When The Music’s Over…

Celebrating Grapevine Music’s Legacy in the High Country

Story by David Brewer

The familiar and droll noises of downtown traffic and the chatter of passersby are the only sounds persons rounding the corner of Depot and King Street hear these days. The vibrant, enticing and sometimes familiar strains of classic soul, alt. country, rock, funk and other styles that wafted from Grapevine Music’s big bay window were silenced in December as the store, a High Country institution since 1972, closed its doors for the last time.

Through four different locations and eight different owners, the store originally known as Record & Tape Discount of Boone has served as gathering place; a hip corner of the world where the next potentially life-changing album, 8-track, cassette or CD was only ever just a few dollars away.

From music lovers and world-renowned musicians, fresh-faced college students to locals, critics to novices, punks to professors, and hippies to hipsters, people from all walks of life passed through its doors, standing side by side while flipping through its racks. While the eclectic cross-section of shoppers didn’t always share the same taste in music, they coexisted peacefully as only music fans can.

The Early Years

According to early owner and High Country resident David Beech, the store’s original owner was a man named Burt Fleischman, who also owned Record & Tape Discount of Chapel Hill. Fleischman, who opened the store in its original location beside the recently closed Appalachian Twin Theater in 1972, was soon bought out by store manager Doug Boyd and Shelton Holland.

Originally from Lenior, Beech had been working for F&F Arnold Record Distributors and RCA Records when he decided that the new store in Boone might offer him a chance to settle down instead of barnstorming across the South as a distributor. Beech initially bought out Holland between 1973 and 1974, later buying Boyd out to become the store’s sole owner.

“I got tired of being on the road and I moved to the mountains,” said Beech. “Back then I was pretty much the only place in town. From classical to rock and roll to country—it all sold.”

When Beech took over, Record & Tape discount sold albums, 45s, 8-track tapes and stereo equipment to the students and locals who frequented the store. He also did a substantial amount of special orders for customers who wanted releases not stocked by the store.

One unfortunate byproduct Beech soon discovered was the brutal hours required to keep the business going. In addition to manning the register, Beech also spent several hours a week sending back defective records to manufacturers for store credit. Often logging between 55 and 60 hours per week, Beech soon began looking for a business partner he could trust to nurture the store.

A native of Little Switzerland, Mardi (Summerville) Sumrell was working at Sugar Mountain in the mid-1970s and regularly spending a portion of her paycheck on expanding her record collection.

“I was working at Sugar Mountain and I would make a pilgrimage to Boone every Friday,” said Sumrell of her weekly trips to the store. “I would walk in and buy whatever David was playing because he had pretty good taste.”

The music lover’s weekly trips to Beech’s store to hear the latest and greatest releases eventually culminated in her purchase of half the store in 1975. Beech was glad to have the help and Sumrell was thrilled to be getting her records at wholesale prices.

Eventually the pair moved the store from its location by the theater to the Boone Mini Mall on the corner of Depot and King Street. With the move, Beach and Sumrell changed the name of the store to Record & Tape Depot. Sumrell expressed fond memories of the location, despite the lack of air conditioning in the summer.

“I raised two children in that store,” said Sumrell.

Sumrell also learned early on that with the relatively small markup on records and tapes, she would need to do more than just sell music to turn a profit. Fortunately, with thousands of college kids just down the street buying posters to cover their dorm and apartment walls, she didn’t have to.

“That’s pretty much what paid my rent over the years,” said Sumrell.

The 1980s and 1990s

Much like Apple’s iPod today, Sony’s introduction of the Walkman revolutionized the purchasing habits of the record-buying public. The new medium soon proved popular with High Country music buyers and caused the first major shift in the store’s inventory from albums to cassettes.

“When cassettes came on the scene, they were definitely the hot item,” said Beech.

Beech didn’t stick around long enough to observe the decline of vinyl. In 1981, he sold his share of the company to Sumrell. He now works in the construction business.

“When I got out of the business, I kind of felt like I was in it during the good years,” said Beech.

The store would soon see a change of venue as Sumrell opted to move after a falling out with the landlord of the Boone Mini Mall. Record & Tape Depot became Grapevine Music (thanks to the vines growing on a trellis outside the store) when the store initially relocated to where Subway of Blowing Rock currently resides. Unfortunately, the store’s steady business did not extend up 321, forcing Sumrell to beat a retreat back to Boone, reopening in the shopping center beside Hunan.

During her years at the store, the live music scene was booming in the area thank to P.B. Scott’s Music Hall in Blowing Rock. Grapevine hosted record signings by Molly Hatchet and became a place for touring acts to kill time before shows. According to Sumrell, her famous clientele included Sam Bush, John Cowan, Bela Fleck, Doc and Merle Watson, R.E.M. members Michael Stipe and Peter Buck, as well as members of the Allman Brothers Band.

In 1985, ASU student Keith Neaves joined Sumrell at running the store. Also a High Country native, Neaves worked at Grapevine until 1988 before purchasing the store from his former boss in 1991. Sumrell, who opened a second store in 1988 in Blowing Rock, still owns and operates Pandora’s Mailbox in the Martin House on Main Street. 

“I got the old space back and bought her inventory,” said Neaves. “There was no record store in downtown Boone when we moved back. We rocked.”

Neaves didn’t waste any time in getting the college crowd back into Grapevine. Neaves recounted tales of wild special events including special Monday night CD release parties where throngs of partiers would flock to the store for more than just the music.

“The place would be packed and we’d get a keg of beer,” said Neaves. “Those parties were always a lot of fun. Back then it seemed like it was so cool.”

Although CDs had since overtaken cassette tapes and vinyl, Neaves continued to sell records and also added some imports to the Grapevine selection. In 1995, Neaves opened funky home décor store Neaco in Boone, eventually moving the store to Blowing Rock in 1997.

With his attentions increasingly devoted to his new venture, Neaves became less involved with Grapevine’s day-to-day operations. During this period, the store’s manager decided to add the video rental element to boost sales. Neaves viewed the move as a mistake and eventually sold the store to Jennifer Garland in 2001.

The 2000s

“When I sold it to Jenn, it was still doing well but things had changed,” said Neaves. “I had no idea what was about to happen.”

Neaves’ reference to things changing was perhaps the understatement of the century in terms of the music business. The invention of Napster by Northeastern University student Shawn Fanning in 1998 sent shockwaves through the music industry that reverberated in record stores around the country. The game had changed beyond the control of artists, record companies, distributors and music storeowners.

Regardless of the downloading war being waged in cyberspace grabbing headlines around the world, Garland was thrilled to be the new owner of Grapevine Records.

“It just kind of fell in my lap and I thought, ‘what fun!,’” said Garland. “I’d always wanted to work at a record store. I just immediately tried to change the way it looked.”

The initial makeover proved not to be the last, with Garland frequently shifting the store’s inventory and stock based on needs and, sometimes, simply because she felt like it.

Garland experienced an early bump in the road when the major change from VHS to DVD reared its ugly and expensive head. In a short time, the store’s stock of DVDs grew from 50 to 2,000, putting a serious dent in her pocketbook.

For the most part, however, Garland’s first three years at Grapevine were good, with business eventually peaking in 2004. She relished her role as proprietor of the hip, old downtown music store, playing up the fact that in one form or another, the business had been putting good music in the hands of High Country listeners for decades.

At the suggestion of her partner Melissa Reaves, Garland began hosting live performances in the store’s cramped quarters, beginning with a show by local blues-rock jammers Papa Gumbo. Other acts that played to intimate in-store audiences include nationally known quartet Lucero, Jay Brown, and, most recently, a triple-bill featuring the Naked Gods (several of whom were employed at the store), the Worthless Son-In-Laws and Reaves.

In addition to filling in behind the register, Reaves also suggested the addition of guitar strings for local players, helped design the t-shirts and provided support whenever needed. It was also Reaves who suggested putting the speakers in the window to attract shoppers walking down King Street.

“She was always encouraging, coming up with creative ideas for the store,” said Garland.

The End

As 2005 dawned, Garland couldn’t ignore the droves of small, independent (and often old) music stores around the country that were closing their doors because of big box retailers such as Wal-Mart and K-Mart, online music stores, download services and digital piracy through the Internet.

“At that point I really should have been shifting gears,” said Garland. Instead of further diversifying her inventory to make up for slow music sales, she and Reaves tried to push through slowing music sales.

Unfortunately, Garland’s bottom line began to sag and the fun and ease of owning the store turned into a major burden.

“You’ve just got to be a huge music and movie fan to work in a store like that because you’re not making any money,” said Garland.

Word began to spread throughout 2007 that Garland was searching for a buyer for Grapevine Music. While looking for someone to take over the nearly 40-year-old business, she also contacted other record stores around the country to see if they would be interested in buying the store’s inventory. What she found were dead ends.

“So many of them I called had already gone out of business,” said Garland, trying to avoid the same fate. 

Late in 2007, Garland reached a tentative agreement with a buyer for the store. The deal, which would have kept the 36-year-old store in downtown Boone, fell through because of a disagreement with the owner of the property, forcing Garland to close in rather unceremonious fashion.

“We did everything we could to keep the store alive and pass the torch,” said Garland. “We want everyone to know that we tried really hard to continue. We just can’t compete with the technology these days.”

In the end, Garland, whose friends affectionately refer to her as Dixie, said that she would miss having a very personal connection to the community through the music store, and her roles as counselor to friends, reference librarian to new music seekers, friend to the store’s regular customers who continued to shop in the face of more convenient and perhaps cheaper options and, most of all, co-worker.

“I have had the pleasure of working with some of the finest people,” said Garland. “Everybody that worked for me treated the store as if it was their own and it’s been so special. It wouldn’t have lasted as long if it wasn’t for those people.”

Reflection

Many contributing factors bear the blame for driving Grapevine Music out of business. While many of us marvel at the convenience and selection of download services like iTunes and eMusic, we wonder what happened to the girl or guy that used to recommend new releases at the music store.

Big box stores that dominate the commercial landscape carry massive selections of easy-to-find mainstream artists, passing over independent gems to ensure that sales remain strong. While the people who stock their miles of aisles might be wonderful human beings, they could more easily help shoppers locate Timbuktu on a map than recommend a great new release.

And while those factors continue to hammer away at other similar stores around the country, many music fans turn on their iPods, stick in their ear buds and walk down the street as if the stores that enriched their lives never existed. For those who still like to browse music in an actual store and talk to real people, Fat Cats and Green Eggs & Jam still provide the ritualistic experience.

Sumrell and Neaves continue to sell music at Pandora’s Mailbox and Neaco respectively. Varieties of jazz, lounge and classic vocalists have found a home among Neaves’ outrageous selection of drink mixers, gag products and trendy picture frames. Sumrell continues to cultivate her love of Americana, stocking bluegrass, folk, alt. country and rock among the jewelry and greeting cards that crowd her store.

Ironically enough, Record & Tape Discount of Boone lives on in name as the corporation under which Pandora’s mailbox operates. Garland also plans to continue operating the Grapevine Music MySpace site, where you can still purchase the store’s t-shirts.

“I’m fortunate that I still have customers that have been shopping with me ever since I’ve been in business,” said Sumrell. “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree and two of the apples are right across the street from each other. The baby boomer group hasn’t quite as readily jumped on the bandwagon as much as the college crowd.”

As Beech, Sumrell, Neaves and Garland gathered on a cold January morning at the corner of King and Depot Street for a final photo opportunity, the group of music connoisseurs reminisced and laughed together about the little independent record store that brought joy into the lives of so many.

“I sure hate to see it go,” said Neaves.

We all do.

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