Shelves, displays and a cardboard robot sporting a KCOU/88.1 FM T-shirt littered the floor of Columbia's newest record store Apop Records, 807 Locust St. None of the disarray prevented customers from perusing the store's selection while a live recording of Flipper's 'Sex Bomb' crackled out of a turntable.
Apop co-owners Tiffany Minx and Dustin Newman signed a lease three weeks ago and are trying to put the store together. As Minx sat on the floor categorizing records, she said the store is half-open. Although opening the store has gone rather smoothly, she said it wasn't always easy.
'There were a few points where we were completely burnt out, and I was staring daggers at people,' Minx said.
Minx and Newman used to rent space at Whizz Record Exchange, 20 S. Ninth St., but decided to move when that became unprofitable. Newman said he also wanted more control over his sales.
'The owner of Whizz would sometimes question the things I have in the store,' Newman said. 'I don't like being censored or having to deal with other people's opinions.'
In their new location, Minx and Newman will be able to sell whatever they want. Minx said they generally stock items they find interesting or that they or their friends enjoy.
Newman said the store will carry mainly old punk and electronic music as well as newer college-chart-type music.
KCOU disc jockey Jason Cafer said 90 percent of the titles Apop had on Whizz's shelves were not available anywhere else in Columbia.
'I bought several CDs I didn't even know existed,' Cafer said.
Apop's name comes from a shortening of Newman's KCOU show, Apoptosis. Minx said it is also a play on words to suggest 'against pop.' Although the store will carry obscure music, Minx said she's also into Kylie Minogue, so Apop will carry some popular records as well.
Unlike most stores in Columbia, Minx said Apop will focus on music. She said she doesn't see Streetside Records or Slackers CDs and Games as competition because they carry DVDs, video games and other knick-knacks.
She said Apop is an anti-collector record store. She said stores such as Whizz cater more to collectors because of high prices. Apop will not carry rare, $200 LPs. Rather, the store will focus on getting music out to the public.
'It's actually made for people who want to listen to music and want to buy vinyl that's not a Styx LP,' Newman said.
Joel Hensley, store manager of Slackers, said he doesn't see Apop as competition.
'Hopefully, it will promote more traffic downtown,' Hensley said. 'We welcome any store that will put more traffic downtown.'
He said he understands the plight of a small business because Slackers began as a small store. Because Apop deals in more vinyl than Slackers, he said he would use Apop on a friendly referral system for Slackers customers looking for vinyl.
Cafer left Apop with a selection of Jandek CDs. He praised Minx and Newman's style, and said he can't wait to see how the store looks when it's finished.
'I guarantee there will be no record store in the world quite like Apop,' Cafer said.
