2500 DelMonte Street: The Oral History of Tower Records

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Richard Leibowitz grew up in the Hudson Valley of New York to a father who listened to pre-1960s jazz and a mother who was more into folk music. Neither held much sway for young Richard, so he set out on his own and like a million other kids his age, KISS was the starting point for his music obsessions. 

Before working at Tower Records, Richard started working for Musicland while in college. Talking to a former bandmate who had signed on with Tower, Richard applied for and got the position of Store Artist in the Nanuet Store. Richard eventually moved up to the position of Record Sales Manager, a position he held both in Nanuet and in Carle Place. 

But Richard’s time at Tower was something of a mixed bag. He got to attend one of the Tower Annual Conferences but what he remembers most is getting busted by Stan Goman for not attending a mandatory Human Resources meeting because he was hungover. He held the position of Record Sales Manager, but when he applied for that position in other, larger stores he didn’t land those gigs. He eventually left the company, sick of 3-hour commutes and all that came with it. 

But thinking back on it, Richard met some. pretty cool people. He met Neil Young in a zombie-like state from smoking David Crosby’s weed. He had lunch with the classic YES lineup complete with Rick Wakeman bowing down to him and other Tower employees. And do you want to know the connection a white guy from the suburbs has to Biggie and Tupac? You’ll have to listen to this week’s episode to find out. 

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Serge Bielanko was one of the leading forces behind the Philadelphia-based rock & roll band Marah. Part Replacements, part Van Morrison, part Phil Spector, part Rod Stewart & The Faces, part Philly & Motown soul, for years they were poised for success as the “next big rock & roll band”. Marah was a critic’s darling and counted some famous folks (Jason Isbell, Steve Earle, Bruce Springsteen, and several authors)as part of their fan base. Another fan, many listeners of this podcast know, is the late Kevin Cassidy who caught on to them late, but made up for lost time with a real passion for the band. 

Nick Hornby, author of “High Fidelity” in the NY Times March 2004“ '20,000 Streets Under the Sky'' is [Marah’s] fourth album, and they're by no means famous yet, as the passing of the hat in the Fiddler's Elbow indicates. But what I love about them is that I can hear everything I ever loved about rock music in their recordings and in their live shows. Indeed, in the shows you can often hear their love for the rock canon uninflected -- they play covers of the Replacements' ''Can't Hardly Wait,'' or the Jam's ''In the City,'' and they usually end with a riffed-up version of the O'Jays' ''Love Train.'' They play an original called ''The Catfisherman'' with a great big Bo Diddley beat, and they quote the Beatles' ''Tomorrow Never Knows'' and the Who's ''Magic Bus.'' And they do this not because they're a bar band and people expect cover versions, but because they are unafraid of showing where their music comes from, and unafraid of the comparisons that will ensue -- just as Bruce Springsteen (who really did play ''Little Latin Lupe Lu'' for an encore, sometimes) was unafraid.” 

Stephen King, author of a million great horror novels, Entertainment Weekly 2006

“If You Didn’t Laugh, You’d Cry-Marah. An apt enough title, when you consider that this is probably the best rock band in America that nobody knows. Am I being an elitist here, trying to one-up my audience? Nope. Marah is great in the scat, bop, and jive way Springsteen was great on The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle. One listen to songs like ”The Closer” and ”Fat Boy” on this amazing record and I think you’ll agree. These guys are either the American U2 or close enough for government work.” 

In March 2000, shortly after the opening of Tower Records on the Ave of the Arts in Philadelphia, they dropped their magnum opus “Kids In Philly”. Opening with a blaring foghorn, sounding an alarm, “Kids in Philly” quickly sets about a musical tour de force of their city, Philadelphia, complete with the sounds of present and past. Tower Records Avenue of the Arts hosted Marah for their “Kids in Philly” day-of-release in-store. As the years passed Tower Philadelphia and Lincoln Center hosted Marah for 4 in-stores in 5 years. 

With their follow-up album, Marah took a sharp left turn with an album produced by Owen Morris, best known for his work with Oasis, The Verve, and Kaiser Chiefs. The album landed with a thud, leaving Marah’s base of supporters befuddled and not picking up any new fans. From there the band went back to a more familiar style and continued to work their way back. Despite releasing a total of 9 albums, drama never seemed too far from the band. Throughout the years various musicians rotated in and out of Marah until Serge ultimately quit the band to pursue other interests including writing a weekly column called “Thunder Pie” https://sergebielanko.substack.com.

Join us for an epic conversation about the ups, downs, ins & outs of rock and roll in the 20th & 21st century with Serge Bielanko. 

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Growing up in a small town 50 miles outside of Los Angeles, Denise McDonald has a very clear memory of getting her first library card at the age of five. For most of her life, Denise has been a dedicated bibliophile. 

In this week’s episode, Denise tells us all about working book product at Tower. 

From friends at Sacramento State helping her to secure the job at the Sunrise bookstore, the various positions she held there, the move to Tower Advertising and chasing publishers for co-op advertising funds, the big personalities in the Advertising department she encountered, and her eventual move to the Tower Product Team the last three years of the company. 

Almost 22 years with Tower, Denise had some pretty cool face time with some of the country’s most celebrated authors as well as some of her personal favorites. And thanks to the Linda Hoffman Make-A-Wish Foundation, Denise was able to meet Paul McCartney whom she had seen in concert 8 times. 

Join us for an interesting look at another side of the company with Denise McDonald. 

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“I remember standing on the sidewalk, talking to Rick [Briare] and telling him I was interested in going [to the new San Diego store] and he basically said ‘Well we don’t hire girls’. “

Thus began Jennifer Birner’s journey, leaving the Watt Avenue Bookstore to help open a new Tower Records location in San Diego where, for a time, she would be the only female employee. Helping open the store, laying tile, and screwing together racks, Jennifer got pneumonia and ended up in the hospital for 5 days. She was released on the day the store opened. Jennifer marched down to the store and then worked a shift until midnight. 

Jennifer spent 5 years in San Diego, surviving a Steve Miller Band instore fiasco (wait until you hear that one) and then running stores in Anaheim and West Covina before taking the position of Regional Manager. 

Wanting to get back to Sacramento, Jennifer took the position of GM of Tower Broadway. From there she moved to the Corporate Office first as Vice President of Video Operations and ultimately to Vice President of Training and Education. 

Join us for an episode that encompasses 30 years of a career to be celebrated with Jennifer Birner Hegji. 

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“ ‘There’s a place called Tower Records’ and the way that he described it, it was a supermarket of music! It’s got two stories. I was like, wow…I’ve gotta go there!” Not only did Pete Pataro *go* there, he had a 15-year career - starting in that Washington DC store, assistant managing in the brand new Annapolis store, and eventually running Cherry Hill, NJ for 10 years. 

Along the way, Pete was a sponge, learning about genres, bands, sidemen, and all facets of music, the music business, and retail in general. While in Washington DC, a store that had a lot of turnover due to being directly across the street from George Washington University, Pete was tasked with assisting in the interviewing and hiring of staff. He hired several people who would go on to be General Managers in the company. Pete also lays claim to having hired one Dave Grohl. By our esitmation, that’s the fourth Store #130 employee laying claim to Grohl’s illustrious 6-week career. 

It was in Cherry Hill New Jersey that Pete found his groove. Located right next to one of the busiest (at that time) malls in America  Cherry Hill was the perfect “suburban” Tower Records location. Strong in metal, alternative and hits, it would explode each Christmas, outperforming other stores of a similar size and weekly gross. Pete had a strong supporting cast and talked about some who worked alongside him. 

No Tower Records/Pete Pataro conversation would be complete without Pete telling us about the time actor Joe Pesci (“Goodfellas”, “Casino”, “My Cousin Vinny”) called Russ Solomon, without Pete’s knowledge, to intervene because of Pete’s suspension by his Regional Manager. 

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Kevin Winnick was working in Washington DC for a small chain of pop culture/entertainment-themed stores called Another Universe when he got a call from a headhunter saying a large company was looking to hire someone who could identify trends and had experience as a buyer. Though content where he was, Kevin took the interview and before long found himself dressed  in a nice shirt and tie while George Scarlett sat at his desk, bare feet plopped on his desk. 

From the moment Kevin joined Tower he felt like an outsider. From the get-go he was ordering and shipping products to the stores he thought were on board, but was often met with resistance. 

Initially, Kevin was brought in as a “trend spotter”, but as the years passed it appeared Kevin was in charge of it, if it wasn’t audio, video, or a book. The Sidelines department eventually grew to include blank tape, accessories, electronics, candy, and soda…you name it, he ordered it for the store. And yes, those “Planet of the Apes” cookie jars. 

In this week’s episode, we discuss Kevin’s somewhat tumultuous journey at Tower and hear in detail about what he was proud of and what could have gone better. 

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Megan Jasper grew up in Worcester, Massachusetts an industrial town, just an hour outside of Boston. Megan remembers it as a tough place to grow up. As a young girl, her family would travel to Boston and she and her sister would hit Newbury Comics when there was only one store. As a teen, she traveled to Boston for punk rock shows. 

Attending UMass, she was friends with J Mascis, a fellow student. When Dinosaur Jr toured Massachusetts in the early days Megan served as a roadie for the band. During a 1989 tour, they stopped in Seattle and that’s when she decided she wanted to make it her home.

After landing in Seattle, she made her way to the Sub Pop offices. Megan started as a receptionist there, when the label was a tiny operation, constantly teetering on the brink of financial disaster. She took a job with Caroline Distribution and called all the Tower Records stores in the Pacific Northwest.

When Nirvana led the music explosion of the early 90’s, the New York Times came calling to do a feature on the music culture of Seattle. Interviewing Jonathan Poneman, he referred the Times to Megan, now working for Caroline Records. The Times was looking for slang expressions Seattle kids used around the city. Megan made up a series of “grunge terms” she didn’t think the Times would believe were real. They did, they didn’t fact check and they ran it as a “Lexicon of Grunge”.

After a time working for ADA Distribution, Megan went back to Sub Pop in a variety of roles (Marketing & Distribution) and worked her way up to the role of CEO where she resides today. 

Bright, quick, smart, and funny, you’ll enjoy our conversation with Sub Pop’s Megan Jasper.

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“He [George Scarlett] said that someone had suggested me for the position [Administrative Assistant] because I looked so intense when I worked. I don’t know what that really means. I guess it’s a good thing” 

And thus, another Tower career was born. Renee Tyler spent 12 years working as George Scarlett’s Administrative Assistant in Record Division. 

When she came to work at Tower’s corporate office Renee didn’t know what Tower Records was about. Like many before her Renee started in Sales Audit. She eventually moved to billing in the Advertising Department. It was working in the Record Division with George and all the women (Sunita, Karen, Wendy) that the Tower world opened up for Renee. 

In this week’s episode, Renee tells us about working for a mover and shaker like George Scarlett, her musical evolution, fun times at Tower’s Annual Conference, large cardboard cutouts of Canadian men, leaving her position working for George, and a whole lot more. 

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While Chris Hopson was putting together Tower Records’ in-house advertising agency, in a parallel universe, or at least somewhere else in California, Steve Nikkel was doing the same for a small independent chain of record stores called Eucalyptus Records, based out of Fairfield, California. 

When an opening became available,  due to Mike Farrace starting up PULSE! Magazine and Terri Ball heading to New York City, Jim Swindel set up an interview between Nikkel and Hopson and Steve became a Tower-lifer. 

Join us this week as we walk through Steve Nikkel’s Tower career, his appearance in the Tower Documentary “All Things Must Pass”, his attending some truly historic concerts, and the task of managing the Tower Advertising Department. 

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Joy Slusarek Proft spent 15 years working for Universal Music Distribution. Like many before her, she started as an FMR (Field Marketing Rep), and like few, she ended up as the Vice President of Sales located in Los Angeles. 

While calling on stores in Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma and Nebraska, Joy found herself with a new band called Weezer in her car, taking them to visit mid-west indie accounts. In true 90’s fashion, Joy ended the day by taking Weezer to see “Pulp Fiction” shortly after it opened. 

From 1996-2001, Joy was a Sales Rep in Philadelphia calling on Tower Records, The Wall, HMV and National Record Mart in Pittsburgh. After finishing her career with Universal calling on Circuit City in Richmond VA and as Vice President of Sales in Los Angeles, Joy headed for a quiet part of the country in the great state of Vermont. There she found herself back at WEQX radio, where she had spent some time previously. 

Joy currently has the mid-day slot at WEQX and enjoys turning her audience on to new music, as well as hosting the Retro Lunch, spinning “alternative oldies” each weekday between 12noon - 12:30pm. 

Spend an hour with a woman who lives and breathes music.