Fourth Street Music 

Contrary to widespread “the sky is falling!” reports, independent record stores aren’t all being pushed toward extinction. Thanks to a global resurgence in vinyl as well as local campaigns to support small businesses, Utah shops, in particular, are finding they can hold their own. With this in mind, City Weekly is checking in with local music purveyors to discover what’s hot, what’s not and which audio gems are on the horizon. This week CW visits Fourth Street Music.

You might have noticed folks at the club sporting “RUN SLC” shirts, the design nodding to Run DMC’s classic red-barred and white-lettered logo. The tees are sold at Fourth Street Music (249 E. 400 South), home to a wide variety of vinyl and CDs. Owners Chase Loter and Craig Te’o—aka DJs Chaseone2 and Rawsheed Jenkins (respectively)—have a passion for hip-hop, and their aisles are full of releases from underground DJs including BK One (Brother Ali) and Sabiza (Common Market). But Fourth Street Music isn’t just about beats and rhy mes. “We sell anything from Sammy Hagar and Motely Crue to old-school soul, funk and R&B,” Te’o says. “We sell them to everybody, from hip-hop heads to old men.”

Chaseone2 is a resident DJ at The Jackalope (372 S. State) on Wednesdays and Saturdays, and also spins at Bar Deluxe (666 S. State) on Thursdays. DJ Rawsheed can be found playing house parties and opening for national acts. These guys know their material. Below, a rundown on the store’s recent top sellers and the owners’ all-time favorites.

City Weekly: Which national releases made your year?

Te’o: BK One’s Radio Do Cannibal, Band of Skulls’ Baby Darling Doll Face Honey, and Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ It’s Blitz (tied with Rural Alberta Advantage’s Hometowns).

Loter: Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros’ Up From Below, Mayer Hawthorne’s A Strange Arrangement, And Air’s Love 2.

CW: Which local releases do you recommend?

Loter: Will Sar tain’s For Love, Mindstate’s Black Lungs EP (available for free at Fourth Street) and Naked Eyes Spell Talk EP.

Te’o: Feel Good Patrol Gon’ Cheat on Me, Monster Loops from Fisch and Finale and Naked Eyes’ EP.

CW: Which holiday-timed releases are you guys stoked to get in?

Te’o: Black Rock, the new hip-hop project from the Black Keys. It comes in on Black Friday (Nov. 27).

Loter: Madlib. He’s launching the Madlib Medicine Show.

CW: What distinguishes Fourth Street from other shops?

Loter: I think I’m more excited about all the new old vinyl that comes in on a regular day-to-day basis. I mean, you could cop Motorhead and Ornette Coleman and not even spend 20 bucks. That’s what it is right there.

CW: What have been the most influential releases that have changed your life as a DJ?

Loter: Stevie Wonder’s Songs In the Key of Life, War’s All Day Music and DJ Shadow’s Endtroducing.

Te’o: Run DMC’s Raising Hell. It made me fall in love with hip-hop. Blackstar’s S/T and the first three albums from A Tribe Called Quest.

CW: What upcoming shows are you excited about DJ-ing?

Loter: I’ll be opening for my DJ hero DJ Radar, Jan. 30 at Urban Lounge. Expect some big changes from the cats at Fourth Street next year, including more live, instore performances and signings—and some moves that are still percolating.

CW: What’s the state of a local record shop in the community with the Internet and box chain competition?

Te’o: It’s really up to the consumer ultimately to get down and support local businesses. Do they want their money to stay in their community? And it’s up to the owners to get out there to be in the community— other ways that don’t necessarily have to do with the music business. It’s going to Mike Brown Fest on a Friday night where people will be like, “I know those cats; they own Fourth Street Music.”