Today we’d like to introduce you to Charles Rice.
Hi Charles, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
Started djing in 1992 after a friend of mine asked if I wanted to DJ at his house party. This was in Ramona, CA. From that first party, I knew I was hooked on djing. At first, I bought records to DJ with. Eventually, that turned in to collecting records for myself. My collection grew to nearly 10,000+ records at one point. In 1994, I connected with Tim Richardson, and we both wanted to break in to the music industry somehow. So we decided to form 3-Deep Record Pool.
A record pool in the 90s was very important to DJs. DJs would pay record pools to get the newest records that were coming out from all different kinds of record labels. When we started calling record labels to get serviced with records, these record labels would ask us if we also did Street promotions. After several labels asked us, we decided to find out what that entailed and eventually linked with DJ RobOne from EMI Records. He was based in LA and told us exactly what and how we should do promotions. So the record pool turned in to 3-Deep Street Promotions.
A year later, we turned into the only Street Team in San Diego. At one point, we were working for 15 different record labels. From Death Row Records, Tommy Boy, and EMI to smaller labels like Wild West Records, Delicious Vinyl and Loud Records. Eventually, Street Promotions died out with the invention of the internet.
After 3-Deep, I went to work for Certified Records, a small record label ran out of Santee, CA. Their one major artist was DJ Fingaz. He came out with a compilation album with big name artists like Too short and E-40. I was the National Director of Street Promotions for Certified Records. We made a wrapped tour bus and travelled across the US for two months promoting the album.
That all ended and long story short, got married, had 3 kids and put everything on hold while I raised my kids. Then around 2015 I started selling my records. Was a side job for me to make some extra money. I sold on craigslist and record shows. There was only one record show in San Diego at the time. Fast forward to 2016 and I decided to start doing my own record shows in San Diego. The Vinyl Frontier Record Show was started on April 17th 2016. I rented out U-31 and had 10 record vendors selling at the show. The record show is still going strong, our last show was August of 2021.
Before the pandemic hit, I had some friends open up Soul Shack Records. I would sell them records from my collection. I knew how to sell online and package and send out records. They asked me if I could help out with packaging their records for their online sales. Then the pandemic hit and they had to shut their doors for 8 months. Stores started opening back up and I didn’t have a job, so I asked them to open the store back up and I could help out with the day to day operations. They saw that I really cared about the store and wanted it to succeed. In January of 2021, they asked me if I would be willing to buy the store from them. No brainer. I was all in.
I took over the store immediately. Made some minor adjustments, but pretty much kept it the same.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
Not really a struggle. But having kids kept me out of the music industry for a while.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am the sole owner of Soul Shack Records. We specialize in vintage vinyl. Our specialty is hard to find and rare 45s. We have over 30,000 45s in store. I’m most proud that we are friendly in our store. We’re helpful and engaging. We don’t sit behind a computer and not talk. We make connections with our customers.
How do you think about luck?
I got lucky with the store. Call it being in the right place at the right time.
Contact Info:
- Email: soulshack619@gmail.com
- Website: www.soulshackrecords.com
- Instagram: soulshacksd
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/soulshacksd
Image Credits
Charles Rice
DJ Who
