Shore to Shore: The Perfect Harmony of Records

SALISBURY, Md. — It’s National Record Store Day, and it’s time to get groovy with the deep sound of vinyl spinning right in downtown Salisbury at the latest edition of Shore to Shore.

Music extraordinaire Shawn Roberts said, “The thing that people miss about vinyl, and the thing people desire, is the sound of the needle on the record: that crackle, that little pop, that little hiss.”

As the needle drops and the doors open, the quiet ritual of crate digging turns into a harmony. Kaiju Records is taking us back to where it all began.

“She was into her records and her music in general, and I was involved in the local music scene and already into collecting records. We thought it would be cool one day to open a record store,” Roberts said.

For owner and wife Jet Roberts, it was about two crazy kids with a passion for music, enamored by the dream of opening a record shop. In 2019, Kaiju Records was born — a unique store named after the Japanese word for “monster.”

“They come in to look around because we’ve done a pretty good job decorating the place and giving it personality,” Roberts said.

Mr. Roberts explained an age-old argument, saying, “I often say that if you want your record as an artist to sound good on every platform, right, record it, mix it, and master it as if it was going to be on a record. Because if you mix it that way, it’s going to sound good across all formats.”

It’s here, between the crackle and the chorus, that past and present find the perfect harmony.

“It sounds warmer. There’s more feeling to it and depth on vinyl than you get on streaming or on CD,” Mrs. Roberts said.

Although the vinyl has remained the same, the music has changed and evolved. There’s something for everyone.

“We have customers as young as eight years old, all the way up to 80. We see all demographics, all walks of life, which is great, and we discover new music because of that,” Mrs. Roberts said.

With all sorts of genres, music is an outlet.

“No matter what mood you’re in, there’s something you can listen to that you can relate to,” she said. “You feel like there’s that connection.”

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