Happy Record Store Day! Check out the home of Milwaukee's oldest, found in Bay View

 

BAY VIEW, Wis. (CBS 58) -- Since the 70s, Rushmor Records in Bay View has housed one of music's oldest mediums, and on Saturday, they were in the spotlight.

April 22, 2023 served as National Record Store Day and dozens swarmed inside to find their favorites and discover new tunes. 

“There were a lot of smiling faces, a lot of happy customers," said Billy Swinger, who has worked at the store for around 30 years. “Everybody loves music you know, and we want to provide people with a good time and the music that’ll help them live a better life.”

As wandering hands flipped through hundreds of albums in a sort of scavenger hunt for songs, Swinger said it was great to see so many "immerse themselves in the record store experience.”

"We call it 'crate digging' in the business," Swinger said. “This is nice, you can hold these things, you can turn 'em over and look at the artwork and it’s an immersive experience."

For Abby Lopez and Matt Cesar, bringing 10-month-old Iver to his first record store day was a hit.

“We’re going to start a family tradition so he’s buying his first record today," Lopez said, noting it was Cracker Island by the band Gorillaz. "That's Dad's favorite."

Lopez said while she's a regular customer, it's encouraging to see people who may have never stepped inside a record store come out. 

“Vinyl could easily be a lost art if we don’t come out and support our community stores like this, and we come year-round, but this is such a special day to see other people and kind of record store hop," Lopez said.