Everybody knows Amoeba Records on Telegraph Ave. still open with dollar bins bursting at the seams but what about these other Berkeley record shops that shut down after Serato Scratch Live changed DJing forever. Berkeley California in the 2000's.
I don't think I'll ever forget Funky Riddims. They had Scratch Records, Graffiti supplies and Reggae 7". I overheard DJ Riddim talking about how he was paying the bills off DJing and he just kept the store open for the love. He moved the shop to South Berkeley near the Ashby Bart Station Flea Market for a few months then got rid of the shop and just sells 7"s and CD's out of a cart on the street. I still see him ride his bike by my Parents house every once in awhile.
Skills DJ Workshop Trance and Jungle Factory. Down the street from Willard middle school. Used to go in this shop before I started djing at the age of 14. I went in this store like 10 times before I finally bought my first Technics slip mats. Just trying to figure out How to DJ and what was going on. I actually only bought like 10 records total from here. They had the most intense flyer rack in the city. The flyer rack was a partition of the store with benches and a 12 foot long rack of Rave Flyers and Free mix CD's. I would stop by after school and fill my backpack with neon flyers, promo CD's and little posters. I heard Skills was the worlds #1 source for Cyber-Trance records. I have ONE Dyloot and Tom Slik mixtape called "Pocket UFO" I bought here. I wish I would have bought way more of those colored Cassette tapes. The store moved across the street for awhile then closed down. Now they are a smoke shop and a dollar store. The sweet smell of fog juice and plastic has dissipated but the Neon orange address in the skills font is still above the door.
You gotta comment if you remember Daddy's Records on University. The Store was all black everywhere and i remember hearing some nice breaks records on the listening station. They also had some T-shirts I wanted but couldn't afford with my teenage bank account.
And B-Side Records on Dwight Way. Probably the shop closest to my heart. A record shop for Mobile and Club DJ's. They pretty much only sold 12" singles and Compilations of club bangers with 8 bar intros. Before B-side I didn't know any other DJ's. Everything I knew about DJing I figured out myself. One night B-Side records had a DJ Workshop and Mike and BJ helped me take what I already knew and turn it into something way more polished after just a few hours of conversation over a set of Turntables. B-Side really came alive when they started hosting Monthly DJ Battles on Sundays. People came all the way from Watsonville for the battle. Some really out of this world battle routines went down at this shop. I seriously tear up inside when I think about how Djing changed and places like B-Side Records disappeared into memory.
Here's a pic of me in my first Dj battle ever at B-side records back in 2004.
Winning the a B-Side Records Scratch Battle:
Winning a B-Side Records Mix Battle:
