Kickin' it old-school still kicks ass for Light In the Attic Records

By Marisa Iacobucci
Published: May 27th, 2009 | 7:00am

What happens when you send a group of comedians 3,000 miles down the West Coast, with a van-load of wax and rarities, to visit 50 indie record stores in 10 days during a recession? Business. Call it crazy, call it a joke — but this epic indie retail journey may very well prove that the old-school way of doing business is what it takes to survive in this economically grim digital age.

Since 2004, Seattle-based Light In the Attic Records has been loading up a gigantic van and hitting the road with thousands of LPs and CDs to sell directly to record shops. Says label head, Matt Sullivan, "In many ways, these road trips are like the old days, when people like Leonard Chess would drive around the Midwest and South selling 45s from the trunk of his Buick. Like Chess and dozens of other indie labels of the ‘50s and ‘60s, hitting the road and selling direct to shops can be one of the only dependable forms of distribution in this shady business."

Sullivan gives his business partner, Josh Wright, credit for realizing early on that these road trips are the bread and butter of their business. "We love a good road trip, and if we can be on the road and make a living, it's the best of both worlds. For the past two years, I've dreamt about documenting the journey, and that's how this one came together."

Sandy Wilson — who manages film and TV licensing for LITA and plays bass in the comedy band, Black Daisy (which Sullivan describes as "kinda like Richard Pryor meets Borat") — along with his bandmates, Troy Nelson and Cody Hurd, and friend, Tyson Pickerel, volunteered to take the road trip and it was a done deal. They stocked up the tour van they borrowed from their good friends, Brent Amaker & the Rodeo, produced a teaser video of the road trip to post on YouTube, and will be documenting their daily events on video, the label’s blog, and Twitter.

The group took off on May 18th with Pickerel behind the wheel because, as Wilson explains, "he has nerves of steel and an unparalleled work ethic." They're listening to all kinds of stuff: Gang Of Four, Ten Kens, Spoon, Dan Auerbach, and LCD Soundsystem — which got them through those late-night, winding roads. Nelson and Hurd are doing the majority of the blogging and tweeting, and Sullivan (who wishes he could catch up with the van) is stuck behind checking the Twitter page every 15 seconds, discovering that they just hit Arcata, California, and that there are "lots of beards and ponytails around these parts."

Most of the shop owners know about the road trip and are following the group on Twitter. When the van shows up at their shops, Wilson and the gang unload the rare and precious goods and then stay out of shopkeepers' ways as they start grabbing stuff. Certain titles are held back to make sure each store gets some gems, but for the most part, it's open season.

So, what's in the stash? Along with the Light In the Attic catalog, they'll also be distributing material from a number of other labels such as Vampi Soul (Spain), Heavenly Sweetness (France), Vadim Music (France), Trikont Records (Germany), and Kindred Spirits (Netherlands). Sullivan's still amazed at how they ever managed to fit all of these records into the van.

Sullivan also notes that most of his business colleagues and associates loved the road trip idea, but a lot of them thought it was insane. "I can't blame them," he says. "The numbers do work, though — even after factoring in a 3,000-mile journey and the rising costs of just about everything these days: gas, hotels, insurance, van, food, and booze. People do realize that this is a unique thing and are instantly excited to show support. The stores tend to jump for joy — they've got thousands of records at their fingertips, and they just saved a boatload on shipping!"

Is the group keeping track of inventory and sales old-school, too? Wilson answers, “We're doing it on spreadsheets and paper. Modern technology isn't always what it's cracked up to be."

Mere days to go to reach Sullivan's goal of selling everything in the damn van! Can Wilson, Hurd, Nelson, and Pickerel do it? Follow them on Twitter now, because they'll likely be catching up on sleep for weeks on end upon their return. And when they finally recover from the trip, they'll have hours and hours of road footage to edit into a series of YouTube videos — which should launch sometime around July 1st.

Oh, and guys, what are you doing same time next year? Sullivan says that unless gas prices reach the outer limits, they'll be doing these road trips for years to come.

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Full schedule for LITA road trip

Light In the Attic Records