I found just a quick break in my rushed day in Tampa to speed over on the #1 bus down Florida Ave. to Microgroove. I was not disappointed. I think this is the reasonable dream of every record collector, to own a store like this. It wasn’t filled with hundreds of expensive records but also made great use of its space and did not waste it on bins of junk records. Better yet, it works well in a very industrial space that appears to at one time been the home of perhaps an automotive mechanic. Located in a quiet and almost barren stretch of road, it is clearly marked and hard to miss.
I roamed about and probably looked through 50% of the stores discography along with a couple other customers as some typically obscure music provided the soundtrack to my hunt. I was running out of options and worried I would leave empty handed when I decided to grab a Jose Feliciano album. The one I already have has proven to be one of my most listened to platters this summer and I am always open to more. This one comes in a really cool die cut cover that reveals cartoons on the inner sleeve and was also defaced with a giant promo sticker (this is a good thing in my book). It also is littered with guest musicians and writers that show Jose’s awesome fan base among his peers. I was still only marginally happy with this when I turned up a Roger Miller album I have seen a few times before for triple the price, I paid only $3 here and I have no idea why. Great fortune I guess for my hard work to make my way out there. Then with a stroke of huge luck, I found a copy of the world’s greatest trombone duo’s release for Mr. Taylor circa mid 70s. I found my copy on my birthday last year and my girlfriend has long coveted it – covet no longer!
Highly recommended if you do take the bus out of the Marion Street Transit Center is to eat at the MTC Downtown Cafe next door. Now you probably will not heed my recommendation when you see the array of beggars and homeless people around and even in the cafe, but I was so famished at that moment I did not care. They gave me a huge plate rice and beans and a giant roasted chicken hindquarter along with a can of Coke for $8 and I devoured it. I look forward to visiting them again next year as part of my pilgrimage to Microgroove.
