Sounds of Silence at Musicall on Dec. 23
BY STEVE SHEPPARD
If you still have any Musicall gift certificates stashed away, you had better redeem them by Dec. 23 - on that Saturday Nantucket's only music store will close its doors for good.

Walters: "I'm not retiring, I'm taking an extended vacation. It will be nice to be going on to something different."

Looking over his dwindling stock of compact discs and records last weekend, store owner Charlie Walters said the same market factors that have forced the closing of many mainland music stores have caught up with him. "If I were still making money, this store would still exist," he said.

The culprit?

"For the most part it's the Internet. This is one change in Nantucket's economy that has nothing to do with Nantucket."

Technological changes have quickly altered the way people listen to music, affecting large chains like Tower Records and small business owners alike. "Two years ago when IPods came out, the bottom fell out," Walters said. "It's a great invention, but it's put me out of business."

He cited a steady decline that began after his best year ever, 2000. "Every year since then it's been a little slower than the year before. Compared to the year 2000, my business is off 70 percent."

Although his lease expires at the end of the year, Walters said that had nothing to do with his decision. "It's a coincidence that my lease ends this year. This is the first year the store has not supported me."

As for what will become of the space, Walters says he doesn't know what plans property owner John Keane has for it.

Musicall has been in the same location on East Chestnut Street since 1979. The business began on Centre Street as Nantucket Sound, and its first proprietors were Steve McCluskey and Chris Colbert. Gene Mahon bought the business from Colbert in the early '70s, and Walters, who has worked in the shop since 1973, bought it from Mahon in 1982.

Musicall has long been a mecca for island audiophiles and musicians, as well as the place to turn to find out who sang what, and if the recording still existed. Walters, who once reviewed records and concerts for Rolling Stone, has an encyclopedic knowledge of singers, songwriters and musical styles gleaned from his years in the business.

While he always carried the popular music of the time, Walters also stocked an eclectic mix of sounds, from classical to folk to jazz to Broadway tunes. He also made sure to feature island artists over the years. Where else could you find a Bill Voss CD next to the Ventures?

Along with recordings, he also carried music supplies such as reeds, strings, pitch pipes, harmonicas, drumsticks and guitar straps.

And so, another era comes to a close, and for Walters the feelings are bittersweet.

"I'm not retiring, I'm taking an extended vacation," he said. "It will be nice to be going on to something different."