Send us a text Growing up in Seattle, Washington, this week’s guest, Peter Ames Carlin, has a distinct memory of the hubub surrounding the release of The Beatles “Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Heart’s Club Band” even though he was only 4 years old at the time. “I have very vivid memories of “Sgt Pepper” being the new record…and then “The White Album” and puzzling through that stuff when I was very young” Spending most of his life as a writer, for newspapers, People Magazine and co-authoring a few books, P...
Aug 05, 2025•1 hr 46 min•Ep. 102
Send us a text On Friday, August 9th, Charles R. Cross passed away from natural causes. For those who knew Charley in the Pacific Northwest music community, the Springsteen community and in real life, it was a shock. Charley was only 67 years old and was in the middle of working on his 10th book. Back in October 2023 Charley sat down with us and discussed Tower, Seattle, Music and a ton of other subjects. I first met Charley in 1984, the old fashioned way...by writing him a letter. I had seen hi...
Aug 16, 2024•1 hr 29 min•Ep. 101
Send us a text When Greg Wallis was hired at Tower Tacoma by Dave Coker, Greg had never heard of Tower Records. It was simply the big, new record store to move into his town. When Coker left to open and run the Seattle U District store, Rob Bruce came up from Anaheim CA to be General Manager. By this time, Greg was the buyer for all sections of music except for Classical Music. Soon after, Assistant Manger Bob Akin went to Sacramento to join the Advertising Department and Greg was promoted to As...
Aug 13, 2024•1 hr 50 min•Ep. 100
Send us a text Melissa Greene-Anderson grew up in the suburbs of Philadelphia. Since high school she was a part of her family’s music business; Gotham Distribution, Collectables Records, and the direct-to-consumer website Oldies.com . Melissa’s father started in a record store in Times Square NYC. At a very young age, Jerry Greene bought the rights to The Capri’s “There’s A Moon Out Tonight” which was released in 1959 and didn’t chart. He re-released it in 1961 and it went to #3 on the Billboard...
Aug 06, 2024•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 99
Send us a text “Son, never trust us lawyers because we’re going to fuck you every time.” In 1991, how did Freddi Szilagi find himself face to face, hand-delivering a $10,000 check to Edwin Edwards at the Hotel Monteleone? In short, because of Russ Solomon and Tower Records. For a more detailed explanation, you can hear our guest this week break it all down for you. Before he was enmeshed in the world of state politics, Freddi Szilagi grew up poor on the Upper East Side of New York City. His moth...
Jul 16, 2024•1 hr 14 min•Ep. 98
Send us a text Just a quick check in with everybody on this hot & beautiful 4th of July week. Find out about some upcoming events and episodes, including an "Ask Me Anything" episode where you can ask any question about the Tower Records Podcast by sending an email to <towerpodcast@icloud.com>. We'd love to hear from you Cheers!
Jul 02, 2024•4 min
Send us a text When Kat Gavin was born, her mother was only 18 years old. And as a result, Kat’s crib was right next to the stereo. So to say Kat grew up “with music” would be an understatement. After a stint working record retail in the malls of Northeast Philadelphia, Kat made her way into Center City Philadelphia and got a job at Tower Records South Street. It was there she met, worked, and bonded with so many of “her people”. It was there she met her former husband, Geoff Gavin, and raised a...
Jun 25, 2024•1 hr 27 min•Ep. 97
Send us a text “A month before my 12th birthday, I turned on the TV on a Sunday night and there were these guys calling themselves The Beatles…And after that, everything was different for people of my age. After that, music was our art form.” Like many of that time and after, Paul asked his mother to buy him a guitar. He started with an acoustic. And then he got a cheap Japanese electric guitar. But it was a friend in his building playing records by Classical guitarists that really caught Paul’s...
Jun 18, 2024•1 hr 28 min•Ep. 96
Send us a text Richard Leibowitz grew up in the Hudson Valley of New York to a father who listened to pre-1960s jazz and a mother who was more into folk music. Neither held much sway for young Richard, so he set out on his own and like a million other kids his age, KISS was the starting point for his music obsessions. Before working at Tower Records, Richard started working for Musicland while in college. Talking to a former bandmate who had signed on with Tower, Richard applied for and got the ...
Jun 11, 2024•59 min•Ep. 95
Send us a text Serge Bielanko was one of the leading forces behind the Philadelphia-based rock & roll band Marah. Part Replacements, part Van Morrison, part Phil Spector, part Rod Stewart & The Faces, part Philly & Motown soul, for years they were poised for success as the “next big rock & roll band”. Marah was a critic’s darling and counted some famous folks (Jason Isbell, Steve Earle, Bruce Springsteen, and several authors)as part of their fan base. Another fan, many listeners ...
Jun 04, 2024•2 hr 7 min•Ep. 94
Send us a text Growing up in a small town 50 miles outside of Los Angeles, Denise McDonald has a very clear memory of getting her first library card at the age of five. For most of her life, Denise has been a dedicated bibliophile. In this week’s episode, Denise tells us all about working book product at Tower. From friends at Sacramento State helping her to secure the job at the Sunrise bookstore, the various positions she held there, the move to Tower Advertising and chasing publishers for co-...
May 28, 2024•1 hr 21 min•Ep. 93
Send us a text “I remember standing on the sidewalk, talking to Rick [Briare] and telling him I was interested in going [to the new San Diego store] and he basically said ‘Well we don’t hire girls’. “ Thus began Jennifer Birner’s journey, leaving the Watt Avenue Bookstore to help open a new Tower Records location in San Diego where, for a time, she would be the only female employee. Helping open the store, laying tile, and screwing together racks, Jennifer got pneumonia and ended up in the hospi...
May 21, 2024•1 hr 18 min•Ep. 92
Send us a text “ ‘There’s a place called Tower Records’ and the way that he described it, it was a supermarket of music! It’s got two stories. I was like, wow…I’ve gotta go there!” Not only did Pete Pataro *go* there, he had a 15-year career - starting in that Washington DC store, assistant managing in the brand new Annapolis store, and eventually running Cherry Hill, NJ for 10 years. Along the way, Pete was a sponge, learning about genres, bands, sidemen, and all facets of music, the music busi...
May 14, 2024•1 hr 20 min•Ep. 91
Send us a text Kevin Winnick was working in Washington DC for a small chain of pop culture/entertainment-themed stores called Another Universe when he got a call from a headhunter saying a large company was looking to hire someone who could identify trends and had experience as a buyer. Though content where he was, Kevin took the interview and before long found himself dressed in a nice shirt and tie while George Scarlett sat at his desk, bare feet plopped on his desk. From the moment Kevin join...
May 07, 2024•1 hr 18 min•Ep. 90
Send us a text Megan Jasper grew up in Worcester, Massachusetts an industrial town, just an hour outside of Boston. Megan remembers it as a tough place to grow up. As a young girl, her family would travel to Boston and she and her sister would hit Newbury Comics when there was only one store. As a teen, she traveled to Boston for punk rock shows. Attending UMass, she was friends with J Mascis, a fellow student. When Dinosaur Jr toured Massachusetts in the early days Megan served as a roadie for ...
Apr 30, 2024•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 89
Send us a text “He [George Scarlett] said that someone had suggested me for the position [Administrative Assistant] because I looked so intense when I worked. I don’t know what that really means. I guess it’s a good thing” And thus, another Tower career was born. Renee Tyler spent 12 years working as George Scarlett’s Administrative Assistant in Record Division. When she came to work at Tower’s corporate office Renee didn’t know what Tower Records was about. Like many before her Renee started in...
Apr 23, 2024•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 88
Send us a text While Chris Hopson was putting together Tower Records’ in-house advertising agency, in a parallel universe, or at least somewhere else in California, Steve Nikkel was doing the same for a small independent chain of record stores called Eucalyptus Records, based out of Fairfield, California. When an opening became available, due to Mike Farrace starting up PULSE! Magazine and Terri Ball heading to New York City, Jim Swindel set up an interview between Nikkel and Hopson and Steve be...
Apr 09, 2024•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 87
Send us a text Joy Slusarek Proft spent 15 years working for Universal Music Distribution. Like many before her, she started as an FMR (Field Marketing Rep), and like few, she ended up as the Vice President of Sales located in Los Angeles. While calling on stores in Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma and Nebraska, Joy found herself with a new band called Weezer in her car, taking them to visit mid-west indie accounts. In true 90’s fashion, Joy ended the day by taking Weezer to see “Pulp Fiction” shortly...
Apr 02, 2024•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 86
Send us a text Matt Lavelle used to listen to music with his grandfather. No talking. No commentary. At a very young age, Matt simply observed how the music moved his grandfather and it had quite an impression on him. As he got older, after making regular visits to the Jazz Department at Tower 4th & Broadway, Matt took a job in Nanuet under Store Manager Bill Duffy. Years later Matt moved into the city and worked at Tower Lincoln Center eventually working up to the position of Head of Receiv...
Mar 26, 2024•1 hr 43 min•Ep. 85
Send us a text Fuzzy Swing never worked for Tower Records, but he worked at Tower Records in San Francisco as an inventory rep and sales associate on behalf of RCA. In addition to Tower, he had several mom & pop independent stores in the Bay Area. In later years Fuzzy was promoted to sales covering the Sacramento area stores Tower Broadway, Tower Citrus Heights, Tower K Street, Tower Stockton, Tower Chico, and Tower Fresno as well as calling on Tower International and working with the team a...
Mar 19, 2024•58 min•Ep. 84
Send us a text On Friday February 16th, Kevin Cassidy passed away. We are rerunning our episode from September of 2022 featuring Kevin, along with a short introduction. Once we receive information about a Memorial Service for Kevin, we will post it on the "2500 DelMonte Street" Instagram and Facebook pages.
Feb 19, 2024•1 hr 20 min•Ep. 83
Send us a text Long before she became the face and voice of NPR Music, Ann Powers was just a Catholic school girl and new wave music fan who in 1979 was guided on a musical journey by Chris, an influential Tower Mercer Street clerk. Chris regularly assisted and turned Ann on to some great groups and albums at Tower Seattle's landmark location. On today’s episode Ann tells us about her roots in writing about music and culture, the amazing local Seattle scene of the late 70’s and early 80’s, Catho...
Feb 06, 2024•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 82
Send us a text “I remember thinking, if the light turns red, I’m turning in the parking lot and I’m going to do a bagcheck. If it’s green I’m going to sail on through and I’m going home. And sure as heck, it was red and I turned in [to the lot] and I’m going to do the bag check” It’s in moments like these that you make your mark. Only five days earlier, Carl was sitting in Bud Martin’s office listening to him go on about the financial bleeding of the Tower Outlet store and the need to find out w...
Jan 30, 2024•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 81
Send us a text MTS Not the company, the man. Michael T Solomon sits down with “2500 DelMonte Street” to discuss it all; his time with Russ & Doris, Tower Records, Bud Martin, Sunday school with Stan Goman, chauffeuring The Rolling Stones around town before their show in Sacramento, starting out at the Tower Drug Store, working at Watt Ave, Columbus & Bay and Berkeley, working as Tower legal counsel, presentations at the Tower Annual Conference, taking on the CEO position, scouting locati...
Jan 23, 2024•1 hr 17 min•Ep. 80
Send us a text Darrin Roberts grew up in Southern California with a “Kevin Arnold-Wonder Years” type upbringing. After a neighbor suggested his mother take her 3 year old to a recently released “war movie”, he became obsessed with all things cinema. After getting his degree at USC’s School of Cinematic Arts he began working on a series of music film projects as both a camera operator and a film editor. In May of 2014 an Oscar winning producer suggested he meet with Colin Hanks and Sean Stuart re...
Jan 16, 2024•1 hr 54 min•Ep. 79
Send us a text “I knew quite a bit about [Tower]. I knew Sunset was the mecca. So I just popped in one day and that’s how it all started” says this week’s guest Marty Bender Sobolweski. From his earliest memory of his grandmother pulling out a record player to his mother coming home from her temp job at Capitol Records in Cleveland with a box of free records, Marty has been a life long music fanatic. An early record store job at Ohio’s Audio Buff Records (which sold a lot more than its narrow ex...
Jan 09, 2024•1 hr 17 min•Ep. 78
Send us a text Our guest this week, Cathi Ronnenburg, remembers being on the phone with the Manager of a neighboring location when men in black suits swarmed her store. No, it wasn’t a Tower Records she was running at the time, but being busted by the FBI for the bootleg albums she and her company were selling is a pretty exciting start to record retail and Cathi’s professional story in general. Cathi followed that up working for Strawberries, owned by the infamous Morris Levy and run for a shor...
Jan 02, 2024•1 hr 15 min•Ep. 77
Send us a text Not many people are “One Degree of Separation” from Kevin Bacon, but this week’s guest, Jason Sumney is. Growing up in Pittsburgh, PA, the son of a rabid record collector, Jason started his retail music career while in HIgh School at National Record Mart, a locally based, national chain that at its peak had 175 stores in 30 states. Knowing all of the latest releases and the camaraderie he felt with his fellow employees made working in a record store the perfect job for Jason. It w...
Dec 05, 2023•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 76
Send us a text Rob Chapman likes The Rolling Stones. Wait…check that. Rob Chapman loooooves The Rolling Stones. Not only that, but he regularly corresponds with a couple of the guys in the band. Several years ago Rob wrote a book about a very interesting period in the band’s history, Ron Wood and Keith Richards’ side project The New Barbarians. Rob went deep on this project and the result is the book “New Barbarians: Outlaws, Gunslingers and Guitars”. So what does this have to do with Tower Reco...
Nov 28, 2023•1 hr 29 min•Ep. 75
Send us a text Bob worked for Tower Records 18.5 years. Washington DC, Seattle, Toronto, Boston, Philadelphia and Lincoln Center NYC. He loved working for Tower so much, he made a podcast about it. After multiple requests, he’s being interviewed for his story today. Our guest host/interviewer needs no introduction; that’s why we’re not going to tell you who it is unless you listen. In keeping with previous, lengthy Thanksgiving week episodes, today’s podcast is as long as the Taylor Swift movie,...
Nov 21, 2023•2 hr 38 min•Ep. 74
