Local Record Shop Comes to Kilburn Mill

by Maxx Fidalgo

The Record High logo on one of the shop's windows in the Kilburn Mill. Photo courtesy of Todd Foy Jr., Facebook.

NEW BEDFORD, MA -

The walls of the modest shop space are a Pepto-Bismol shade of pink.

The space's new owner, Todd Foy Jr. of New Bedford, assures me the final result will be a clean white on which he can use as a canvas for his up-and-coming, local, record shop located on the first floor of New Bedford's Kilburn Mill: Record High.

Why Record High? To Foye, it describes the "music you play to get a serotonin high" or just "the high you get from listening to music" in general. 

Record High will carry not only new and used vinyl records, but also cassette tapes and CDs, though in smaller quantities. While Foy will be ordering in new items, the used items have been sourced through local donations, with Foy sharing that one individual donated close to 500 records that included popular artists - and not, he joked, just Gregorian choir chants or big band compilation albums. Foy, who has cited a deep love of music, has been more-recently working toward this dream of becoming a first-time small-business owner. The idea, a long time coming, was nurtured by the experience of meeting new friends at a local record store in nearby Fairhaven-town.

"People need to engage with physical media," Foy says, citing his drive to open a local record shop. With streaming services as the new norm since the post-2000s technology boom, Foy joins millions around the world in his perception of a lack of connection between modern music audiences and their media. Gone are the days of carrying your vinyl with you to a friend's apartment for a listening party: bygone eras where groups would come together to share their newly-pressed plastic purchases or finds with one another with open hearts and minds. He wants to bring these back too, he says, a spot at the back of the shop reserved for a 'hang-out' section replete with couch, record-mimic table by local indie artist Pixel Palmer, and a turntable to throw on exactly one of those records he'll have for sale.

It's more than that, though. Music can be found in every culture on this globe and extends thousands of years back. Organized music is, arguably, one of the features of humanity that makes us so human, a form of expression for every emotion wrapped up in melodies, notes, words, and elevated sound that extends beyond simple speaking.

Foy, who previously worked in the non-profit sector from which he has recently parted ways, says the lease signing lined up with his departure. 

"It was a sign that it was the time to pursue this," he says. Off he went to sign the lease and get his keys with his co-owner, beloved and constant companion, Copper, a five year old mutt-rescue who hasn't lost his puppy-like nature. Copper will be a fixture in the space, welcoming guests and probably taking over the hang-out couch, Foy admits.

Leaving the non-profit sector to start a small business in the country's current political and economic climate may not be everyone's number one way of coping or fighting back. But for the music? Foy says it makes sense.

"Music is a resistance piece, a way to fight back. It's also joy!"

And so much joy seems to be wrapped into the plans for Record High's immediate goals.

An example of the vinyl-mimic coffee table, by Pixel Palmer. Image courtesy of PixelPalmer.com

"People should be able to afford good music..."

The space, while welcoming those eager to scratch their vinyl itch, will highlight local aspects of surrounding New Bedford. To start, Foy plans on including "local, resistance art - antifascist" expression in the space. Pixel Palmer will contribute a mural, with future plans to add splashes of color and fun to the window panes that make up much of the shop's back wall with smaller art pieces and prints. Prints by other local artists, like Palmer and Linotype Daily, will be available for sale in the shop as well.

Of course, the location itself is a highlight of local, being in New Bedford's historic and fast-growing Kilburn Mill, a spot that delights the shop's new owner. Already so many have been welcoming to Foy and Copper, with support booming internally. Kilburn Mill houses tons of small business owners from New Bedford and surrounding cities and towns. If any community understands the need for local support, it's this one.

"The ethos of our store is community," Foy says, so having that already be the atmosphere when he first got to the Mill was a wonderful start to the small-business owner experience. He also wants it to be a space for that musical 'resistance' and for people of all backgrounds to find a place to be. Foy himself has been out as "openly and proudly gay" since 2005, as well as being mentored by Aleah, the queer shop-owner of Indie Earth LLC in Buffalo, MN that Foy calls up for the more practical questions of running your own store, like where to order register tape and how to avoid losing his mind with all the preparations for this weekend's opening. Creating a place for all local community to come together and share in the trans-linguistic joy of listening to music is objectively an inspired goal to have.

Then there's the 'Give Back Bin,' from which buying items supports the non-profit effort Foy's heart hasn't fully left behind. Every month, 50% of the proceeds from the 'Give Back Bin' will go to a different, local nonprofit. For December, Coastal Food Shed, a Kilburn Mill neighbor, will be the beneficiary. Of course, the easy-to-swallow prices of used items aren't just to support local or bring in more revenue to off-set purchasing new media.

"People should be able to afford good music," Foy tells me as he describes the used-sales' prices and bargains. Instead of not owning an album since it's streaming on Spotify or paying for a single song out of context on iTunes, Foy has priced used items to be roughly the same price as that one song - but for an entire, vinyl album.

There's also the environmental impact of going used. Foy claims the "world doesn't need more plastic" and most environmentalists, both local and beyond, would be inclined to agree. Instead of purchasing expensive represses of old albums, Foy will be able to offer originals of the same album at a reduced price and prevent more plastic from being introduced onto the market.

To "come in and browse, and have no assumptions..."

There will be something for everyone, with even those who don't own a jockeying setup able to puruse and try out casettes and CDs on the retro boombox Foy sourced for just such a purpose. In addition, to encourage musical exploration among his customers, Foy has an innovative and unique starting approach: he's going to nix the genre organization.

Instead, Foy is going to have everything alphabetically organized by artist. That means Johnny Cash will be found with the Jonas Brothers, and Miranda Lambert near Motley Cru. Customers will have to interact with genres they either may not be fond of or have heard of before to get to their faves and greats, increasing the likelihood of them organically being exposed to something new, whether in the used or new sections - which will, at the least remain separate.

But no genres? It's a way Foye has devised to get folks to "come in and browse, and have no assumptions" about the music they may encounter in his shop. It's encouraging customers to take an active role in their media consumption and discover something new on their own. The direct contrast to having an algorithm or AI compile a soulless list based on the ever-increasing reality of always being watched (whether by the government or your laptop camera) breathes a gust of fresh air the music search and disrupts the streaming world's iron grip on directing the flow of what society sees as the newest, hottest artists and albums. It might not make everyone happy when first entering, but it does place musical autonomy back firmly in the hands of the listener.

And dare I say it, but that may be part of Foy's whole point with opening a local record shop in the first place.

Record High officially opens this Saturday, December 06 at 10AM, right in time for the holiday season. The shop can be found on the first floor of the Kilburn Mill, down one of the first hall's from the Mill's main entrance. You can visit Todd Foy Jr.'s Instagram and Facebook pages for updates and sneak-peeks.