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Mark Glessner
Mark Glessner sells records (those thin, grooved, vinyl discs, remember?).
Owner of Stan's Record Bar, Lancaster, he was born in Meyersdale, PA, and attended grade school through 7th grade in Shanksville. His family then moved to Lititz where he attended Warwick schools. Two years of training for restaurant management (Paul Smith College, New York) followed, then two years working as a restaurant manager in Lancaster. Mark then took a job at the record store Harmony Hut in Park City mall. Harmony Hut was later bought by Sam Goody's.
In 1979, Stan Selfon was planning to retire and sell his record store business in downtown Lancaster. Mark worked with Stan to see what it was like. The record business was good and Mark bought Stan's in 1980. In 1983, the Compact Disc was introduced. It wasn't until 1989 that Mark saw sufficient interest in CDs to begin stocking them. By the spring of 1990, "the store became a museum". He says it was like someone flipped a switch and suddenly no one wanted records - a "sad event". But about October of 2012, the switch seemed to flip the other way. "Now I can't give a CD away", and vinyl is selling again. Mark doesn't do internet sales, preferring interaction with customers in the store.
To Mark (and others), the sound of a record is far superior to that of a CD. Many kids from the Ipod era coming into the store hear a record and for them it's like hearing music for the first time. "If you give a record a 10 out of 10 (for sound quality), a CD is 4.5 , and downloads are 3". Not all records are '10' quality though. "If you take a 16 bit recording and put it on vinyl, it sounds like a CD". He's noticed changes other than sound quality over the years. Styles are always changing - Hair bands are replaced by Grunge that's then replaced by Punk. He wonders why they can't coexist. And while recently listening to a Britney Spears CD, he found only 2 'musicians' listed on the cover: Britney for vocals, someone else for 'programs'. "Those auto-tuned notes combined with the CD sound - how much more sterile can it get"? Shopping habits changed too. In the '70s and '80s, people would take time to browse albums in the store. When CD's became popular he says people usually came in looking for only 1 item and then leaving.
In addition to selling records, Mark collects them, deciding to do that while still a teen. The first 3 albums bought for his collection were Steppenwolf ("Born to be Wild"), Cream ("Wheels of Fire"), and Strawberry Alarm Clock ("Incense and Peppermint"). He still has them. Asked how many albums were in his collection, he says that the latest count (1993) was 15,000. He's a 'completist' - has all 17 AC/DC albums, and 127 recordings of his favorite artist, Glenn Hughes. That's all but one, which was sold only at concerts. His earliest musical influence was probably AM radio. Growing up on a dairy farm, he remembers a choice of maybe 1 pop and 2 country music stations. A later huge event for him was hearing the album Led Zeppelin 1 - it was "a mind blower".
Asked if he plays an instrument, Mark claims to be a 'wannabe'. He played trumpet and baritone in school, and has a guitar which he says he plays for 5 minutes every 5 years. But he is recorded! A box of records recently brought to the store included a recording of the Warwick High School band. Listed on the album cover is baritone player Mark Glessner!
Mark Glessner
Mark Glessner sells records (those thin, grooved, vinyl discs, remember?).
Owner of Stan's Record Bar, Lancaster, he was born in Meyersdale, PA, and attended grade school through 7th grade in Shanksville. His family then moved to Lititz where he attended Warwick schools. Two years of training for restaurant management (Paul Smith College, New York) followed, then two years working as a restaurant manager in Lancaster. Mark then took a job at the record store Harmony Hut in Park City mall. Harmony Hut was later bought by Sam Goody's.
In 1979, Stan Selfon was planning to retire and sell his record store business in downtown Lancaster. Mark worked with Stan to see what it was like. The record business was good and Mark bought Stan's in 1980. In 1983, the Compact Disc was introduced. It wasn't until 1989 that Mark saw sufficient interest in CDs to begin stocking them. By the spring of 1990, "the store became a museum". He says it was like someone flipped a switch and suddenly no one wanted records - a "sad event". But about October of 2012, the switch seemed to flip the other way. "Now I can't give a CD away", and vinyl is selling again. Mark doesn't do internet sales, preferring interaction with customers in the store.
To Mark (and others), the sound of a record is far superior to that of a CD. Many kids from the Ipod era coming into the store hear a record and for them it's like hearing music for the first time. "If you give a record a 10 out of 10 (for sound quality), a CD is 4.5 , and downloads are 3". Not all records are '10' quality though. "If you take a 16 bit recording and put it on vinyl, it sounds like a CD". He's noticed changes other than sound quality over the years. Styles are always changing - Hair bands are replaced by Grunge that's then replaced by Punk. He wonders why they can't coexist. And while recently listening to a Britney Spears CD, he found only 2 'musicians' listed on the cover: Britney for vocals, someone else for 'programs'. "Those auto-tuned notes combined with the CD sound - how much more sterile can it get"? Shopping habits changed too. In the '70s and '80s, people would take time to browse albums in the store. When CD's became popular he says people usually came in looking for only 1 item and then leaving.
In addition to selling records, Mark collects them, deciding to do that while still a teen. The first 3 albums bought for his collection were Steppenwolf ("Born to be Wild"), Cream ("Wheels of Fire"), and Strawberry Alarm Clock ("Incense and Peppermint"). He still has them. Asked how many albums were in his collection, he says that the latest count (1993) was 15,000. He's a 'completist' - has all 17 AC/DC albums, and 127 recordings of his favorite artist, Glenn Hughes. That's all but one, which was sold only at concerts. His earliest musical influence was probably AM radio. Growing up on a dairy farm, he remembers a choice of maybe 1 pop and 2 country music stations. A later huge event for him was hearing the album Led Zeppelin 1 - it was "a mind blower".
Asked if he plays an instrument, Mark claims to be a 'wannabe'. He played trumpet and baritone in school, and has a guitar which he says he plays for 5 minutes every 5 years. But he is recorded! A box of records recently brought to the store included a recording of the Warwick High School band. Listed on the album cover is baritone player Mark Glessner!