Another change to the Somerville vinyl scene
(Somerville Wire) – Union Square record shop, Somerville Grooves, will move to Melrose on Sunday, August 20. Store owner Dave Plunkett plans to reopen the shop on 200 Green Street by Labor Day weekend. Somerville Grooves has operated out of Union Square since 2011.
“Union Square has changed a lot and that’s cool,” Plunkett said. “Many shops have left or closed. There are more bike lanes, which we need, but that’s taken away from parking which makes it harder for people to bring in record collections. It’s that or the times. Records don’t seem to come in like they did five years ago,” he said. “I also live in Melrose, so I have been keeping my eyes open for an opportunity [to move].”
Plunkett started the shop after he was laid off from his writing job. “When I was in my twenties, I worked at In Your Ear Records and I liked that. Years later, I thought I’d give it a go,” he said, smiling.
“I grew up in the 70s. Back then, if you wanted to listen to a lot of music, you had to have a lot of records or tapes. I didn’t even have a huge collection, but going to yard sales, you stood a good chance of finding a good collection,” Plunkett said. He opened Grooves in the Union Square location partially because of the annual Rock & Roll Yard Sale, a vinyl and vintage goods market.
Grooves carries mostly vintage records, but has a steady flow of the classic reissues, local pressings, and new releases.
Plunkett’s desert-island disc? Hawkwind’s Space Ritual. “That’s today’s answer,” he said.
Asked whether he’ll miss the bustle of Union Square, Plunkett said, “When people hear there’s a record store, they’ll get to it. That seems to be how it generally goes.”
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Ryan DiLello is the staff reporter for the Somerville Wire
