The ear X-tacy logo

ear X-tacy was a Louisville, Kentucky "alternative record store," owned and operated by John Timmons. The store announced its closing on October 31, 2011, after 26 years in business.[1]

History

Former ear-X-tacy storefront on Bardstown Road. Entrance to the building is at the far right of the photo; both windows were part of ear X-tacy.
Previous ear-X-tacy storefront on Bardstown Road (2001–2010). Now occupied by a Panera Bread location.

ear X-tacy first opened in 1985 in a 500 ft2 (46 m2) building stocked with John Timmons' personal records "and a cash advance on his MasterCard."[2] The store name came from the band XTC, of which owner John Timmons is a fan. As the store grew, it changed location three times over a period of sixteen years; it then remained in the same location, in a former bathroom fixtures showroom on Bardstown Road just south of Eastern Parkway in The Highlands, until late July 2010.[3] It then moved to the Douglass Loop, a former streetcar turnaround point on Bardstown Road about 1 mile (1.6 km) southeast of its previous location but still in The Highlands.[4]

ear X-tacy carried a wide variety of CDs, cassettes, and vinyl records, and also carried a large stock of DVDs, including many hard-to-find items. In 1995, Timmons launched the ear X-tacy record label, which released records by Louisville-based musicians such as Tim Krekel.[5]

Due to financial issues, ear X-tacy moved for the final time to a smaller location in 2010, just south of where their previous location was on Bardstown Road. However, the financial issues continued and ear X-tacy owner John Timmons made the decision to permanently close. ear X-tacy officially closed on October 31, 2011, but due to the amount of unsold inventory still remaining after the close, the store held a liquidation sale in December 2011 before officially closing for good.[1]

ear X-tacy also operated a second location in the Eastgate Shopping Center in Middletown from 1992 through 1998.[6][7]

The store's signature white-on-black logo stickers spawned a local fad wherein people cut up and reassembled the distinctive letters to form other words or phrases, such as "racy aXe" or "area X."[4]

A documentary on ear X-tacy was released in 2012 under the title Brick and Mortar and Love.[8]

References

  1. 1 2 "27 Nov 2011, Page B3 - The Courier-Journal at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2019-07-13.
  2. ↑ ear X-tacy History and Owner Profile Archived 2006-01-16 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ↑ "9 Jan 1934, Page 16 - The Courier-Journal at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2019-07-13.
  4. 1 2 "Clipping from The Courier-Journal". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2019-07-13.
  5. ↑ "John Timmons has ear X-tacy -". www.louisvillemusicnews.net. Retrieved 2019-07-13.
  6. ↑ "Clipping from The Courier-Journal". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2019-07-13.
  7. ↑ Hill, Mary Ellen (Jun 7, 1999). "Independent music store operator has his Ears to the ground in the competitive national market". Louisville Business First.
  8. ↑ "Ear X-tacy documentary 'Brick & Mortar & Love' to screen at the Dreamland Film Center on Sunday [Movies]". Louisville.com. 2012-07-20. Archived from the original on 2020-09-26. Retrieved 2019-07-13.

38°13′26″N 85°41′34″W / 38.224°N 85.69279°W / 38.224; -85.69279

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