ROX-TV pays a visit to the Legendary “Rock Of Ages” in Garden City. We interviewed Bob about the shop, the history, and took a look around

Welcome back to the ROX-TV website. A place where everyone is welcome and you can stay as long as you like. Today I’m going to talk about a place that really resonates with me as a person, both spiritually and emotionally. I must say that there aren’t many locations on earth (that I have access to) that speak to me on that next level. I think about places that are special or “holy” to me as a person and I must say, few things move me anymore. Maybe it’s with age, that we get dis-illusioned with life somewhat and the purposes start to rub off of things. With time comes experience and knowledge, and those things can really bum me out when applied to the world in which I live.

When your a child, the world is full of great unknowns, both real and imagined. Everything seems so big and expanded. But sadly, as the years roll by, the fish bowl gets smaller and smaller. Once, what was an infinite ocean of possibility, slowly turns into large lake, before shrinking to a river, and then just a trickle over the rocks. Hell at this point, things can feel like nothing more than moisture on the rocks in the morning.

Like a lot of people I was raised in “a faith” but, over time, my trust in man made systems has dropped dramatically. Nothing seems to run right for anyone these days, no matter who or where you are. I see our human brothers and sisters locked in struggles that I wish I could solve for everyone. I want everyone to feel happy, safe, secure, and protected. I wish there was a year zero, that started a new age, so that the strife from the last 5,000 years on earth could be ignored and die. I want to walk down the street in any town or city in America and smile at the man, woman, child, whatever….and get one back. I want people to know that my heart is good and that they have a friend in me in times of danger or turmoil.

I want strangers to know that I would help them in their time of need. Hell, if I had an extra three bucks, I’d buy a bum a forty and let him have a cigarette, just so the bum could have a few moments of rest from pain, that was caused somewhere else before I showed up. This is who I am. So dig it…

Sorry the introduction was rather long on this one, but I think it sets the tone for my visit to “Rock Of Ages” in Garden City, Michigan. What is a record shop really? A building of brick and mortar, perhaps a place to purchase things, maybe a source of tax revenue for the city? I guess, but to really understand what a record store like “Rock of Ages” is, you have to look with special eyes. For the first timers and slow getters, yes….you are correct, this is a place where you can buy cassettes, cd’s, and much more. But I need you to look beyond that for just a moment, so that the real essence of the shop can be realized.

A record shop is a temple in my opinion, for some I guess they could call it by other names like church, mosque, synagogue, or perhaps even a shrine. It doesn’t matter really, as long as you understand how sacred and holy, a place like that can be. What is a record shop? The small time answer is that it sells music, but what is music exactly? Music my friends, is the the vibrational thoughts of the human mind, realized, remembered, and recorded down for people to hear in the real world.

How about that! Music is not simply just a word called “music”, it is the vibrational and universal language of the human race, and ultimately fits into the overall vibrational nature of the universe and cosmos. If anyone ever told you music wasn’t important, they were lying to you. Music has amazing powers that can lead to almost anything. Music can make people fight, fall in love, dance, forget who they are, remind people who they are, and transfer ideas that even the government doesn’t always catch. Music can lead to war and to destruction. Music can set the mood for the initial creation of life between two lovers. Yes my friends, music is truly magical and if you don’t dabble, you’d better catch up rather quick.

Arrival at Rock of Ages on Ford Road…

Arriving at a place like “Rock of Ages” really gets me excited. Even before I exit my car in the parking lot, I know that I’m about to enter someplace special, where the magic is still alive and well for human consumption. When I pulled up I knew that I was in for treat. I was at a true house of learning and as always, my phone was tucked away so that my head was up. I never want to miss a thing went I enter a place like this.

Pushing my way through the doors, I immediately knew that I was “home”. This is a place that I could die in and that would be ok. I was completely surrounded by the things that I love, it was a welcoming environment and I could feel that energy in every inch of the store. Like all good ships, there has to be a captain. Someone who tends to the needs and wants of his visitors, keeping the course, and providing the knowledge of the ages.

In the house of “Rock of Ages” that captain’s seat is filled righteously. The man behind the wheel of this ship is Bob and he’s a wonderful dude. I had heard about this record store for years, but had never been able to get down to see it in person. I live about an hour and some change away, and had usually done my business at Wyatt Earp Records in Flint, before it sadly shuttered it’s doors. During my days exploring the independent music scene in Michigan, the name “Rock of Ages” had come up rather frequently in flyers, fan club newsletters, and by word of mouth.

It was always associated with meet and greets, signings, and a great source of all things musical. As I touch light steps into the shop, I was instantly saddened by the fact that it had taken me so long to get there. But life is life, and we discover it at our own paces I suppose. It was my time to experience the place in the flesh and different factors in my world had finally delivered me to Bob’s glorious world of music.

I was surrounded in every direction by music and everything that goes with it. I couldn’t have been happier in that moment. My initial visit was mostly from a “business” stand point. I was doing on-sight research for the book that I was working on with Project Born (Flint rap group) and had decided to come down with Polk D to take a few pictures for that piece. This was when I was first introduced to Bob and gave him a quick rundown of why we were there and what was on our minds. Not knowing what to expect, I waited as Bob smiled, and said “sure, sounds good” to my request to photograph the store a bit.

I had some work to do, but I knew in the back of my mind that this was a place I would have to do an article on. There was some internal guidance system that said “ask” and so I did. Once we finished up the Project Born end of things, I asked him if it would be ok to run an article on the store in the near future and he was all for it.

Speaking with the Captain…

Although the year was on the door, I asked Bob when the place opened up. “1984, we started in April of that year and opened in June of 1984”. That was a long time to be in the business and I could only imagine all the different things that had taken place within the walls since then. I asked Bob about meet and greets and how that really got going. “It started with (the group) Halloween, the local guys, that was the first in store. It went so well. It seemed like every in-store we had was a success”.

Bob told me that in the early days the bands were primarily metal but eventually all the rap artists started coming in as well. He told me that a lot of the early artists that would come into his shop to do business started out small, but a good portion of those early artists all “became something”. In the early years, Bob told me that big names like Insane Clown Posse, Kid Rock, Esham, and Project Born would all come by the store (before they were big) with their cassettes and cd’s. “We’d put up their cassettes, come up with an idea, here’s what they needed, here’s what I needed….and you’d make a couple bucks. I brought all the locals in, rap or rock, it didn’t matter” Bob told me.

Bob also talked about the rock side of things. “In the early days we brought in Megadeath, Motorhead, Peter Kriss, Creator, Trouble, Slayer, Pantera…we did everybody, before anyone knew who they were. The Mentors, Cats, Nuclear Assault, Overkill, Testament. Any local clubs that had bands playing, we’d reach out to them, of course this was pre-internet. A lot of people wanted to come out, do the in-store, then head over to the show. If someone needed a ride…sometimes my customers would go pick up the band. It was a win-win for everyone. No one was a big deal back then, we’d be sitting around drinking beers, we had a lot of crazy stuff happen. That was in the old building from 1984-1993, then we carried the idea over to this building in 1993”.

“The excitement was nuts…it was cool because I would buy the product from the guys, the band would come out, take pictures, meet everyone and it continued on. “Danzing, Dangerous Toys, Type O Negative, Marilyn Manson, they were all here. Korn was the biggest. People loved it, they remember it, and they would come back with their kids and grand kids later on. It all worked out. Who would have known when you look back on it?

Bob was great to talk to and I figured by my own calculations that I would need about eight or nine years, twenty hours a day, to hear about all the action that had gone down. I interviewed him for the Project Born book “Forever in Jects” (slated for release in summer of this year) but the material featured in that portion of the interview will only be available in the book. As with all good things, the visit ended too soon, but I promised myself to return when I could. As could be expected, a little business brought me back a little while later.

The Pleasure Cruise visit…

Like I said, different factors usually drive me to where I need to be, one way or the other. A short time into the future I was on a different type of mission. The new Daniel Jordan album “Dark Night of the Soul” had just dropped and I was heading over to “Rock of Ages” to see about getting copies into the store for purchase. Daniel Jordan, who I have covered recently in articles about the album and his new video drop for “I don’t want to be me” sent some cool promo stickers for fans as well.

Like my first visit to the shop, Bob was just as friendly, but things had not slowed down much. I’m glad it was busy in there anyway. We need record stores to stay alive to serve as these great places of vibrational knowledge for ever. If that means I have to wait in line for a few minutes so be it. I would have waited an hour to talk to Bob, he’s that cool of a guy. Eventually I spoke to his daughter who was helping up front with various customer requests. I told her that I was rolling through with a few different things and explained myself. She was very nice and helped me do what needed to be done. I told her again about my thoughts on the store article and she said it sounded great. Bob was around, but was very busy at that moment. After we finished up, I was truly able to do what I had wanted to do on the first visit and that was to shop.

In a place like “Rock of Ages” it really is difficult to find a place to start because of the surrounding selection. It is a 360 degree turnaround experience in there, and after a minute of turning in circles. I said screw it, and just started walking straight till I hit a wall. I found my self in a very a large area of the store that had all these great hoodie’s with Detroit imagery as well as horror movie themed stuff. From the floor to the ceiling, it was everywhere. I let my mind wander around, eye balls bouncing from left to right, down and then up.

I kept moving, looking for that perfect object to take home. I was in the market for a concert shirt, some posters, a few cd’s (I’m 90’s new-old school, its what I like) and hoped to find one of them. But because of such an amazing selection of items, that would blow even a hardened record shop veteran away, I located all three. With ease. I grabbed all three. A wonderful Nightmare on Elm Street poster, a Friday the 13th poster, a Dropkick Murphys shirt, and eight cd’s. Mission accomplished, joy acquired. I was lucky to escape there when I did. The selection of amazing music and clothing, could end up costing me thousands if I’m not careful. I will have to ration out my exposure to “Rock of Ages” for this vary reason, but I know where to find my secret place of the most high. My vibrational holy ground. It’s in Garden City, don’t be late….check it out today.

Signing Off,

Mike Shepard

ROX-TV Head Writer

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