Sure, it’s easy to buy records and CDs on Amazon or stream music from companies like Apple or Spotify.
But Cooper Miley will tell you that you’re missing the point.
The El Cerrito resident was browsing the aisles of classic LPs on a recent afternoon at Down Home Music, the iconic shop on San Pablo Avenue near the Richmond/El Cerrito border.
For Miley, purchasing music online just doesn’t compare to combing through the thousands of vintage LPs that are neatly stacked in long bins inside the spacious store.
“It’s all about the search,” he said.
Soon, however, Miley and other music lovers may not be able to browse through Down Home’s vast collection.
That’s because the members of a family trust who own the building, which in addition to the record shop also houses two nonprofits largely focused on documenting and archiving American roots music, Les Blank Films and The Arhoolie Foundation, could put the property up for sale as early as next week.
If the tenants can’t come up with the money to buy the building themselves, then the future of the site will be in the hands of whoever purchases it, whether that’s a developer looking to tear it down and build housing, or another buyer interested in continuing to use it as commercially.
Harrod Blank, who now runs the film company started by his father, the celebrated documentary filmmaker Les Blank, said his business and the two others could pack up and try to find other places in the area. But if they did, things just wouldn’t be the same for them or for the communities their businesses serve.
“It’d be a shame if they couldn’t continue,” said Blank. “We should at least try to save them.”
Even though the building is technically in Richmond, the El Cerrito Chamber of Commerce is fully behind trying to keep the current occupants there.
“Down Home, Arhoolie and Les Blank Films are as much cultural institutions as they are businesses, and they’ve grown up in that building. Each one in its own way has brought different elements of society to prominence,” said Jon Bashor, a member of the El Cerrito Chamber board of directors.
The property, which is about 100 years old, includes an attached two-story home in addition to the commercial spaces.
Chris Strachwitz, who ran Arhoolie Records, bought the property in the mid-1970s and opened his record store there in 1975. Soon after, it became Down Home Music, while Arhoolie transformed into a foundation that preserves and catalogs historic albums, films and other materials. Part of its collection has been donated to the Smithsonian Institute. The rest is housed in the upstairs and back rooms of the San Pablo Avenue building, where archivists such as Clark Noone keep track of everything.
Flower Films, which eventually became Les Blank Films, moved into the building in 1977. The company, which currently operates as a nonprofit, produced dozens of documentary films directed by the elder Blank, many of which are now considered classics of the genre, such as “Burden of Dreams,” “Chulas Fronteras,” “A Well Spent Life,” and “Garlic is as Good as 10 Mothers.”
Les Blank died in 2013, and Strachwitz died in 2023. A trust made up of the latter’s heirs now owns the building.
Down Home Music is currently run by co-managers J.C. Garrett and John McCord. The store contains thousands of albums — mostly vinyl LPs and some CDs — ranging from traditional jazz to bluegrass to early rock ‘n’ roll to Mexican conjunto music to rhythm and blues.
According to Blank, Strachwitz in his will included a provision allowing the music store, the foundation and the film company to stay in the building for two years following his death. That extension runs out on May 5, 2025.
Another clause in the will, said Blank, gives him first right of refusal on the purchase of the property, which was appraised at $2.4 million.
Blank said he can come up with some of the money, but would need more from donors and investors to complete the purchase. He said he is also working with Garrett, McCord and Arhoolie president Adam Machado on preserving their businesses.
If Blank and his partners can’t secure the funds or if a developer or some other buyer steps in and offers more than $2.4 million, then their days in the building could be numbered.
“We can’t compete with developers,” said Blank.
Timothy Barteau, the attorney for the Strachwitz family trust, declined to provide more detail, citing confidentiality concerns.
However, he did say the “aspirational goal” of Strachwitz was most likely to preserve the legacy of his collection and that the trustees are supportive of Blank and the other tenants “meeting that aspiration.”
He added, though, that if the current tenants are unable to purchase the property by Oct. 11, then it will go on the market sometime after that deadline.
If the businesses do manage to stay, Garrett said the building could become even more of a cultural asset to the area than it currently is.
For example, he said, they could turn part of the facility into a museum, using Arhoolie’s archives and materials from Blank Films, and repurpose some of the space to create a small venue for live music.
“There is room to do more than run a record store,” Garrett said.
The music shop is profitable, added Garrett. In fact, he said it’s in its best financial shape since the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We can make this better than before,” he said.
That would bring smiles to a lot of people who consider Down Home Music more than just a place to buy classic vinyl records.
“This is way bigger than just a store. It’s a hub,” said Blank.
“We’re lucky they’re there,” added Bashor. “I can pop down Stockton, hang a left on San Pablo and seek out LPs on my wish list, whether by the Doors, Dave Edmunds or Dr. Feelgood. Then there are rows of bins of CDs and shelves of books, too, creating a place you can easily spend more time than you planned looking through physical media — much more fun than dialing up a playlist.”
Miley would agree.
As he sifted through a bin of albums, the former disc jockey said he visits the store every two weeks or so to “dig” through the “eclectic” collection records and converse with other “diggers.”
“If this isn’t here,” he said, “then we will be missing an opportunity to engage with others in this community.”
