Tim Hogan, who had been working for karma came over to work for me and so did John Sullivan, we opened our second location on Crescent Avenue. Julia Meek: What did you do with that niche you found yourself in?īob Roets: Well, obviously, we expanded. And it had to be what locally, people wanted to buy, whether it was a local artist or a national artist, whereas the bigger stores carry the same thing around the country. And I was very particular on what we carried. We did a really good job at seeing who was coming in the store, analyzing the type of music that they liked, and making sure that we had it. I grew up in an age where most record stores I went to, I call them cookie cutter stores, the Musiclands and so forth. And I think they sensed that we were doing it right. The Tim Hogan's, the John Solomon's that had been working for Karma called me up and wanted to work for me.īob Roets: Yeah. I was able to attract some of the best talent in the city. So when you did open those doors and start doing your "Roets thing," Bob, how did you make your difference as the new kids on the block?īob Roets: Well, I think my approach to business was a little bit different.
Julia Meek: And we all get to live your dream, that's something very special for the whole community. I love what I do, and being in the community and working with artists and bands has always been fun-promoting concerts and doing Battle of the Bands and all this fun stuff that I've done since then-it's all part of the same thing. But I'm a pretty stubborn guy, you know, I mean, I worked seven days a week, I still do. That's what started Wooden Nickel, to be honest with you.Īnd to think where it is today, it was inconceivable that that would happen. And we started with $1,000, my record collection and my stereo system. You know, when I opened the store, I had very modest thoughts of where we were going to go.
But yes, you've been living your dream all these years.īob Roets: Yeah. Julia Meek: So your passion has developed, matured tremendously. And I would go out to the clubs and check them out, you know, see what the local music scene was like. And we started carrying cassettes for local artists. Back then artists would release their music typically on cassettes, actually. Came down to run Slatewood.Īnd when Slatewood went out of business, that's when my wife and I decided to open Wooden Nickel, 40 years ago. I had been working at Slatewood records for a couple years because I'm from Madison, Wisconsin and worked a couple stores up there. There were 11 other record stores in Fort Wayne at the time that we opened Wooden Nickel. What was the local music scene and retail market you and your wife Cindy entered?īob Roets: It was very competitive back then, because music was selling very, very well. Julia Meek: And if not yet, they will one day. They everybody wanted them and they're, I think, nearly every house in Fort Wayne's got a few laying around. And then I named the record store Wooden Nickel and I started giving out the wooden nickels and people went crazy. But I got the idea for with nickel from that record, because the Indian head was on that record. I kept that 45 and I still have it today. And then they left Wooden Nickel Records, that was a record label in Chicago, went to A&M records. Julia Meek: So you have been passing those signature wooden nickels for 40 years now?īob Roets: Wonderful! (laughs) You know, I got the idea from a Styx record back in 1974. Wooden Nickel’s 40 th Anniversary Baker Street Centre (formerly C2G Music Hall), Fort Wayneįor ticket information visit the Wooden Nickel website.īelow is a transcript of our conversation with Bob Roets: Here WBOI’s Julia Meek talks with Bob about their early days in the business, the evolution of the industry and the adventures he and his wife Cindy have had along the journey. Its co-founders, Bob and Cindy Roets, have been dedicated to filling the personal music needs of the community as well as promoting the local and regional music scene since their arrival here from Madison, Wisconsin in the early 1980’s, and are grateful for the continued support and the many connections they have amassed over the decades. Fort Wayne’s iconic independent record store, Wooden Nickel, is celebrating its 40th Anniversary this Saturday, with a city-wide party at Baker Street Centre.
0 kommentar(er)
