interview and photos by Michael McCarthy
I recently met with Adam O’Donnell, the owner of A Damn Shame Records, located at Mill No. 5 in Lowell, Massachusetts, to do an in person interview. The interview went well, Adam proving to be a terrific and insightful person to interview. There was just one problem. My trusty digital recorder, which I’ve been recording my in person interviews with for at least 15 years, did not record the interview. Well, 98 percent of it. You see, a couple of minutes into it, Adam had to go help a customer. (We were doing the interview in an area of the mill with tables and chairs just outside of his store.) When that happened, I pressed pause on the recorder. When he came back, I pressed it again and the dots on the recorder that light up when it’s recording started lighting up again. (They are square dots, really, and they light up one at a time to show you that it’s recording.) But when I returned home and copied the interview onto my computer, I discovered that only those first two and a half minutes had been recorded. Clearly, when I unpaused the recorder, it did not start recording again. And this has always been my worst nightmare throughout the 30 years that I’ve done entertainment journalism, that I would do an interview and then find out the recorder did not work and that I thus didn’t have the interview to type up and publish. To put it bluntly, I felt like an asshole and an idiot. And I would have understood if Adam did not want to do the interview again. Fortunately, he’s a cool dude and agreed to answer my questions via E-mail.
This weekend is the final weekend that Mill No. 5 is open so visit it very, very soon if you still want to check out A Damn Shame Records and the other fine businesses that are located at the mill. But once the mill closes, Adam will be selling records at Lala Books, also located in downtown Lowell, until a church where he’ll eventually be located is remodeled. I’ll let him tell you more about that below.
MM: First of all, tell us a little bit about your background. Where are you from originally?
What occupation or occupations did you have before you were a record store owner?
AO: My Name is Adam O’Donnell, and I am the owner and operator of A Damn Shame Records located at Mill No. 5 in Lowell, MA. I was born and raised in Billerica, just one town over. Before I opened the store I previously worked at Newbury Comics at the Burlington Mall for 3 years, eventually becoming a key holder. After my time at Newbury, I would be hired by Dave Perry of Vinyl Destination and worked closely with him and VD until Dave retired in Feb 2024, which paved the way for me to open A Damn Shame in the same spot VD operated in beforehand.
MM: You took over Vinyl Destination’s spot in Mill No. 5 last year. When was your grand opening?
AO: Our grand opening was July 13th, 2024.
MM: Had you wanted to own a record store for a long time before you actually opened A Damn Shame?
AO: I had the hopes and dreams to open a store since I was in high school, but I never really gave it much serious thought as I thought it would unattainable.
MM: If Vinyl Destination hadn’t been going out of business when it was, do you think you would have opened a record store last year or did Vinyl Destination closing inspire you to open a store sooner than you otherwise might have?
AO: When Dave told me about his plans to retire was the first time I gave serious thought to how I would run a store if given the opportunity. While I think I would have tried to open a store at some point in my life, Vinyl Destination’s closing gave me the chance to really go for it in a way that I never would have thought possible at this point in my life.
MM: How would you describe your store to people who might wonder what makes your store unique?
AO: A Damn Shame Records specializes in new / used records, CDs, cassettes, second hand perch, etc., primarily centered around punk, metal, and hardcore, but with eclectic tastes that expand into any and all kinds of music.
MM: It was only recently that the news broke that the owner of Mill 5 was closing it and donating the building to a school. Did you find out about the mill closing before the Mill 5 Facebook post about it went up or did you find out from that post like the rest of us?
AO: We found out the news the night before the announcement was made public.
MM: If you had known the mill would be closing less than a year after you opened A Damn Shame Records, do you think you still would’ve opened it?
AO: I don’t think I have a great answer for that, but I know that the opportunity that the mill gave me to open was a once in a lifetime chance that I knew I had to take, even with the risks associated with opening in the mill at a precocious time. I think even if given the chance, I would still lean towards opening in the mill in order to get the experience that I have now.
MM: I understand that some of the businesses from Mill 5 will be relocating to a church that’s being renovated and I know you’re going to be one of them. What can you tell us about that?
AO: That is the plan, we are going to eventually join with some of the other displaced stores in a new location called The Hive Public Market, which will be at the location of the old Saint Jean Baptiste Church at 741 Merrimack Street in Lowell. Before then our plan is to open a temporary storefront inside of Lala Books located at 189 Market Street in Lowell, and plan to be there while the Hive Public Market is being built.
MM: Will you have a bigger, smaller or the same size location in the church?
AO: We are looking at having more space at the Hive Public Market.
MM: Are you worried that the church won’t get as much foot traffic as the mill?
AO: There is a concern about losing foot traffic, but we do believe if we put in the time and effort to properly advertise the space and make sure it fits our vision, we think people will be excited and come down to see us and all the other stores that will be there.
MM: How have things been going for you with your shop so far? Has the business been proving profitable?
AO: The store has been successful in our first few months, especially as a new business. I have been able to modestly pay myself while keeping up with bills and constantly stocking inventory.
MM: Do you have another job besides working at your shop?
AO: Nope, this is my current full-time job.
MM: Are you the only person who works at your store or do you have any employees? Will you relocate to the church, do you think you’ll do any hiring? Does it ever get boring being in your shop during hours when you don’t have as many customers?
AO: I am the only current employee as of now. Down the road I would love to bring on employees to help out with the store, especially once we relocate to the church, but we want to make sure we are fully prepared to bring on people before we start doing so.
MM: What inspired you to call your store A Damn Shame Records?
AO: I love the idea of a record store with a pun-based name, and this one is a play on words based on my name. I originally came up with it years ago as an online username, so there’s a good chance if you see a username “adamnshame,” that may be me. I thought about making it the name for the store, and my fiancé Sammy encouraged me to do so.
MM: Is it your hope to be a record store owner for the rest of your life at this point or is this just something you feel like you need to do for a few years to get out of your system or something like that?
AO: My long term goal is to own and operate the record store for as long as I physically can, I don’t have any plans in the foreseeable future to stop.
MM: What did your friends and family think when you told them you were going to open a record store?
AO: I had overwhelming support from friends and family, many of whom said that it seemed like the perfect job for me.
MM: Are there things that you plan to do when you relocate to the church that you haven’t done at your location in the mill?
AO: I don’t have a specific thing I am immediately planning, but I do want to bring more of a hangout vibe to the new location, especially when it comes to testing CDs or records.
MM: What has been the biggest surprise about owning a record store so far?
AO: I would say realizing people were actively seeking out the store either through the right search or via word of mouth and seeing that people willing want to visit us is the biggest surprise, and very much the most humbling.
MM: I interviewed Vinyl Destination owner Dave Perry three times over the years. Each time, I asked him what was his best-selling record and it was the same album every time: Rumours by Fleetwood Mac. What has proven to be your best-selling record so far?
AO: I can still definitely attest to “Rumours” being one of our highest sellers. I would also add that other classic artists like CCR and David Bowie are also on the biggest sellers list. One newer and local artist I’d like to shout out would be Fleshwater and their 2022 album “We’re Not Here to Be Loved,” which has constantly sold out here no matter how many copies we bring in.
MM: Aside from your own spot, what are your current favorite record stores?
AO: Some of my favorite record stores operating now include Wanna Hear It Records in Watertown, Residency Records in Salem, Bridge Nine Records in Beverly, and Armageddon Shop in Cambridge.
MM: Do you sell music online in addition to at your shop?
AO: As of now we do not sell online, but we do hope to set up some sort of online presence this year. In between the mill closing and when we move to the Hive Public Market we hope to be able to participate in record shows and pop up events around the area.
MM: Do you buy much music online or are you more likely to buy from physical stores?
AO: I am almost 95% likely to buy any music or physical media from a store front in person, with an occasional online purchase if the media I am searching for it impossible to rely on a physical store to get.
MM: How often do you buy music?
Approximately how many albums would you say you bought last year? What’s the most you’ve ever paid for an album for your own personal music collection?
AO: Probably the most I have ever paid for a record for my personal collection would be close to $300 for an original pressing of Danzig’s “Danzig II: Lucifuge” that I was able to get from Dave from Vinyl Destination.
MM: I know Dave Perry bought records for many years with the intention of opening a record store eventually prior to when he actually opened Vinyl Destination. Had you been stocking up on inventory over the years with the intention of someday opening your own shop?
AO: I had been purchasing a lot of records for years, but mostly for my personal collection. After a while I had a large pile of albums I didn’t plan to keep that I started to withhold for when I would eventually open my store.
MM: How much of your inventory at A Damn Shame was purchased from Dave when he closed?
AO: A vast majority of our initial stock came from Dave after Vinyl Destination closed, who was kind enough to work out a deal for the remaining inventory.
MM: Does your store buy and/or trade records in addition to selling them?
AO: Yes, we are always actively seeking out used records for either purchases or trade ins.
MM: Having browsed through your store, I think it’s safe to say that right now you have more used records for sale than new ones. Do you intend for that to be your business model going forward or are you hoping to stock more new releases as time goes on?
AO: I am always hoping to keep an even split on records in stock that are used and new, I would love to be able to carry more sought after used records, but sometimes you just have to be patient and hope the right thing eventually comes through.
MM: These days a lot of record labels will press albums on 180 gram vinyl so they can charge more. It’s my opinion that 180 gram vinyl doesn’t actually sound any better – at least not that my ears can perceive. What are your thoughts on labels pressing things on 180 gram vinyl and charging a lot more money for them and do you think it actually sounds any better?
AO: I kinda agree, I usually see 180 gram records as a way to ensure that the album won’t easily warp over time like some older records could, but I can’t say the weight of a record affects how it sounds to me. I usually think the important aspect to how a record sounds would be the source of the music, whether it was an analog or a digital source.
MM: Tell us about your personal music collection. Do you collect vinyl exclusively or are you into CDs or any other formats as well?
AO: I have around 1,200 records in my collection, alongside close to 100 cassettes and CDs, I am a fan of music on all formats so if it exists out there, I am happy to get my hands on it.
MM: What was the first album you ever bought with your own money? What format was it on?
AO: My first album I ever purchased was the Beatles’ “Abbey Road” on CD, and the first record I ever got was in high school: Fugazi’s first album “Repeater.”
MM: Name some of your favorite albums of all-time.
AO: I could list out albums forever, but some of my immediate favorites include:
Sepultura: Chaos A.D.
Cave In: Jupiter
Songs Ohia: Didn’t It Rain
Titus Andronicus: The Monitor
The Replacements: Let It Be
Townes Van Zandt: Live at the Old Quarter
Nausea: Extinction
Elliott Smith: Either/Or
Chelsea Wolfe: Pain is Beauty
King Woman: Celestial Blues
MM: What are some of the albums that you recommend if someone comes into the store and asks for a suggestion?
AO: It really depends on what the customer is searching for, I am always happy to try to tailor every recommendation towards each individual customer.
MM: Are there certain albums that you play in the store that people tend to hear while they’re browsing and end up buying?
AO: The aforementioned Fleshwater album has always been a big album to play in store that customers will ask for. Quite a lot of times I will bring in something from my personal collection to play in store and people will ask to purchase it, and I feel bad when I say its not for sale.
Very special thanks to Adam for doing this interview twice and being a super cool dude about it.
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Please visit A Damn Shame Records:
Adam O’Donnell (Owner / Proprietor)
ADamnShame Records
250 Jackson St. Suite 405
Lowell, MA 01852
(978) 812-0322
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