Wilmington couple banks on resurgence in vinyl records

Rich Fisher grew up in the city that birthed Motown, was "spoon-fed" Led Zeppelin as a child and had his appetite for music satiated during the three years he spent in Europe serving in the U.S. military.

"At some point in our lives, music means a whole bunch," Fisher said. "It never left me."

Now, 17 years after becoming one of the few to beat pancreatic cancer, Fisher, whose sickness left him a diabetic, is trying his hand at owning a vinyl record store – and in the process, starting to get rid of the vinyl collection that his wife and business partner, Kim Gold, was tired of seeing grow.

Fisher and Gold opened SqueezeBox Records a little more than two weeks ago at 1901 W. 11th St. near Trolley Square in Wilmington. The building was formerly used by Parisi Carpets.

But the vinyl inside the warehouse-style building is of the music variety. Fisher, 56, is hoping to share his love of music with others and make a little money in the process.

Fisher, who was a painter before he got sick, added to his vinyl collection over the years, including during part-time producing stints at radio stations WDEL and WSTW. He can't put an exact number on it, but the collection is somewhere close to 20,000 records. Right now, around 40 percent is on display at SqueezeBox, which also is a buyer, seller and trader of records.

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In the age of digital sound, Beats headphones, Spotify, Pandora, the iPhone and any other modern musical vehicle you prefer, Fisher is betting on the nostalgic comeback of vinyl.

According to a report from Deloitte, published in a CNN Money article in June, the consulting firm forecasts a seventh consecutive year of double-digit growth for the vinyl music industry with sales of 40 million new discs and a total of $900 million in revenue.

The comeback prompted Sony Music Entertainment to start pressing vinyl records again for the first time since it ceased doing so in 1989.

“This is no passing fad,” Fisher asserts. “That’s one of the reasons I thought this would work really well.

"Trepidation? Not much at all. I got (his wife) saying I had to get rid of this stuff.”

A recent trip back home to Detroit provided some clarity that Fisher was doing the right thing. He paid a visit to Third Man Records, the independent record label started by Jack White in 2001.

“Just going into his store and seeing 15 people in there as soon as it opened, and they’re young kids, I’m like, ‘This is fantastic,’" Fisher said. "Once a kid hears this stuff, forget it. The sound really does it.”

Fisher describes his love for vinyl passionately, referring to the "crackle and pop" noise after the needle drops. The high fidelity sound that follows is all part of the reward.

“You can feel this as it plays," Gold said. "It’s going through you.

"Once you go vinyl, you don't go back," Fisher said.

The collection at SqueezeBox runs the gamut from punk rock to gospel. The only music that doesn't come from Fisher's personal collection is the stuff from Third Man Records and a few other newer titles.

While talking about the collection, Fisher turned to a table behind him and grabbed a record.

“This cat, Clifford Brown, is from Wilmington," he said. "How many kids know that around here? He’s a legend in the jazz world… He’s one of those guys that really made bop jazz what bop jazz is. Kids need to know that.”

Brown left behind just four years of recordings after dying in a car accident in western Pennsylvania at the age of 25 in 1956.

Fisher wants to make sure people remember musical history.

SqueezeBox has a small stage and will eventually host live music events to promote local bands. The small listening lounge in the back will soon be enhanced with refreshments. Other old-school touches include an Edison phonograph cylinder and a jukebox.

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Gold, a big Aerosmith fan and Delawarean her whole life, works as an operations manager at a local law firm, leaving Fisher to mostly run the day-to-day business at SqueezeBox.

Fisher has just half his pancreas and no longer has his spleen or gallbladder. He walks around with an insulin pump. At one point, after his diagnoses in 2000, he said his doctor told him he had three months to live.

“I’m alive and I own a record store," Fisher said. "What could be a better job?”

Contact reporter Jeff Neiburg at (302) 983-6772, jneiburg@delawareonline.com or on Twitter @Jeff_Neiburg.