Celebrating two years of classic vinyl sales

Mystic Mountain Music record store celebrated its second anniversary in Crestline in April with a barbecue and party for customers and friends. Store owner Steve Taylor is exceedingly happy he opened in his “A” frame building in Crestline.

He was sad last year when he couldn’t celebrate that first anniversary, due to the COVID closures, but the community did support him when he could open, as music soothes almost all problems. This year, he celebrated with friends and those who stopped by the store by playing the true sound of vinyl music from the store to those who drove by. It encouraged many to drop in, enjoy the barbecue and share in the fun.

The vinyl record store specializes in classic rock, progressive rock and most musical genres, including soul music of the 60s and 70s. The vinyl music era of music, Taylor believes, has a rich musical heritage. He carries lots of obscure singer-songwriter records and can often find special requests if he doesn’t already have it in stock.

Many albums and artists in the 60s through 80s didn’t get as much airplay or exposure as they deserved, he believes, due to the massive outpouring of good music created during that period. If you have a type of music you like, or a special performer, Taylor can often suggest other performers you might enjoy in the same genre.

“I plan to continue to celebrate music on the second Saturday of each month this summer with a special event at the store,” said Taylor, who is also a musician. “I hope to have some of my friends stop by and share their music, live, if possible.” He also hopes to be able to return to performing at the Bear Claw Saloon on the first Friday of each month from 5 to 8 p.m. He plays 70s classic rock, jam band songs, Grateful Dead, his own music and much more. He also hopes they may be able host a DJ night playing vinyl records as he knows DJs who would enjoy playing that cool music for the customers.

“I enjoy sharing music with others,” said Taylor. “I am glad I could bring music to Crestline, both live and on vinyl, and I’ve had a good response from the community in return.” He also trades in vinyl records for different titles as your musical tastes may have changed over the decades.

Mystic Mountain Music is located at 23830 Lake Drive, next to California Bank. They carry not only vinyl records but CDs and cassettes too. The have vintage clothing and celebrate the era of classic rock music in many ways. They have a 70s-style living room, have macramé items, glassware, art, music posters and other items of the rock era. They also have classic sci-fi posters and items.

Vinyl record aficionado Douglas Motley, also known as “Uncle Mott,” told The Alpine Mountaineer, “I just love vinyl records; they are really groovy, if you don’t mind an occasional skip and pop (by the way, Steve doesn’t sell records, that skip), you can enjoy them to the fullest extent, not to mention that you don’t need a magnifying glass to read the liner note like you do for CDs. The liners notes are an essential read for any great album.”

Mystic Mountain Music is open Wednesday through Sunday. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday hours are noon to 6 p.m. On Saturday, they are open from 11:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. and on Sunday from 11:30 to 5 p.m. They accept cash, credit cards and PayPal. For more information, call Taylor at (415) 335-3465. He also performs his live music for private events, so contact him for more details.