A loss for Easthampton's music scene
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EASTHAMPTON - After nearly five years in business, a staple of the Cottage Street music scene is closing.
Night Owl Records owners and city residents Jen and Mark Schwaber are closing their 72 Cottage St. shop - where they sell a variety of vinyl records as well as new and used CDs - at the end of next month.
The decline of CD sales is one reason for closing, but the recently married couple said that they want to spend more time together while pursuing other interests.
After July 31, the Schwabers plan to sell off the store's stock on the Internet, where they already conduct some of their business, and at record fairs such as the ones held by the Flywheel Arts Collective.
Even with much work still ahead of them, the Schwabers said this week that coming into work each day since making the decision has been bittersweet.
"It's exciting and scary," Mark Schwaber, 35, said. "The only difference in the feeling from when we opened is there's a touch of sadness."
Schwaber, who had stepped in for a brief visit Tuesday morning, kissed his wife on the cheek, said "Gotta run," and was gone with the couple's beagle, Scooter, who had been lounging quietly in the store.
The small gesture has become a familiar one over the past several years, as both work different shifts during store hours and work part time at other jobs, Jen Schwaber, 29, said.
Factor in Mark Schwaber's music projects and Jen Schwaber's acting passion, and you have one busy couple.
"We just haven't had enough time together," she said.
Both said they are excited to pursue other interests and be able to see each other more often.
Their one-year anniversary is this September.
Night Owl has been somewhat of a magnet for local music acts, with Mark Schwaber himself having released several albums over the years. His third is due out in the fall.
Various bands, from National Carpet to Killswitch Engage, have performed or rehearsed at the store.
"That's been the funnest part," Jen Schwaber said. "The people and getting to be around the music I love all the time."
One final hurrah is scheduled July 26, when several bands will play at the store.
Night Owl has always had a section of local music as well as T-shirts and other band swag. Being tuned into and a part of the scene has certainly helped the business over the years, but new distribution technologies have led to the decline of CD sales everywhere, Schwaber wrote in a blog entry about the closing that he forwarded to friends.
"No one is buying CDs. Everyone is downloading," he wrote. "What can you do?"
Schwaber wrote that he and his wife consider the venture to have been an enjoyable success, and that flat sales are not the sole reason for the closing.
Schwaber recalled moments inside the store in his announcement about the closing.
"I've sat listening to great records with the doors open while a beautiful breeze streams in," he wrote. "I've sat freezing my rear end off in front of the space heater while six inches of snow falls outside to the soundtrack of Miles Davis' 'Kind of Blue.'"
The Schwabers, who own a home in Easthampton, plan to remain involved in the local music scene and community. Mark Schwaber will still be found across the street at the Brass Cat, where he tends bar and books musical acts.
"It's exciting to be able to make moves in our other areas of interest," said Jen Schwaber, who will be starting rehearsals in West Springfield later this summer on a production of "The Miracle Worker."
"We want to take the next step in our lives," she said.
The store's absence on the street will certainly be felt by surrounding businesses, said Tim Jenks, who co-owns Pick Your Flick on Cottage Street with his wife, Liz Jenks.
"Liz and I both view it as a loss, but it's positive for them," he said. "They're moving on with their life."
Jenks said he hopes he and other business owners will be able to welcome another "young, hip business" to the space.
Cottage Street business owners are a fairly tight-knit group, Jen Schwaber said.
"We all shop at each other's stores," Jen Schwaber said. "It's really a community effort."
Schwaber said she hopes that Cottage Street, which has seen stores come and go during Night Owl's tenure, continues to evolve.
"It's a long road to create a hoppin' downtown," she said.
Matt Pilon can be reached at mpilon@gazettenet.com.
