jamescuarterodotcom

from fullcirclerecords.com

ABOUT TWENTY SIX YEARS AGO FULL CIRCLE OPENED IN BLACKWOOD. WE’VE GONE THROUGH MANY CHANGES AND HAD A LOT OF FUN. FOR ME IT WAS MORE LIKE A BAR THAN A STORE. A PLACE WHERE FRIENDS WOULD COME JUST TO HANG OUT. I MET SO MANY GOOD FRIENDS THERE AND HAVE GREAT MEMORIES THAT WILL STAY WITH ME FOREVER. AS SOME OF YOU KNOW, I EVEN MET MY WIFE AT FULL CIRCLE. UNFORTUNATELY, THE NATURE OF THE CURRENT MUSIC BUSINESS HAS FORCED US TO END OUR RUN. IT’S A SAD DAY, BUT WE WANT YOU TO KNOW WE APPRECIATE ALL THE LOYALTY AND GOOD TIMES YOU’VE SHOWN US OVER THE YEARS. MIKE AND I ARE UNDERTAKING A NEW ADVENTURE IN INDEPENDENT FILM - OFF ON A TANGENT PRODUCTIONS.

PLEASE CHECK US OUT. IN THE MEANTIME, WE WOULD LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU. YOU CAN CONTACT US THE OLD FULL CIRCLE E-MAIL ADDRESS AND IF THAT DOESN’T WORK FEEL FREE TO CONTACT ME DIRECTLY AT LOFSHEAD@YAHOO.COM

THANK YOU ALL FOR ALL THE GREAT TIMES AND PLEASE STAY IN TOUCH — SCOTT

i remember my first time there - eleven years old, marvelling at the walls of cassettes and the big bear of a man behind the counter. why was his voice so high? i wish i could say i was buying minor threat’s out of step, but that wouldn’t be for another year; i’m nearly certain that it was stryper’s the yellow and black attack. later that year i would mistakenly buy a KBC album instead of one by GBH. boy, i sure could pick ‘em.

i would go on to spend my most formative musical years hanging around that place. with the running joke of “earl” on all of the staff shirts, the guys that worked there were easily the most fun, opinionated and argumentative bunch i’d ever met. yet unlike a lot of retailers independent and otherwise, they never looked down their nose at customers who weren’t cool; everyone was welcome. between scott, mike, george and dave, there was no way you could spend less than an hour in that place; if you weren’t entertained by their conversations and debates, you’d be drawn into one yourself. i’m pretty sure that if left to his own devices, scott could argue with himself.

more often than not, the music playing on their stereo was something that they hadn’t heard yet either. not only were they knowledgable but they always wanted to learn more and know more about music. mike turned me on to a bunch of singer-songwriters over the years (i think i bought the first iron & wine record on his recommendation) and i still see george at roughly half the shows i go to.

full circle was also a huge supporter of local music. every weekend you could stop by and check out a new band, much to their neighbors’ chagrin. bands i saw there included the hoover damn / the silence kit, resignation, drive thru pharmacy, j.a.r. / the progress, apparatus engine, the aceholes and many more. apple of discord played there a bunch (the photo is us in 2000) as well. it was always a great time.

and then the music business changed. this wasn’t overnight, it was the culmination of years of price-fixing, payola, bad product and the rise of digital music. why buy a $15 CD from a mom and pop store when you could go to wal-mart and pick the same thing up for $10? unfortunately, stores like full circle don’t have the luxury of CDs as loss leaders.

it wasn’t so much a store as it was a hangout. sure you could go to philadelphia and buy a 7″ from an elitist with a nose ring, but if you wanted to hear two guys go back and forth about frozen vegetarian dinners ad nauseum (and all the laughs that ensue) when buying your records, it didn’t get any better than this. the best part about this place is that it was right in our backyard; it was ours. good luck, you guys.

full circle records is currently having a store liquidation sale and is located at 1031 little gloucester road in blackwood, nj (856) 227-0662.