Good Records, The Kitchen Studios and 14 Records lie in sequence in a shopping center on Garland Road. The trifecta create an artistic nucleus like no other, with a finger on the pulse of Dallas’ creative scene for years.
Good Records might be selling itself short with its attributive name. The store is an extension of a record label of the same name, started by Polyphonic Spree frontman Tim DeLaughter in 2000.Â
The Garland Road location is Good Records’ third home, taking their loyal customers and live music stage (complete with Astroturf flooring) with them at each stop. Music performances at Good Records are called Live From The Astroturf, referencing the stage’s funky design.Â
Good Records
Since its inception, the physical store has been run by Dallasite Chris Penn, who spearheaded the most famous Live From The Astroturf in 2018 with a surprise Alice Cooper reunion show. The band reunited their original lineup from the early 1970s, and released a live recording of their Astroturf set. The event also spawned an award-winning documentary and remains Alice Cooper’s most recent work. The stage has also featured iconic Texas musicians including Midlake and Erykah Badu.Â
Right next door to Good Records, The Kitchen Studios shares both a wall and a connection to Erykah Badu. The indie recording lab was home to Badu for Worldwide Underground (2003) and New Amerykah Part Two: Return Of The Ankh (2010). The studio has primarily attracted big names in hip hop, including Andre 3000 and Wiz Khalifa. Â
The Kitchen’s cool atmosphere and A-list track record enhances the culture that’s created between it and the two surrounding record stores.Â
Two doors down from The Kitchen, 14 Records is home to serious music collectors from across the world. The shop is the latest in a lifetime of passion projects by owner Bucks Burnett, succeeding the Eight Track Museum and Edstock, a music festival based around a fan club for Mister Ed, a 1960s sitcom.Â
14 Records
Burnett, perhaps Dallas’ most qualified music historian, focuses on high-end collection items that customers travel from across the country to buy. The selection includes first edition Led Zeppelin vinyls, signed records from The Who and memorabilia from Tiny Tim, Daniel Johnston and other icons in the musical obscure.
One of Burnett’s most prized possessions is a gold pressing of The Who’s 2019 release, Who. Burnett has been acquainted with the band’s lead guitarist, Pete Townshend, for many years, and received the gold album as a gift for helping the band come up with the title for it.
One would assume that an item of this value would be displayed front and center at 14 Records. For Burnett, this is just the opposite. His Who record and frame rests on top of the toilet in the backroom of the shop, haphazardly propped against the wall with zero fanfare.
“That’s rock and roll baby.” says Burnett.
Maybe the whole of the Good Records, The Kitchen and 14 Records can be summed up with just that. Does Dallas have a music capital? Who knows. Either way, two record stores with an iconic studio separating them all in the same strip; that’s rock and roll baby.
