- Dave Segal
- You can now buy some cuts while getting your hair cut at Capitol Hill Rudy’s.
If you’ve frequented a Rudy’s Barbershop or just walked by one in Capitol Hill or Bellevue lately, you may have noticed a rack of records from the Seattle-based Hardly Art label in there. This isn’t your typical strategy for the music industry or the haircutting business, but tough times for the former has led to some interesting new partnerships. How did this arrangement come about? “Hardly Art’s partnership with Rudy’s sprang out of our collaboration on Tacocat‘s just-wrapped West Coast ‘Cut and Ride’ tour, wherein Rudy’s stylists followed the band along their tour in an airstream trailer, offering free haircuts to concertgoers,” Hardly Art publicist and former Stranger freelancer Jason Baxter says. “We sensed an overlap between the typical fan of Hardly Art or our bands and Rudy’s staff and patrons, so it seemed like a no-brainer to start stocking our LPs there.”
A week ago, I saw the Tacocat (who include Stranger music editor Emily Nokes) and La Luz LPs on the shelf. Today they’re gone, replaced by albums from La Sera, S, Shannon & the Clams, Fergus & Geronimo, and Colleen Green. “The selections are being rotated on a monthly basis,” Baxter explains. “I select five titles that I think would be a good fit and write a little summary on each (which can be read on a clipboard next to the LPs on the retail display). Additionally, we’re making sure all of the records on sale are also being added to rotation on the Rudy’s in-house playlists, so if you go in for a cut, there’s a chance you’ll hear some of our artists coming through the speakers.”
Vy Le, Rudy’s president and chief brand officer says she’s always been a big Hardly Art fan. “I threw out the idea that we’ve done in the past with Easy Street Records—which was to have them provide us with a curated playlist of artists they wanted to feature. Rudy’s has always been an amazing place to hang out and listen to music. We are constantly looking for ways to support artists. Plus Jason [Baxter] has been an amazing partner…it’s been great to work with a label that has such amazing credibility with musicians and artists.”
This is the first time Rudy’s has worked with a record label directly during Le’s time with the company, although it supported Pearl Jam and other bands when they boycotted Ticketmaster. Le says this arrangement with Hardly Art has benefited Rudy’s in that “Our customers and shops get to listen to amazing music and be associated with an amazing partner. For me it always comes down to the relationship… we don’t work with assholes (I’m allowed to say that). I liked more than anything the people behind [Hardly Art]. They’re passionate about what they do and are eager to share it with an audience that gets it—so, it’s a huge benefit for us in terms of working with like-minded individuals.”
Le didn’t reveal sales figures, but notes that Rudy’s carries only a small number of records. “Again, we’re not looking to be a record store or make money off this collaboration. It’s truly for us a great way to showcase musicians to the 40,000+ people walking through our doors every month, across Seattle, Portland, LA and NYC.”
