Mojo, Record Store Day Celebrate 10th Anniversaries

TAMPA, FL – What a long, strange trip it’s been for Mojo Books & Records.

The eclectic University Area store is set to celebrate its 10th anniversary on Saturday, April 22 at its 2540 E. Fowler Ave. location. The event coincides with the 10th anniversary of Record Store Day, which Mojo will celebrate at the same time.

Opening a book and record store seemed to be the natural progression for Melanie Cade and Dan Drummond. While Drummond started in the business by selling books and records at local markets and collectors’ shows, Cade began selling books online in the early 2000s.

The former USF students decided to translate their passions into Mojo Books & Records, which started in 2007 a few doors down from their current location. Because the two owners already worked in the industry, they had a sizable starting inventory and didn’t have to rely on using their personal collections.

“That said, we certainly parted with some gems for the sake of the store, especially from Dan’s sizable record collections,” Cade said. “We also bought out inventory from some other Florida bookstores who were closing up shop prior to our opening.”

Only a year later, the start-up was facing one of the worst recessions in living memory. Cade reckons they were able to survive the recession because they were a brand new business with few people on their staff.

“The recession was rough,” she said. “We were able to forego our own pay when we needed and keep on chugging. Now that we’re larger with several people employed, greater overhead and more responsibility to our customers and community, it would be hard to stay as nimble.”

However, the recession remarkably coincided with a renewed interest in vinyl records. Cade said it was a bit surprising when they started seeing younger faces buying vinyl a couple of years into their business.

“We started carrying new vinyl releases and people would come from all around town because we were the only ones really doing it then,” she said. “It makes sense, though. Not everyone who collects records does it because they’re an audiophile. Everyday life is increasingly intangible, impersonal. Records are the opposite of that. The same thing is starting to happen again with books.”

Four years after their opening, Mojo was bursting at the seams. The move to their current location in 2011 almost doubled their size. The new storefront also gave Cade and Drummond something they’ve always wanted: A coffee bar, specializing in manual brewing.

Today, Mojo Books & Records is the Tampa Bay area’s largest independent book and record store. It also operates as a part-time show venue that supports the local music scene.

Record Store Day, both the nonprofit organization and the day of celebration, began as a way highlight the once-dying independent record store industry.

“Thankfully, that’s not the case anymore,” Cade said. “Record Store Day is a day to celebrate the culture of independent record stores and staff, customers and local artists who make these stores great.”

Like other record stores around the world, Mojo will be offering all of the official Record Store Day vinyl and cassette releases, as well as many of the unofficial titles. The Record Store Day album list is as eclectic as Mojo itself, ranging from Fisher-Price to Notorious B.I.G.

“It’s a day to serve our customers by going all out on ordering the special releases and hosting a killer free show,” Cade said.

The local acts performing at the double anniversary event are:

• 8 a.m. to afternoon: DJ Suspiria, spinning Record Store Day releases and more
• 3:30 p.m.: DieAlps!
• 4:15 p.m.: Luxury Mane
• 5 p.m.: Room Full of Strangers
• 5:45 p.m.: Frank Secich
• 6:30 p.m.: Glove
• 7:15 p.m.: Jensen Serf Company
• 8 p.m.: Pickpocket
• 8:45 p.m.: Poster
• 9:30 p.m.: Sleeping Pills
• 10:15 p.m.: Drug
• 11 p.m.: Permanent Makeup
• 11:45 p.m.: Tim

Mojo will also be offering sales, giveaways and other unusual offerings throughout the day. There will be a free drawing for people in line before the doors open at 8 a.m., including previous Record Store Day releases. The first 10 people in line will receive a free Mojo T-shirt and a free drink of choice from the coffee bar. There will also be free beer after 3 p.m. while supplies last, courtesy of PBR.

Also, for the seventh year, the Tampa Vegan Bake Sale will participate in the event. All sales from the bake sale will go toward the care of homeless cats, including a Trap-Neuter-Return program.

For a full list of the 2017 Record Store Day releases, visit http://www.recordstoreday.com/SpecialReleases.

For more information about Mojo Books & Records, visit http://www.mojotampa.com.

Image via Casey Marshall, Flickr, used under Creative Commons