Amoeba Music

For years I had been salivating over a rare Tchaikovsky Symphonies box set that was virtually impossible to find. While running an errand in Berkeley, I climbed the stairs to the very cool and intimate classical room and found this treasure for $20. Still pumped out that.

I really enjoy Amoeba Records, although I always forget what I'm looking for the moment that I walk inside the enormous Los Angeles location. My favorite moment has to be when Henry Rollins was performing Black Flag songs there back in 2002. With the help of Martin of Los Crudos/Limp Wrist and my friend Tom, I did a flip over a rack of records onto the pogo-ing kids at the front as they were playing "Rise Above." One of the Amoeba bouncers grabbed me and "escorted" me out of the store. I also love finding all of the awesome obscure hardcore records there. Thanks!

The first time I stepped into Amoeba in Hollywood was when I was 16. I didn't have any money, like most teens at that age, but I did have a full tank of gas in the '89 Dodge Caravan my parents let me drive to school. A friend and I ditched school that day because he had been raving about Amoeba for a year now. The drive took us a little more than hour; from the streets of Valley Blvd in El Monte, down Cesar Chavez in East Los Angeles to Sunset near Silverlake. When we finally got there, I wasn't sure if I was relieved because we finally reached our destination or because that was the farthest I had ever driven without a license, or the fear of getting in trouble for ditching. But to say the least, it was overwhelming. The largest music store I had been to, at that time, was a record store in the Montebello Mall. Not having a very eclectic sense of music (stemming from Blink 182 to MxPx to a little of Nirvana) I was obviously out of my element here. I remember looking up at the posters hung on walls of artists I've never heard of and noticed customers dressed in cool vintage clothes. Walking through the isles, I now vaguely remember band names and the music I listened to on the music players on the second floor. In retrospect, I think my first visit was more of an experience rather than a memory. Like when you got your first guitar or the first time you listened to Pink Floyd. Though you may not understand it or know what to do with it, you do understand you have found something truly unique and special.

I moved to the bay area nearly three months ago and ever since I've frequented Amoeba Music in Berkeley. It's been a mecca, as well as a consolation, after moving out for the first time and 3000 miles away at that. One day in particular, Ryan Stark recommended the album "Curse of the Zounds" by Zounds to me. I bought the CD, went home, put in my stereo, and blasted that shit. I started cooking as "Demystification" came on. My irrepressible need to dance to that song plus cooking didn't work out so well... I somehow nicked the center of my palm with a knife. Kind of ironic, seeing as Zounds means "Christ’s wounds," which I found out the next day when reading Othello for class. Disregarding minor injuries, the record was amazing, as were the many other treasures that I've discovered at Amoeba. Thanks for being everything I wanted and more in a record shop. You've made my move worthwhile.

It's funny, I used to live in NYC and there was nothing even close to Amoeba. When I moved out to SF I immediately fell in love. A serial DVD collector, Amoeba had it all. Foreign, new, classic, etc. both new and USED! Amoeba is like crack to me. What's funnier, though, is that for years there was talk about online sites like Amazon and mega stores like Virgin sending places like Amoeba to the stone ages. Yet, recently it's all the megastores that have fallen and are continuing to fall. For the time being it feels like community places like Amoeba that are dedicated to the mainstream and the offbeat are the pioneers of physical media. I can't predict the future, but I know I'll continue to support Amoeba because it's more than just a record store. It's a way of life. And yes, that was cheesy.

We travel to come to Amoeba's record shopping. It's my husband and my favorite date. In fact, on our 6th wedding anniversary we hit up Amoeba's for a mini shopping spree, followed by Zachary's pizza (a couple of Anchor Steams), followed by The Pixies 1st re-union tour show at the Greek Theatre. It was just about the perfect day.

I thought really great record stores only existed in really great movies. Places where the employees know everything and they can guide you to new artists. Or where you can guide yourself. Living in the suburbs of the bay area when you're 16 you can't always make your way to the Haight. But when I learned how to drive and I finally visited Amoeba for the first time I was blown away. I was definitely intimidated at first. There was no possible way I could ever feel at home in a store like this! I could never navigate my way around. How could I possibly get to everything? All of these cool people walking around with their heads full of knowledge about bands and musicians I had never even heard of. But 13 years later I feel like I walk that store with pride. I love spending hours just guiding my way through all the different aisles. I love checking that PJ Harvey vinyl section just in case by some miracle a "To Bring You My Love" copy found it's way in there. But I didn't get to feel at home like this all on my own. To that guy who helped me find the out of print Martin L. Gore EP because I was in love with some guy and I wanted to listen to "Compulsion" over and over. Or that one guy who told me that first BSS album was just OK but I bought it anyway and it came to be one of my favorite Cds. To any of the workers who didn't judge me for JUST getting into The Rolling Stones and told me their opinions of their best albums to buy. Or for the store in general for always having every Bob Dylan cd there used or new because when all else fails and I can't find anything to buy I can always work on completing my Dylan collection. Whether I'm falling in love with a cashier because he too was in love with a not yet enormously popular Death Cab for Cutie or jumping up and down because I walked down the vinyl aisle to discover Ryan Adams had re-released all of his albums on vinyl. I love you Amoeba San Francisco. Others may feel intimidated and I feel at home.

I don't really have a great Amoeba records story,except to say that they are always awesome to me when I have had rough times in the past and was forced to sell or part with some of my record collections or what have you.the last time I was in the Hollywood store selling some of my records at AMOEBA I ran into Brian Grazer who works with Ron Howard a lot on Movies.I have always had surreal experiences at the different Amoeba record stores since the 1980s,the original store I used to go to was the San Francisco store.

Amoeba Records is the world's greatest music store. I wish I lived in Los Angeles to be able to visit the store more often, but my once a year pilgrimage will have to do.

I have been a music addict for over 40 years now. When Amoeba opened it became my favorite place to feed my addiction. Over the years I have introduced hundreds of people to Amoeba. Many are from out-of-town and leave with their arms full of music and their hearts full of envy. In the early days of Amoeba, you would offer a choice of t-shirt if I spent a certain amount of money. I have a lot of t-shirts. My favorite moment was the first time I took my then 10 year old son to the Berkeley store. He looked up at me and said, "Dad, this is so cool! They have even more music than you do!" That's my boy!