When you step inside the unassuming building near the corner of Secor Rd. and Sylvania Ave., you’ll immediately be greeted by the sounds of one of the tens of thousands of records and CDs that occupy nearly every square inch of the modest space. A closer inspection reveals only a fraction of the effort involved in cultivating an impressively organized, genre- and decade-spanning library.
Behind the controlled clutter is Pat O’Connor, who you could call a music connoisseur – though that would be an understatement. Owner and manager of a record store seems a fitting title for someone who bought his first album at the age of five and spent over forty years searching for three specific records (which he found). He’s definitely found his forte, as Culture Clash was recently branded the Best Record Store in Toledo, a title they’ve received every year since its inception in 2004. Though it seems they got it right on the first try, O’Connor was already quite familiar with the industry; he helped start Clash’s precursor, Boogie Records, in 1973, and maintained it until its close in ’04.
A revived art
Some may question the popularity of records in a digital age, but record-listening has evolved to become a counterculture activity. “It’s just fun to play records. There’s a certain ritual involved," O'Connor explained. “It has a greater involvement than just MP3 or anything else.” Culture Clash sees several regular customers as well as those venturing into the record world – or music world – for the first time. The resurgence of vinyl over the past decade is often attributed to the nostalgia it provides for older music fans, and the novelty for younger audiophiles. In any case, it also motivated Culture Clash to start carrying new and used turntables, amplifiers, and speakers. O’Connor prefers the music-oriented selection with an accent on vinyl: “[The store] is a very interesting hybrid of what a record store should be,” he said.
Culture Clash often hosts local bands with new releases, and books touring bands through the area to perform in-store. This year, the store will put out an album with 24 Gone, a Canadian rock band that was big in the area in the early ‘90s. But one of the biggest accomplishments was the record the store released on their own: a compilation of Toledo underground garage singles titled Breaking Glass. The store almost sold out of the 500 albums made for Record Store Day last year, but only aimed for a return on investment and to boost artists’ popularity, not profit.
The heart of the matter
O’Connor’s main mission is turning people on to music—financial gains are secondary. His four knowledgeable employees are equally helpful and passionate about records, but don’t tread into snob territory. A shelf of staff picks sits at the front of the store, and anyone will happily put on any record for a customer to preview. The days are long and the work is tiring, but O’Connor wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. “There’s history in the grooves, there’s art on the wall . . . how can you beat it?”
Culture Clash Records is located at 4020 Secor Rd. 11am-8pm Monday-Friday, 10am-6pm Saturday, 12pm-5pm Sunday. 419-536-5683.
