Winnipeg lawyer's new vinyl record store his ultimate 'man cave'
CBC News | Posted: October 23, 2015 11:00 PM | Last Updated: October 24, 2015
Darren Sawchuk bought 25K records in Saskatoon and hasn't looked back
A Winnipeg man is kickin' it old school by opening Vinyl Revival: Rock-School-Cafe, a store that will sell vinyl albums and offer music lessons.
"It started off with collecting records again in the spring and before I knew it I had about a thousand in my own collection," said Darren Sawchuk, the owner of the new shop on McGillivray Place.
The hobby turned serious when Sawchuk heard Tramp's Music & Books in Saskatoon was closing and selling its vinyl albums.
Sawchuk said they made him an offer he couldn't refuse.
"So I travelled out to Saskatoon and came back with a truck full of 25,000 records," he said.
"I think I opened the store out of desperation to get my garage cleared out more than anything else," he joked.
Sawchuk, who plays in a band and is also a lawyer, described Vinyl Revival as his ultimate man cave "where I could have people in to play music, have a great cup of coffee, you know, and buy records.
"This has a sense of community which I'm hoping people will enjoy when they come in."
A family affair
Vinyl Revival has turned into a family affair. Sawchuk's 21-year-old son, Jordan, will help manage the store.
He is excited about the business also offering music lessons in guitar, piano, vocal, bass and drums, with local musicians helping to teach.
The younger Sawchuk has also been learning more about his dad's music, discovering classic albums such as Rumours by Fleetwood Mac.
Fleetwood Mac is among the many artists who have released vinyl editions of old or new music in recent years — something that Jordan Sawchuk believes will appeal to younger music lovers.
"I think there's a pretty big market out there for people my age," he said.
A passion for music runs through all generations of the Sawchuk family.
When Darren Sawchuk told his father he planned to open a record store, what was his dad's first reaction?
"I thought he was crazy," Todd Sawchuk said. But he also understood.
"I got records galore. We still have one car that plays cassette tapes," he said.
Kickin' it old school, he laughed, runs in the family.
Long road ahead after diagnosis
But along with the excitement of the new business, there were also some difficult moments. Darren Sawchuk was recently diagnosed with cancer in his leg.
As he worked to get the store ready for its grand opening over the past week, he also began radiation treatment.
"I guess the message is get it tested early," he said. "You know, I was told it was a cyst and turns out it wasn't."
He added, "So I've got a road ahead of me … but nothing is going to deter me from doing this."
As the Sawchuk family scrambled to put finishing touches on the new store, opening Saturday in the former Tredwell's Music Centre location at 6-10 McGillivray Place, the record spinning on the turntable was by Johnny Cash.
"This is called I Walk the Line," Sawchuk said. "How fitting is that?"