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Luna Music owner Todd Robinson said a human connection accompanies the 21st-century vinyl revival, a trend that gained steam because collectors appreciated the large format and robust sound quality of records when compared to compact discs.
Robinson’s shop at 5202 N. College Ave. was closed to the public for 525 days during the pandemic. When Luna reopened, Robinson noticed generations of music fans sharing experiences in the store’s aisles.
“I ran into it yesterday,” he said. “A father was pulling out a record and showing it to his daughters, saying, ‘I listened to this when I was your age.’ We didn’t get a lot of that with CD, which was fine. I don’t think I counted on that shared connection when vinyl came back.”
Record Store Day, the cultural/consumer holiday at the heart of vinyl’s resurgence, is scheduled for April 20. As always, Luna will celebrate Record Store Day by selling limited-edition titles indoors and by presenting an afternoon of live music outdoors.
The first Record Store Day was observed by independent, brick-and-mortar locations worldwide in 2008. Robinson opened the original Luna Music near the intersection of 86th Street and Ditch Road on Dec. 21, 1994, which means a landmark 30th birthday is just eight months away.
Luna isn’t the oldest independent record store in the city. That honor belongs to 54-year-old Karma Records. And strong Record Store Day turnouts also are expected at Indy CD & Vinyl in Broad Ripple and Square Cat Vinyl in Fountain Square.
But Luna Music forged a one-of-a-kind identity by specializing in cutting-edge sounds and even putting out recordings by favorite artists.
Robinson grew up in Dayton, Ohio, where he befriended Guided By Voices leader Bob Pollard. Robinson was a teenage record store clerk and Pollard was a fourth-grade teacher who frequently shopped at the store. Eventually, Robinson and Pollard formed a business partnership with a boutique label known as the Fading Captain Series based in Indianapolis.
Record Store Day will present a full-circle moment for Robinson and Brown County-based musician Chris Barth. A Luna-backed label known as Recordhead issued music by Barth’s band, the Impossible Shapes, two decades ago. On April 20, Barth will bring his current solo project, Geodize, to the parking lot behind Luna to perform as part of a six-band lineup.
Barth grew up in suburban Indianapolis and he discovered Luna in a decidedly pre-internet way.
“He read about us in Spin magazine because he had wanted to enter a Jon Spencer Blues Explosion contest and we were listed as one of the stores that sold Matador Records [titles],” Robinson said.
Rusty Redenbacher, vocalist in the Record Store Day headliner the Last IV, works at Luna on Sundays.
The present Luna Music in the Meridian-Kessler neighborhood opened in 2006. The first Luna Music location, which closed around 2008, launched with inventory from Robinson’s personal collection and promotional CDs and vinyl he accumulated while working for a major label conglomerate based in Cleveland.
Robinson said he felt OK about letting go of records in his own collection.
“I got to see, every day, the joy on people’s faces when they came in, picked a record up and were blown away that they found it,” he said. “I was able to think, ‘Oh, yeah, this is just another talisman I get to pass on.’ I had a great time with that record, as well. I’m very fortunate to see those go away.”
Sometimes, records have a remarkable boomerang quality.
After reopening following pandemic closure, Robinson walked into Luna and saw a familiar record in a bin of recently acquired used titles.
He remembered a 12-inch import of 1988 song “Monkey Say, Monkey Do” by German DJ WestBam being part of Luna’s original inventory in 1994. Upon closer inspection, this was that record—still sporting a sticker indicating the month it hit Luna’s floor.
“I just thought, ‘This is going to go home with me again. It seems like it needs to come back,’” Robinson said. “It was quite surreal to see my own record come back after nearly 30 years.”
Record Store Day performers at Luna Music
- Noon: Light Study
- 1 p.m.: Jennasen
- 2 p.m.: TV Buddha
- 3 p.m. Geodize
- 4 p.m.: Living Dream
- 5 p.m.: The Last IV
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