When I moved out of my parent’s house at the end of high school one of my parting gifts from my dad was two crates of vinyl records and an unused turntable. We had lived in Montana so the only records I had seen were in thrift shops. There was some classics, some jazz, some country. It really gave me something of an appreciation for actively listening to music, whereas CDs seemed easy and of lesser value.
A year after moving here [Seattle], Easy Street Records opened in lower Queen Anne. I always made enough in tips to buy a new (used) record everyday. I made friends that I still have today and my knowledge and passion grew. I spent quite a lot in there and continue to around the greater seattle record stores. These days I find myself at Wall of Sound more than anywhere else, adding to the collection. I think my dad now misses that part of his collection he gave me. Although I thank him almost every time I see him, I probably would be too.
—Bill Cole, Drummer
Coming from Maple Valley when we were kids, there wasn't a record store in town at the time. I remember having to drive to Bubble Records in Kent to get my dose of what I needed from music that a simple Fred Meyer couldn't give me. The clerk, maybe he was the owner (he was always there) always smelled like stale cigarettes and was kind of an ass, but it didn't keep me from making the drive to his store.
Once he realized I wasn't coming in all the time for the latest Korn or Bush release he warmed up to me. I would buy Modest Mouse, Elliot Smith, and Mudhoney. The next time I came in the clerk would tell me to pick up 764-Hero, Red Stars Theory, and other local favorites. Maple Valley would eventually get a record store called Rocket Records around 2001. It ended up closing doors shortly after and moving to Tacoma, but Jim [Cotton of Feral Children] actually worked there and met Duff McKagen of Guns 'n Roses fame when he came by for a In-Store performance with his band Loaded.
Even in this digital age we are all still frequent shoppers at our local record stops. Troy Nelson at Easy Street Records in Queen Anne was a big asset to Feral Children's future. Jeff [Keenan of Feral Children] had befriended him in the early days of our band. Troy became a big fan of Feral Children and would later on become the first DJ to play us on the radio (Troy is also a DJ for 90.3FM KEXP in Seattle) as well as direct our first music video for the song "Spy/Glass House". When Bill joined the band, we quickly found that he was an avid vinyl enthusiast and he too shopped from Troy at Easy Street.
When Feral Children are on the road, making a stop at a town's local record shop can always be counted on. You never know what you are going to find in the dusty corners of America, and as any record store fan knows, its about the journey, not necessarily the destination.
—Josh Gamble, Guitarist
(Click to enlarge!)—Jim Cotton, Bassist/Vocalist
Feral Children - Jaundice Giraffe [Live at Neumos] (Mp3)
(Exclusive TVD/Record Store Day Track!)
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