Vinyl Destination: Dark Entries Records, San Francisco

Vinyl Destination is a series where we visit new and established crate-digging locations and vinyl-focused spaces worldwide to learn about the stories, people and records behind them.

Founded in 2009, San Francisco’s Dark Entries has been serving vinyl lovers with both out-of-print and contemporary electronic and post-punk for well over a decade. Shrouded in a gothic ’80s-influenced DIY aesthetic, the label, founded by Josh Cheon, is dedicated to “resuscitating the underground” and has accrued over 100 releases from the likes of Severed Heads, Patrick Cowley and many more.

In 2022, Dark Entries took the leap to opening its very own record store. Located at 910 Larkin Street, San Francisco, the store offers fans of the label an opportunity to browse in real life, surrounded by Dark Entries’ illustrious catalogue and the queer art that adorns the store’s walls.

We caught up with Cheon to learn more about Dark Entries’ first physical store.

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Dark Entries opened as a brick-and-mortar store in 2022, why did you decide to open a store over a decade into the label?

It was July 2021, and I was renting an office space above a record store in San Francisco’s Tenderloin neighbourhood. The shop was in danger of not making rent, so the leaseholders decided it wasn’t sustainable and pulled out of their lease prematurely. I thought, ‘What am I going to do with all of my stock; 13 years of life’s work?’. So I started looking for a space. I had just lost my sound engineer, George Horn, who I had worked with since day one. I was definitely in a funk, and all these signs were telling me that I should just stop. At the time I was working with a bookshop across the street. They told me, “Why don’t you check out the tattoo parlour next to us, it’s been empty for two years”.

I called the landlord; we worked out a deal and I got a lease.

Was it always a goal of yours to open a store?

My vision for the space was to have my office upstairs and people could pop in to pick up records that they’d ordered online. Two months went by and my friend DJ Mike Servito came to visit. He was looking around and said, “You have to have a Dark Entries record store. It’s the next logical progression.” I didn’t know the first thing about running a record store or how to turn the parlour into a store – like, there were sinks everywhere from all the tattoo stations. The more I thought about it, the more I said, “Maybe I should do a record store.” When it opened in December 2022, I invited Mike to come and play the grand opening.

I always told my mom I wanted to have a record store. And she was like, “No, that’s not a real career.” And I said, “I’m buying all these records; I want to complete the cycle.” I was a teenager then and now I’m 42 – so it took some time! It was a dream I didn’t know how to make a reality. It’s something I didn’t see happening at this point in my life, but I’m so grateful it did, and I wouldn’t do it any other way.

Does it feel rewarding to have that direct contact with your audience?

It’s been non-stop emotional since. Having a record label is a very amorphous thing and if you have a brick-and-mortar space, it lends more physicality to what you’re doing and almost gives it more validation. Having it in this neighbourhood is so important to me; it was the first gay neighbourhood in San Francisco, where the first Pride parades were. It’s always been a very trans, sex-positive place, and so much has been erased through many cycles of gentrification. It’s really wonderful to make this a queer space. Having this restorative moment in a neighbourhood that has seen so much erasure over the last 40 years feels good.

What was your aim with the visual aesthetic of the store?

We relied on friends to help with the design of the space. My friend and shop painter Brian Hock aka C.L.A.W.S. talked me out of painting the walls dark grey and we opted for an off-white so the album covers on display act as pops of colour. I decided to hang art by queer artists like Gwenaël Rattke, Jaques Beas, David Wojnarowicz, Robert W Richards and our label icon Bubbles. Mara Barenbaum aka Group Rhoda helped us pick out track lighting and accents for the space. My friend Eric picked out all the plants.

How have people responded to Dark Entries?

When people come into the shop they tell us how much like the space and it feels calm and clean, so I guess that’s nice to hear. I spend all my time there working and I need it to be chill and tidy so I can focus.

How would you describe the demographics of customers that come into Dark Entries?

I think people who come into the shop are all ages and can be locals or tourists.

You’re celebrating 15 years of the Dark Entries label this year, how will that be reflected in store?

We are planning an art exhibit to showcase 15 years of the label and just released a zine with graphics from all our releases thus far.

If someone was considering visiting Dark Entries, what can they expect?

We have such a wide variety of music and, hopefully, there is something for everyone.

Visit Dark Entries Records at 910 Larkin Street, San Francisco.

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