Inside Folk Arts Rare Records, a San Diego music landmark
At Folk Arts Rare Records, it seems like everything leads back to its founder — the late folk music legend Lou Curtiss.
Curtiss passed away at 79 in 2018, four years after selling the store to his longtime employee, Brendan Boyle. And Folk Arts is still going strong, with two locations now.
"I bought Folk Arts book arts in 2014. I started shopping there in, I believe, the year 2000 when I was 18. I loved it. It was my favorite place. It's considered to be kind of magical and it felt like a roadside attraction," Boyle said.
Curtiss opened Folk Arts Rare Records in July 1967, shortly after he launched the influential San Diego Folk Festival. Along with his wife, Virginia Curtiss, he ran the shop and the festival for decades. He even hosted a weekly jazz radio show — all in pursuit of sharing music and supporting musicians.
"(Curtiss) was in a unique place and time, having been exposed to a lot of legendary music as a child — going to legendary concerts as a kid, learning a lot about famous music that was being released at the time — this was the late ‘50s, early ‘60s," Boyle said.
Curtiss also spent his youth volunteering for the Civil Rights Movement, working as a community organizer in the '60s and was instrumental in the Folk Revival movement, Boyle said.
"And essentially what Lou did is, when folk music stopped becoming a fad, he just kept on going," Boyle said.
Read the rest of the story at kpbs.org
You can also watch a great documentary called "Recordially Yours, Lou Curtiss" on KPBS+.
Curtiss passed away at 79 in 2018, four years after selling the store to his longtime employee, Brendan Boyle. And Folk Arts is still going strong, with two locations now.
"I bought Folk Arts book arts in 2014. I started shopping there in, I believe, the year 2000 when I was 18. I loved it. It was my favorite place. It's considered to be kind of magical and it felt like a roadside attraction," Boyle said.
Curtiss opened Folk Arts Rare Records in July 1967, shortly after he launched the influential San Diego Folk Festival. Along with his wife, Virginia Curtiss, he ran the shop and the festival for decades. He even hosted a weekly jazz radio show — all in pursuit of sharing music and supporting musicians.
"(Curtiss) was in a unique place and time, having been exposed to a lot of legendary music as a child — going to legendary concerts as a kid, learning a lot about famous music that was being released at the time — this was the late ‘50s, early ‘60s," Boyle said.
Curtiss also spent his youth volunteering for the Civil Rights Movement, working as a community organizer in the '60s and was instrumental in the Folk Revival movement, Boyle said.
"And essentially what Lou did is, when folk music stopped becoming a fad, he just kept on going," Boyle said.
Read the rest of the story at kpbs.org
You can also watch a great documentary called "Recordially Yours, Lou Curtiss" on KPBS+.