Kirkland Record Store Vortex Music Offers Spins Down Memory Lane

THERE ARE TWO kinds of music collectors in this world. Digital fans max out their iPods with song downloads. But the "real" collectors prefer the warm sound of vinyl.

They appreciate the whole experience of owning a record -- from the cover jacket art to the way it feels to set the needle down on that long continuous line, feeding ever closer to the center.

After four decades of collecting records, Daren Compton decided to semi-retire from working as a chef and share his collection with the masses at Vortex Music & Movies on Totem Lake Boulevard in Kirkland.

A vortex is something that is drawing into its center all that is around it. It's easy to see the connection to a spinning record.

However, Compton was also inspired by his 30 plus years working as a chef, where daily sauce preparations involved blending ingredients. The vortex is a sign of a properly functioning blender.

But why reinvent the wheel, so to speak? Can a record store really be a viable business in the digital age? Or is it like Michael Scott's bumbling slogan for Dunder Mifflin (The Office), "Paper for a paperless world?"

Compton thinks there is life left in the vinyl industry saying, "It's retro. Kids and artists are embracing it. And while the entire music industry has been in decline, vinyl has seen a 20% growth in the last five years."

Vortex deals with all types of media. Compton often has customers walk in with a huge box of CD's or records wanting to get rid of the lot. Most are worth very little, but he likes to think there is a treasure in every box.

"Usually, I'm like 'Oh God, another box of Streisand or Tony Bennett,'" says Compton who is always hoping for rare late 60's garage bands or anything by Frank Zappa.

Additionally, vinyl from its heyday has generally been compromised (Compton calls it well loved), increasing the rarity of good condition titles. Compton avoided compromising his own collection through one simple rule -- never lend your records out to anyone.

IN ADDITION TO buying and selling records, CD's and DVD's, Compton also sells and repairs turn tables. Vortex has already hosted the local punk band "People Bomb" and Compton would love to have more musicians and comedians grace the very small but rockin' stage that doubles as a micro theater during regular business hours.

Customers like Jim Harris come to Vortex for the customer service Compton provides. He collects long lost episodes of the 1960's gothic soap opera "Dark Shadows." In addition to helping him search for rare titles, Compton will alert customers like Harris when an item of interest comes into the store.

Harris enjoys perusing the shelves calling the experience a memory recall on decades of his life.

Though online retail sales now dominate the music business, Vortex provides something that the Internet cannot -- products that customers can immediately experience with their five senses and take home right away. The people that love collecting records are the same people that love to browse and reflect.

What were you listening to during your first kiss? After you scored a touchdown against your rival high school?

You may not remember now, but ten bucks says it would all come rushing back as you slide that 12 inch sleeve from the shelf.

COMPTON WOULD DEFINITELY have his collection with him on the proverbial desert island. But if he could only take five?

Without hesitation, he leads with:

1. "Blond on Blond" by Bob Dylan
2. "The White Album" by The Beatles
3. "Hot Rocks" by The Rolling Stones
4. Something by Joni Mitchell -- "couldn't live without her"
5. Anything from the Zappa catalog

"Oh, and I'd smuggle in 50 more," he finishes, smiling.