Music Fans Rejoice in Sights and Smells of The Sound
By Chris Manson February 23, 2006 Issue

Joe Crocker has over 15 years working for and managing corporate music stores under his belt. But if you wander into his Fort Walton Beach shop The Sound expecting another corporate music store…well, in the words of those legendary rockers Judas Priest, you’ve got another thing coming.

I rolled into Crocker’s store over a year ago when it was tucked away behind the main drag and thought it was very cool—lots of music memorabilia, endless bins of CDs and used vinyl. About six months ago Crocker and wife Laurel moved their shop to Miracle Strip Parkway in Historic Downtown Fort Walton Beach, and I’m surprised and pleased to report that I like the new place even better.

“My wife pushed me to do this,” Crocker says. “I always had a room in my house dedicated to music memorabilia. The closets are jam-packed. I still pull out stuff I forgot I had.”

During Hurricane Ivan, I ran across Crocker in a Tallahassee used CD store. When he first told me of his plans to open a music shop, I was a bit skeptical. Not because I had any doubts about Crocker’s abilities, more like my lack of faith that anyone under the age of 30 would be willing to plunk down money for recorded music when they could just, um, steal it. Of course, I was wrong, and The Sound now enters its second year with a brand new coffee bar and live music.

Wednesday nights here are devoted to poetry (unless you think rock lyrics are poetry, then it’s every day). The brave and crazy are invited to open mic night on Thursdays. On Fridays and Saturdays, local and regional acts like Onus, Nick Flag, and Letters in the Sea entertain for a reasonably low cover charge—especially considering The Sound is an alcohol-free establishment. It’s a great opportunity for the under 18 crowd to enjoy some live music. Crocker says he’s booked up for March, but continue checking myspace.com/soundfwb for a schedule of upcoming events.

On my recent visit I drool over a vinyl copy of Johnny Cash’s Everybody Loves a Nut album a guy just traded in and enjoy a cup of LaVazza, “Italy’s favorite coffee.” This place reminds me of the great independent music shops I frequented as a kid, somewhere I could kill a whole afternoon browsing through the used discs. I end up snagging a copy of The Jackie Wilson Story on vinyl, along with a five-song promotional CD single by the greatest rock and roll band on Earth, AC/DC. The Mr. T head on the counter—doubling as a tip jar—continues to remind me of my misspent youth, as does Crocker’s jaw-dropping assortment of vintage lunchboxes featuring Saturday morning cartoon favorites like Hong Kong Phooey and Fat Albert.

As for the music memorabilia, Crocker tries to have all the bands appearing in the area drop by for record signings. On Feb. 25, Slave to the System—a rock band consisting of former members of Queensryche and Brother Cane—will pop into The Sound prior to a concert at the Swamp. The Sound also teams up with radio station 99 ROCK—where Crocker spent many years behind the scenes—to sell tickets to all the popular nightspot’s big shows.

Despite all the IPods and “illegal” music downloading, Crocker’s shop—as well as a couple other independent music retailers in the Fort Walton Beach area—has survived. “I look at it as a collector,” he says. “People still want the packaging, the album cover. I think there will always be a need for it.”

The CD bins lean heavily toward indie rock and metal, but there’s plenty of variety. Crocker makes room for jazz, blues, country, and—most importantly—regional artists like bluesman Hans McMiniman. “I try to bring in other weird stuff like vintage concert T-shirts. And you can’t have a music store without incense,” he says.

“People are coming in digging the place, going ‘Wow!’ because we’re not some corporate store.” Crocker has also wowed his share of musicians in town by giving a lot of them their shot. “There’s so many good bands around here,” he says. “They contact us on myspace.com, these kids playing in the basement or Mom’s garage, and they end up doing their first shows here.”

It’s not just new and unknown groups playing at The Sound, either. “We had a great show there,” Space Medicine’s Justin Powell says. “An acoustic show with (Pensacola artist) Lyndsey Battle before we played at the Paper Moon. It’s a small room, but Joe set it up really good. As an original venue for bands that are into showing their music, that guy’s doing some great stuff.”

The Sound is open Tuesdays through Thursdays, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and a bit later on Fridays and Saturdays. Stop by between noon and 5 p.m. on Sundays for your music fix because the Crocker family closes shop on Mondays

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