I started Venus
Records in 1978 selling via mail order whatever music related
merchandise that I happened to like. Much of it was related
to the punk scene, along with a lot of classic garage rock.
Basically, we sold any loud rock music.
Some of the more interesting items from the early days were tshirts
from some of the local concerts put on by Wartoke
productions. There were some really great ones, with bands
like John Cale, Siouxsie, the Cramps, Police, and more. At
the time, Wartoke shared an office with IRS/Faulty Products, run by the
Miles Copland, brother of Stuart Copland from the band, the
Police. So we were one of only a very few places that carried
that label's full product line.
In 1981, the business outgrew my apartment, so I opened up a store on
West 8th Street. At the time, West 8th was a pretty
'happening' place, with several record stores, head shops, and, a
Nathan's. To get a cheap rent, we were located on the 2nd
floor, above a shoe store. We were supposed to be able to
keep the downstairs door open all the time, but the people living in
the building complained. So, to get into the store, customers
actually had to press a doorbell downstairs, and wait for us to buzz
them in.
By hiring what was possibly the most knowledgable staff in the world
for garage and punk music, the place became pretty popular.
Of course, having an incredible selection of records you couldn't find
elsewhere along with very reasonable prices didn't hurt.
The Psychedelic Furs shot part of their video for 'Run and Run' there.
Later on MTV and VH1 shot segments in Venus Records .
We got writeups in various magazines around the world. Even
in Japanese.
After about 9 years on West 8th Street, we were faced with a rent that
was going to quadruple. West 8th Street had lost many of its
'hip' shops by then, and had become almost all shoe stores.
In a real loss of culture, the 24 hour Nathans had been replaced by a
book store. Even though the space was really best suited for
storage, the landlord probably didn't want to hear the complaints from
one of the tenants above us. It ended up that we could get a
store almost twice the size on the ground floor on Saint Marks Place
for about the same price. It needed some renovations, but was
a much better location.
With the new store, we started building up our cd collection, and even
going a bit more mainstream. The top floor was primarily new
product (except a large middle section devoted to cds under
$5.00) The downstairs was more like the old store - all
vinyl, messy, and a collector's paradise. By the time I
closed the store in 1999 to move upstate, we were one of the few stores
left with a large collection of new and used vinyl.
Along the way, some of the offshoots of Venus included a record
label. One of the first releases was the Penetrators album
'Kings of Basement Rock.' One of the earliest garage revival
bands around, and their stuff has become pretty collectable.
The biggest seller was one of the first 'tribute' albums, Smiles, Vibes
and Harmony, a tribute to Brian Wilson. It featured Sonic
Youth, Handsome Dick Manitoba, Nikki Sudden, the Records, and more.
Being in NYC, it is natural to have some 'known' customers.
Some of Venus' regulars included many of the famous NY bands.
The Ramones all came in at various intervals, as did Robert Quine, Fred
Schneider, and R.E.M. (when they came to town). Some others I
remember coming by were Elvis Costello, Stiv Bators, Kurt Cobain, Billy
Gibbons, and the big one, for me, was when Robert Quine brought Lou
Reed by, and he bought some Velvet Underground stuff (actually, he was
going to buy it, and I gave it to him - after all he wrote the song the
store was named after... Venus in Furs). One day, Syl Sylvain
from the NY Dolls came in and told me about how the lower level of
Venus Records had once been his apartment and the Dolls practiced there.
We also did direct importing, exporting and wholesale of records and
European promotional posters. We had a website in 1996
selling just about our full catalog of new product along with a lot of
used albums. We also started the world's first .. auction site
devoted exclusively to selling records and cds at
http://www.4tunes.com (not working anymore).
By 1999, there were about 15 used record stores within a few block
radius of us (as opposed to 2 others when we moved in). We
were still one of the most popular
record stores , but I made a personal decision to move upstate
to Saratoga Springs. Originally, I was going to move the
store upstate, but after moving, decided that the record industry would
be changing dramatically within the next 5 years or so, and went into a
different business. So, Venus Records basically went
defunct. I've recently decided to start doing some music
related things ... I've still got the stock from
Venus. Every now and then, I look through some of it, and am
amazed at what is there. Every now and then I'll see
something that I didn't even realize existed. At some point
I'll start auctioning some of these items. I'm going to set
up a mailing list, so if you are interested in that, but sure to sign
up.
Right now, I'm not selling anything. But, I'm going to start
giving out some great information, reviews and more from the Venus site
and other related sites. I'll also keep a blog on myspace to
entertain music fans. If you like loud noisy music, send me a
friend invite, and I'll send you bulletins when something interesting
comes up.
Thanks.
Bill Shor
