Record collectors rejoice! After a month of renovations, the intimate record boutique at the corner of 320 Cedar St. in the heart of Downtown Santa Cruz will finally reopen on Saturday, March 11. In an ironic twist, it’s transcending its meta-ness while maintaining its community roots.
That’s right. Metavinyl is now Redwood Records.
“The idea behind the rebrand was to make it fully ours,” says co-owner Rudy Kuhn. “There was no offense to the previous name.”
Business partner, Tyler Davin-Moore, agrees.
“It took about six months, but it all came together,” laughs Davin-Moore.
The two initially met while working in the beer industry and quickly bonded over their love of music, live shows and record collecting.
They were both ready for a new project, and after a couple of ideas, they heard rumors that Metavinyl was looking for new ownership. Both were regular customers and had known the previous owner, Paul Speraw, for quite some time.
“It was really put in front of us and very serendipitous,” Kuhn explains.
They purchased the business in May of 2022 and used the next six months to ease into their new venture.
“There was a concerted effort to not change it right away,” Davin-Moore says. “We wanted to respect the place, get to know the customer base and shop.”
Founded as Metamusic Records in 2005 by original owner Jonathan Schneiderman, the name was changed to Metavinyl in 2010 and was purchased by Speraw in 2013.
True to their roots, Davin-Moore and Kuhn have kept the massive, metal chaos start that served as Metavinyl’s logo hanging on the wall of their new interior, front and center for customers to see first thing as they walk in the door. They’ve also opened the space by moving the checkout counter to its original position and shrinking the backroom storage space, meaning more room for records, turntables, HI-FI speakers and DJ equipment.
“There’s a young contingent of kids making beats and playing house parties,” Davin-Moore describes the analog DJ accessories. “So, this will be a jumping-off pad for them.”
The duo also plans to host in-store performances regularly. Also, they recently had a soft opening that included the beginning of a month-long art exhibit by local photographer Colton Bills—featuring a who’s-who of familiar faces in the local music scene—and music by local sludge blues group, the Bad Light.
“In some ways, the store is coming full circle,” Speraw says. “Jonathan used to have in-store performances all the time, and I continued that for a while after I took over. The counters are also back to where they used to be 10 years ago.”
Next month’s music showcase will feature Dead Nettle and alt-folk band Are We Hunting; Redwood Records plans to continue to be a part of the music community with the monthly “Beers with Friends” at Lúpulo Craft Beer House.
“It’s an all vinyl, DJ set,” says Kuhn. “And we get to dive into our past lives in the beer world and reach out with a new brewery each month to feature new draft beers, which is neat for a bar that always goes deep on the beer menu.”
Redwood Records celebrates its grand opening on Friday, March 24, at 320 Cedar St, Santa Cruz. DJ set by Nate LeBlanc, live music by Angelica Rockne and more. downtownsantacruz.com/go/metavinyl
