Alex Jones/ Daily Texan Staff Austinite Jeremy Brionez sifts through CDs while looking for bargains at Sound Exchange. The store, which is known for its collection of punk music and used vinyls, has been a Drag landmark since 1980 and is expected to close by Jan. 31. [Click to enlarge]

Alex Jones/Daily Texan Staff The motley facade of Sound Exchange is but one of the many features that has made the store popular with Austinites for 23 years. The store is expected to close by Jan. 31. [Click to enlarge]

When David Wyatt first came to Austin 13 years ago as a student, Sound Exchange was a place he visited often.

"It was one of those places you just went," Wyatt said. "It wasn't just about the records."

Wyatt, now a member of the Austin band Stinky del Negro, has even more good memories from Sound Exchange. But he and many others are preparing to say goodbye to the music store, as it gets ready to close its doors by the end of the month.

A fixture on the Drag since 1980, the Austin Sound Exchange established itself as an independent music store that sold alternative and lesser-known record labels. Particularly known for its collection of punk music and used vinyls, Sound Exchange carried a variety of music not available at other stores. But because of rising overhead costs and rent, the store will be closing by Jan. 31.

Kevin Bakos, vice president of the Houston Sound Exchange, said the Austin store fell victim to a number of problems, including lack of parking and not enough profit. However, he criticizes the owner's decisions.

"You have to keep it fresh - you can't do the same thing you did five or 15 years ago," Bakos said.

The original Sound Exchange opened in Houston in 1977 and has changed locations several times since then. It has also changed hands at least once: Mark Alman, the owner of the Austin Sound Exchange, recently sold the Houston store to Bakos. Bakos said a lot of work and moving around has gone into making the Houston store successful, whereas the Austin store has not been relocated.

John Kunz, the owner of Waterloo Records, agrees that the location of the Austin Sound Exchange is a difficult one to maintain.

"The [stores on the Drag] have had a rough time of it,"Kunz said.

The current music market is also making it hard for independent music stores to stay open, according to Kunz and Bakos.

"People blame the MP3 downloading quite a bit," Bakos said.

Larger stores selling their music at lower prices also hurt smaller stores like Sound Exchange.

"The day Best Buy opened their Houston stores, we experienced the biggest drop ever," Bakos said.

Whatever the reasons for closing the store, Sound Exchange's closing has garnered mixed reactions.

"I think it's sad, because they're a small business," said Wayne Bonham, an artist who has been selling his work at the Renaissance Market on Guadalupe Street for nine years.

"In one way, I'm glad, though. They had a tendency to promote tagging in the area. It's a big problem here, hard to clean up."

Business owners on the Drag also expressed their disappointment.

"I think it's terrible," said an employee of Einstein's Arcade, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. "Their prices for used stuff are reasonable, cheaper than a lot of stores ... but the music industry is a dinosaur."

Kunz and Einstein's Arcade are not worried about their businesses suffering the same fate.

"It's about competition in the community,"Kunz said.

A certain amount of anxiety also exists concerning what the closing of independent stores will do to the character of the Drag.

"It was a bookend on the Drag," Wyatt said. "Things like the Daniel Johnston's 'Hi, how are you' painting on the side give it character."

"It started with [restaurant] Les Amis closing," adds the employee of Einstein's Arcade. "Now all these chains are moving in."

Many feel the answer is not to simply protest such closures, though.

"People ought to be busy trying to open establishments rather than just [complain] about it," said Wyatt.

It is currently unknown who the next tenant in the Sound Exchange space will be. But it is likely that the unique features of Sound Exchange - such as their extensive used-record collection and in-store concerts - will be missed by many.

"I remember being in the store for a record release by the Brown Whörnet," said Wyatt. "There were kegs-it was cramped but a lot of fun."

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