Photo by Allison V. Smith

Zac Crain. My love for you has renewed, yet again. Not that it ever left, but it needed a little dusting off.

Zac wrote a simply splendid story on my beloved Bill Wisener and his sorta-kinda-but-not-really-new location over on Lamar for D Magazine and it’s a must-read. No excuses. Stop what you are doing and read it.

Walking into Bill’s Records on a July afternoon gives me the same feeling, I imagine, that people who grew up in Rust Belt towns get when they return home for a visit. It’s a soft punch to the heart, a mixture of guilt and sadness. I hadn’t been to Bill’s in maybe five years, probably more, so I didn’t see its slow slide into near obsolescence at its old super-sized North Dallas location. And I had yet to see its small-scale rebirth in The Cedars, snuggled up next to Poor David’s Pub, in the shadow of the Southside on Lamar loft complex.

Owner Bill Wisener is right where I left him all those years ago, sitting behind the counter near the front door, clad in his uniform of jeans and faded polo shirt. But apart from the young employee lurking near the counter, I am the only other person here, a head count that would have been impossibly small on a sunny summer Friday a decade ago. Back then, and for much of the two decades prior to that, Bill’s Records was sort of a musical clubhouse. It had the best records, and so it attracted the best employees, and the best customers, too. The aisles were choked with people thumbing through cardboard boxes, and the air was thick with debates over this band or that album and more than a little cigarette smoke. Bill’s Records was High Fidelity, but it was even better. It was the only place I wanted to be on a Friday afternoon…READ IT!

I’ve been a stones-throw from the old location on Spring Valley most of my life. I spent time there as a kid, but even more time there over the last decade. I worked for KHYI 95.3 The Range for awhile a few years back, and was front and center at every showcase they hosted on Friday afternoons. And while I have done some live video streaming at the new location (Erykah Badu’s CD Release to name one), I haven’t really spent time there visiting with Bill, as I should have done. Shame on me.

I love that man. I love his quirks, his personality, his genuine love for artists, music, vinyl and his customers. I’m going to visit him this week and thank him for all he’s done to keep me happy.

Thanks for the story Zac. You made my month…

PS – Bill’s Records still hosts the KHYI showcase every Saturday afternoon. Just log on to KHYI.com for more information and line-ups.