Ben Gersten (shown) is the owner of Rock It Man music store. Rock It Man has a large selection of music from every genre. - Chad Sexton/ The Lumberjack

Although Flagstaff is known for being an artsy and music-oriented town, Rock-It-Man Records, the only independently owned record store since Gopher Sounds, opened downtown in February. Since the opening of Rock-It-Man, local enthusiasts have a place to find most-things-music, including vinyl records. 

Earlier this year, owner Ben Gersten relocated his record store from Joshua Tree, California to the popular Flagstaff downtown area. His love of the Grand Canyon and the four seasons of Flagstaff contributed to his move in hopes of reaching more people.

“It’s a very cool old downtown area,” Gersten said. “It’s all individually owned; there’s very little corporate downtown, so I was in an environment where I felt very comfortable and I know that because of the Grand Canyon, people from around the world are always looking for music.”  

Although the store has been open for almost seven months, a lot of people are still figuring out about this hidden treasure. Tourists and a few locals make up the primary shoppers, but Gersten has noticed more students visiting as the school year starts.

“More and more people are finding us,” Gersten said, “I’ve been warmly received.”  The shop is tucked away in a space which used to be part of a clothing store. The dressing rooms have since been converted to house collections of country bluegrass music and musical DVDs. There is colorful art hanging in the store which greatly complement the green, blue and purple of its walls.  Signed photographs of various musicians and skateboards also hang from the walls, which Gersten likes to refer to as “a small museum”. He boasts he collected these items himself over the years, which makes his store different from corporate record stores.  

 “My competitors actually send customers to me because I most likely have it in stock and I can get it in a more reasonable time frame,” Gersten said.

Rock-It-Man offers a unique opportunity which allows customers to request or special order materials, which usually take three to five days to be shipped to the store. They also offer used products at a cheaper price in addition to new releases. 

Gersten said his customers can find the largest Blues/Jazz selections in the state and the biggest R&B/Rap section in town. Soundtracks, world music, comedy, electronic and graffiti DVDs, which showcase graffiti artists, may also be purchased. However, there are some musical items customers will not find in this record shop. 

“I prefer to carry more titles and less greatest hits,” Gersten said. “We’re not carrying American Idol stuff.” 

Despite the small size of his store, Gersten compares the music selection to that of a famous record shop, Amoeba, in Hollywood California. 

“My selection was not much different than theirs,” Gersten said of his recent visit to the renowned record store.

He also said his employees are knowledgeable about music and will not make the customer feel uncomfortable.  Jennifer McKnight, an NAU graduate, is an employee at Rock-It-Man. She said the locals are excited for a self-owned music store in Flagstaff.  

“We are feeding into the community,” McKnight said. “We are all about the life of downtown.” 

McKnight also said the employees go out of the way for the customers and that it is not about the product or album sales.  She said people know they can find their favorites at the record shop.  

Russell Dunham, a senior art major, shops at Rock-It-Man regularly and said he goes to this shop to find a more obscure selection of music such as punk and ska titles.

“They have a way better selection than anywhere else in town,” Dunham said. “I go there because they have more music that I am looking to buy.” 

Dunham also notes the store front, which displays the store logo of a robotic type man standing on top of a rocket, and the location as being strong points.

Mary Griffin, a senior visual arts major, works at Rock-It-Man and has her artwork on display in the shop. This is one of the ways Gersten has been giving back to the community- by participating in the monthly art walks downtown.  

“It’s about decisions rather than sales,” Griffon said. “It’s more about what people actually want.” 

About 20 percent of products are special order requests from customers. The used products are also guaranteed and Gersten will search for titles if they do not have a particular CD in stock. 

Rock-It-Man Records is located right off of Route 66 between Rainbow’s End and the Black Bean Burrito Bar.  To special order products, visit http://rockitmancds.com/ or call the store at (928)-214-6096.