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Issue #12 December 6, 2013
It’s 8 p.m. on Black Friday. The parking lot of Fresh Café is packed with shoppers checking out the vendors at the monthly Art + Flea event. The rains come and go, so many seek shelter within the loft area in the back, where even more vendors can be found. In the far corner of the loft area, perched on a small stage reserved for performers, are a couple of folding tables topped with plastic crates. These crates are filled with records. Yes, vinyl.
Throughout the night, shoppers young and old rummage through these crates, looking for that special, rare collectible, or perhaps to see if a vinyl issue by a current artist is there. There is even a turntable with headphones set up as a listening station. Back against the wall is DJ Monkey, providing the soundtrack for the night.
The unassuming set-up is a veritable gold mine of coolness. Vinyl for sale? And DJs spinning great music? Together? You may have run into them before at Art + Flea, where they’ve been a fixture since June. You’ll also find them at several venues and events around town.
This is Secret Record Store.
The “they” behind the operation are Kevin Cruze (a.k.a. DJ Monkey) and John Friend (a.k.a. DJ JohnJohn). Cruze and Friend met in San Francisco almost 20 years ago. “I'm pretty sure it was 1995,” says Cruze. He turns to Friend. “I thought you had told me that you were from Maui.”
“I take offense at that,” says John, and begins to make cracks about hippie communes. It’s immediately apparent that these two have a great relationship, not only professionally, but as long-time friends, too.
Originally from Hawaiʻi, Friend had moved to San Francisco to attend college, and remained there holding down various jobs at record stores, galleries and music distributors, as well as performing as a DJ. His work history there also included a stint running Open Mind Music, a popular record store that once resided on Haight Street. It was there that he first met Cruze, a regular customer. Cruze shared Friend’s love and knowledge of music, as well as being a DJ himself.
A Bay Area native, Cruze was exposed to and embraced music at an early age, playing guitar, bass and drums in various bands while in high school and college, and becoming a DJ himself. He met and fell in love with his wife, also a DJ from Hawaiʻi, and the couple moved to the islands in 2000; and
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