The politicos love their "Super" Tuesday. And February's annual "Fat" one is, of course, Mardi Gras. But Platterpus Records proprietor Dave Witthaus can recall a time when any given Tuesday was an event at his record store; dozens of people would eagerly await his arrival—and opening key-turn—to rush in and pick up the latest release from their favorite artist. And, he is quick to note, the last such occurrence actually wasn't that long ago.
"Around 2000, Limp Bizkit came out with their Chocolate Starfish CD, and I remembering ordering a couple boxes of 60 and had half up front, half in back," he says. "I was working at WRNX at the time, and by 1 p.m., my store manager called to say we were out of the new Bizkit. I immediately said, 'Check the back, there's 60 more,' but he knew that and said they were gone, too. That's more than 100 discs in less than three hours."
Cut to 2008, where the recently released Coldplay effort resulted in a current first-day record of 10 sales, and Witthaus is the first to admit that downloads and other technological advances have certainly carved out a considerable sales slice of the Platterpus pie since the Bizkit boon.
Still, at a time when far more notable record stores and even once-mammoth retail chains are announcing closings as frequently as members of the Nigerian consulate email for your help in collecting untold fortunes, Witthaus and his venture—much like the semi-aquatic, egg-laying mammal that is his store's namesake—has managed to adapt and evolve over the past quarter century.
Last September, Platterpus relocated from its infamous Westfield digs to the Hampshire Mall in Hadley. And earlier this year, Witthaus says he signed a one-year lease to move into the even-larger Mall location made available when the former Hot Topics vacated.
"I certainly don't have any great secret—or wealth—from what I've done," he concludes. "And I hate the term 'thinking out of the box.' But if anything, I guess my strategy is to make my box prettier and varied. Record stores are no longer destinations, but if you put enough interesting shirts, posters and other merchandise in the windows as well, you can still lure the music fans in."
On the flip side& Mark Schwaber is certainly no stranger to Witthaus' innovative business philosophies. In fact, he used to manage Platterpus before he and his wife Jen Schwaber opened Night Owl Records in Easthampton several years ago. As the industry challenges continued to mount and the quality time he actually got to spend with his wife shrank, however, Schwaber recently revealed that he will close his shop's doors for good August 1.
"Basically, we are sick of crossing each other's path for five minutes a day," he explained in a blog entry, noting that the couple have been manning Night Owl upwards of 60 hours per week, that in addition to Mark's other musical endeavors. "This won't be the last you hear from us, and we're not putting up a wall… We just need some time do the things we've been neglecting for five years."
After the physical store closing, Schwaber says that Night Owl will resurface at its new cyber-home: myworld.ebay.com/nightowlrecords.
On to the music news proper. Hot air balloons and a whole lot of tunes—courtesy of the likes of Jimmie Vaughan, Lucinda Williams, Los Straitjackets and more—will adorn the 22nd annual Green River Festival, occurring this weekend on the grounds of Greenfield Community College. On Thursday, July 17, Richard Shindell, Mark Erelli and Caroline Herring begin the proceedings with a free festival kick-off concert at Greenfield's Energy Park starting at 6 p.m. After that, the shindig migrates over to the Greenfield Community College grounds for the remaining three days.
For more information, including single and multi-day admission prices, performance schedules and more, kindly point your browser to www.greenriverfestival.com.
Send correspondence to Nightcrawler, P.O. Box 427, Somers, CT 06071; fax to (860) 698-9373 or email Garycarra@aol.com.
