Tomorrow is National Record Store Day, a celebration of independent record stores across the country. It’s a day to discover new music, cop a physical copy of your favorite digital tunes, or grab that special collector’s edition you’ve been eying for a while. Earlier in the week we brought you Meaty Ogre’s top 5 places to go digging in the Windy City, and today we continue the Record Store Day fun with this interview with Patrick Schwer of H Plus Records.
Patrick gave up a high-paying job, health insurance, and the relatively warm weather of Oakland, California last year in order to move back to Chicago and follow his dream. A music lover, and student, Patrick put everything on the line to open his own record store in Chicago’s South Loop. Here he talks about his decision to open the store, the toughest parts thus far, and the place that vinyl holds in music and culture. Check it out.
RubyHornet: Tell us about H+ Records. How long has the store been open, and what kind of vinyl do you carry?
Patrick Schwer: H+ Records is a vinyl record store that has been open for around four months now. The store tries to create a unique and intimate atmosphere with an emphasis on personal service. That’s a marketable way of stating that we have a beautiful, but small space, where I’m the only employee and I like talking to the customer because it gets lonely behind the desk. We try to carry everything under the sun but only have a space for a limited selection generally cultivated from independent record labels of all flavors. The collection constantly evolves based upon the customer base, ask for something, you’ll likely find it there in a week’s time.
RubyHornet: What made you want to open a record store in 2011? How long has this been a passion for you?
Patrick Schwer: I’ve loved music for as long as I can remember, but have zero musical talent. I have an engineer’s brain (I have a master’s in Civil/Environmental Engineering) so instead of starting a band, I built a store.
RubyHornet: What’s been the toughest part of getting everything going?
Patrick Schwer: Everything. This is my first business, it’s all new to me even if I had some tangential experience from other work. Luckily part of that experience is working in laboratory so small failures of inexperience don’t phase me. What doesn’t kill the me or the store only makes it stronger.
RubyHornet: Does selling music and owning this store change the way you view music or the artists creating it?
Patrick Schwer: Not really. The best part of working in the store is watching people spend their time/energy/money on something they truly love and appreciate. It’s nice being a small part of that transaction.
RubyHornet: Your musical knowledge is deep. When did you see yourself becoming so invested in this?
Patrick Schwer: Not sure, I like to learn, and learning about music and music history is what I just do. I wouldn’t overstate my existing knowledge, I’m more amazed by the amount of stuff that I haven’t heard than what I know.