What’s Poppin’ (Up)? Upper Left Records Has the Hits
Here’s a serious question.
Take a city as hip as Everett, Washington, a place bursting with fresh musical energy. Why isn’t there a single record store that sells new vinyl?
This question vexed Brooks Smothers and Ryan Taylor. These fellas from Everett were discussing the lack-of-record-store issue in June 2020, while drinking bourbon around a campfire.
It was at that campfire that they hatched the idea that would become Upper Left Records: an Everett-based popup business that would sell new records from local bands and other musicians across genres.
Problem solved!
Courtesy Upper Left Records
Within 90 days, Upper Left Records was fully stocked and deployed. Ryan and Brooks had secured business licenses and formed an LLC. And, importantly, they had procured a large inventory of eclectic vinyl.
Brooks and Ryan popped up at Toggles Bottle Shop. Then they popped up at Narrative Coffee in September. They wore masks and gloves while folks stood in socially-distanced lines for the opportunity to dig through their crates of wrapped vinyl for audio treasures.
The first month they sold about 95% of their inventory.
Lineup at Narrative Coffee. Hey... is that local influencer Garret Hunt? // Richard Porter
From the beginning, the intent of Upper Left Records has been to support regional acts. “We wanted to showcase a lot of the local bands in Everett and the region,” said Brooks. “Bands from Fisherman’s Village and Rock the Boat.” They asked their friends what other local bands should be represented.
Everett’s own Oliver Elf Army was the first band to jump on board. Fretland (Snohomish) and The Lowdown Drifters (Stanwood) followed suit. Brooks and Ryan were able to round out their inventory through market research.
Locals on vinyl // Linda War Bonnet
Their rotating selection samples genres as diverse as hip hop, chill hop, lo-fi hip hop, jazz, blues, bluegrass, singer-songwriter, classic 90s grunge, metal, classic Country, alt-Country, and indie rock. And whatever else they’re feeling.
What’s next for the itinerant audiophiles of Upper Left Records?
Right now they have a four-foot table and two crates. They sell about 100-150 records when they pop up. Next, they want to graduate to an eight-foot table and even more vinyl. And, yep, they’ll keep poppin’.
Sounds good, guys; we’ll be there for it. Keep the hits coming!
Ryan’s favorite record: “Last Call for Dreamers” by Lowdown Drifters. Honorable mention goes to Amos Lee’s “Live at Red Rocks.”
Brooks’ favorite record: “Liveage” by The Descendents. “Great album,” he says. He’s been listening to it for over 30 years. He gives an honorable mention to “The Dirty South” by the Drive-By Truckers.
Want to score your next fave LP?
Follow Upper Left Records on social media.
Richard Porter is a writer for Live in Everett.