Mike Watson sits behind the counter of The Sound Garden music store on JeffersonStreet in Armory Square. He is wearing a dark gray long sleeve, his brown hair is spiked, and piercings trail down the sides of his ears, as he helps customers andtalks to his staff.

Watson has been managing The Sound Garden for nine years now. He was first exposed to the store after he moved from Rochester to Syracuse in his early teen years. His father took him to the shop’s previous location on Walton Street — just around the corner from its current site.

A music lover for as long as he can remember, Watson said he has always had a decent sense of rhythm. Even as a child, his parents noticed that he would bounce in his car seat when music played, he said. He got his first drum kit at 13 and started playing guitar, bass and piano shortly after.

Now, he plays bass guitar, drums, piano, sings and screams for his multiple musical projects and he believes he has mastered the art of time management.

“I just delegate time to each group,” he said. “The Afro Nips don’t release often; we only play about twenty shows a year. The country band I’m in doesn’t really play many shows. In Watson and Son, we write and workshop more than perform. Since I’ve only been with Earth Died Screaming for two weeks, we will find out what happens with them; I’ve just been listening to demos and writing songs.”

The Sound Garden is the only record shop in downtown Syracuse but has another location in Baltimore. Everyone from SU students to Syracuse natives stop by to browse the large variety of vinyls, CDs, DVDs, video games, posters, stickers and other merchandise.

“It doesn’t matter who they are,” Watson said. “If they keep coming in, I can get a feel for what they like and I can give them suggestions.”

In the store, customers have the option to sell DVDs, CDs and records that they don’t watch or listen to anymore. “Everything is dictated by what the people are buying,” Watson said. “Everyone who works here has their own niche when it comes to music, but we buy what we think will sell.”

In a time where media is often purchased or illegally downloaded online, working in an industry that sells physical copies of entertainment can be difficult because the public has access to streaming websites, but Watson still holds faith in the store’s purpose.

“It hurts more for TV and movies with Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon now available,” Watson said. “Illegal music is fifteen years old and there are still a lot of collectors out there who want the physical copy.”

The manager’s music taste is across the board. As a listener and as a musician, it’s all about the song writing. He’ll like one band from a certain era and then hate another band from that exact same time period.

“For instance, I don’t like the Foo Fighters, but I love Queens of the Stone Age,” Watson said. “I love The Strokes and Interpol, but I hate the bands that came out and tried to play off their market. Same comparison with Damien Rice and Ed Sheeran.”

Even if Watson strongly dislikes a particular genre, he will promote local and rising artists.

“Mike is very supportive of local artists and just supportive in general,” said sales associate Bill Wilson. “I’m a DJ and even though he’s not a fan of electronic music, he’s always looking to support me.”

Watson and his fellow employees are very close and work together every day to provide a positive music experience for their customers.

“He [Mike] is the hardest working manager and musician I know,” said sales associate Vincenza Calogero.

Published on September 15, 2015 at 9:23 pm

Contact: rcplaut@syr.edu