Driving down Delaware Avenue, you may never notice the record store that’s hidden in plain view. It doesn’t have a giant neon sign like the Virgin Megastore, nor bright flashing lights. Instead, the record store sits quietly at 2531 Delaware Avenue, where the street meets Hartwell. Its sign simply reads “Sit and Spin,” and a few skateboard posters adorn the storefront.
Despite the modest appearance, Sit and Spin is a staple in the Buffalo music scene, and has been for many years. From hardcore to indie, Fall Out Boy to Agnostic Front, Sit and Spin is a haven for music fans. Even after being sued for $500,000 and a sudden move late last year, Sit and Spin still chugs along like the little record store that could.
In 1999, Geoff King graduated from the University of Rochester with a degree in biochemistry, and like any new graduate, had no intentions of taking that first step into the dreaded nine-to-five world. “[I was] basically clueless about what I wanted to do with my life,” he said. Martin Krajewski, his best friend of fourteen years was in the same boat.
As self-proclaimed “record store hounds,” the two friends began to notice the small number of record stores devoted to independent music or musicians on small record labels. While Buffalo had plenty of independent record places like Record Theater, Krajewski recalled that very few catered to the punk rock community. “There was Home Of The Hits; however, at the time, they were more interested in selling Pearl Jam, and Discovery Records, which had gone downhill after the owner had moved to Seattle. We thought the local scene deserved better.” So, with a little money saved up, and some elbow grease, Krajewski and King opened up Sit and Spin on August 1, 1999, in a strip mall located in Depew, NY. The name was picked from a list of 100 random phrases, but it couldn’t have been a better fit for the store. “The definition of the phrase, according to the Urban Dictionary,” Krajewski explains, “is a polite way to tell someone, ‘Go fuck yourself!’ which seemed appropriate for a punk rock record store.”
The first few years of the business saw steady growth, a pleasant surprise to the two newfound business partners. Sales were increasing beyond expectations and things seemed to be going well. Soon, however, as the digital age crept in and downloading became the new medium for getting music, Sit and Spin was suddenly not sitting as pretty as it used to. Not wanting to limit themselves to exclusively selling music, Krajewski and King experimented with other ideas. Even now, the store not only has CDs and vinyl records, but also DVDs, T-shirts, and skateboarding equipment. “We financed a majority of the first year of Sit and Spin’s existence by selling Pokemon cards to neighborhood kids,” says King. “We found a way to get them and resell them at a great profit…We were Pikachu’s pimp.”
Wanting to make their profit as strong as their pimp hand, the two guys looked to turn Sit and Spin into a record store/music venue hybrid. After many unsuccessful attempts to find a larger space, they decided to move furniture and fixtures around and have shows directly on the floor. Shows began happening in Sit and Spin in 2004, and the two owners saw an increase both in revenue and in popularity.
On July 17, 2005, tragedy struck. During an in-store performance, a fan badly injured his leg five minutes into the show and had to be carried out into the parking lot. An ambulance arrived and the show was cancelled. Six months later, King and Krajewski found themselves buried under a lawsuit. Though the injury was self-inflicted by the attendee attempting to “mosh” in a record store, he still attempted to sue Sit and Spin for $500,000 by making a slip-and-fall claim. Needless to say, the two friends were shocked by the situation. “I don’t have half a million dollars. I don’t have half a thousand dollars on a good day.” says King.
Problems also arose between the two owners and the landlord. Their relationship was already on shaky grounds, and the lawsuit only exacerbated their problems. King explains, “The plaintiff and his legal representation decided that including our landlord as defendants in the litigation would be a good idea, because more defendants equal more money. Clearly, our landlord was not amused.” King and Krajewski were served with an eviction notice and given thirty days to move out.
Most people would’ve closed up shop and called it quits, but King and Krajewski were of a different breed. Refusing to fall the way of stores like Discovery Records and Home of the Hits that were forced to close, Sit and Spin fought to stay in business. Krajewski eventually worked out a month-to-month relationship with the landlord, yet the two best friends still decided to look for a new place.
Finally, in early summer of 2007, Sit and Spin found a new home at 2531 Delaware Avenue. Looking back, the change of scenery wasn’t all negative, despite the store’s size. “We’re very happy in our cramped location. We’ve cut our overhead cost and ended up in a centralized location.” says King. Although the lawsuit is still ongoing, Sit and Spin continues to march forward, taking each day as it comes.
Upon visiting Sit and Spin, it’s easy to see why the store is so beloved. Though small and local, the record store possesses a very homey, down to earth atmosphere. The walls are decorated with T-shirts, skateboard decks, and even some rare vinyl records, including an autographed Misfits record. Customers aren’t bombarded by eager employees trying to push sales; instead, there’s usually a single person sitting behind the cash register, greeting you with nothing but a smile and a “what’s up.”
“[I love] the excellent service, ample and cheap used vinyl selection, [and the] very comfortable, no pressure atmosphere.” comments Blake Ellman, a frequent customer. In regards to their selection, the store is dominated mainly by punk rock and hardcore, but there is no shortage of other genres, ranging from pop to old funk records. Since Sit and Spin takes in used records, and their selection is constantly updated with nostalgic treasures.
Classic records by The Beach Boys and Earth, Wind, and Fire can be found among heaps of others- not in CD form, but in traditional vinyl format. “Our store doesn’t really cater to the passive music fan. I think part of the music buying experience for the fans of music is going to a store filled with bins and digging in.”
Customers like Richard Nocera Jr. would agree. “One of the best records I ever bought from that store was Michael Jackson’s Thriller on vinyl. To this day, it remains to be one of my favorite records I have purchased.”
“Kids [nowadays] just click on Pitchfork [a website devoted to up and coming bands] to see what’s cool,” King mentions, “bypassing the record store altogether by clicking the link to iTunes to buy the album without hesitation, to consume it instantaneously and find the next cool thing, staying a step ahead of their hipster friends. I am of the opinion that people do not truly spend enough time with music anymore.”
In a time when most music and albums can be bought with the click of a mouse, Sit and Spin offers people a chance to get back in touch with the personal side of buying music—the browsing, the interacting with the cashier, and the purchasing of a physical record to take home and jam to. “The thing that makes me most happy about owning the store is that I got to meet a lot of people through the store I wouldn’t have otherwise met.”
King fondly reminisces, “I kissed my future wife for the first time on a couch at our old location back in 2001.That one can’t be topped. I have a lot of great memories of the place and I hope that we can eke out a few more years to create a few more.”
