What’s old is new again. It’s no secret that vinyl records have increased in popularity these recent years. A concept that started in 2008 to help local shops, Record Store Day continues to take the world by storm as countless of vinyl junkies gather from the early hours in hope to obtain the most limited record releases every year. This year was no different. This year’s most anticipated releases included Taylor Swift’s Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions and The 1975’s Live with The BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, with the latter being limited to only 2500 copies worldwide, there were going to be people camping outside stores in anticipation of the release.
Among the several record stores in North Texas, a new contender has merged. Saint Marie Records opened 6 months ago and is already celebrating their first Record Store Day. A medium size store ran by owner Wyatt and his son in Fort Worth, Texas. I first encountered Saint Marie Records when I came across their Instagram page. Being close to me I decided to check it out during the Listening party of Metallica’s 72 Seasons. Its medium size was what made my experience of the listening party so much enjoyable. You actually socialize with other people that are there with a similar interest, unlike other bigger stores that host listening parties where the experience feels like you’re just listening to music in the background while you shop. Leading to Record Store Day, Saint Marie Records made us aware of the quantities of the records they were going to have. With only 1 copy at the store of the highly renounced The 1975: Live with The BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, it was a no brainer for Jovanny to camp out since 3PM the day prior to Record Store Day. By the time the store was gearing up to open for the big day, there were people wrapped around the corner of the building eagerly waiting. We sat with Wyatt and asked him a few questions;
Are you excited to celebrate Saint Marie’s first Record Store Day? – “Yea excited, obviously a little stressed this week. The Metallica listening party was a drive for us, those events are turned up to 11″
What made you open record store? – “The love for music. The same reason I started the record label, I just like to be involved in that world. I had the idea of doing this for 20 years, and almost did it once four or five years ago but decided it wasn’t the time, then decided about a year ago that I was ready to do it. I’m best friends with one of the owners of Good Records in Dallas so I spent lots of time with Chris Penn and learned the ropes, so I had all this knowledge as a result of that on top of the passion to want to do it and just decided to go for it.”
Did you have any favorite record stores you would visit before opening Saint Marie Records? – “Locally it would be Good Records for sure, they’ve had three different buildings. They started out what I call “small” went to huge or large, and went back to medium about the size of this. I’ve loved all three of them for various reasons. Outside of Dallas it would be End of an Ear in Austin, love that record store. It’s the pinnacle of what I want my record store would be.”
After the success of Metallica’s 72 Seasons listening party, are there any more planned? If so when is the next one going to be? – “I haven’t looked passed Record Store Day yet. Record Store Day was top priority, then the Metallica listening party kinda snuck on me two weeks before but we pulled it together. Let’s get through Record Store Day, take a couple of days to recoup and we’ll go from there.”
What is the most sought after record at Saint Marie? – “It’s probably the Bruno Mars’ side project, Silk Sonic. I couldn’t keep those in stock. We also sell a lot of Deftones as a whole. Also Melanie Martinez, Slipknot and of course Taylor Swift.”
What did you think of Saint Marie’s first Record Store Day? – “It was shocking. There were at least twice as many people to be here for our first one. I guess it goes to show that the social media marketing works so I’m very happy about it.”
With the various records stores all over in the state of Texas, opening a record store is no easy task, however Saint Marie Records have found a “Goldilocks” formula. Less clutter and no filler. More of a curated selection. From listening parties to offering a cleaning service that gets deep into the grooves of your vinyl records. Let’s not forget the amazing customer service provided by Wyatt and company. Saint Marie Records is located in 623 N Chandler Dr in Fort Worth, Texas
