New Record Shop Gimme Gimme Open in Highland Park

For a brief period of time in the 1990s, Gimme Gimme Records owner Dan Cook kept a small selection of CDs inside his shop in New York City's East Village.

It was the height of the CD-era, Cook explained, and he felt like he had to do it.

Eventually, a leak in his shop's roof led to the CD rack and its contents being destroyed. It was never replaced.

"I never really got into CDs," Cook said. "I just don't think they sound that good."

Cook's mentality has persevered throughout the 90s--a time when vinyl records were largely seen as a dead medium--and it's still strong today as he looks to establish Gimme Gimme Records in Northeast Los Angeles.

Located at 4628 York Boulevard near the border of Highland Park and Eagle Rock, Cook relocated from East Village's 5th Street after the location was sold to a new landlord.

Cook isn't excatly new to the neighborhood; he ran Gimme Gimme remotely for several years from home in Highland Park.

Running a record store on his relatively remote stretch of York Boulevard poses its challenges. Several blocks away from the hustle and bustle of Avenue 50, Cook doesn't benefit from foot traffic like he did in New York.

"There's not as many European tourists walking around and seeing all these exotic records they don't see as much as in Europe," Cook said with a laugh.

However, being situated near several other prominent L.A. record stores, like Highland Park's Wombleton and Mount Analog and Eagle Rock's Permanent Records has its advantages as well.

"I definitely feel like there's a kinship between the stores. It's good that we're kind of clustered here. It's like a record store area, because people go from shop to shop looking for different things," Cook said. "The chances that we have the same records at the same time are pretty remote. It's not like we're all stocking the Lady Gaga record at the same time, we're all digging deeper than that."

Gimme Gimme's stock of vinyl records ranges from obscure psychedelic records, to hip-hop, to classic pop.

On Wednesday afternoon, a record stored owner from Japan-named Masa was digging through Gimme Gimme's crates. However, Cook said he's just as likely to sell a Fleetwood Mac record as he is a rare Italian Disco 7-inch.

"My speciality is that I don't have a speciality," Cook said. "I'm a real generalist. I'm not a music snob, I enjoy music. If I only sold the stuff I thought was really cool, I wouldn't have many records to sell."

Since opening in December, the neighborhood has welcomed Gimme Gimme. Even non-customers have expressed appreciation of the fact that the location of 4628 York Boulevard is no longer vacant.

"People have been really welcoming, whether they're into records or not," he said. "The neighborhoods been very supportive, I've met a lot of cool people. There are definitely vinyl hounds around, and a Finnish guy came in the other day, so the European tourists will find me."