St. Louis Post-Dispatch Deb Peterson Column: Record Store Owner Trades in Obscure Tunes

By Deb Peterson, St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Mar. 18–Tiffany Minx

How did you and Dustin decide to open Apop?

I was working at the campus radio station, KCOU-FM, when I met Dustin. I had a show that was mostly about experimental electronic music. Dustin had a small recording label and a mail-order recording business. We originally opened Apop as a record shack and a place where people could find obscure and interesting recordings and other odd stuff that we just happened to like. We also had free concerts in Columbia (Mo.), with bands playing all over the place — in our parking lot, on the roof, wherever we could find.

Is that how you got here?

Yes, essentially we outgrew the space. I also felt it was time for me to get out of a college town. We looked all over the country because I wanted to be somewhere warm but, ultimately, St. Louis made the most sense for us.

How do you like being on Cherokee Street?

It really suits us. We have a great space (in a cool, old building at the corner of Cherokee and Ohio), and we couldn’t afford some of the more established “hip” areas around town, like the Central West End or the Loop. We’re getting involved with the politics and the business community here. I think there is an interesting mix of younger people like us who want to do some new things and an “old guard” of sorts. It’s also convenient because we live next door so there isn’t a lot of commuting to work.

How do you categorize what you carry?

We don’t really. It’s hard to categorize. We don’t do a lot of mainstream pop. Although I like a lot of mainstream pop, we just don’t carry it because a lot of the “big box” stores do that. We have harder to find or strange or obscure music. We don’t chart the indie labels, but we carry music from lots of tiny little labels. We also have a lot of vinyl, both new and used. We carry full collections of some stuff, like the seminal bands in industrial music, such as SPK and Throbbing Gristle. We have a lot of cassettes. People laugh about that, but we love cassettes. They have made a big return, and I think that’s a part of the DIY (do-it-yourself) stuff.

What do you carry besides music?

We have a lot of imported zines, books, cult documentaries and fringe publications. We also carry some DVDs and T-shirts. I would like to start carrying prints and other types of art, but I haven’t gotten to that yet.

What sort of concert schedule do you have?

We have about four or five shows a month. There’s no cover charge, but people can give a donation if they want. We have some punk and some hard-core shows — sort of the angsty youth stuff. We have even had noise shows, which are basically shows that use electronic pedals or machines to create obnoxious soundscapes. They can be very interesting. When you take melody away from music, you have to approach it in a different way. It can be very confrontational, but it can also be very stimulating. People have strong reactions to noise concerts.

How do you find your material?

Read, listen to lots of things, Internet, friends. All sorts of ways. We started doing this before there was much of an Internet so we’re familiar with a variety of ways of finding obscure material.

Where did the name Apop come from?

Dustin graduated from college with a microbiology degree. He’s a real science person. The term is from his background — it’s short for apoptosis, which is a form of programmed cell death in multicellular organisms. I thought Apop was catchier than apoptosis, and I liked the potential double meaning of it as “against pop.”

What are your goals for Apop?

I would like to eventually own a building so we could diversify with a bar, more books and other cultural items.

Do you have any hobbies other than music?

I love to cook. My specialties are Vietnamese and Thai and I recently mastered eggplant parmesan. I also like illustration and design, mainly to look at, although I did paint the interior of Apop and come up with our logo.

What was the last best book you read?

It was a collection of Jonathan Lethem’s. I like his writing.

What do you drive?

A 1990 Volvo station wagon. It’s gray. It was sort of a dream car.

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