The cheerful sign for Shepard Records is painted in crisp, red-and-green retro script across the window of a former storefront church. Bookended by Good Earth Farm to the right and the cute Imprint Arts Collective to the left, the historic and well-preserved building at 9712 Madison Ave. in the Cudell neighborhood caught my eye when I was perusing the area with a buddy last fall.
“Wow, check it out! It looks like an independent record store! I never noticed that before. I wonder what it’s like – we should stop.”
We pulled the car over and peered in with curiosity at the store window, cupping our hands from the glare.
It was bright out, and inside you could barely make out some very tempting-looking bins of vinyl records begging to be spun, a stage in the back that must have had a pulpit at one time, and several of the band posters that my old college radio station had sported in their digs in the 90s. Taking note of the hours, we made plans to return. We’re fascinated by old buildings and new independent operations, so a few weeks later a late afternoon visit on a lazy Saturday was in order. (Since my visit, the hours have changed and Shepard Records has exciting business news. Read on below, and check the store’s Instagram for more info.)
Exploring Shepard Records
When I entered the store I was greeted with a friendly nod by the young woman behind the counter. She was busily setting up a playlist in front of walls papered with those classic 80s and 90s music posters we’d seen through the window – posters featuring artists like Kate Bush and The Cure.
I got the vibe that this assured 20-something record store employee probably knew of Kate before the last episode of “Stranger Things” brought her 1980s hit “Running Up that Hill” back on the charts. The young woman went about her tasks while still making herself available – I always appreciate a shopkeeper who only hovers just enough. I began to explore.
The tiny but well-planned space is a “shop local” maven’s dream: on the left is a table replete with vintage, reusable fabric bags for shopping, arty small publications, and zines with titles like Kriminal Kinks, Fever Schemes, and Space Creators. Later I found out that these chapbooks and such were from Imprint Arts Collective next door.
Further down on both the left and right sides, the music inventory was funky and diverse. After circling through two rounds of artsy t-shirts and Todd Rundgren and Ultravox albums and such. it was easy to feel like I had time-traveled back three decades.
“Hi, is there a card for the store owner or manager?”
The young woman behind the counter was, in fact, both: Emma Shepard is the 28-year-old creative spirit behind this endeavor. As she explained a bit about the history of Shepard Records and her plans for the future, she called to mind the perfect setting, plot, and protagonist for an ultimate, feel-good, indie hit movie from the 90s. Think “Empire Records” but with a jazzier soundtrack and a much smaller storefront: Bright and likable young female entrepreneur opens up her own small record store to give Cleveland a taste of a unique family business while also pursuing her own dreams of effecting social change as a full-time student in social work.
She told me Shepard’s opened in February 2022 and that she tends it around her busy school schedule. “We are still, I would say, in the soft-opening phase, because I am still getting more inventory.”
More than records: partnering with other creatives
When we spoke last fall, Emma mentioned that her family has a similar set up in Akron called Time Travelers that they have managed for years. As her dad was getting older and she wanted something like it in Cleveland, she built up Shepard Records about 50/50 from his inventory and from her own curated offerings. Like her family’s store, she has plans for lots of vinyl. However, she also promotes local businesses by displaying them in her own shop – as I mentioned, the Imprint Arts Collective next door is the source of the chap books and poetry.
In fact, Emma chose the location for her store in part because of Imprint. “I really liked Imprint. Also, this area has a lot of artist studios. And the stage [at Shepard Records] makes great in-store concerts – I would like to partner at some point with some of the local businesses – poetry readings, performance art.”
Her ideas tumbled out. It sounds like she has found the right home for Shepard’s good vibrations. There is an art gallery downstairs which features art that correlates with the events at the store. Her goal is to bring diverse salon-style happenings – meaning they’ll bring together curious people from differing backgrounds who want to share with, listen to, and learn from each other. With that in mind, Shepard Records events will be an amalgamation of different art forms: for example, music, painting, and poetry or spoken word. (Emma herself brings not only the music that she spins to the table – she is also a musician and vocalist in her own right: you can catch her in local bands Suitor and Small Wood House.)
A move to “slow music”
Shepard Records is part of a bigger movement to a slower kind of listening experience. Pooja Kumar, a Detroit Shoreway-based tango concert and vinyl event impresario, recently moved from Austin to Cleveland. Her company Guardia Vieja (roughly, “Old School” in Spanish) is committed to offering deep musical experiences here that highlight tango maestros. Besides “en vivo” tango concerts she also throws down great “wine and vinyl” curated evenings that pair vino, food, and tunes, as well as bi-weekly tango dance practicas.
When I asked Pooja for her take on why vinyl is making such a comeback, she had a surprising response. “For me listening to a record is similar to any other mindfulness practice.” she told me. “There is a ritual to the process of pulling a record out of its sleeve, perfectly placing it on the turntable, cleaning off the dust particles, finding the perfect spot to carefully lower the needle….the art of vinyl is the art of being present.” Part of that presence, she said, is noting the silence between songs.
The bottom line: music on vinyl records is about slowing down. Maybe this yearning for measured listening is really about dialing our lives down to adagio tempo to find joy in smaller, time-heavy moments. Will record stores that are proliferating now last? It depends, really, if we want them to. As new record stores like Shepard open, others close. “People have to support the stores they love and vote with their wallets,” Rob Love of Record Revolution on Coventry Road, which closed at the end of 2022 after more than 50 years in business, told Ideastream. “Every action counts and every sale counts.”
Within a short stroll or bike ride from Gordon Square there are several more record stores to explore: A Separate Reality Records (11221 Detroit Ave.); Hausfrau Record Shop (1388 West 65th St.); Mistake by the Lake Records (6502 Lorain Ave.) I’m well aware that thumbing through a bin of tunes is a great way to reconnect with yourself and local music collectors but only…if you buy something. Otherwise Shepard’s and these others might follow in Record Revolution’s footprints.
Looking ahead to a new “marriage”
As we finished up our talk, Emma introduced me to a band from the 90s that I didn’t know and talked about her plans for the future (you can find out more on the store’s Instagram account). Shortly after we met, Emma announced plans for Shepard Records to sell online only while the business reorganizes. I waited to hear more, and now the news is here: in April, Shepard Records announced on Instagram that it is planning to “get married” to vintage clothing store Planet Claire, sharing a roof with another cool small business at their Madison Ave. location. The newly “wedded” pair expect to hold a celebration and more fun events this summer.
Shepard Records is located at 9712 Madison Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio 44102.
LeAnn Lewis was a participant in The Land’s community journalism program.
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