Encore Records – Ann Arbor, Michigan

Ranked as one of the top stores in the country by Rollingstone, Encore Records is nestled behind a few trees at 417 East Liberty Street in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The store acts as a cultural hub for those who view records as “little art objects,” like the two down-to-chill owners, Bill and Jim. Known as “Liberty Records” in the 1950s, Encore is still praised by locals as the spot for crate digging in all of Michigan. iCrates spoke with Bill McClelland and Jim Dwyer (once known as “The 45 Guy”) about why they stopped Encore from slipping into obscurity and what they imagine a future of vinyl heart beats will sound like.

Were you both born and raised in Ann Arbor, Michigan?

Jim Dwyer: I was born in 1963, in Jackson, Michigan. No real quality record stores in Jackson (just North America’s largest walled prison) so we used to come into Ann Arbor to shop for records all the time, at least 3 or 4 times a month in the late 70s and early 80s. I didn’t meet Bill until the late 80s, up at Wazoo Records where he worked.

Bill McClelland: Yeah, I was born in Michigan. I moved around for a while, working in photo studios in New York before I worked at Wazoo Records. I was at Wazoo for the next 21 years. We bought Encore from the last owner, Peter Dale, last summer.

What is the history of Encore records and how did you get involved?

JD: There has been a record store at 417 East Liberty since the early sixties, and maybe longer. Liberty Music was the name up until the mid/late 80s, and the focus was classical, spoken world, and international music. That partnership dissolved, and the two remaining owners became ‘Encore Recordings.’ I’ve been employed at Encore since 1996, starting out as “The 45 guy”.

Why do you think this place is so important to so many people?

BM: There is no place around it in Ann Arbor, even in all of Michigan. People come from all over the place. I’ve literally had so many people come in here and thank us for keeping this place going. It’s sort of gratifying in that respect because you realize how many people care about this place. There is nowhere quite like us. There are other used stores [in Ann Arbor] and they’re all different with their own quirks but people come here and dig for hours.

Who has been your most famous customer in the last couple of years?

BM: Mayer Hawthorne was in here two days ago but he’s from Ann Arbor. All the guys from Nomo were in here yesterday. In fact, one of those guys used to work here but they’re based in New York now. They also shot, “Standing in the Shadows of Motown”, here. You can see the store in the movie; great movie, actually.

What is your take on the similarities and differences of the music scenes in Ann Arbor versus Detroit?

JD: Well, my experience traveling in Europe (my wife is half Dutch, half Italian) is that if you mention Ann Arbor, no one but hard-core music fans have ever heard of it. So I usually say I’m from Detroit, and then chuckle as they take a step or two back, in fear. As far as the music is concerned, I was a little too young to be in on the 60s “scene” but did grow up on 60s pop/rock radio. I would mention Windsor, Ontario based CKLW as a formative musical experience. Lots of Beatles, Motown and tons of variety – the top 40 charts in the 60s were all over the place, stylistically speaking.

How many records do you have in the store?

JD: I know we have at least 20,000 45s in the store (not counting another 30,000 at home in my garage, waiting to figure out where/how to store them in the shop). As far al LPs, we did count them up when we inventoried the store, but I honestly don’t remember the LP count. Shit tons!

BC: Ball park? A couple hundred thousand.

For you, personally, what is it about records? Is it just love? What was your first record?

BM: Probably because I grew up with them. I’ve noticed a lot with people my age — I’m 59 — they know the first record they bought: “Yeah, I bought the Beatles second album,” which is actually the first LP I ever bought. I remember being a teenager and sitting and listening to records on my crappy little stereo and just holding the cover. There was just something special about it—the whole process. Getting a record, bringing it home, and opening it up. I tell this to people and they tell me I’m insane but just the smell of a record is really great; when you crack it open, there is just something about it.

JD: To quote Aaron Neville’s cotton commercial, “The touch, the feel, the fabric of our lives.” That’s what records are. Musical memories and a form of time travel, and new, strange and interesting sounds can take you places you never knew existed. Also, things that you once thought you hated later turn out to be pretty amazing after all. My first records were 45s, early Beatles solo records mostly. As a teenager, whenever going out with my buddies, or girlfriend, I always brought along an album or two – hate to end up at a party with bad music. When one record would end, if the host took too long to put on the next one, yoink – it was one of my records. Probably an Eno-related one, at that point.

Where does Encore get records? Do you go digging for records yourself, e.g. at flea markets?

JD: People come from all over S.E. Michigan to sell to us. With a large collection we sometimes make house visits. I myself hardly ever go to flea markets, since I see so much stuff come in over the counter here at the store. When I go over to someone’s house, though, I instinctively flip through whatever LPs they have. It speaks volumes… I have always done that, even before I worked at, let alone owned, a record store.

BM: If I’m in New York or down South, I try and find good jazz records; Records on the Tribe label, Strata East from the 60s, spiritual jazz records.

When out digging for old records at flea markets or estate sales how do you recognize a rare LP?

BM: For rare records, it’s mostly odd labels, self released stuff, indie jazz, sometimes it may just be intriguing cover art [that catches our attention].

What would be the name of your record? If you were to release one…

BM: “Puzzling Evidence”.

Do you take any regular actions to preserve your records? Any tips for cleaning a dusty, old record?

JD: Uh, nothing special. Careful handling is the best bet. Some people are so rough on their media, my own father included. As far as cleaning is concerned, we just use a simple distilled water/isopropyl alcohol mix, about 60-40.

What is your most expensive record?

BC: I have a lot of jazz LPs that are probably worth a few bucks; first press Blues Notes, etc. They’re valuable to me but maybe not so much to anyone else.

You mentioned how classical music was once the big seller here. What genre is the big seller today?

BC: We sell a lot of standard classic rock vinyl. I can’t price a Pink Floyd record fast enough and get it onto the wracks (which is right across from the counter) and they’re gone. It’s astounding. Rock in general sells really well on records. Good jazz sells really well. We sell everything; we’re all over the map. If you prowl around there is tons of this and that and the next thing.

Do you have an archive system at the store?

BC: We have no archive system at Encore.

Most important question: top 5 favorite records?

JD: Oh boy – of this year? Of my childhood? Ever? Okay, here goes. The five most heavily played albums in my collection, going back over the years:

1) Eno/Byrne: My Life in the Bush of Ghosts
2) Beatles: Revolver (or, maybe White Album)
3) Elvis Costello: Armed Forces
4) The Syntagma Musicum of Amsterdam: Guide to Medieval and Renaissance Music
5) Jethro Tull: Benefit

But you see, this leaves me no room for Bjork (like a goddess to me) and Blonde Redhead’s 23 — the best pop rock album of the last 15 years, one I play heavily, very heavily. And a scad of others worthy of mention, alas…

BM: “Singles or Records?”

iCrates: “Your call.”

BM: “Oh my god.

1) Miles Davis: In a Silent Way.
2) Kind of Blue by Davis is still one of my all time favorite records.
3) Beatles ’65
4) Marvin Gaye: Heard it Through The Grapevine.
5) The Kinks: Waterloo Sunset. I could make you a list of 100 but 5 is hard.

Favorite album cover?

JD: I’ve had a family portrait done of my wife, our two daughters and I in the Revolver cover style, so that might be one of the best. I also really love Fripp and Eno’s No Pussyfooting cover.

BM: Junior Parker standing in front of a big white Cadillac — just him and the fins — the caddy takes up the whole cover. He’s just standing in front of this 1950s modern house with fins that are lethal.

What will the vinyl business look like in the year 2030? Will there only old and rare records or will there still be new pressings?

BM: I wonder what it’s going to look like in three or four years. It’s doing really well right now. I think it will always be here. At least on a small scale, so people can press limited editions of concerts or unusual things. I just heard on the radio that someone is doing a vinyl-only re-issue. They do a lot of re-issue vinyl that are really nice pressings for people who can’t find the originals. Sometimes it’s nice to drop twenty bucks versus 100.

JD: I think that vinyl has a solid future. The artifact aspect of records means that stuff from the 60s through the 80s will always have appeal to collectors and those just beginning to rediscover the past. Many bands though have realized that vinyl really does sound better, and offers better cover art opportunities, so… the future looks bright, enough. No promises, but digital formats seem feeble – convenience is the only real thing they have to offer. But I’ve made a conscious decision to opt out of the 21st century. I am largely uninterested and unimpressed with the internet. I see my job, as a record store guy and as a high school English teacher, is to explain the late 20th century to the youth of the early 21st. I’m content with that.

How do you explain the current popularity of vinyl?

JD: It’s like explaining the current popularity of cheddar cheese – it’s still good, it’s always been good. It’s the single most popular cheese in the world! There is no substitute for holding a 12inch LP in your hands, whether it’s an original copy or latter days re-issue, and gently dropping the needle into the awaiting grooves. Now if it’s a mono pressing, so much the better!

Encore Records
417 East Liberty Street
Ann Arbor
Michigan
USA

http://www.encorerecordsa2.com/

Main photo by Amelia Woodside.
All other photos courtesy of Encore Records.