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Store is a warehouse of music memories
By PIPER JONES CASTILLO © St. Petersburg Times, published April 22, 2001 ST. PETERSBURG -- Marc Ritter's quest to communicate with his teenage son has brought him here, up two flights of metal stairs, through the heavy double door. "I kind of expect to see a smoky room full of poker players or some sort of henchmen," says Ritter, 44. Instead, there are seemingly endless rows of old record albums. He hears Vivaldi's Four Seasons. He is inside Banana's Music, 2226 16th Ave. N, searching for Tea for the Tillerman, a 1970 album by Cat Stevens. "I want to show my son what I listened to at his age. I want to put the record on my turntable and listen to Father and Son with him," says Ritter, a computer consultant. "I remember vividly listening to that song in my dad's St. Pete Beach condo, and I felt better knowing I wasn't the only guy angry at dad." Customers such as Ritter, who finds at least five copies of the Cat Stevens album to choose from, have made Banana's Music a fixture. For 25 years, Doug and Michelle Allen have sold music, both new and used, in St. Petersburg. Most recently, they've operated out of two locations: a storefront at 1401 Pasadena Ave. S, South Pasadena, and inside this warehouse. The warehouse, used mainly for the business' mail-order sales, has seen little foot traffic since the Allens purchased the former River of Life Community Church for $140,000 in 1996, but, that's about to change. Last week, the Allens sold their South Pasadena storefront to Superkicks, a martial arts studio, for $300,000. The six Banana's employees will now all work together at the warehouse. "It's a sign of the times that we've moved everything under one roof," Doug Allen, 53, says. "As an independent music store, we cannot compete successfully against the giant chains anymore. Selling the building, which we used for our CD sales, and bringing the whole business here, gives us the financial capability to change our focus. Clients such as Ritter, searching for a particular memory, is what Banana's is all about, says James Raskey, a 13-year Bananas employee. "I think it's great that he went to all that trouble for his son. We see lots of people looking for a specific record, and they are serious about finding it." In the late 1980s, before vinyl records took a backseat to compact discs, and before the Internet opened up a worldwide shopping center to record collectors, Banana's Music reached annual sales of $1-million. However, with the limited local market of vintage collectors coupled with the industry takeover by compact discs, annual sales have fallen to $600,000, says Allen. "We need to keep up with the times by focusing on our Internet business. There will always be record collectors, but they just don't all live in Tampa Bay. I've got Internet customers from all over the world, dealers in Japan and London, for example," Allen says. For the music connoisseur who visits Banana's warehouse, it is a sight to behold. With more than 2-million albums in stock, sections include rhythm and blues, comedy, classical, gospel, soul, reggae, 12-inch disco, children's and foreign language. In an area dubbed the Library, diverse albums include Personal Golf Instruction by Arnold Palmer, From Sorcery to Science by the South African Broadcasting Group and Latin Favorites, with a bikini-clad Tina Louise gracing the cover. "We have all the different forms that music has been recorded on from Thomas Edison diamond discs, cylinders, aluminum records, glass records to the three-sided Matching Tie and Handkerchief by Monty Python," Allen says. "We made a decision a long time ago to not cut out a certain type of record. What that means for us is, we have a lot of merchandise." Rob Lorei, public affairs and news director at WMNF-FM 88.5, the non-profit radio station in Tampa known for its eclectic mix of musical programs, believes locally owned stores like Banana's Music are vital to the Tampa Bay area. "Independently owned music stores are one of the things we count on," Lorei says. "We need locally owned music stores where the decision-making process is not decided by New York, Los Angeles or Chicago. Doug makes the decision at Banana's, and you know he is not going to try to sell you the latest Christina Aguilera. They care about a wide range of music, not just commercial successes." Allen wants to assure his customers that Banana's Music will continue to sell the same amount of used compact discs and albums. The owners are still determining how they will handle new music orders. "There are certain things that our customers have always depended on, and we will have it all here in the warehouse," Allen says. Banana's Music, 2226 16th Ave. N, St. Petersburg, is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Saturday. For information, call 327-4616. The business's Web site is www.musicfinder.com.
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