Charles Abou-Chebl is not just a curator of great records, he is an avid supporter and constant presence in the Cleveland music scene. Besides his store crammed with great bins for the picking, he also runs a record label under the My Mind’s Eye moniker. A worthy entrant into the Vinyl District Favorite Record Store poll, here are a few words from the man himself:
How did you come up with the name for the store?
I didn’t. Jim Donadio suggested My Mind’s Eye because I am an admirer of the Small Faces. Great name. Way to go Jim.
What was your inspiration for starting the store?
I wanted a place where I could find the records I was looking for that was free of the record store douche behind the counter, willing to answer questions honestly without pushing records on you, friendly and open minded. Failed on all counts.
You have a nice varied selection, and a great section of 45’s. Is there any one genre, however, that you think you have an especially strong selection?
Rock ‘n’ Roll. old & current.
You have been at this for much longer than this recent vinyl resurgence. Have you seen your customer base changing at all over the last few years?
Yes. I can’t describe it other than the formats change and the way people consume their art seems to have changed. record stores will always have high turnover in their younger patrons and dwindling amounts of older patrons but now we get more of the vinyl curious. I don’t know if I’d call these customers since it seems to be a passing fancy for so many of them but there are those who seem to have connected with records. I’m just glad that we have any customers at all. thank you all.
Most memorable customer-related story?
A man known as the “Mystery Shopper” will forever be #1! He bought nothing and by gum he didn’t need to.
First record you owned? Do you still have it?
It was an eight-track of Billy Joel’s “52nd Street”. I was after a tape of “Glass Houses” but my schoolmate brought me the wrong album and format. I think he stole it from his dad’s stash. My dissatisfaction with the “Dealer” started with my first purchase and my losing streak continues.
On average, how many records are added to your inventory each week?
Hundreds
Any album you can’t live without?
Well, the magnum opuses of Black Sabbath spring to mind, particularly “Master of Reality” and “Mob freakin’ Rules”. What would life be without Blue Cheer “Just A Little Bit” single, Curtis Mayfield, Bo Diddley, the Pink Fairies “The Snake” single, Richard Pryor “Greatest Hits” and a million others. I can’t live without music at all. I need to have in my life Sweet Savage “Straight Through The Heart” (I need this bad) & Trident “Destiny” 7″s. I also need a bunch of pic sleeves, anybody wanna unload a Satan “Kiss of Death”, Ricochet “Midas Light”, Beast “Power Metal”, Witchfinder General “Burning A Sinner”, Alice Cooper “Be My Lover” German sleeve, Triarchy “Save The Khan”. I’m always looking for singles: any OZ 70’s punk, N.W.O.B.H.M., Texas 60’s Garage & 70’s Punk I don’t have, or most anything on Fortune, Maltese, Fenton, Hi-Q, Havoc (Australia & New Zealand), Guardian (U.K.), Ebony, Neat, Mushroom, Brain, Workshop, Elemental Music, 60’s Dutch stuff, song poems, and on and on…
Favorite place to see a live show?
Euclid Tavern circa ’90 or maybe that Boulder show at a 4th of July party.
What are your thoughts about the current music scene in NE Ohio?
Pretty freakin’ awesome.
Your father is a constant presence during the day- is he a music fan?
You bet. He’s a huge fan and patron of زجل (Zajal) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zajal) and دبكة (Dabke) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dabke) especially Khalil Roukoz & Moussa Zgheib. Dad (Alex to you) would have lot’s of all-night singing, music and drinking gatherings at our house when I was a kid. It was freakin’ great. I’d hide under a table and listen to some great (sometimes ribald) stuff. He still bugs me to copy some of his tapes to CDs now that he has a player in the car. He would love a copy of any Zajal performances, anybody got any? Tonight (3/20/11) he asked me to show him how to use the computer to watch stuff on youtube. I think he’s gonna put his tape player in front of the computer to record the songs he watches. That’s pretty freakin’ cool.
