By Juan R Govea
Fifty-thousand LPs line the walls and fill the racks of Truth Vinyl. The exhaustive inventory keeps Truth Vinyl owner Ric Delzell and partner, general manager Carol Anderson in touch with music trends.
The store’s honest pricing speaks for itself. Truth has a museum-like atmosphere. Rows of white vinyl cases, red LED genre indicators, and headsets at listening turntable stations are surrounded by eye-catching storefront windows and Truth Vinyl emblems at 300 E. Abram St., in Downtown Arlington.
Delzell, formerly a designer, left the field after thirty years in advertising, and says the thought of opening a record store had been on his mind.“There didn’t seem to be a promising record store in Arlington,” Delzell said. Truth Vinyl recently celebrated their one-year anniversary.
“We have installed an all-new sound system for live acts,” Delzell said.
“We probably have the best sound system in Arlington.”As of now, live events are an eye-catcher for passers-by, he says. A new website is in progress for Truth Vinyl customers which will sell vinyl, but will not contain the whole store’s inventory. The entire store’s collection of vinyl can, however, be found on Discogs.
Emo Blunderbuss at Truth Vinyl photo by UTA Radio
The retail space is nestled in a corridor with Hooligan’s Pub, Flying Fish, Twisted Root, and NAMOO Korean Bowl. Truth’s storefront is central to the success of the neighboring businesses, and completes the downtown feel of the locale.
Patrons can catch a live performance on Friday afternoon, or at the open mic on Thursdays from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Rock and hip-hop artists alike have performed at Truth, with booking available without stipulation.
Most recently local bands such as Sveeny Baby, and Joseph Laws and the Weathered Eyes have performed on the Truth Vinyl stage.
“We see a lot of baby boomers and families looking for collectables on our vintage wall, which makes for good conversation,” Delzell says. “We don’t specialize in any type of genre of music. We try to have as much variety as we can, from EDM to Soul, Country and Jazz.”
