Port Townsend Record Show returns

PORT TOWNSEND — The man approached, his attire seeming to indicate a liking for heavy metal music.

Chuck Moses, seller of vinyl LPs at the annual Port Townsend Record Show, was worried.

He didn’t have much in that category.

“Got any John Denver?” the tough guy asked. Oh yes, Moses replied.

And Denver records are alive and well — along with thousands from other artists — at the resurrected record show this Saturday.

Admission is free to the main event from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., while early birds hungry for disks can get in at 8 a.m. for $10; the venue will be at the American Legion Hall at the corner of Monroe and Water streets.

DJs will play records, lots of records, and people will have all day to talk with one another about music, Moses promised. That might be the only topic left that just about anybody can converse on peacefully, he added.

For this sixth annual show, Moses plans to part the record sea in new ways. He’s arranging vendors’ tables to reduce congestion in the hall.

His commandment for the event: Wear a mask.

Moses estimates the show — the first since early March 2020 — will bring 25,000 albums from vendors from across Washington state. It’s the only such show planned on the North Olympic Peninsula.

“They will have stuff you’ve never seen before,” he predicted, adding prices will range from $3 to more than $100 for a few rare Beatles, Rolling Stones and David Bowie titles.

Sellers are coming from Port Angeles, Tacoma, Seattle and beyond, Moses said.

At the same time, he plans to limit the number of shoppers to 120 at one time. People will need to be careful about social distancing from others outside their households, he said.

The American Legion, at 2,800 square feet, is big enough to safely accommodate the record show, Moses believes. He emphasized the mask mandate enacted this past Monday by health officer Dr. Allison Berry, and he said the show’s vendors are well aware of the necessity of face coverings.

Ruby Fitch, the KPTZ-FM programming lead, will orchestrate the soundtrack of the record show. She’s bringing colleague David Egeler, aka DJ David BoNobO on KPTZ, to spin records throughout the day.

“He has an amazing background in music,” she said of her fellow radio announcer, who is also the video production-web design-photography instructor at Port Townsend High School.

Saturday’s show, Fitch added, is a chance to not only browse through albums across the genres, but also to hear music outside the same-old-thing realm.

As a DJ, “I can play some deeper cuts, because there are people there who appreciate rare finds,” she said.

While Fitch hosts a show called “Beach Rumble,” BoNobO’s program is “Subversive Rhythm” — which she figures will make for a funky and soulful mix at the event.

For Fitch, a vinyl record is a well-rounded experience: aural, visual, tactile, maplike. Then there’s the art on the sleeve. It speaks of history, global and personal.

At the show, where Fitch has been a DJ for a number of years, she’ll play a record off the beaten track and display its cover on a stand. People come up to say, “Oh, I haven’t heard that in a long time,” which can set off a fun conversation, she said.

The record show is “a real social event, a gathering of like-minded audiophiles,” Fitch added.

For Moses, Saturday is about connecting through music. He noted there are two small parks on Water Street near the American Legion Hall, so people can go outside and continue chatting.

Moses, who sells vinyl records at downtown’s Magpie Alley, told a story about an interaction he had recently.

A 13-year-old boy came in and laid eyes on The Who’s “Quadrophenia” album. After negotiating the purchase, Moses gave his farewell message to the young man.

“This record,” he said, “will change your life.”

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Jefferson County senior reporter Diane Urbani de la Paz can be reached at 360-417-3509 or durbanidelapaz@peninsuladailynews.com.