Lover of music, her community and with a bunch of fun stories in her arsenal, we introduce you to Lacie Lindstaedt.  Lacie owns and manages The Pour House Record Shop in Raleigh, NC.  Record shop by day and live music venue by night it is Raleigh’s home for all things music. Originally from the Midwest Lacie and her husband Adam of 13 years own and operate The Pour House Music Hall which has been an establishment there since 1997; bringing an eclectic mix of the best local and nationally touring bands to the area. In November 2019, The Pour House converted the second level of the venue into a record shop, with a full bar, that features both new and used vinyl. And as you’ll read below, they’re not stopping there!

When asked about her free time: “I’m in love with my husband, son Desmond (3 years old) and our dog Mud. They’re awesome and I spend all my time enjoying our time together. I also really like traveling, puzzles and building things.”

How did you get into your industry / What motivated you?

My husband and I have owned The Pour House Music Hall since 2012 (est. 1997) and I opened a record shop to compliment the business in 2019. We have this upstairs space that had rarely been used with pool tables, a non-working bar and some random DIY tables we made out of show posters. We’ve always been racking our brains about how to better utilize the space and I knew from my days in the restaurant industry, that was NOT something I wanted to get into. One day I was cleaning up our personal collection and getting titles we didn’t listen to up on Discogs for sale. We lived in a 600 square foot apartment and had WAY too many records. Once my husband saw the stack I had pulled, it hit him – I should open a shop upstairs and sell records.

What is a day in the life like?

First, I’m a mom of a 3 year old, so my mornings are typically a speed-test to get everyone together for the day. There’s no sleeping in now-a-days! As soon as he is off to pre-school, I get to work. I grade almost all the records we put out in our shop and I’m pretty OCD about it. Lots of listening, pricing, cleaning, sorting, etc. I’m constantly looking for new pre-loved stock, and when those come in, there’s a lot of coordinating and talking to folks that goes along with that. We sell both new and used so, I’m always trying to keep on top of what street-dates are coming out and which restocks we can get our hands on. It’s another level of organization. So, all in all, a lot of communicating with really cool people, a lot of listening to music and a lot of grading. And then, a whole lot of playing with Paw Patrols and toddler puzzles.

Favorite sale / relationship made from behind the counter?

While I love the excitement of Record Store Days, opening up the doors at 8am to a group of super enthusiastic vinyl lovers, they’re usually quick mornings.

Recently, I bought this collection that had been in someone’s garage or basement for probably 30+ years, and the records showed it. I’m always so heartbroken to find broken vinyl or water damaged sleeves. This collection in particular was ROUGH. As I was sorting through what might be salvageable, I saw it. Mother Earth’s Plantasia. I had heard of this record but never seen one in real life. And it was fuckin’ sealed. This is one of those that I play on Spotify because I was so tempted to open it. But it was in really great shape, and even had the Sears Simmon’s Mattress sticker on the cover still. I forced myself to price it out and put it up for sale. It sold that same day and the customer posted a video with the unsealing. To my surprise, the booklet was inside! What a complete package. It waited 46 years to get into the right hands, and he played it right away. That’s why I do what I do. Get these records in people’s hands so they can be enjoyed.

In your opinion what has been the coolest thing to come through your shop / thing you had to keep / almost couldn’t put out for sale?

We did end up getting a Led Zeppelin II original with the Ludwig mastering. Wow! That thing has some sound to it! That never went up for sale, and I just listened to it the other night at home.

What has been / is the most difficult part of your job?

I think the hardest thing is keeping up with all the new releases. I never collected new in my personal collection in the before-times, so it was a whole new ballgame to figure out. Then COVID hit and the whole industry went nuts. I stopped doing pre-orders after street dates were moved 3-4 times and it was impossible to keep up with it and I felt terrible holding people’s money without a real answer for them.

Speaking of COVID. The shutdown really sucked. Because we’re a music venue and record shop, our doors closed on March 17, 2020 and the venue portion didn’t open back up until March 2021. Since the two businesses are under the same license, we technically couldn’t open the shop. So I figured out how to sell online and we launched our full catalogue online on April 10th, 2020. It was a scramble and a bit of a mess but within the first few months, but we were paying rent for the whole building. The shop was supposed to be a supplementary income for the business and it ended up saving the whole thing. Eventually, we quietly opened our doors of the record shop to the public in January 2021 and we have been going strong ever since. Seriously, I cannot believe the community support we’ve received. Raleigh fuckin’ rocks.

What has been the craziest experience that has happened at the shop?

Story time! I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned this but we also have a full bar in the record shop. We even have nifty drink holders (they’re supposed to go on boats I guess?!) so people can peruse and sip at the same time. One sleepy Wednesday, I was manning the shop and was super nervous because I haven’t been behind the counter, with the bar, in over a year (I’m not the best bartender, or even a decent one). Well, this guy walks in at 12:15 and orders two shots and a beer. I’m not one to judge but I did think “wow it’s a little early for that, isn’t it?”. Anyway, after giving me shit that we don’t accept payments with his phone, we don’t serve food and we don’t have any matches for him, he sits down and plays music loudly from his phone for the hour he’s there. Strange record store patron move. He finally finishes his beer and comes up to the counter and I say something like “thanks for stopping in, have a great day!”. BUT, he takes the local maker’s hot sauce off the counter that we sell and starts chugging it. Well, I wasn’t sure what to do, so I demanded he pay for it. He refused and yelled “I’m not drunk” before walking out. No tip, no apology, and completely confused why I was asking him to pay for the hot sauce he drank. What a weird day in the record shop.

What advice do you have for someone wanting to get into pursuing what you’re doing? Any tips + maybe some resources you like.

Don’t be nervous or intimidated! The music industry as a whole has been largely managed by men. I love that we’re seeing more and more women taking roles and proving our place in the industry. Also, don’t let the assholes get to you. They’re everywhere and there is something going on with them, not you.

What types of things are happening in your industry / with vinyl that you’re excited or worried about? 

Well, I’d say I opened the shop at the right time. It’s kind of crazy the industry has blown up even more than before the pandemic. I love that people are slowing down and listening to full albums again. I love how the teens are coming in and can actually talk about the music, they’re not just displaying it on their walls. At the same time, it’s becoming harder and harder for indie and small labels to get their product pressed and out to the market. The industry is bogged down by demand. From the research, demand is around 500,000,000 units per year and current production capacity is a little more than 250,000,000 per year. We’re so behind! Why can’t we have an Aja reissue?! There’s no capacity!

All those things are the reason we have made an investment to open Pour House Pressing this year. We’ll start manufacturing vinyl records with a focus on indie bands and labels. We’ll take a small piece of this capacity issue in our own hands and try to help the industry limp through. I can’t wait to see our first runs for sale in my shop.

Are you a vinyl collector yourself, what drew you to it? 

Yes! I’ve always been a music fanatic – people always ask what instrument I play and I tell them I’m a “professional” listener. It was sometime in college I got my first turntable and started collecting. I’ve always been a collector of things, there’s still a box of plastic homie characters somewhere in my storage unit, along with some garbage pail kid cards. So the vinyl world started as a different way for me to listen to music and I quickly turned into a monster that would hit up record shops and garage sales every weekend just to add more and more. Since opening the shop I’ve started adding more new titles to my collection. We just had to build a new cabinet to house all of them.

Who has been influential to you and your growth as a professional in this industry? 

I’m having trouble coming up with certain names but I’d like to point out how awesome people are in this industry. Record shops are really open to sharing info, supplies, and wisdom. It’s hard to feel lost or lonely in this world. The distributors and labels are looking out for the indie shops for the most part. It’s nice to be in a retail environment with super cool product to put out.

Anything else you want to share? If not, tell us what you’re listening to: 

I listen to all the music. I’m mostly into classic rock (Foghat!) but I have a special place in my heart for hip-hop. I’m a Swiftie that rocks out to Mike Dillon & Funkadelic. I grew up listening to The Beatles and Waylon Jennings. I’ve been to Phish concerts solo. There’s rarely something I won’t give a chance.

Find Lacie: 

Instagram: @thepourhouse

Facebook: @thepourhousemusichall

Website:

Pour House Records: www.the-pour-house-record-shop.myshopify.com

Pour House Music Hall: www.thepourhousemusichall.com