Record shops

Profiles on owners of some of SoCal's most storied establishments for vinyl and other merch.

BIONIC RECORDS

When Mike Desisto first got into punk, who knew some 22 years later it would lead to him overseeing one of Orange County’s most beloved record shops?

The house of Bionic Records, has served or featured in store everyone from No Doubt and Sublime to Korn, but perhaps its most important customer is you. Yes, you, and everyone else making up the community that’s part of an integral network supporting this independent purveyor of music…. Click to Read On.

HEADLINE RECORDS

Jean Luc Gaudry’s talking about the identification process when depositing checks, which gets him into blockchain and then, somehow, the wonders of how vinyl is actually made.

It’s a roundabout way of delving into the particulars of the Headline Records founder’s brand new podcast, but Gaudry’s adept at crisscrossing topics, skillfully picking up on the most fascinating parts of any subject.

The long-time DJ – he DJ’d for a few radio stations in France and then later, once Stateside, was at former Indie 103.1 DJ TK’s internet station Moheak Radio. Having a podcast when he opened his punk-focused record shop Headline Records in 1995 was always in the cards, but the technology didn’t exist. Fast-forward to now and costs have come down, the technology’s improved and the timing made sense.… Click to Read On

Rotten to the core

It's a one-man show over in Ventura.

Rob Janis started Rotten to the Core Records as a distro in 2003, mainly working friends' shows. The shows dried up, but Janis is still going strong with the mail-order, a label and a separate arm called Hobby Horse Buttons—the latter, as the name suggests, produces buttons.  Click to read on.

DOCTOR’S ORDERS

Bill Plaster's in the middle of explaining how Dr. Strange records—the label—came to be when a regular walks in looking for the Fred Perry shirts.

"You probably want a large. They're the slim fit. Put your hand right to your left," Plaster says guiding him to where the shirts are.

"How much are they," the customer asks.

"$72. Expensive but way cheaper here. They're about $15 cheaper," Plaster tells him. Click to read on.