Article and Photographs by Todd Matthews

IT wasn't just the downpour of rain that brought passersby into Fallout Records for some refuge one weekend last month. Nor was it the store's inimitable collection of punk rock records and indie comics. The three-dozen people crowded into the small Capitol Hill record store suffered its cramped and stuffy environs to listen to jazz—namely, the veteran saxophonist Wally Shoup, and his trio.

Fallout Records owner Tim Hayes (photograph by Todd Matthews)

Live jazz at a punk rock record store?

The coupling is indeed strange. But Tim Hayes, the store's owner, dispelled the anomaly. "Jazz is punk rock music," Hayes told me. We met for coffee and tea a few hours before Shoup's in-store performance. "Both have heart. Both have soul. Punkers since the 1970s carried the excitement of the music over the years. Today they carry that same excitement, and find similar ideas in the music of Wally Shoup or Sun Ra."

Abstract jazz of the early-1970s . . . 'Spaz' jazz of the mid-1960s . . . Free jazz of the 1950s—all of it has evolutionary and independent characteristics similar to the spirit of punk rock, according to Hayes. "We want to carry all aspects of punk," Hayes explained. "Not just punk rock."

Wally Shoup blows his horn in-store at Fallout Records (photograph by Todd Matthews)

Including jazz vinyl on the shelves at Fallout Records may not seem like a terribly extraordinary thing to do. But Fallout Records isn't a very ordinary record store. Music fans living in Seattle for any significant duration probably know about this record store. The store was established in 1984 by Russ Battaglia and Bruce Pavitt (the later of SubPop Records fame). Hayes worked at the store off and on during its existence, eventually taking over ownership in 1999. Punk rock fans, skaters, 'zine collectors, and independent music enthusiasts consider the store a lifeline of sorts for their often marginalized interests. Try to find a record (vinyl or compact disc) by, say, The Muffs or the Vomit Pigs at Border's Music or Barnes & Noble, and you may be at a loss. Look for these artists at Fallout Records, and your biggest challenge is exactly how many of these artists' records you should buy.

Simply put, Fallout Records is to punk rockers what City Lights bookstore is to Beat poets.

As such, bringing jazz into the fold was no easy task. But Hayes' passion for jazz made this aspect of his business something worth pursuing. "I'm a huge jazz fan," Hayes explained. "The driving force for me to carry jazz records here was, simply, the fact I couldn't find a lot of jazz vinyl in this city." Hayes believed he wasn't alone in his search for quality jazz vinyl, and believed that investing the resources of scouting for these rare records would pay off—if not financially, then at least in spirit and indie credibility. "Jazz opens your mind to a whole new set of ideas," Hayes explained, "and it presents those ideas without money being a factor."

Welcome to Fallout Records (photograph by Todd Matthews)

Indeed, if Fallout Records is nothing else, it's surely a place for new ideas—in music, literature and graphic arts.

When Hayes brought jazz records into his store in 1999, he refused to set up a special 'jazz section.' This decision was twofold: first, his believe that jazz and punk rock are intertwined; second, introducing his punk rock customers to this similar music. "I see extreme, hardcore punk rock customers getting into jazz every day," Hayes explained. "They see the same intensity and hardcore spirit in jazz that they see in punk rock."

About the only indications that jazz records even exist at Fallout Records is a small, hand-written sign near the entrance: "Killed By Jazz." The sign is a clue that jazz lives in the store. But it's also a direct reference to punk rock, and a good example of Hayes' belief that jazz and punk rock share a symbiotic relationship. According to Hayes, punk rock bands in the mid-1970s and early-1980s released rare records—maybe 50 vinyl copies of each album. "The music was great," Hayes explained, "but there was no chance to really hear them." These recordings were later collected in an anthology called Killed By Death—a recording staple for any punk rock fan. According to Hayes, the 'killed by jazz' signage communicates to his punk rock clientele that rare and impressive jazz recordings are in his store. "'Killed by Jazz' tells my customers, 'Check these records out,'" Hayes explained.

Hayes presently carries around 40 jazz records by 20-30 different artists, including Sun Ra (the store's collection is extensive and impressive), Ornette Coleman, the Art Ensemble of Chicago, and Thelonious Monk. On display in the store are "Tim's Top 5"—three are jazz records. He is extremely picky about the records he sells, and exclusively carries records that excite his interests. Selling records for nearly two decades, as Hayes has done, comes in handy when trying to find jazz vinyl. Jazz is a marginalized music; vinyl is a marginalized medium. That combination can be lethal for any music collector. Hayes taps his industry friends and works with distributors when searching for records. "These records don't just fall in my lap," Hayes said. "I have to do a lot of hunting around for them."

Hayes admits that he is more collector than business owner—something that can be disheartening at times. Owning and operating Fallout Records is eighty percent passion, twenty percent business, he told me. "Unfortunately, it's a business," Hayes explained. "The people who shop at Fallout Records know it's a passion. They are into the music. The small record stores, like Fallout Records, that stay around over the years do so because they have something special to offer." Hayes paused. "Music surrounds my life, and something I love doing is turning people onto music."

Fallout Records is located at 1506 E. Olive Way, Seattle, Washington, 98122 / 206-323-BOMB (2662) / http://www.falloutrecords.com

This article originally appeared in Jazz Steps.