During the 2022 AthFest Music & Arts Festival, a man holding two records reading ‘Rock Nobster’ could be seen tossing the vinyls and dancing wildly at every stage of the festival.
The crowd was amazed and confused at what the record holder stood for. Jimmy Bryant, the dancer, used the festival to publicize his new record store, Rock Nobster Records.
The name Rock Nobster comes from “Rock Lobster” of the B-52s. Bryant felt inspired by the band from Athens and felt it was a good name, so he added his own twist to it.
Bryant will carry new and used vinyl records as well as CDs, DVDs and VHS cassettes and tapes. It will provide a wide variety of genres, artists and bands and will even feature some VHS tapes from its collection of over 300 tapes.
Rock Nobster vinyl will come from sources around the world, but Bryant will collect the most used products through online ads, friends and local sources. New vinyl will go through a master distributor. Bryant’s personal inventory kept piling up over the years and decided he had enough to open a store – with over 2,500 records and around 1,000 used $2 records and $3.
“I’m creating a place where people who love music can come and buy music and talk about music and listen to music,” Bryant said. His store will provide another source for music listeners to enjoy more tangible music experience.
According to Bryant, people tend to own their own physical music because the sound quality is unmatched – vinyl and turntables are better now than when they came out, and it’s important to have a piece of that music. .
Oscar Eakett, an employee of Musician’s Warehouse Athens, agreed that the sound quality of LPs is why they are so sought after, and having a personal, physical touch to a music collection is exciting.
“With streaming sites, you don’t own it,” Eakett said.
Despite Athens’ rich history with Wuxtry Records and Lo Yo Yo Stuff Records, Eakett agrees that having another record store in the area is important to keeping the Athens music scene alive and enriched with greater availability. of various discs.
Among his vast inventory, Bryant says he won’t sell around 20 to 30 because they’re too valuable for him. The music of Rahsaan Roland Kirk and Elivs Costello’s “Imperial Bedroom” are two of the most important artists he has in his collection that he plans to treasure.
“I’m more of a listener than a performer. People ask me if I’m a musician, I say yes, I play records,” Bryant said. He has always been passionate about music and started his collection to keep the music and sound tracks he loves.
Rock Nobster Records will open in Watkinsville on September 2, 2022.