{"id":85157,"date":"2025-03-11T07:03:14","date_gmt":"2025-03-11T14:03:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/hi-lo\/?p=85157"},"modified":"2025-03-11T14:22:36","modified_gmt":"2025-03-11T21:22:36","slug":"why-fingerprints-moving-leaving-downtown-record-store-bixby-knolls","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/hi-lo\/music\/why-fingerprints-moving-leaving-downtown-record-store-bixby-knolls","title":{"rendered":"Why legendary record store Fingerprints is moving away from Downtown Long Beach"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This story is available for republication. Please see our policy\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

After 14 years, Fingerprints Music is calling it quits on Downtown Long Beach. The store, known for live music and signings by high-profile acts, said Monday it will relocate by the end of March to a 5,000 square-foot space in Bixby Knolls. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Workers this week were packing cardboard boxes and removing vinyls from racks along the Fourth Street storefront\u2019s outer racks. According to owner Rand Foster, they began moving merchandise to the new location Monday as painters finished up there. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Foster said he hopes to open this month, in time for International Record Store Day on April 12. Once relocated, the shop will likely not have live music until it can acquire the proper city permits. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re still open, and we don\u2019t have a closed day yet,\u201d Foster said, adding store hours will not change and people can follow their social media<\/a> to stay up-to-date on the relocation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The decision to move was difficult, Foster said. It was driven by anxieties over three upcoming construction projects within a two-block radius he fears would have hamstrung business with road closures and fewer places to park.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n Link<\/a>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Foster recalled that during the two years of construction at The Linden apartments next door, sales dropped by a quarter as closed roadways and sidewalks made it difficult to access the storefront. The project converted a 70-80 space car lot, and, meanwhile, other nearby parking was routinely taken by building crews.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe subsidized that building with lost sales and we just can\u2019t do it again; it’s too hard on the customers and too hard on the staff,\u201d Foster said. \u201cIt\u2019s just a hit we can\u2019t take.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Coupled with the fact that Fingerprints\u2019 lease has been month-to-month since 2020, Foster said it was simply the right time to leave. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A
Matilda Ruiz, 22, crate digs through the metal section for vinyl records at Fingerprints Wednesday, April 19, 2023. Photo by Brandon Richardson.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The new outlet, located at a former hospital supply store at 3811 Atlantic Ave., will be one floor and slightly smaller than the current 6,000-square-foot storefront. But it will have its own parking lot, something Foster said played a major role in the decision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The new lease is several years long \u201cwith a couple options,\u201d Foster said, with the plan \u201cto be there as long as I can probably do it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The move brings to a close a nearly 15-year chapter in Downtown Long Beach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fingerprints Music first opened along Second Street in Belmont Shore in 1992, \u201con a shoestring, with some crazy dreams and a credit card cash advance,\u201d as their website states. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Between two locations, it spent its first 18 years in the Belmont Shore area before moving to the Downtown storefront in February 2011. From thereon, it was 14 years of live music \u2014 70 shows a year and not a complaint by the neighbors, Foster said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fingerprints landed a range of musicians, from obscure rockabilly singers to Foo Fighters and Sparklehorse \u2014 one of Foster\u2019s favorite acts. It also hosted signings with legends like Ozzy Osbourne, which drew 2,300 attendees. \u201cThe line was eleven blocks long,\u201d Foster said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
A man walks by Fingerprints record store at 420 E. Fourth St. in Downtown Thursday, April 20, 2023. Photo by Brandon Richardson.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

It stood, and continues to stand, as proof that no format may supplant the vinyl LP, which finds a continuing strength in sales, and that a record store finds success through an inexact science: careful attention to independent releases, knowing which records are popular in Europe \u2014 and Australia \u2014 and what\u2019s being played by the next generation of music lovers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Foster said moving from Downtown is bittersweet. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLeaving our 4th Street location has been a very emotional decision for us,\u201d Foster wrote in a release. \u201cThis building is full of magic and memories\u2026 but we believe our customers will love the neighborhood atmosphere of Bixby Knolls.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reflecting on the store, Foster said he\u2019ll always remember its ability to surprise him, thinking back to a live show the week before. Seated in the far back, Foster said he noticed a wink of flashing lights strewn across the rear windows that made a unique shade of periwinkle blue. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI hadn\u2019t seen it before, and I just thought, \u2018We\u2019ve been here almost fifteen years and I\u2019m still surprised by what a beautiful place this is,\u2019\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m going to miss it.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Avoiding construction and a parking crunch, Fingerprints is headed to a new storefront in Bixby Knolls.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":129,"featured_media":78038,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","inline_featured_image":false,"newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":"","_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_":"","_author_alias":"","cap-aim":"","cap-description":"","cap-display_name":"","cap-first_name":"","cap-jabber":"","cap-last_name":"","cap-linked_account":"","cap-newspack_employer":"","cap-newspack_job_title":"","cap-newspack_phone_number":"","cap-newspack_role":"","cap-user_email":"","cap-user_login":"","cap-website":"","cap-yahooim":"","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_email_html":"","newspack_email_type":"","newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_hide_page_title":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_show_share_buttons":"","newspack_sponsor_byline_prefix":"","newspack_sponsor_disclaimer_override":"","newspack_sponsor_flag_override":"","newspack_sponsor_only_direct":"","newspack_sponsor_url":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_show_updated_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[1170],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"coauthors":[32335],"class_list":["post-85157","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-music","tag-fingerprints","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85157","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/129"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=85157"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85157\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":85164,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85157\/revisions\/85164"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/78038"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=85157"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=85157"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=85157"},{"taxonomy":"newspack_spnsrs_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newspack_spnsrs_tax?post=85157"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=85157"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}