Eight years ago, two music-obsessed University of Oklahoma students were busy delivering cheap pizza to hungry college students for Pizza Shuttle when they decided to take their careers elsewhere. In 2002, Travis Searle and Justin Sowers decided they would collaborate and open up a shop in Norman that would satisfy the city of Norman’s musical cravings instead of their taste buds.
Guestroom Records became Searle and Sowers’ dream come to life in July of 2003. The store opened in downtown Norman, but for a year and half before the opening, they operated a small distribution and door-to-door record shop. The new owners donated their entire personal music collection to provide the first batch of used CDs and records collection, ready to be purchased. The purpose of the store is confirmed on their Web site under the ‘About Us’ section that “Guestroom Records is about getting good music to people who want it.”
Guestroom puts out a monthly newsletter that provides a timeline of shows that are happening around Norman. Their own record label, Guestroom Records has hosted many in-store performances as well. It also provides the latest releases of albums and CDs that are new in the store, as well as coupons and discounts the store is offering. The Web site posts the same information with the addition of “Employee Picks” where six of the nine employees post their top ten current favorite albums, along with their all-time favorites. The Guestroom team in Norman consists of nine men, who are all confident with what their store has to offer the music lovers of Norman.
“There is no radio outlet that’s number one- playing music, and number two- one that is advertising shows,” said Guestroom Records manager Will Muir. “Right now the only shows advertised are ones that are happening at the Ford Center, the Diamond Ballroom, or The Conservatory, all of which are in Oklahoma City. So if you’re a Norman resident, or you’re a college student in Norman, you’re more than likely not going to go all the way up there to see a show, especially for some band you don’t really know because you’ve never heard of them because they don’t have a radio outlet here...All you have to do any day of the week is walk by this store and there are flyers for shows.”
Guestroom provides a relaxed atmosphere for college students or residents of Norman that need to escape through their favorite artist’s lyrics or upbeat tempos. They have created a spot in downtown that is a musical haven from reality, all created from the dream that two Pizza Shuttle employees shared as students. Guestroom has a second location in Oklahoma City and for upcoming shows visit www.guestroom-records.com.
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| Guestroom Record's album collection. PHOTO: Courtney Goforth |
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| The area where bands play for in-store performances. PHOTO: Courtney Goforth |
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| Artwork by local artists displayed and sold in the store. PHOTO: Courtney Goforth |
Courtney
ReplyDeleteThe photos are a great touch and capture the sense of GRecords. Good job. On your writing, edit yourself. As an exercise, how could you shorten this sentence:
The guys of Guestroom put out a newsletter that provides a timeline of upcoming shows that are happening around Norman.
Think it through. You are on a good path, though, for the semester.
julie