Photo courtesy of Marshall Chernin
Audio By Carbonatix
March is Women’s History Month, and to commemorate the occasion, Littleton’s Records on Main is launching Spin HERStory, a series of in-person and virtual events that pay tribute to the power of female creators across every musical style. The program is the brainchild of Cassie Chernin, who never planned to run a vinyl mecca but is thoroughly enjoying the experience despite the unfortunate circumstances that led her to take the helm — her father’s horrific motorcycle accident shortly before the shop was set to open last year.
“I got involved because my dad needed help with the store,” she says of Marshall Chernin, the record store’s founder. “But I realized I really have a passion for this. I love buying the inventory and seeing the smile on people’s faces when they find the album they’ve been looking for forever. It’s been an absolutely wonderful adventure — and Spin HERStory felt like such an authentic way of expanding our mission.”
In an interview with Westword last March, Marshall talked about moving from New York City, where he ran a high-end optical store that counted Madonna among its customers, to Colorado, where he became a ranch hand, of all things. “It was me and my horses — and I loved it,” he said.
After seven years of equine bliss, Marshall retired, only to find a life of leisure too dull for his liking. So he decided to open a music outlet, and after scouting a number of locations in the greater Denver area, he settled on downtown Littleton because of its strong foot traffic and distance from other record retailers. “I’ve never been more excited to do something,” he admitted. “It’s a passion, something I love, and that’s what makes it great. You want to go to work and love what you do, and I love being in the music industry.”
Two days after this conversation, Marshall wrecked his Harley on Highway 285 near the Turkey Creek Road exit. At the time, Cassie, who drove 21 hours from her home in Los Angeles to be at her dad’s side, wasn’t ready to share details about the injuries he suffered. But she now confirms that “he lost his leg in the crash. He was in the hospital for probably a month and started on a prosthetic leg maybe three or four months after that.”
According to Cassie, Marshall is currently doing well and is able to work at the store — but his medical travails aren’t yet behind him. He’s slated to be fitted for an improved prosthetic, but to make it work, he’ll have to undergo yet another surgery.
Photos courtesy of Marshall Chernin
In the meantime, Cassie stepped up to become the general manager of Records on Main, then transitioned to co-owner late last year. Her efforts have helped the store establish a significant fan base online — the outlet’s Instagram account has more than 5,000 followers — and in person. “Our returning customer rate has made the business very successful,” she says. “People know that we will go the extra mile for them, and we always do requests and make sure we get people’s favorites into the store. We’re constantly updating our inventory, too — and it’s inspiring to see people come back and search for more.”
Just as important is the Records on Main ethos, which Cassie describes as “community first and vinyl second. We want to create a place for people to hang out and feel comfortable.”
Spin HERStory will definitely offer opportunities to do that. “I had an instinct as a woman co-owner of a record store that there was this underserved group of female bands,” she says. “So I put out feelers on Instagram, thinking a handful of responses might come through. But what I got was overwhelming. We received over 175 requests to join the Women’s History Month programming from all over. People joined from London, from Germany, from South Africa and from pretty much every state in the U.S. We were amazed at how many people wanted to be a part of this.”
In-Person and Virtual Events on the Spin HERStory Program
The events, a mix of in-person and virtual presentations, kick off on Sunday, March 1, with “From Garage to Stage: Building a Music Career as Women,” featuring a panel of speakers hailing from Colorado, Texas, New York/New Jersey and Canada. March 11’s “Songwriting as Storytelling: Women’s Perspectives in Music” has a similarly wide-ranging and eclectic lineup of participants, as do March 15’s “First Album Stories: The Making of Our Debut,” March 18’s “Finding Your People: Building a Band and Keeping It Together” and March 25’s “Women Who Influenced Us: Musical Lineage.” Live music is on the calendar, too, with the March 7 session devoted to acoustic sounds and March 14’s gathering focused more on electricity.
And then there are listening parties devoted to the works of Joni Michell (March 5), Dolly Parton (March 18) and boygenius (March 26). “I’m calling the concept a book club,” Cassie points out. “It’ll be a listening party, but we’ll also be sitting in a circle, discussing these great female artists.”
Cassie has big ambitions for Spin HERStory: “I hope it becomes a tradition — something the community looks forward to every March,” she concludes. “I could even see it becoming a music festival — something bigger than just an event in March at a record store.”
Records on Main is located at 2340 West Main Street in Littleton; the store is open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday, Tuesday and Thursday.Click to see the complete Spin HERStory calendar.
