Located in Berkley, Michigan, Flipside Records is one of the oldest record dealers in the area.  But more than a mere record store, Flipside is a community hub and hosts numerous local bands on its premises.  Rock in Detroit recently spoke to Flipside Records owner, Todd Fundaro.

 

ROCK IN DETROIT: Can you tell me a little about the history of Flipside Records?

TODD: So, we were a coin and stamp store in the 70s. We started selling records in 1980. We took the Flipside name in 1980 at 10 Mile and Coolidge. In 1983, my father and his partner split up, so we moved to Clawson. We were there for 39 years, and in 2021 we moved here, to Berkley. So yeah, I helped them move in. I got out of the army in ’85 (I was still in the reserves). I took over managing in ’87 and then I bought the store in 2012.

ROCK IN DETROIT: Very cool. The Flipside name – does it have anything to do with flipping a record over?

TOD: When you had 7” singles, you had the A-Side and the B-Side, or the flipside. So the A-Side was usually the hit, and then the flipside track which didn’t usually appear on the album. Of course, it can refer to used versus new, that too.

ROCK IN DETROIT:What made you open up the record store?

TOD: It was a coin and stamp store. The bottom was pretty much dropping out of coins and stamps – it wasn’t lucrative enough to keep my father happy. So he tried used books, and that wasn’t good enough. There was only one (I was 17 at the time) used record store in the area, so I said, “Hey! Used records!” So we took out a couple of full page ads, when you could still advertise in a paper. In the Free Press and The News: “We’re paying cash for records.” So within a month we had a store full of records, and we slowly morphed into selling new stuff too. Then we expanded. When we went to Clawson, we expanded into like, everything – cassettes and all the related t-shirts, and then we started doing everything collectible like cards. Then when I took over we moved heavily into all the other stuff, the comics, the toys, video games, just anything you could turn the buck on that was in the used market place.

ROCK IN DETROIT: Why Berkely, MI?

TOD: Well, so we’re not like an antique store, where it pays for everybody to be located in the same area because people go from store to store to store, right? You want to pick a place that isn’t saturated with, you know . . . well so we were in Clawson, obviously, which at the time – you gotta have a building that’s the right size. I was looking in Madison Heights, but I couldn’t find a place. In Berkley, we’re far enough from the other stores around here. And so we settled here. We like Berkley!

ROCK IN DETROIT: Yeah, it’s a nice spot. It’s a hip place for a record store.

TOD: If we were in Clawson right now, there would be people in the store. That’s the issue. There’s nobody coming in during the day here, you know, you don’t get all that traffic that you would get, you don’t get any of the impulse buying you would get, like, “Hey I’m in downtown . . . Oooo a record store! Let’s stop in!” So I’m missing out on a lot of business that way because it’s not a walking downtown area. Madison Heights doesn’t have a walking downtown. There’s very few. You got Royal Oak, and that’s just too crowded. Ferndale is pretty spread out but still walkable. But those two places have record stores in their downtown, right? It is what it is.

ROCK IN DETROIT: What are some of your best selling items? Is it records or vintage?

TOD: New stuff unfortunately outsells vintage. I don’t sell near as much vintage as I did in Clawson.

ROCK IN DETROIT: How has that changed over the years or has it not?

TOD: The used stuff used to be what motivated me. So the used “classic” stuff, the collectable stuff, most of that stuff you have to put online today. For most kids today collectability of records is not really a thing anymore. It’s more just to play and have and whatever. There are a few artists that lean into “Oh yeah, collect . . . .” and then they end up screwing their fans.  Look at Taylor Swift – “Oh! Four, eight different versions of my album!” Then you got these record companies. They got an album out, right? Well in one year, “Oh, the deluxe version!” and “The one year anniversary edition!” Then jack up the price, right? And then as a collector, yeah, I do want to have them both. It’s like the old days when they started bagging comics up, it’s like Bart and his buddy Milhouse, he’s like “What do we do, Milhouse?” and Milhouse says, “Well isn’t it obvious? We buy two!” So yeah, definitely new vinyl outsells used. And I mean just price-wise, you can buy three or four used records for the price of one new record. I don’t understand. So even if  today’s youth, or if somebody, is looking into Jefferson Airplane, they’re gonna buy the greatest hits. They’re not going to go deep into the Jefferson Airplane catalogue and buy individual albums. I don’t think people’s attention spans are that large anymore. I like Neil Young, and so I went and listened to every Neil Young album and bought every album, and they’re all great! I don’t see that as much. That’s too bad. Because that’s the way I was too. If I found an artist that I liked I wanted to check out every song they’ve ever done.

ROCK IN DETROIT: So how about vintage items, I’m just curious, what sells best out of all that stuff?

TOD: It’s hard to sell that stuff. So, in the video game room, all the old Nintendo / Super Nintendo, we hardly ever see them anymore because they’re all being sold online. They sell so well that there’s dedicated stores for that stuff. We threw everything in a pot, right? But all the stuff that we sell, now there’s dedicated stores for each item. The video games sell well. It goes in waves. If Star Wars comes out with something, suddenly I’m selling some old Star Wars figures. Star Trek comes out with a movie, I’m selling some Star Trek figures. On the other hand, I could sell EVERY vintage Godzilla piece I ever got in. It would sell. ANY vintage Godzilla. Any.

ROCK IN DETROIT: Something about Godzilla that just really sells?

TOD: Any horror. So, we’re in the process of buying several thousand DVDs. You wouldn’t consider DVDs vintage, but, the ones that will sell will be monster, horror, exploitation, all that fringe stuff. That’s the only thing that moves, really. And the VHS tapes. People like to be jacked up and scared. It’s a better feel watching it on a VHS tape than it is on a hi-def. It gives you that feeling, you know?

ROCK IN DETROIT.  How about you? Where are you from?

TOD: I grew up in Ferndale, and then went in the army for a while. Got out, stayed in Ferndale, and ended up moving to Royal Oak. Then when I bought the store, I ended up buying the house that my Dad was in because I became his caregiver. So I’ve lived in Royal Oak for the last 27 years.

ROCK IN DETROIT.: What got you into music and records in the first place?

TOD: I don’t know! We lived in a better time. We didn’t have as many distractions? We didn’t have cell phones, we didn’t have this, we didn’t have that. Music was, you know – You had your bands in high school. You had the jocks and they were into Zeppelin and the Stones. And you had the Burn Outs and they were into Alice Cooper.  Influences from your parents, your siblings. Music is . . . What is life without music? Music is emotion. Music is everything. I got to experience that for a few years before they came out with cell phones, so I know what that’s like to really get into a particular band. We only had four, five, six channels on the television. You’re on the beach.  You didn’t have a  phone, you aren’t playing a game, you’re bringing a boom box to listen to tunes. Working on my tan, makes me want to listen to Tim Curry.

ROCK IN DETROIT: When did Flipside start having live bands?

TOD: In the 80s. It’s always been a thing. We used to have a big spot in Clawson and then we shrunk when we came here to Berkley. Then, even after that, we’d have record store special events with bands. It’s been a long time. At least 30-35 years.

ROCK IN DETROIT: How many shows a month do you do?

TOD: Right now we limited it to about 2. It can be different stuff. If we were doing better business, I’d
have more, because then I could afford to pay the employees more to be here. We only have so
many resources to work with these days.

ROCK IN DETROIT: Where can people find the show schedules?

TOD: On any Flipside social media page. They could contact Lars Skull Booking [to play a show here].

ROCK IN DETROIT: What about fans who just want to see a show?

TOD: They can just go on our website or our Facebook page. We post all the time, and the flyers and upcoming events are always online. Our next one is the 20th. It’s a drag show. It’s usually Friday or Saturday, but we may pop a Sunday one towards the end of summer, and try to do an outdoor thing. I know the city here has some events, so this Saturday is the Art bash, and then June 22 is the Pride Block Party. But the Street Art Fest, we might have a show for that one.

ROCK IN DETROIT: How can RiD and it’ readers help promote Flipside Records and it’s shows?

TOD: Support local business. Support your local business.