BANDSPEAK

Band Speak (Interview): Weirdo Records owner Angela Sawyer

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Angela Sawyer is the owner of Weirdo Records, the premiere independent record store for anyone seeking to step off the beaten path of music aesthetics. Located near Central Square in Cambridge, and jammed into a space smaller than some college dorms, this seemingly unassuming shop is a gateway to sonic bliss. 80% of my record collection accumulated since coming to Boston has been found on the shelves of Weirdo records, everything from Sunn O))) to Sun Ra, garage rock to gypsy jazz. Sawyer is also a prominent part of Boston’s music scene, periodically DJing events around town, as well as throwing a show every monday night at her store. Go on April 21st and celebrate Record Store day with the folks behind the Boston Hassle!

-TJ

TJ: What are you doing this year to celebrate record store day?

AS: Last year we did this as well and it was so much fun, Sam and Dan (of Needy Visions and Boston Hassle fame) are gonna do karaoke on the sidewalk and I’m gonna give away like a case of beer. I also hide things around the shop that I’ve intentionally priced too low or I’ve been saving up as a rare release and I just sort of hide them around the shelves. It’s a nice, self congratulatory holiday and I think it’s great, I’m always happy to have people show up and go “Great! I’m glad you’re alive!” and that’s nice enough to make me happy. Owners of stores get more business, and people get more records, it’s great for everyone.

TJ: Do many more people really turn out each year for record store day?

AS: Yeah! For whatever reason I think it’s not going to happen and people wont show up and then it gets here and I get slaughtered.

TJ: Have record stores and working in record stores always been a big part of your life?

AS: Kind of, I’ve been working in record stores for more than 20 years so basically my record store was also my job but I feel like working in a record store saved me from a life of crime.

TJ: What was your first job in the world of music?

AS: When I first was in college I volunteered at the radio station and really liked it there, it was the first place I’d ever been to where I felt I fit in.

CONT…READ THE REST OF THE INTERVIEW

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