When it comes to music, Ron Fields knows what it’s like to find the needle in the haystack.
A lifelong music enthusiast, he’s spent years sifting through record collections at music stores. Finally finding a rare record he’s been hunting for is a feeling he knows well — and it’s something he says he wants for other music lovers, too.
That’s the goal for his new vinyl record and art store, The Rock Shop — which opened in September in Olathe.
The Rock Shop opened at 1837 S. Ridgeview Road
- The shop moved into a space just off 151st Street and Ridgeview Road in Olathe, near Comic Coffeehouse and Enchanted Gifts.
- A massage parlor previously occupied the space.
- The Rock Shop is open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Thursday, and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday.
The Rock Shop offers music and music-themed art
The Rock Shop offers both new and used vinyl records.
The shop’s inventory covers a wide range of genres — everything from easy listening and country western to classic rock and death metal. (And yes, a little bit of Taylor Swift.)
The shop’s walls also feature a variety of prints for customers to browse and buy. It’s mostly commercial art right now (album covers, for example), but Fields said he’d like to eventually partner with local artists to feature their art in his store.
When that happens, though, Fields said the art will still be music-themed.
The Rock Shop also sells turntable cartridges, along with some gift items like T-shirts, hats and mugs.
Fields said he aims to make The Rock Shop more than a place for people to grab what they’re looking for and go. The back of the store also offers a gaming table, which he said some customers have already used to kill time for a bit while listening to music.
“I want it to be a hangout,” he said.
Fields is a music collector himself
Fields has been collecting records for several years, starting to build his own collection as a kid after admiring the “giant” collection his father had.
Having now built up an extensive collection of records at his home, Fields said he’s been selling records at regional record swaps and shows over the past few years.
But that method only proved so effective.
“I really just added to (the collection) more than I sold,” he said. “I would sell two and buy two or three.”
The idea for the Rock Shop came, in part, as a way for him to more effectively thin out his personal collection.
But it also came from a desire to fill a gap in the local market — something Fields had noticed as an Olathe resident.
“I was kind of complaining because there were no record stores down this way,” he said. “I thought, ‘If I feel this way, other people must feel this way too.’”
Fields said he’s already exploring the idea of partnering with local businesses near his store to make their corner of Olathe more of a “destination” spot.
That’s part of the excitement of having his first business of his own, he said. But opening The Rock Shop also means he gets to help people strike gold in terms of music — and that’s a perk all its own.
“When someone comes in and they’re like, ‘I’m really looking for (a certain record), and I have it, it’s awesome,” he said. “That’s my favorite part.”
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