The Decibel Tolls

Photo  and video credit Louisville Courier-Journal

The press conference ear X-tacy owner and charter member of the national Coalition of Independent Music Stores John Timmons assembled this morning at the store was a rather powerful pow wow. A few things solidified this. Though he kept his composure, Timmons was visibly broken up during much of his 20 minute statement. All the local media were there – the major network affiliates, Gabe Bullard from WFPL, LEO Weekly, Velocity, and countless bloggers – not to mention many luminaries of the music community, including Forecastle Festival founder JK McKnight, The For Carnation/Dead Child’s Todd Cook, and Lebowski Fest’s Will Russell. Though I didn’t realize until halfway through, Jim James, whose My Morning Jacket sold out Madison Square Garden on New Years Eve, was to my left with his wife and young daughter. It was fitting, as Timmons mentioned all the historic in-store performances that occurred at ear X-tacy, specifically citing My Morning Jacket’s live album Celebración de la Ciudad Natal, which was recorded in the store in the summer of 2008 to a crowd of 500 people.

But beyond all that, the moment that empirically proved ear X-tacy’s value in local and regional music (and in some cases, on a national level) was the Q & A. It was long, and the majority of it did not consist of questions – but testimony. “I’m not a member of the media, but I live here and I just wanted to say…” is what often followed when John called on someone to speak. While not all comments were necessarily relevant, it didn’t matter – each was evidence to how vital the store is to the community. ear X-tacy, for many, is the epicenter for Louisville music. There were very few questions because there’s not much to question. This press conference was a come-to-Jesus meeting, and Timmons laid it all out there.

ear X-tacy is not closing, but they’re not doing well, and they have no explicit plan. The purpose of today’s conference was nothing more than to let everyone know the truth, and how bad it’s gotten. “As the owner, I see this store completely different than others see it or our customers see it. I see what this store can be, and what’s wrong with it,” said Timmons. “The economy has certainly killed us.”

However, his own personal passion and the outpouring of support, including the  Save ear X-tacy Facebook group boasting 20,000 members, has solidified a strong effort to stay open. “The easy thing would be to turn the lights off and walk out next month,” said Timmons, “but this isn’t my store, this is all of ours, and I will do everything to stay open.” This included Timmons drawing money from his own retirement and staff not receiving any raises for the last three years – a decidedly unsustainable model, but one that kept them somewhat afloat. Timmons also said that ear X-tacy’s ThinkIndie digital store is a “money pit.”

Timmons did allude to the idea of possibly downsizing the store’s current 10,000 square ft. floor or moving to a different building. We’ve already seen this happen over the past few years, as ear X-tacy’s apparel and general ephemera stock took up the entire second floor, which is now used as storage. However, he was adamant about their general location. “We belong on Bardstown Road,” he said.

ear X-tacy’s value in the community is unequivocal, but Timmons shared one story that provides one of the most direct correlations. Before the store began reporting Soundscan, the general thought was that only soul and country music sold in Louisville. The store’s record sales actually revealed a much more eclectic market than what the cigar-chompers in New York gave Louisville credit for. From there, a wider spectrum of acts began routing tours through Louisville, demonstrating what Timmons called “the synergy between radio, the store, and the live show.”

It was shortly after that anecdote that Timmons shared his biggest and most passionate statement – a plea. “We don’t want a handout or a bailout or your money. We want your business.”

There it is. It’s not enough to do a pity purchase next week. It’s about changing your buying habits, and making a conscience decision to shop local, even at the sake of convenience. Since it’s somewhat naive to believe that the majority of people are as willing as they say they are to do this, there should be a restructure of some sort. John Timmons was vague about the future plans for ear X-tacy outside what he didn’t want to happen – moving, closing, et al. Perhaps this is our call to action to help, and I certainly have an idea that I will be throwing their way. What do you think? How do we save this staple of our music and arts community and make it sustainable in the digital age (by digital, I mean “entitled to get free shit”)? Let’s make this a collaborative effort, like any community worth its salt in any arena should do. Use the comments below to swap ideas.

In the meantime, find something you’ve been meaning to get.

UPDATE: Backseat Sandbar has the whole thing on video.