I got some sad
news this morning from SplatterTribe's
Grimlock. He told me that local Mom & Pop
Record Store Owner Raymond Dowdell, of
Avatar Records in Radcliff, Kentucky passed
away in his store yesterday at 54 years old.
I know some of you may not know who Raymond
is, or even where Radcliff, Kentucky is, the
fact is though, that Ray was the sole Mom &
Pop Record store in our area. His all around
musical knowledge was incomparable and he
had been the 'go to' guy for rare and
obscure music for as far back as I can
remember. Due to internet sales, musicians
exclusively selling their music at bullshit
retail outlets and the economy in general,
Ray was like a lot of other Mom & Pop
business' and had reached the point of not
being able to continue. He actually was
planning to retire soon and had just started
his going out of business sale. He was found
yesterday in his store, laying on the ground
clutching a CD case. Initial word is he died
of a heart attack. Ray ran five miles
everyday before work, was a healthy guy, so
that's sad and scary to hear. He ran the
store by himself, 6 days a week and was
about the nicest guy you'll ever meet. It
truly is a sad day for local music
enthusiasts and for The American Dream, in
general. Rest In Peace Bro, You will be
missed and never forgotten.
----Primal
I first posted the above post on
SplatterTribe's MySpace page yesterday,
shortly after hearing about Ray's death. I
wanted to add a couple of things though. You
know, through the years I have made many
attempts at getting Music & Entertainment
related magazine's, newsletter's and
website's off the ground as well as trying
to find guys to jam with myself and Ray
ALWAYS did what he could to help out. He
never thought twice about me putting flyers,
newsletters or magazines in his store when I
needed support. He even sometimes gave me
idea's or participated himself. He was
indeed the most supportive business owner I
probably have ever dealt with. I actually
was just planning to go talk to Ray soon
about an interview for SplatterTribe and to
let him know how much he has meant to the
community over the years. I wanted to show
my appreciation for him on this website
before he closed the doors. Sadly, I waited
to long. So what I will do is still show my
respect with this page and I know the rest
of the Tribe who knew him would feel the
same way.
Although Ray was an avid Prog-rock/metal
fanatic. His musical knowledge indeed knew
no boundaries and was nothing short of
amazing. He had mentioned at times though,
that his all time favorite band was The
Beatles. So I decided to post a Beatles
video in honor of him. No particular reason
this song was picked. Don't know that it was
his favorite. No hidden meanings. I just
wanted to post one from the Beatles in his
honor.
----Primal
To find out more about Raymond you can check
out the following links
