While only opening its doors a mere six months ago, the Growler Record Distro at 742 Santa Fe has already become a staple of the anarcho-punk community, hosting shows, parties and underground film festivals. For many, it's an after-hours hangout, casually sipping tea from Yellow Feather Coffee (with whom Growler shares the space) and flipping through the selection of LPs that range from avant-garde French pop to jazz to hardcore.
And Growler is solidifying its role in the record-geek community by offering a new discount program for any self-styled music journalists. The deal is this: If you buy a record, take it home and write a brief review of the album for the Growler Distro website, the next time you return to the store, you can expect a 10 percent discount on any purchases.
"We want to put [music reviews] back in the hands of the people who buy and love the records," says an enthused Zackary. "Music is so exciting and personal. When you buy a record, don't you play it for all your friends and roommates? I know I do. It's like people who love to cook also love to share recipes with each other. And I have a platform where people can talk about the new record they bought."
In addition to the DIY rock-journalism offer, Growler is also launching Sunday Spin, an after-hours salon of record listening and music chatting. "It's just a chill hangout time for people to drink some coffee, listen to some records and talk about what's happening in the music scene." Enter through the back door at 6 p.m. any given Sunday, and you can expect a guest DJ spinning selections from all the wonderfully obscure records to be found in the bins of Growler. Sunday Spin will also include live music entertainment, with Kyle Hauser performing this Sunday, February 19, and Scott McCormick (formerly of Boulder Acoustic Society) along with Minor Note Orchestra the following Sunday, February 26.
Growler Distro is also in the midst of its Mid-Winter Punk Film Festival, with Floor on February 18, Afro Punk on February 25, Kill All Redneck Pricks on March 3, Smithereens on March 10, From the Back of the Room on March 17, and Born in Flames on March 31.
And if you were wondering, what's up with the missing movie night on Saturday, March 24? Well, Growler has a special treat assigned for that night: K Records founder Calvin Johnson will be doing a live, in-store performance with his band, the Hive Dwellers. Show starts at 8 p.m. and asks a reasonable cover of $5.
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