Khruang Bin playing the High Noon stage at Heights Vinyl

“If you were to ask me, these are the next guys you’re gonna hear about around Houston. ”It’s groovy, funky, and instrumental. They probably brought our biggest crowd yet [to the store], but it wasn’t just their friends; people were like “Whoa” how come we’ve never heard of these guys.”  Every Saturday night at six, regional and local bands play to a crowd of audiophiles and music lovers in the area. The shop is down the street from live music spot Fitzgerald’s as well as next door to The Onion Creek coffeehouse and bar.

But there is a childlike excitement when Brown speaks of his love of music. Red-headed and unshaven wearing a brown leather jacket, t-shirt and jeans, he could easily pass for a member of an indie rock band himself. With a beam in his eyes, he spoke on the moment he decided to open the shop: “So I was about 13-years old [laughs]…but my first working DJ gig was at 16-years old, so I’d been a DJ on and off for a long time. Just always loved record stores; even before 16 I’d just go and hang. It was always stuck in my mind that I love to buy records, to teach, not only selling people things but also helping…so I’ve seriously wanted to open a store for the past 10 or 12 years now.”

Revealing that his first concert was Iron Madden and second was New Order, and that he was a house DJ but grew up loving rock n roll as well, Heights Vinyl doesn’t specialize in any particular genre. But its soul, funk and jazz, pop, rock and electro sections are rather eclectic. The store also sells vintage turntables and a select variety of vintage headphones.

When asked why vinyl matters and whether iTunes is killing record stores, the Houston-native, who has also lived in Austin, Colorado and San Diego, had this to say in regards to new collectors stopping by, “You can’t go look at a mp3 collection, there’s nothing tangible. [But with a record] You can hold it, you can feel it; there’s a ritual to having to put it on and play it; it’s that experience of it that gives me chills when younger folks come into the store.”