This is hard to write, but let me start by saying a few great things about Daddy Kool. They're location is great, while parking isn't great, the store is in a great spot for foot traffic and to hang around the block. The older owner is the nicest guy in the world and always will take the time to talk to you if he's in the shop to break down concerts, tell old stories or just have a laugh.
Now comes the hard part... this store seems to be dying on the vine. I don't know what's happened to the staff over the last few months, but it's really bad now. I walked in yesterday to see two girls completely ignore me as the played on their phones behind the counter. The third young gentlemen was just sitting complaining about his friends as they watched me stroll by and never pick up their heads. I was stunned as in the past this had never happened there, but more and more it's been happening as I go in. I looked through the records multiple times for a certain artist. The young man walked past me twice and never said, "hello" or "do you need help?" Just ignored me as he went to the back to get food.
I then watched an older man buy tickets at the front counter as a Christmas present for someone. He was nice and asked a few questions you'd expect someone buying a gift they know nothing about. The girl was okay with him, but mostly kept her answers to yes, no or I think so. Sadly as soon as he walked out the "Too Cool For School" girl behind the counter spent four minutes complaining about how, "gross" he was and felt "sad for him." I was so put off I almost said something, but figured it wasn't my place and the manager would see this eventually.
I've been going to Daddy Kool for ten years. I write that to say this... the selection has dropped off measurably! Dig through the stacks and you'll see what feels like tombstones of artists they once carried. There was a time when even the smallest act that just came through town had two records in the shop. I went in for an act that I had tickets to see and wanted to pair it with a record as a present for my wife, keep in mind the act is playing five blocks down the street in three days... NOTHING! It's JAW DROPPING how the records available now are just the commercial bands like Metallica and Twenty One Pilots mixed in with whomever the girl behind the counter likes that you never heard of.
There's always been kind of an order or niche to the record stores in St. Pete... Bananas is for every record ever made and has EVERYTHING, but picks and chooses its new release vinyl. Planet Retro is for the Punk, Bootleg and Classic Rock stuff and Daddy Kool was for the first releases, all the stuff you knew came out on Friday or that band no one else had that just came out with a record, Daddy Kool had it. Now... Daddy Kool is just my last resort to check for a new album only if Amazon is sold out and that's only because most of the time Daddy Kool doesn't have stuff by opening acts anymore.
So, I checked the bins, really unimpressed unless I wanted Ride The Lightning (which there's always three of) and decided to suck it up and ask the girls. Here we go...
Me: Do you have Barns Courtney?
Girl: Who's that?
Me: He's kind of a new singer songwriter.
Girl: I don't know who he is.
Me: He's in town Friday, would he be in a certain section?
Girl: if it's not rap it's over there in alphabetical order.
Me: Thanks
Girl: (going back into her phone) Uh Huh...
I mean WOW! Sorry to bother you. So I took the hint and figured maybe they'd get my message if I just walked out, but I don't think they did.
Listen... I get places have bad employees and more importantly good employees that have bad days. I can remember there was a Daddy Kool kid with glasses and his hat on backwards all the time that was AWESOME and talkative about any kind of music as soon as you walked in. There was a girl with red hair that was always behind the counter and chipper and loaded you up with stickers and made comments about your album when you checked out. There's just this weird vibe there now. Like going to see your grandma at a nursing home after you come back from college and last time you saw her was summer and she was cooking you your favorite cookies in her childhood house.
I don't know... I still go in once a month. I used to go once a week, but it seems the reasons to go have faded. Daddy Kool was an institution of downtown St. Pete, but it's feeling more and more that it's fading away like the rest of that block and will soon be a Gourmet Taco shop if this keeps up. There was a real point in time up to about a year ago where Park Ave in Orlando and Daddy Kool fought it out for best record store in Florida. Maybe one day soon that will happen with a culture change at DK. read more