Iconic Down Home Music expects to raise enough money to buy East Bay space

by David Mills

Dec. 13, 2024, 10:20 a.m.Dec. 13, 2024, 10:20 a.m.

Down Home Music plans to use some of the money it has raised to buy its inventory, which contains thousands of albums — mostly vinyl LPs and some CDs — ranging from traditional jazz to bluegrass to early rock ‘n’ roll to Mexican conjunto music to rhythm and blues. Credit: Andrew Whitmore

It appears the music will continue to play at an iconic record store on San Pablo Avenue.

Down Home Music and two nonprofits feared they would lose the space they’ve occupied since the 1970s. Now the music store, Les Blank Films and The Arhoolie Foundation have secured a contract agreement with the property owners that will allow them to buy the buildings if they can raise some additional money.

Harrod Blank, the owner of the film company his father founded in the 1970s, said the agreement gives the tenants until April 15 to raise $2.4 million.

Blank said they have already made a 10% down payment. The group has started a Go Fund Me page with a goal of $65,000. So far, $53,000 has been raised from more than 300 donors.

Three film and music nonprofits are buying the property they’ve occupied since the 1970s, allowing them to preserve a vast archive of music and film history. Credit: Andrew Whitmore

Blank said a third of what has been raised will potentially be used to buy Down Home Music’s inventory of records, CDs and other products from the building owners. The rest will go toward the purchase price.

Blank said they are seeking large individual donations to cover the rest of what is needed. He said it’s also possible that Les Blank Films and The Arhoolie Foundation can use their nonprofit status to secure low-interest business loans. He added that Down Home Music might also become a nonprofit organization.

Blank said he is optimistic they can raise the money before the deadline.

He said keeping Down Home, Les Blank Films and The Arhoolie Foundation in their current location will be a plus for the community.

“We’re part of the identity of the whole area,” he said. “We’re part of the tapestry. There is a lot of culture there.”

he Down Home Music Store, Les Blank Films and Arhoolie Foundation team members include (from front to back): J.C Garrett (front) and John McCord (right), co-managers of Down Home Music; Clark Noone (middle), Arhoolie Foundation archivist, Maggie Harrison (left), Arhoolie Foundation, and Les Blank Films owner Harrod Blank (back). Credit: Andrew Whitmore

The property is at 10341 San Pablo Ave. at the El Cerrito-Richmond border. The buildings are almost 100 years old. There’s a home attached to the two-story commercial structure that houses Down Home Music, Les Blank Films and The Arhoolie Foundation.

Chris Strachwitz, who ran Arhoolie Records, bought the property in the mid-1970s and opened his record store there in 1975. Soon after, it became Down Home Music, while Arhoolie became a foundation that preserves and catalogs historic albums, films and other materials.

Flower Films, which eventually became Les Blank Films, moved into the building in 1977. The company, which currently operates as a nonprofit, produced dozens of documentary films directed by the elder Blank.

Les Blank died in 2013, and Strachwitz died in 2023. A trust made up of the latter’s heirs now owns the building.

Down Home Music is currently run by co-managers J.C. Garrett and John McCord. The store contains thousands of albums — mostly vinyl LPs and some CDs — ranging from traditional jazz to bluegrass to early rock ‘n’ roll to Mexican conjunto music to rhythm and blues.

In October, representatives from Down Home Music, Les Blank Films and The Arhoolie Foundation announced that they were in danger of losing their lease because the family trust was putting the property up for sale.

Timothy Barteau, the attorney for the Strachwitz family trust, did not respond to requests for comment on this story.

However, he did say in October that the “aspirational goal” of Strachwitz was most likely to preserve the legacy of his collection and that the trustees are supportive of Blank and the other tenants “meeting that aspiration.”

Jon Bashor, an outgoing member of the El Cerrito Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors and vice president of the El Cerrito Historical Society, says the agreement could have long-lasting cultural impacts.

“This is great news, not only for our local community but for the diverse groups that have contributed to our nation’s rich culture,” he said. “Although on the surface this is a real estate deal, it’s really an agreement to preserve irreplaceable collections of music and film recordings and provide a retail space to allow the public to build their own unique media libraries.”