Ask Rich Liukko what the first record he bought was, and you’ll get several answers.
“The first 45 I ever got was Bill Haley’sRock around the Clock, my first eight-track, given to me by my cousin, was the Beatles Revolver, and the first LP that I intentionally bought, I think, was The Jam’sSound Affects, because I saw it on The New Music,” he says.
He hasn’t lost his enthusiasm for multiple formats-- his shop, Freecloud Records, is filled to the rafters with music in every form.
“We’ve got cassettes, we’ve got eight-tracks, we have 78s, 45s, LPs, and – oh, yeah -we’ve got CDs. Anything that’s music related, in whatever format, that’s what the store is for,” says Rich. “We’re not about the modern digital downloading era. We’re about the way things originally came out, and if there are people there who are looking to experience something in the format in the way it was originally intended to be listened to, we like to be there as a resource.”
This old reliable has been in its current location at the north end of downtown, since back in the day when this block was called Record Row and had four record shops on it. This shop carries a ton of stock, so their sale bins are a treasure trove. Find 45s, LPs, 8-tracks, reel-to-reel, cassette tapes and CDs – and stock up on reading material from their hand picked selection of music books and collector magazines.
How many times have you heard your dad complain about his long-lost copy of Breakfast in America? If your dad’s a crate-digger, grab him an LP or two from Freecloud. The selection is insane and, if it’s not on the shelves, Rich (the owner and dude behind the counter) will track it down for you. This shop is great, even if you want to grab him a few things to take care of his collection and, really, you can really never have too many 45 adapters.