![]() ![]() You gotta do this.” I had been buying records from Jason and Nabil, the original owners, since they opened in the 90s. My wife read that Sonic Boom was being sold, and she called me at work and said, “Hey, this is it. I’d been working in real estate for many years and really, really, really started to dislike that. Mike: I always joke that I had a midlife crisis five years ago, and maybe it’s not really a joke. I do all the consignment, and I also order from some of the local labels around town, like Barsuk, Sub Pop, and The Business up in Anacortes. I made myself my own title, and everyone was fine with it so that’s nice. It’ll be four years this month, so almost as long as Mike. I have my hands in a little bit of everything, as Kay does. I always refer to myself as owner/operator. I bought the store almost five years ago. Below is our interview, edited for length and clarity. I sat down with Pitts and Redden to talk about what they love about working at a record store, why independent music is important, and how musicians can get their products into the store. Now owned by Mike Pitts, Sonic Boom provides a space for local artists to showcase their work and for Seattleites to discover that work, all headed up by Local Buyer Kay Redden (who also runs local cassette label Den Tapes ). ![]() Nestled into a corner of Ballard only blocks away from popular Seattle music venues The Sunset Tavern, Tractor Tavern, and Conor Byrne Pub, Sonic Boom Records bills itself as “Seattle’s source for independent music.” Opened in 1997 by Jason Hughes and Nabil Ayers, the store has long been a Seattle mainstay for local music - from the early days when Hughes and Ayers helped break Death Cab for Cutie to current-day in-store performances from bands like Sloucher and Tacocat. Today, we’re chatting with Sonic Boom Records. Our goal is to make the series both educational and a resource for artists looking to expand their teams. In this series, “Behind the Scene,” we’re taking a look at all of the people who are integral to the process of making music that you probably haven’t heard of before - from producers and radio DJs to vinyl cutters and photographers. It takes a whole host of people to bring a musician’s vision to life. ![]() But, an album doesn’t happen in a vacuum. Photo courtesy of Sonic Boom RecordsĪt Dan’s Tunes, we work to bring you a comprehensive picture of the Seattle music scene, and musical artists are a big part of that. Local Buyer Kay Redden in front of the cassette wall at the store. Ray loves cats, especially her own, who is named Macaulay Culkin (but she’s a lady). Other than her musical endeavors (singing, playing ukulele, and auditioning for American Idol four times before the age of 24) Ray is passionate about food and education around the American food system, and she’s also a large proponent of eliminating the stigma around mental health. In 2020, Dan was featured in the Seattle Times’s year-end music critic poll. The goal is to have satellites in every major US city, uplifting diverse and compelling voices and helping music communities thrive. There’s so much music happening in the city that spawned Pearl Jam, Nirvana, and Jimi Hendrix - among others - and Dan’s Tunes is determined to find and expose those outstanding acts. She moved to Seattle in 2017.Īfter losing her job during the COVID-19 pandemic and discouraged about the lack of press surrounding Seattle’s music scene, Dan made the decision to turn Dan’s Tunes, a fully fledged music journalism website focused on showcasing the Seattle area’s musicians, into its own startup. She worked as a Senior News Reporter on the government beat, transitioned to arts writing, and eventually became the managing editor of the social media department. She got her BA in English and music at the University of Michigan, where she reported for the school’s paper, The Michigan Daily. Raised by a single mother in the suburbs of Detroit, Dan discovered an early passion for singing, songwriting, and the arts as a whole.
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