Turntable is back!
Turntable Records is now to be found at 1903 South First, right there in the Golden Slipper shopping district.
Destiny brought me to this discovery. Because I was thrifty and took certain items to Golden Slipper for repair instead of replacing them, I saw Turntable sooner than might otherwise have been the case.
So I’m now the proud owner of the latest by A. J. Castillo (the one with that “Superman” song that plays all the time on Tejano 95.1-FM and won’t leave your brain once you’ve heard it), plus a Dos Gilbertos with “Por Una Mala Mujer” on it and a Texmaniacs production that all help make the collection more complete.
The affable owner is new in the location and is still setting up, so bring cash (or write a check if you have an honest face).
I didn’t buy soup from the Soup Peddler or cloth diapers from Austin Baby or have any current need for the services of Sharp’s Locksmith (family-owned and with a fine reputation for service, honesty, and integrity), but at least I did run a very important errand at Golden Slipper and find Turntable again. When I pick up my items from Golden Slipper, I hope to have a few minutes to explore this little corner, always changing, in its entiretly.
Where did it used to be? What was turntable good for and is it still?
I must admit I was going to include it in my next S 1st update and meant to go down there at the w/e to see what they had in store…
This is not even the second location for Turntable. The one before this was on that wonderful thoroughfare called Woodbury Drive (turn east onto Alpine from South Congress and then onto Woodbury). Woodbury has the Mary Louise Butters brownie joint, tow-yards, quarry yards, wholesale warehouses, all sorts of ever-changing establishments. This version of Turntable is quite small and I really didn’t have time to linger, just to scoop up a few items I’d been searching for and wanted to buy locally. Tejano, conjunto, Texas-Latino dance music have always been core specialties, but all sorts of music have been stocked, and sometimes sound equipment, too. I want to go back and look at the big Vicente Fernandez compilation (he just drew the biggest outdoor crowd in the heart of Mexico City, outdoing all other entertainers); I used to buy his LPs at Woolworth’s and the two music stores downtown and they’re starting to wear out. There’s a radio station here in town that devotes at least a straight hour every mid-day to playing nothing but Vicente. Anyhow, I’ll be back to Turntable.