45 Revolutions brings more punk to Tempe

Stepping into 45 Revolutions in Tempe is like diving head-first into a mosh pit of punk culture. Almost every inch of the newly opened 1,100-square-foot store tucked into the armpit of a University Drive strip mall is slammed with apparell and paraphernalia from the genre.

Record bins contain LPs from bands like Stiff Little Fingers and Blitz. Shelves are stocked with pins and patches. Elsewhere, racks display black-and-white fanzines, T-shirts and books.

The shop is the brainchild of locals Brian Paulson and Taylor McKissick, who aim to give the Valley something that’s more rare than a Fugazi tour: a store almost entirely devoted to punk culture.

It almost never happened, though.

Prior to opening 45 Revolutions earlier this month, Paulson and McKissick had no plans to start another business. The couple already sells horror film merch at local geek events and organizes the Punk Rock Flea Swap at Tempe’s Yucca Tap Room, but never thought they’d operate a brick and mortar place.

When a storefront became available along University Drive earlier this year, the pair took the plunge.

“It was definitely location-inspired, but also doing the punk rock flea swap at Yucca Tap Room and stuff gave us the confidence to go through with a punk theme store,” McKissick says.

Records, zines and more

Paulson says the shop’s name riffs on both 7-inch records and a song by British punk icons Blitz, one of his favorite bands.

The store offers punk vinyl, books, fanzines, clothing and other merch. Its also the only Arizona retailer selling Solovair and Gripfast boots, McKissick says.

Unlike conventional record stores, which devote space to numerous genres, 45 Revolutions is deliberately narrow in its focus.

“We’re not going to water ourselves down with other genres,” McKissick says.

Plans are also afoot to buy, sell and trade used records and other merchandise once they secure the proper permits from the city of Tempe. The couple also want to eventually start selling music and merch from local punk bands.

“There’s a lot of really great artists and bands in this area that are really tied into punk and we’d love to give them a place to show what they have,” McKissick says.

‘We feel like we’re filling a void’

For longtime Valley punks, 45 Revolutions might feel like a throwback to a different era. Once upon a time, Tempe was ground zero for independent shops like the original Eastside Records, where music lovers could discover bands and connect with others in the scene.

While stores like that still operate, they’re nowhere near as prevalent in the age of Amazon and other online retailers.

Paulson says 45 Revolutions is a throwback to old-school Tempe independent retailers like Eastside Records that once flourished in the area. A few of the shop’s patrons have already made that comparison.

“We’ve had a handful of older punks come through the doors and say, ‘This is like going back in time,’” Paulson says.

McKissick says she feels like their shop adds to Tempe’s cultural landscape.

“We feel like we’re filling a void and we only just started,” she says.

For Paulson and McKissick, the goal for 45 Revolutions isn’t purely about re-creating the past. The couple says they want the shop to function as a community gathering spot where local punks can discover local shows, meet others and participate without social media.

“We were trying to do this as kind of a more analog project,” Paulson says.

Hence the reason the shop features a bulletin board and flyer rack, two old-school touches that have become increasinly rare at local retailers.

“We have an Instagram account, but we’re trying to replace social media by creating a hub where people can come and learn about bands and shows without having to get on social media,” Paulson says.

The goal, McKissick says, is to restore some of the personal connections that are lacking in the digital world.

“Discovering a new band from word of mouth in a record store, trying out an album that looked cool and just buying it is something that’s missing these days,” she says. “We’re trying to help bring back that kind of feel again.”

45 Revolutions

511 W. University Drive, # 5, Tempe
Hours: Noon to 8 p.m., Wednesdays through Sundays