Vinyl store to spin music lover’s dream

WHETHER you’re a dedicated collector or a casual appreciator of music, Ballarat now has a new location for everyone to flick through piles of vinyl.

Kank Wolverang Records is set to open next Friday at 30 Main Road in Bakery Hill, founded and managed by local musicians and longtime friends Justin “Hap” Hayward and Dan Kalken.

“I’d wanted to do this for a while,” Mr Hayward said.

“I’d been mentioning this to Dan for a while, and I had a dream of owning a record shop and something popped up on his phone about a record store in Germany all on the same day.

“It seemed like a spooky message to give it a crack, and then this place became available.

“The name came from a creation of a good friend of ours. Kank is an example of a musician that’s so obscure, no one knows him. We thought it’d be a good little mystery.”

As well as a Melbourne distributor, many of the records have been sourced by community members and friends with one collection brought back from a trip to Japan.

Previously serving as a cafe, the space is now devoted to all things music with iconic past-century acts and films which Mr Kalken said is indicative of his and Mr Hayward’s interests.

“It’s an eclectic taste,” he said. “Hap’s got a love of a lot of old music and I lean into heavier stuff. If you look at the posters, you’ve got Megadeth, Iron Maiden, and then things like Patti Smith and The Smiths.

“We’ve also got a small collection of DVDs and cult movies and again, I probably lean more towards cult horror and Hap’s more into indie arthouse.

“When we were growing up, we’d go to the movies all the time. The basis of the shop is from what we’ve been holding onto together for 40-odd years.”

A photo of the co-owners’ first band together, which included Mr Hayward’s future Dead Salesmen bandmate Justin Ryda, is displayed above the store’s counter.

The space will double as a cafe following the suggestion from Hayward’s brother who operated the venue during its previous incarnation as The Building.

“It’s a bit of a point of difference,” Mr Hayward said. “I think we’ll start very modestly with slices and cookies but we’re not going to pretend we’re connoisseurs of making food.

“It was inspired in many ways from when we were teenagers going to Black Swan Records. We want to join that community and have our own take on it.”

Mr Hayward’s daughter Nella is also contributing to the store by handling social media, helping with administrative tasks, and bringing a youthful perspective to the featured stock.

She said she has ideas on how the store will grow.

“There’s a massive space out the back that in the long run would be great to have gigs and listening days out of,” she said.

“There’s lots of potential for fun stuff like that and having this be a space where we can all express our shared interest in music.”

Kank Wolverang Records will be open from late mornings to late afternoons from Thursdays to Sundays.