Antone's Record Shop appeared in the Chronicle May 22, 2009
Off the record, by Austin Powell
Two Steps from the Blues
Photo by John Anderson
Meet the new owners of Antone's Record Shop (pictured, l-r): local garage rocker Eve Monsees, longtime employee Mike Buck, and Forrest Coppock, who helped open the store on Guadalupe in 1987. Having successfully managed the company since the passing of founder Clifford Antone in May 2006, the three banded together to purchase the beloved record shop from his estate earlier this month. "Clifford would come by and make sure that stuff like Bobby Bland, Clifton Chenier, and Magic Sam was in stock, but he pretty much left it to the employees to run," says Monsees. Susan Antone, meanwhile, recently returned from the 30th annual Blues Music Awards in Memphis, Tenn., where her brother was inducted into the Blues Foundation's Hall of Fame by Marcia Ball, who walked away with Pinetop Perkins' award for piano player of the year. "I really thanked them for remembering Cliff this way," smiles Susan. Antone's the club pays tribute to its namesake this weekend with the Scabs and Lost Soul Review on Friday, followed by Perkins and Gary Clark Jr. on Saturday.
