Swan song A Westerly institution gets unplugged BY BOB GULLA

My grandfather, visiting from Boston, took me to Looney Tunes in my hometown of Westerly to buy me my very first record when I was eight. "Your mother tells me you like rock and roll," he said. "I like music too. Let’s go buy some records!" He lit up a Dunhill and smiled. We jumped into his mauve Cadillac Seville and drove a few miles to the store. At the time, it was filled with pot paraphernalia as well as music, but that didn’t faze Gramps, not one bit. I came away that day with the James Gang’s Newborn record; memory fails me as to why. I do recall that it cost $5.49. My grandfather bought an old Stan Kenton record and we drove home happy.

Throughout my formative phase, I’d go on to do all my record shopping at Looney Tunes, as did most other folks in Westerly. Many of those same folks now mourn the closing of the store, which shuttered its doors recently after 31 years in the business of selling records.

Jeff Gardiner was the turnkey owner of the place. He opened the store — which was also full of incense, T-shirts, and black light posters — in ’74 during the heyday of FM radio and the rise of corporate rock. Skynyrd, Marley, and the Bee Gees ruled the racks. But whatever it was, you could find the record, and an opinion about it, at Looney Tunes.

Nat Sisco took over Looney Tunes from Gardiner 21 years ago and owned it right up until closing. "I remember being real excited about early U2 and old Richard Thompson," he says. "Back then it was vinyl and 45s, of course, and it was a great business to be in."

When Sisco took on the store, he remembers music being more uplifting and positive. "Back in the day," he says, "you were so positive about the music you loved. We lived for new records by our favorite bands. Today, how can you get geared up for rap and the negativity of today’s music? It’s awful."

Through most of the store’s history, Looney Tunes’ business remained steady. They were free from competition, and the staff, which included Eight Days scribe Jim Macnie and yours truly, knew enough to steer unwitting patrons. The selection, too, was just deep enough to keep you flipping through the stacks. Big albums by supergroups like the Allman Brothers, Little Feat, Pink Floyd, Boston, Led Zeppelin, Heart, Aerosmith, Yes, the Cars, Van Halen, and Guns N’ Roses kept you coming in. Other, lesser-known records — by Lene Lovich, Joy Division, the Minutemen, and Graham Parker — went out with you in the same bag, the purchases inspired by staff recommendations. You ran into people and talked about bands and new records and upcoming shows, often for hours. Music appreciation deepened until the glue set for a lifelong attachment.

"The whole town of Westerly ran right through Looney Tunes," says Sisco. "I can’t think of another place like that. At the holidays our customers would bring us cookies and a little pop of Schnapps when they did their shopping. Music joined people together." That spirit culminated one day back in 2001 when, for eight hours on Christmas Eve, the tiny one-stop music store registered $12,000 in sales. "We were meeting and greeting people all day," says Sisco. "I’ll always remember those times."

Unfortunately, Looney Tunes in Westerly (there is still Looney Tunes II in Wakefield, independently owned by Peter Dante) has bonded its last customers, having fallen victim like so many mom and pop stores to chain stores and technology. "Basically, the Internet killed us more than anything," says Sisco, predictably. "I saw the slide beginning back in 2002 with downloading. The writing was on the wall." When a Strawberries elbowed in a couple years ago, that provided the second blow in the store’s one-two knockout punch.

"I never had a Website so I couldn’t compete that way," says Sisco. "Another thing that really hurt us was that there used to be a music law that stated you couldn’t sell a CD below cost. Then they rescinded that law and stores like Wal-Mart, Target, and Best Buy could throw new releases out there as loss leaders for $8.99. Here we were paying $11.99 and $12.99 for them from our distributor. We couldn’t touch that kind of pricing."

Still, Sisco could have remained open; 21 years of business accumulates quite a few loyal customers. But he wasn’t interested "in spinning his wheels," and he certainly wasn’t identifying with the kind of music being made and the records he was forced to sell. "Pretty soon they’re going to be selling songs two for a $1," says Sisco. "I can see it now."

Today, he runs a small green grocer in nearby Connecticut with his wife. But before he let Looney Tunes go, he wrote a public farewell in the form of a letter to the editor of the Westerly Sun. Here’s an excerpt:

"As I take one last look around my store, I notice the shelves are all but stripped bare, and the posters that once adorned the walls — Springsteen, Beaver Brown, Aimee Mann — have left faded woodwork in their wake. The ancient solid oak countertop is etched with the names of the saddened employees who, throughout the years, carried the store to a level I am so very proud of. But despite all of that, the very soul of Looney Tunes remains . . . In the weeks prior to this last day, I can’t count the number of times I got choked up when an old friend stopped by and relived a memory with me. And that memory would invoke another, then another. One particular friend apologized for not frequenting the store as much as he should have over the years. There are no apologies necessary from anyone. I am the lucky one here!"

Over at the green grocer, the folks aren’t exactly lined up out the door for organic vegetables the way they once were for the Led Zeppelin boxed set back in 1990. But Sisco’s not complaining. "What an incredible run. I had visions of slinging records at 70, but at this point at least I can go out with a smile."

Wandering Eye. Tonight (Thursday, the 12th) and every Thursday), DJ Brett the Hitman spins from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. at Moda Lounge on 525 South Water Street in Providence. On Saturday (the 14th), DJ Nailz does the same at UltraLounge on Pine Street from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. That gig’s 19-plus for ladies (free before midnight) and 21-plus for gentlemen.

Rising Celtic jammers Rune play twice this weekend — tonight at Ri Ra in Providence and on Saturday at Bovi’s in East Providence. On Friday (the 13th) at the Rocky Point Pub, it’s Fresh Crop and Days Unknown, and on Saturday at the same venue you can hear the Big PayBack and Some Day Providence.

Smokestack Lightnin’ will play at Okie’s Bar & Grill in Narragansett on Friday. Also on Friday at Cats in Pawtucket, a really sweet local bill brought together by the informed folks at Rattlehead Records will include Dagnabbit, 44-Wreck, Failed Attempts @ Flying, and Illustrious Day.

On Friday at the American Legion Hall in Seekonk beginning at 6 p.m., there’s a great showcase of Fall River area bands, a mix of metal and alt-rock. You can catch Embrance, Kenaz, Reaxis, Thousand Silent, and A Falling View. Check ’em all out at www.myspace.com. And speaking of SE Mass, on Saturday veteran singer-songwriter and New Bedford native Tom Pacheco and New England Weather share the bill at Stone Soup Coffeehouse (at the Boys & Girls Club of Pawtucket Arts Center, 210 Main Street). Tickets are $10. Black & White plays Saturday at the Common Pub in the lovely seaside town of Bristol. Also on Saturday, Hemlok takes over the Blackstone with Kanerko and the Joe Mazzari Band.

E-mail me with music news and maybe you’ll get your name in the paper: big.daddy1@cox.net.