hen Graywhale CD Exchange owner Steve Gray and a friend decided to open a used CD exchange in 1985 to welcome in the advent of new music-playing technology that relied on lasers instead of needles on wax or heads on tape, they were innovators—among the first in the nation to initiate such a store. When I spoke to Gray in the office of the new flagship Graywhale location (208 S. 1300 East), a mere 200 or so feet north of the old location (241 S. 1300 East), he candidly said that 18 years ago, he didn’t think the business would last more than a couple of months.

But for 18 years, the first location of Graywhale CD Exchange stood strong, offering customers affordable, quality independent music and showing a commitment to customer service, despite a small location that often felt cramped with poor lighting and spacial restrictions that prevented the availability of a full inventory. Other locations of the locally owned and operated store have popped up successfully throughout the valley and state over the years, but this is the first time the flagship location has moved, even if it’s just down the street.

Gray has owned the new location for four years, but was waiting for the right moment to make the move.

“Music sounds the same no matter where you buy it from—we wanted to create the experience,” said Gray regarding the plans for the new location, which include in-store music piped outside, expansion of available products and more listening stations. By May, Gray will have a Sabino’s coffee shop installed in the front end of the store and will allow bands to play on the patio between the storefront and the sidewalk. He added, “The whole thing is predicated on the experience.”

Chad Fautin has managed the 1300 East location for the last two years of his five-and-a-half-year tenure with the company, and has no regrets about the change.

“The whole thing just lends itself to a better atmosphere…brighter, cleaner, a chance to do what we do on a larger scale,” said Fautin.

The move has been in the works for a couple of months, but the actual process took about a day and a half. After they closed last Saturday night, they started moving all through Sunday. Despite the quickness of the move, it went rather smoothly, Fautin said.

It was “time for a change, [we] saw opportunities and took ’em…it’s a full on experience rather than just walking in and buying a CD.”

Mariel Mayni, a customer shopping in the new location on their second day of business, was in town visiting from her residence in Manhattan.

“[It is] definitely bigger, easier to walk around [in] and navigate and they had J5 when Media Play didn’t,” she said. The last time she was in town was in January and the move pleasantly surprised her.

As I was looking for other customers to harass…I mean interview, a man on a bike rode up to the store front, secured his bike to the bike rack and upon entering declared “It’s awesome,” which he followed up with further compliments on the new, larger space.

Shane Smith has worked across the street at Graywhale Too, the new-and used video and video game exchange for about five or six months. He said he wished his location was moving into the space.

“The old place is bummy, but this is cool,” he said, adding that small businesses like Graywhale often have to work with bad buildings, so it’s good that they have a more aesthetically pleasing location to work out of.

Fautin and Gray both concur that they’ve received nothing but positive feedback. “How we feel about it is secondary, it’s the customer’s opinion that matters,” said Gray. Since they’ve always wanted more space, it looks like everything is on the upside.

Right now the store looks really sterile, but as days turn into months and so on, the new location will get the lived-in effect of the independent record store, “We need time to live in it and put our own funk on the place,” said Fautin.

With double the space, better lighting, more listening stations and a larger selection, Graywhale continues to do what they do best.

To visit the new GrayWhale CD Exchange location, go to 208 S. 1300 East and keep your eyes peeled for a grand opening in the near future, featuring lots of fun and free stuff.
lou@red-mag.com