Buford T Pusser

Talking about my female friend from Dallas that would piss in customers food when they sent it back to the kitchen and she was a waitress made me think of the store.

I would go there in the late 80s and they had an incredible section of alternative and UK punk/new wave and many other genres of music. There were no prices on anything.

The owner was a gay man in his 40's and he would often hire boy toys to work there. The rumor was always that he would look you over and decide what to charge you for something based on if you looked like you had money or seemed gay.

So this guy had a LOT of vinyl and not so much in cds. Did anyone here ever go to his store?

I just did a quick search and see he's still around.

http://www.billsrecords.com/

cdollaz

That place is a shithole. It is huge and has a lot of stuff, but the fact that there are no prices and the place reeks of smoke keeps me away.

SubZeri

Love Bill's Records, there's not another record store on the planet like it. A real good friend of mine worked there for years. I still have my glow in the dark "Blow Me At Bill's" whistle, lol!

It is true about the no prices thing. Nothing was ever labeled, and the price you got was definitely related to how cute you were. In the beginning, there wasn't even a cash register. You'd take your stack of records to the counter, Bill would throw out a random price, and if you struck up a deal, Bill would pull his wallet out of his pocket and make the transaction, no receipt or anything. His prices were pretty high, but then again, he had merchandise that you simply wouldn't find anywhere else.

I got to know Bill pretty well over the years, he is one of the nicest guys you will ever meet. The truth is that his store was never his primary income. His mother was wealthy off real estate back in the day, so his store was basically just a hobby for him. I miss the old store, the new one is just a shell of its former self. Much respect to Bill, his store will never be replicated, and I can't say enough thanks to him for what he's done for the Dallas music scene, especially the dance music community. Thanks, Bill!

j

Pizza the Hutt

The no price thing is fucking stupid.

Mordred

I remember Bill's Records and Tapes, but for some reason I'd completely forgotten about the no prices thing. I probably only bought stuff there a couple times, but went in a bunch to check out his collection of rare and import metal albums. I haven't been since I left for college in '95 but it looks like things have changed a lot at his store.

RagingBull80

I stopped there once when I was in town. You really have to dig to find anything and I remember the place being pretty big but the isles being pretty small and filled with shit. It also seemed like a lot of the stuff he had in there should have been in a landfill. I don't think I bought anything while I was there.

david12

I don't think I've ever bought anything from Bill's but I have fond memories. The first was seeing Weezer do an instore in '94. I was 14 and it was my first 'show'. They played four songs and everyone got autographs afterwards. I have a few pictures from the signing session...Matt Sharp was not happy to get his photo taken and Rivers was nose deep in a magazine. Weezer's blue album is still perfect...so the day will be forever in my heart.

The second memory came after a Ben Harper show in Dallas. My buddy was friends with Bill and knew that Bill had a good friendship with Ben. After the show (bronco bowl?) Ben and the Innocent Criminals went back to Bill's to look at records and to hang out. Bill invited us to come along. Cut to about 3 hours later, Ben invites us to come to the following shows in Austin and Houston. All we have to do is provide transportation. Turned into a massive road trip with backstage passes and cool connections.

After that I've never been back. I know my buddy has hung out with him more since then, one time even going to California for some Jeff Buckley thing (Bill's a huge Buckley fan) where they were able to meet and talk with Buckley's mother.

From my own experiences and my friend's later stories, Bill has never been anything but gracious and welcoming. All the pricing stories, young stud rumors, and other stuff mean nothing to me.