Heavy Rotation Records (and Radio)
"The doors are locked and the store is closed, but we've got your ticket to the best, hand-picked mix of music on the shelves. Recorded live in Studio City, California, at the record store of the same name, it's Heavy Rotation".
Just after 9pm Pete, owner of the Heavy Rotation record shop, would pull the security gates closed, flip the lock, and turn off the "open" sign. In the meantime I would set up a rag-tag assortment of audio equipment on a wooden folding TV tray in the back of the store and get ready to record.
While I made the final technical tweaks to the "studio", Bill, the other half of the hosting duo, would hand me a pre-shuffled stack of CDs featuring an eclectic assortment of music (this was the good'ol days before Spotify & the like, kiddos). Along with the stack was a note listing which tracks they'd be playing from each disc that night.
Pete and Bill would sit down, slide the headphones onto their heads, microphones got their final adjustments, and before a word was spoken the first track would start to play. Without fail I'd lean back in my squeaky chair and wonder...
"How Did I Get Here?"
I was standing at the store's front counter one afternoon, looking over the "just walked in" box of CDs Pete had yet to sift through. I didn't know Bill very well at the time, but we struck up a conversation as the random cast of characters wandered about.
At any given time you might quite literally bump elbows with a vocal coach for some big-name artists who was willing to break into an in-store aria upon request, a couple of pro wrestlers adding some new titles to their CD collection, the lead singer for a popular metal band as he took his regular shortcut home through the store and out the back door, a rather famous actress cruising the country section, or maybe the producer of a major network TV show chatting with Pete in the back while you browsed the shelves of that tiny shop...and no one batted an eye. The place had a vibe uniquely its own.
Bill was leaning on the counter while I shuffled through the CDs and said, "Someone should film a documentary about this place."
After hearing Bill and Pete exchange countless amazing tales about music & the industry during my previous visits to the shop I replied, "Or maybe you & Pete could do an audio version of a docume..."
"Yeah, a radio show would be fantastic! What'ya think Pete?" exclaimed Bill.
"I've got some gear, maybe I could help record a demo show." I hinted.
"How's next Wednesday, Pete?" asked Bill, nodding in my direction. "We'll play some music for the radio right here in the store."
And just like that, a show was born.
I'd drive up from my house in Orange County to Studio City once a week after my day job and we'd record a show or two. After each tune was played Bill & Pete would tell the most amazing stories about the musicians & bands. Sitting there twisting the knobs while they talked, I was pretty sure that the largest collection of music knowledge ever known to mankind was housed between their respective ears.
I was already hosting the weekly RedJazz radio show from my home studio, so I managed to get the pre-recorded "live" broadcast of the Heavy Rotation radio program on a traditional over-the-air station and also distributed it as a podcast in the early days of the medium. It was a simple setup, but I was in heaven -- getting introduced to a wide variety of incredible music and a plethora of fantastic stories every week by two absolute legends, and helping to share it all with people around the globe.
Those Who Knew, Know
If you lived around Studio City, CA between 1991 and 2006, and you were fortunate enough to wander into the narrow storefront with the "New & Used CD's & DVD's" sign over the doorway, it's likely that you made your way back inside more than once to soak it all in. The vibe in that unassuming store, created by Pete and his lovely wife Vivian, is something that people still speak of to this day with nothing short of love and longing...me included. And that's a rare thing, indeed.
"You've been listening to the Heavy Rotation Show. Recorded live at Heavy Rotation Records -- 12354 Ventura Boulevard in Studio City California. It's...Heavy Rotation."
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(photos of the shop are screen grabs from OfficialGregLee's Heavy Rotation tribute video on YouTube)