Vinyl-centric store celebrates its survival

For him, vinyl never went away: Kyle Siegrist of Lost Weekend Records (photo by Richard Ades)

By Joel Oliphint

Published: Wednesday, February 17, 2010 5:31 PM EST

Lost Weekend Records has been around for seven years now, which is pretty impressive given the record industry’s massively declining album sales and what the talking heads on TV refer to as a “volatile economic climate.”

Lost Weekend owner Kyle Siegrist says he’s always had faith that independent record stores would hang around. He’s also a strong believer in vinyl records, which take up the bulk of the floor space at his shop at the corner of Crestview Road and High Street in Clintonville.

“It seems like as long as I have been in business, there is always someone just discovering the ‘resurgence of vinyl,’ when in my world it never went away,” Siegrist says.

To celebrate seven years in business, Siegrist is throwing a two-day anniversary concert this weekend. In anticipation, I asked him about the shop, his competitors and the early ’90s shout-rap quartet Onyx. 

Are your customers younger now than they were seven years ago?

I would say that is true, especially in the past two or three years.

How many times a week do you sigh and/or roll your eyes at customers? Be honest.

Let’s just say I try not to ever do that in front of a customer. Maybe after they have left, but I’m not saying.

What kind of a role does Lost Weekend play in the Columbus music scene?

I have always thought that Columbus has had great record stores, and I wanted to add to that tradition. Of all the stores in town, we are probably the most vinyl-centric, and we try and be a little more customer-service-friendly, not your typical High Fidelity indie-store attitude. As far as the scene, we try and stock as much local stuff as we can. We host several events each year. It’s great having a store where people can hang out and talk music. Sometimes bands have even formed with people who met each other in the store.

Used Kids Records: Friend or foe?

Definitely friend, my second-favorite store in town.

Johnny Go’s House O’ Music: Friend or foe?

Friend. To me, the more stores in town, the better. We all have our own personality and niche. I never wanted to be the only guy in town. You can’t have a scene with just one place.

I read on your bio that you used to work in a call center. What’s one thing about working at a call center that’s better than running a record shop?

Health benefits. That’s probably the only thing. And, well, you do make more money. I’m not doing this to get rich.

How much eBay business do you do?

Very little, I hate doing it. I have not had anything on eBay for months.

What newly arrived LPs are you excited about?

There is a Roky Erickson Evil One reissue I can’t stop playing, and the Spacemen 3 reissues. As far as big sellers, Blakroc and Vampire Weekend have sold the most for new releases.

How’d you pick the bands for the two-day anniversary?

I try and get a blend of bands that you would not always see on the same bill but that I think would work well together. I also like to get a mix of newer bands and some that have members from bands that have been around awhile. All these bands have members who are regular customers, so that is probably a factor as well. I guess the bottom line is, I love the Columbus music scene and always have. Running my own business full time and getting older, I don’t get out as much as I used to, so throwing these shows each year is a great way to get to see a lot of cool Columbus bands. So I guess these shows are partly giving back to the scene, as well as selfishly throwing myself a party. It’s all good.

Onyx is the seventh-anniversary gemstone. Do you have a copy of Onyx’s 1993 album Bacdafucup, featuring the hit single “Slam”?

You know, I’ll have to say I am out of stock of that, so if somebody is looking to give Lost Weekend an anniversary gift, I think you have a good suggestion.