Record Store Spotlight: Shake It Records, Cincinnati, OH
Shake It Records is a pillar in not only the Cincinnati record store world, but the entire music scene of the city. We have been very fortunate here at SofaBurn to work with them over the years, and were excited to get a chance to ask co-owner Darren Blase some questions about the shop!
1. Can you tell me a bit about yourself? i.e. What got you into music? Have you always wanted to operate a record store?
My brother Jim & I, (co-owners of Shake It) are both Westside Catholic boys. Maybe the conservative aspect of that side of town made us want to delve a bit into music as an escape. Not sure, just knew we liked it. I worked at Mole's and Wizards and ARC Distributing in Cincy as well as Midnight in NY. Shake It (the label) started with some insurance money and just kept going. Eventually, after being tired of a corporate job, I decided to open a shop. My brother joined in and we are twenty-six years in now at the shop.
2. Can you give me a bit of a backstory on Shake It? How long have you been in operation, are you the original owner, etc.
The original Shake It label was run by Jess Hirbe, who owned Mole's. When I decide to try my hand at it I asked Jess if I could restart the label. He obliged and in '89 I issued a 7" from The Mortals. We were putting out garage, rockabilly and punk records mainly. It quickly grew and we then built out a mailorder catalog and it just kept growing and growing. In the spring of '99 we opened the shop.
3. What has been your favorite experience running an independent record store?
I love the people. Some customers have become great friends. I get to see great folks everyday and work with folks I really enjoy being around. I asked my friend Dave who owned The Comet, a great bar in the neighborhood, if he had any small business advice and he told me, "I quickly found out I wasn't just selling beer." Folks come to a bar, a record or bookstore, etc because those are places for people to feel grounded and can escape. Customers can buy a six pack for cheaper at the grocery and records for cheaper online, so we need to offer something more than just "price" and we hope that that is community, grounding, escape and, well.... as fair a price as we can.
4. What is your favorite record store? How did your experiences there shape what you do now and your tastes?
Mole's wayyyy back in the day was amazing. Jess hipped me to amazing stuff. Everybody's in the Tim & Nolan Benz days was just incredible. They would just add records in your hold bag that would come in during the week that they felt you should check out. They were rarely wrong.
5. Is there anything you’d like to see more of in the Cincinnati music/record store scene?
I think everyone has their own vibe/niche, we all compliment each other well.
6. What were some shop favorite releases in 2024?
The Montvales, Mol Sullivan, Wussy, Kim Deal, Cindy Lee, Waxahatchee..
7. Is there anything else about Shake It you want to share? Thoughts on the state of record stores in 2025, any special events coming up, etc.?
We just keep on keeping on.... We are helping with a new Carriers LP, we have a Wussy Duo LP coming later this year. We are also slowly working on some new reissues - those always take longer than ya think. We are working on the basement to expand our book selection. As far as "the biz," hopefully the majors will stop raising costs since price fatigue is understandably setting in even more - it's not a cheap "hobby" . That's why we've seen more and more regualr folks go back to buying used CDs. We're small so we just keep rolling with the changes.
Shake It Records
4156 Hamilton Ave. #1, Cincinnati, OH 45223
Mon - Sat: 10a - 8p
Sun: 12p - 6p