Nine years ago on March 23, 2013, Geoff Walker set up three tables of records upstairs at the Ore Dock Brewing Company. He made the decision to try selling his records there after talking with his brother, Mike Walker, the founder of Dia De Los Tacos, who was selling tacos out of the same location.

“We were not sure if anybody was going to come. And they opened the door at 5 p.m., and a whole bunch of people swarmed over these records,” Walker said. “And so we did it again and again and then Jon [Teichman] joined me and we have just expanded.”

The five-day long vinyl record show begins this Thursday, Sept. 1 and runs until Monday, Sept. 5 from noon until close at 11 p.m., turning the south side of the upstairs at the Ore Dock Brewing Company into a record store. With posters on the walls and 10,000 records in bins, it is a first-come first-serve show with something for everyone.

“We are always keen on saying something for everybody. Everything from ABBA to Zappa,” Teichman, advisor of NMU’s vinyl record club and owner of The Emporium, a record and collectible shop, said.

The record show is open to all ages and will offer a wide variety of 12 in. and 7 in. vinyl records, official record t-shirts, cassette tapes, CDs, posters from shows and past events, books, toys, hundreds of stickers, DVDs and physical media of all kinds. There will be live music and food trucks outside as well as shows that will run late into the evening. To RSVP to the event, visit Geoff and Jon’s Facebook Event Page or for more information call 906-373-6183.

“People are welcome to bring their food up and eat at the bar, talk to us and have a beer, soda or a cup of coffee. They can also bring in food from other establishments,” Walker said.

Teichman and Walker buy items from attendees that they can use such as posters, t-shirts, DVDs, CDs, records and more.

“We encourage and invite people to bring records to trade or sell that they are not listening to and they want to rehome,” Teichman said.

For newbies, Teichman recommends arriving early for the best vinyl selection and to have the full experience.

“I think what is nice about this event is [that] there is an ebb and flow, the idea that … at the beginning of the day … the music that we are playing is a little more low-key music and it is not always busy all the time,” Teichman said. “But when it is busy, it is very busy.”

Walker said he did not initially start doing shows again for it to become a sole profession of buying and selling records, but it has turned into that for him.

“I have always gone back to Marquette, you always go home, right,” Walker said. “I am lucky to have Jon as my Northern outpost partner and comrade in arms in the Lower Peninsula because it would not be the same without his positive energy and constant attack on the media of the Upper Peninsula.”

Walker and Teichman have known each other for their entire lives and have been doing these record shows together for the past decade.

Ninety percent of the records Teichman owns come out of people’s collections from across the U.P., and Walker brings a lot of records that come from the Metro Detroit area.

“There is a regionalism there where different records come from different parts of the country,” Teichman said.

The record show will offer vinyl in genres such as folk, funk, punk, jazz, rock, R&B, soul, rap, hip hop, classical, Native American and international, which includes reggae, ska, African and Brazilian, Walker said.

An important rule that both Teichman and Walker follow is to only play music that they have for sale at the record show.

“We really try to only play stuff that is available so that if somebody likes what is on, we can show it to them, talk about it and they can consider it as something to potentially take home at this show or another,” Walker said.

“One of my favorite things about this event is that I get to see friends and family that live in that area, and I get to hang out with and see people I have known for almost 50 years,” Walker said.

People come to the record show from the eastern edge of Wisconsin, from the east edge of the U.P., Sault Ste. Marie in Canada and the northern end of the Lower Peninsula. 

“People come from Green Bay to see us, and it is not that far a drive to do something fun and hang out for the day or weekend,” Walker said. “I am really looking forward to making new friends and seeing familiar faces.”

Sonja Madsen, an art and design major with a concentration in anthropology and metalsmithing and senior at NMU, attends the record show whenever it is in Marquette. 

“I just really liked the atmosphere, it is really fun and is laid back,” Madsen said. “You do not have to be 21 to go to the show so you just kind of get to wander around and like, check out all these really cool records.”

As a huge fan of vinyl and CDs, Madsen said she visits the show to talk with Walker and Teichman as they are both knowledgeable in all things music.

Teichman and Walker have both studied pop culture, media and communications.

“We love talking about the different artists, different styles and different media,” Walker said. “It is really enjoyable to engage with the public and community around learning more and sharing what we know.”

Madsen encourages students to attend for the experience.

“Music is such a huge component of everyday life,” Madsen said. “Personally, I find the tactile experience of listening to music and getting to go through and pick out physical records or CDs creates that next level of connection.”

Gallery • 6 Photos