10:12am | I remember driving to Rhino Records in Claremont, to Aarons in LA, and other small, independent record stores in search of music I could not find at Music+ and other more main stream stores. There was a real joy in being able to walk into a place and not be met with blank stares when I asked for recordings by my favorite avant garde Euro prog art rock bands.
Long Beach had some home grown indepentents, including Michael Zampelli’s beloved Zed Records, but their focus was rather narrow. Imagine my gob-smacked pleasure when, upon first entering Fingerprints, owner Rand Foster not only knew of Henry Cow, but introduced me to Kew.Rhone, a side project by two of its members. Thus began my love affair with Fingerprints.
After 18 years, Foster will be pulling up stakes from Belmont Shore and, with Portfolio owner Kerstin Kansteiner, opening a new, expanded store in the building where once lived Lyon Art Supply. On the South side of 4th street, between Linden and Elm, the new place is taking shape. The official opening will be in January.
Rand: Fingerprints opened in July of 1992, making us 18, and providing the theme for our move “We’re turning 18 and getting our own place! Parties to follow.”
Sander: The world was a very different place when you first opened Fingerprints. What was your original vision for the store?
Rand: My original vision was inspired in equal parts by KCRW and Rhino Records in Westwood. I was a huge fan of all the amazing music that was being played on KCRW. It was hard to get, and the store I worked at, Moby Disc, was getting more corporate, and the music I was most excited about was becoming a smaller part of their plan. Rhino, a store that specialized in KCRW and other weird and wonderful music, was my favorite store, but it was too far to drive. I also wanted to do in-stores, which Rhino did fairly well, but Moby wasn’t interested in doing them.
Sander: What were the challenges of starting an independent music store?
Rand: When we opened, the biggest challenge was creating a steady traffic flow. If you remember, we opened on a side street, so getting people to notice us was the problem.
Sander: One of the big innovations that I remember you spearheading was the creation of the LINCS [Local Independent Network of CD Stores].
Rand: It was 10 stores throughout Southern California, all working on promotions and marketing together. It was great from a community building standpoint, but a lot of those stores are gone now. We were able to get marketing support from the major labels, which had always eluded us, because it was too expensive to buy all of Southern California for a neighborhood store. I solved that by uniting the neighborhood stores.
We also did in-store tours and venue sales. It really brought the indies a lot of attention in a market where everything was owned by the big boxes. It also gave a much bigger, reflected, spotlight to a couple of smaller stores, which really helped them get started.
Sander: What is the relationship between the store and the local music scene?
Rand: That’s a tough one to answer. I never feel like we do enough for local artists. We’ve played a role in helping some folks get their music out there, but one of the things I’m excited about with the new space is that we’re planning to put more of a focus on Long Beach. I think I’ve learned a fair amount through my work with SAM [the Summer and Music concert series Foster and Justin Hectus produced for the DLBA] and now have a better idea of how to actually help bands a bit more.
It’s tough, though. There is an amazing pool of extremely talented artists here in town, but not enough venues or other outlets for people to become exposed to them, whether live or recorded. With the new, bigger, space we’re hoping to be able to help put a bit more light on the scene. Specifically, by having more awareness of local releases, and more events focused on local artists.
Sander: The music business has changed so much in the last few years. On-line sales of physical merchandise has skyrocketed, and of course the issue of digital music has caused many in the business to throw in the towel. Clearly, you see a bright future for Fingerprints. Can you talk, a bit, about how you’ll continue to remain viable?
Rand: I think there are several factors that will play into our success. First, I think a lot of people are looking for a place to go to get out from in front of their computers. With all the social media sites, it’s getting less and less common to actually interact and browse, I think we offer a great opportunity to get out and interact, paired with a solid browsing experience.
Second, there is an immediate gratification aspect that, for collectors of physical goods, can’t be matched by waiting by the mailbox.
Third, I think that, for little to no money, our events offer an opportunity to have a truly unique life-experience, and meet the artists, something that most folks can’t usually do at any price.
Lastly, with the inclusion of Portfolio in the space, I think our hope of becoming a “community hub/place where things happen” starts to really come together.
Sander: As you may know, I’ve been somewhat critical of the “East Village Arts District” as a concept. Was that part of the attraction for you?
Rand: It was. I’ve always felt that “Art” was under-represented in that neighborhood and, after doing several of our SAM events there, I found that it’s a really great, under-appreciated, part of the city.
I’m fairly aware of most of Long Beach’s neighborhoods, and it also feels like the neighborhood that is least defined; Belmont Shore has a strong identity [we’ve always been a bit on the fringe of that identity], as does Retro Row. The Pike would be a bad fit, and I think Pine is too in flux. The EVAD really feels like a neighborhood that is growing into the perfect spot for us and, hopefully, we can play a role in continuing it’s development in that direction.
Sander: The new location will be part of the DLBA’s marketing responsibility. You’ve already had quite a bit of experience working with them, as a contractor for the last two years, producing the SAM concert series. What have you learned about them through that process?
Rand: I’ve had really good experiences with them, they’ve been hugely supportive of SAM, and have been very encouraging of our move to the EVAD. I think their events come from a place that works well with what we do and, in a weird way, because of SAM, I know a large number of the other businesses in the association.
Sander: The new space is very different than your current store. Not only is it bigger, but it has huge unfinished ceilings, a small upstairs area, and cement floors. What’s going to be new, expanded, and the same?
Rand: We are doubling the vinyl space, with room to grow, and turning our book shelves into a book department. Our CD department will be growing by a large percentage, and we are using the opportunity to change to a much more browse-able fixture. We’re hoping to do more with art, both local and gallery shows, and obviously our in-stores will remain a centerpiece of what we do.
I have so many cool ideas knocking around in my head, many that have been there for years, but a lot are still pretty formative. I’m super excited to have a space that allows me to pursue them. I’m just excited to get started in trying some new things.
—
Fingerprints’ Belmont Shore location will remain open through the end of December. It is located at 4612 E. 2nd Street. The new address will be 420 East 4th Street.