Ashland is the longtime record store owner’s latest stop; previous locations were Sunset Boulevard and Austin
By Emma Coke, Ashland.news
Longtime record store owner Robbie Petterson has signed just a two-year deal for his newest shop, Shattered Music, in downtown Ashland. He says he’s not in it for the long haul or to make money — he’s in it to sell music and talk about music.
According to Petterson, Shattered Music is already a quarter of the way through its lease, is well stocked with an eclectic selection of records (and CDs and cassettes) and is doing good business.
“I didn’t want to be here any longer,” Petterson said. “I just wanted to have a great time here, enjoy the community and do some good.”
Working closely with Beau Dillard, the pair aim to create a welcoming atmosphere in their store at 64 N. Pioneer St., between Three Penny Mercantile on the corner of Main Street and Taqueria Picaro in the middle of the block.
“First impressions are crucial,” Dillard said. “So when someone walks in the door, we treat them the same whether they’re a long-time customer or a first-time customer. We want people to feel comfortable. And we want them to feel comfortable here.”
“There are no wrong answers in music,” Dillard added. “If you enjoy it, you enjoy it.”
To reach the widest possible audience, Petterson searches everywhere for new store products, “and answers calls that no one else would answer.”
“That’s what you have to do, man,” Petterson said. “You have to sift through every stone to find what’s best for the people.”
Despite their large collection, they realize that not everyone will find what they’re looking for, so Dillard works to make Shattered Music a part of the larger record store community by referring customers to other nearby stores.
“We want to be part of a group of record stores. So when people come in, we immediately tell them, ‘Hey, have you been to Diane’s? Have you checked out Music Coop? Have you been to Time Machine in Grants Pass?'” Dillard said. “Because the more record stores there are, the better, I think.”
Since Dillard is an avid music collector himself, he understands the hunt.
“I enjoy it when people find things they’re looking for and they get excited,” Dillard said, “because I know what that’s like. As a buyer, when I find a record myself or something I’ve been looking for for years, I get a rush of adrenaline. It’s exciting.”
Petterson and Dillard have been in the record business for decades. This isn’t their first Shattered Music store together.
Petterson has been buying and selling music since 1972. He started by selling American records to school friends from the back seat of his car in Germany when he lived near an army base.
“I thought, ‘Gosh, if I’m going to do this, I should start making money,'” Petterson said. “It wasn’t quite right, but I did it anyway. And I just took all these records to these clubs and friends and they played them. And it just took off from there and never stopped.”
He spent the next 50+ years traveling the country and opening businesses to share his passion.
“I would open stores in areas that I wanted to live in and that I felt were culturally diverse and up-and-coming,” Petterson said. “So I wanted to move to Los Angeles and open my store on Sunset Boulevard. It was still like the hair bands were coming to town. It was exciting.”
While Petterson was in LA, he even played dumb football player No. 2 in Beetlejuice.
“It was a lot of fun and I never expected it to be such a big success,” Petteson said. “I still get royalty checks… I mean, it’s about $130 every three months. It’s 40 years old, so it’s just pocket money.”
He didn’t stay, but left when he felt that the money had outpaced the idea and the store had lost its appeal. He decided to move to Austin, Texas, where he opened a store. He spent three years there, meeting great people and going to great concerts. Again, Petterson left when the store became “too corporate.”
“Financially, I haven’t been successful, partly because I’m not in this for the money and I’m not trying to squeeze every penny out of everything,” Petterson said. “The other reason is that I’m constantly moving around and trying to explore the areas that I like.”
The details
Shattered Music
64 N. Pioneer St., Ashland
10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday to Sunday
Facebook page
Dillard joined Petterson 12 years ago. The two had met a few times when Dillard worked at Peoples Records in Arcata, California. Petterson came through the area once a year looking for records to buy, and the two would sometimes chat. It wasn’t until Petterson’s store opened in Dunsmuir, California, that he joined.
“It was more of a coincidence that we got back in touch,” Dillard said.
Petterson later owned six stores before landing in Ashland on the recommendation of his friend Dana Nelson, owner of Three Penny Mercantile. Nelson had called him about the building for sale near her store, which would later become Shattered Music.
After running a business for so many years, he was initially skeptical about opening another one, but the more he thought about it, the more attractive Ashland seemed.
“I thought, ‘Oh my goodness, this is Ashland,'” Petterson said. “So I came and looked at it and it was the perfect size… So that was the time when I could just have fun and enjoy the community without having to work too hard.”
As for the future, Petterson doesn’t know what’s next. Maybe he’ll renew his contract to keep selling records, maybe not. But he knows one thing for sure: why he sells records.
“It’s about the people,” said Petterson. “That’s what it’s about.”
Email Emma Coke, reporter at Ashland.news, at [email protected].
