Record Shop Lady: In Hollywood with Amoeba Records’ Roxanne Pettersen

By Jessica Galliart
Published: September 26th, 2008 | 11:20am

While working as a telephone operator in the California Bay Area, Roxanne Pettersen was completely miserable. So she enlisted a friend who worked at the now-defunct Leopold Records in Berkeley, California, to help convince the owners to let her “take care” of the folk section of the store for free. “They let me, and after working there for free, they decided to hire me,” Pettersen says.

More than 20 years later, Pettersen is still in the record shop business. For the past decade Pettersen has worked as a buyer for Amoeba Records in Hollywood, and her passion for the industry hasn’t faded much from her days of buying Sonny and Cher 45’s when she was a teenager. “There used to be this record store in Fairfield, California, called Eucalyptus Records, and the bins were record crates,” Pettersen says. “I could spend hours there flipping through records.”

Along with getting to meet Joan Baez — the highlight of her record store days — Pettersen says she loves working at Amoeba for its sense of community and the thrill she still gets from sharing music with her co-workers on a daily basis. “Each person who works here doesn't have like ‘big brother’ breathing down their necks,” she says. “It's still such a thrill to have someone bring me music, ask me to listen to it, and we both just love it.”

And despite the purported hit record shops are taking in the wake of a digital revolution in the music industry, Pettersen says Amoeba hasn’t felt the sting quite as much as others in the business. “We have a loyal customer base, and as long as they come to buy the music, Amoeba will keep on truckin'.”

Though it was quite the challenge to pick just a few, Pettersen describes which five albums feature stories from the storytellers who “bring me to my core” or just make her want to get up and dance.

Joan Baez
The First 10 Years (Vanguard Records)

It's extremely hard for me to pick just one Baez album, but I think for a person who hasn't been exposed to Baez this is a good start — a lot of good stuff on this one.

Bruce Springsteen
Born in the U.S.A. (Sony)

First time I saw him in concert at the Oakland Coliseum … the Born in the U.S.A. tour. Love this album. I could do without the “Born in the U.S.A.” song, however — not a fan of that one.

Ferron
Shadows on a Dime (Lucy Records)

What a wonderful songwriter she is. And if you have ever been to a concert, she is so funny. I love all her albums, but if I had to pick one, this is it.

Nanci Griffith
Last of the True Believers (Philo / Umgd)

[This is the] first Nanci album I heard, and I fell in love with her.

Abba
Gold (Polydor / Umgd)

Got to break it up sometimes and get your dancin’ shoes on.

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Amoeba Records Web site: http://www.amoebarecords.com/html/