The crowd packed into Penrose Record Room as Vicky Tafoya cleared her throat preparing for the first-time performance of her upcoming single “The Chains of Love.”
The event was held from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Oct. 19-20 in celebration of the record room’s one-year anniversary.
On stage Tafoya, who is on the Penrose Record label, she thanked Gabriel Roth on bass for bringing the community together with soul and oldies which has evolved into the souldies genre.
Roth owns Penrose Records, a record store and label. He’s well-known as the bassist for Los Yesterdays and co-founder of Daptone Records.
Bands and artists such as Los Yesterdays, Thee Sacred Souls, The Altons, and Thee Sinseers are signed to the label.
The record store, co-owned by Matt Beld, carries a selection of classic records from James Brown and David Bowie to new artists such as Tame Impala and Tyler the Creator. The record room harbors a sense of belonging for people who have a desire for physical forms of media, such as vinyl records.
The event included performances by The MKs, The Escapers, Vicky Tafoya, Junior Scaife, The Altons, and Los Yesterdays.
Returning and new customers bustled into the small, yet vibrant basement of this historical Riverside building located at 3485 University Ave. Riverside, CA 92501.
“A lot of the people who came out and celebrated with us were regulars. It felt like a community party,” Roth said.
Special edition merchandise was sold like tote bags with “celebrating one-year” printing on the backside. A ticket to enter a raffle to win a Schwinn bike was provided for all customers who purchased any merchandise or records.“It’s a chance to celebrate and shed a light on the business,” he said.
Roth is a Riverside native, which influenced the location of the record room. Out of all the years of touring, he continues to return.
With his experience from being a part of Daptone Records based in Brooklyn, New York Roth said, “I thought it would be a good way to support the local scene, but I didn’t anticipate it becoming as big as it did as quickly as it did.”
“It’s a big deal to me to have the record store and make an epicenter for the sound, for the label, for the family, and help to make one more destination in Riverside.”
Newcomers make the trip just to visit the record room. “I don’t think it’s been as much of a destination as it has been now,” he said.
“When people see that Penrose label, it means something and hopefully it means something for the community too. To have something else about Riverside that they can be proud about and claim as their own.”
Roth’s perspective has changed since the opening of the shop, from the idea that records are collector’s items for people who have missed the format. To witness youth who have only ever known music through streaming, spark an interest in starting a collection of their own.
With the intimacy of putting on a record, you are left undistracted. “Music, art and certain parts of life don’t need to be convenient. You need to stop and enjoy them a little bit,” Roth said.
“Kids come in and have their copy of a record, have that connection with the artist, and are able to support the artist.”
A lot of the vision for Penrose Records comes from the artists themselves, Roth said. Tafoya has been singing since she was 9 years old, stealing records from her mother’s forbidden record room. “It has so much heart, stories, lyrics and melodies,” Tafoya said.
She emphasized that Penrose Records is a community of love. “On this label, there’s an ease of comfortability, that brings people together old and young, from all walks of life. It’s just a feeling.”
Vicky Tafoya And the Big Beat have an upcoming performance at the Hideaway in Riverside, Nov. 16.
A first-time customer, Enzo Mungia starting a collection of his own expresses his love for vinyls. “Having those physical forms (of music) brings people together that digital streaming is unable to bring,” Mungia said.
“They have stayed true to the recording process with fresh new styles and songs, we’re in a new era of oldies like a rebirth,” he said.
Music can transcend cultures yet connect different types of people no matter their age or heritage. “You can play this type of music anywhere and anyone can recognize the sound,” Mungia said.
