For Josh Caldwell and Travis Harvey, owning a record store is about more than selling music. Caldwell, who is reopening Village Green Records as the new owner after the store's two-month absence, and Harvey - who works at the store - feel they owe a greater debt to their community.
That greater purpose was first established by Jared Cheek.Since the store was opened in August 2006 by Cheek, Village Green has gained a reputation for providing a place for the Ball State and Muncie community to meet and hang out - it has hosted concerts, cookouts and in-store performances. Harvey once rented a flatbed truck and filmed local band Arrah and the Ferns in concert with the aim of getting the band on The David Letterman Show. The concert drew over 200 people. Other performances have included Indianapolis band (and MTV2 regulars) Margot and the Nuclear So and So's and Bloomington-based Murder by Death.
The record store's secondary - and according to Harvey, its most important - purpose is in line with traditional uses of Village Greens. Village Green were large common areas in the center of pastoral English towns which hosted meetings, festivals and May Day celebrations. British rock band The Kinks celebrated Village Green traditions with their 1968 album, "The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society." When it came time to name the store, Village Green Records was the obvious choice.
Harvey said Village Green filled a void that needed to be filled in Muncie.
"There were a number of years where there wasn't a record store," Harvey said. "There was no place for bands to play, or no place for bands to get music. The Village Green is important because it's a place for creative people to hang out and for creative people to get music. We encourage loitering."
But while the store maintained a devoted following, Cheek needed to move on, and got a job at Bloomington-based record label Secretly Canadian Records In March, Cheek sold the store to Caldwell.
"I made enough to pay the bills," said Cheek. "That was all I was really hoping to do - make enough money to get by. But I was just ready to do something else."
Caldwell isn't planning on changing much. He described his most significant change simply as "new paint" - which may be an understatement.
In addition to a new mural outside the store painted by various local artists - including Harvey - the inside of the store is getting a touch-up - with two murals on opposite walls painted by local artist Lisa Fey and Harvey.
Musically, Caldwell and Harvey both feel the store's greatest strength is its eclectic and hard-to-find collection.
"We like to carry titles that you can't usually get anywhere else," Harvey said.
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