized how very STALE the record selection was there. Much of it consisted of (what I perceived to be) forgotten avante-garde new wave artists from Europe. The price tags suggested that much of it had been there for many, many years - perhaps dating back to Campus Music (?) No doubt much of it was important music that I was too ignorant to recognize, but not everything ages into a classic. Some eventually found its way into the "5 for a dollar" boxes at Second Time Around.
Anyway, thanks again for sharing your stories!
I bet you're correct Rob, a certain amount of obscure & slow-moving titles from the original Campus Music probably sat in Roxy & Y&T's racks for quite a while. . .
Glad you're enjoying the stories!
Hi Hugh! I’ve been loving your columns about Cellophane Square and the scene on the Ave! I’m honored to have been mentioned, regarding your memories of Campus Music. Those days with Kim, Steve, Dennis, and Jim & Jimmy are among my fondest memories. I LOVED hanging out and kibitzing about music with you! Miss you old friend. Cheers.
Thanks Gary! Always enjoyed hanging and chatting with you too - I loved going into Campus Music. It was a great era for music and the UD was such a cool community, warts 'n' all!
The Melts! A whole chapter could be written about the melts. I remember discovering dozens of new "cutout" LPs in the Bellingham melts, including multiple copies of Dave Edmunds "Subtle as a Flying Mallet".
Stay tuned, that chapter is coming. . .