Jerk Dog Records Celebrates 8 Years Of Selling Vinyl In Bradenton

BRADENTON, FL — It doesn’t matter the genre; Doug Holland has always loved music.

First, it was heavy metal, followed by punk. Later, he became enamored with garage rock and has delved into other genres, such as reggae and hip hop, over the years, as well.

Now, at 53, the Bradenton resident embraces it all.

“As I got older, I realized, ‘Oh, I can like it all at the same time,’” Holland told Patch.

He takes the same approach when stocking the record shop that he’s run from his Village of the Arts home for the past eight years.

Jerk Dog Records, a small store located at 1119 12th Street West, has new and used vinyl LPs and 7-inch records, cassettes and CDS focusing on music outside the mainstream – punk, metal, jazz, country, indie, garage rock, classics and more. He also offers a wide selection of zines.

And Holland loves when friends and customers stop by to suggest new artists to him.

“I’m interested in music in general. When people are enthusiastic about something, I usually take a note and check it out,” he said.

The shop, which is open Wednesday through Sunday, celebrates national independent Record Store Day — and its eighth anniversary — Saturday. The store will open its doors early at 10 a.m. and offer special releases and sales throughout the day.

That night, Holland will head to Oscura Café, a music venue reopening in a new location at 816 Manatee Ave. in Bradenton after closing its downtown spot nearly two years ago. There, Jerk Dog Records will host a special music showcase featuring Boney Fiend, Human Error, Ugly Couple and his own band, Las Nadas.

Holland and his wife, Valeri Borstelmann, moved into their Village of the Arts home a little more than 20 years ago, just as the arts district was forming.

With a legal commercial overlay, the Village of the Arts, established in 1999, enjoys "a rare live/work/play mix," according to its website. The addition of the arts has rejuvenated a once-neglected neighborhood.

Stretching from 9th Avenue West to 17th Avenue West between 9th Street West and 14th Street West, more than 275 art galleries and studios, shops, restaurants, healing arts services, and homes — including Jerk Dog Records — now make up the funky creative arts district.

“We went to one of the first meetings about Village of the Arts. At that point, it was just an idea and a neighborhood,” Holland said. “When we moved in, it was much more of an undesirable neighborhood in the fact that there was a lot of crime and vagrancy. It’s been satisfying to have taken the risk and see all the positive changes over a 20-year period.”

At first, the couple, both raised in Manatee County, used their home to display Borstelmann’s artwork, as well as pieces by her friends, during monthly art walk events. It also housed her art studio.

Her focus has shifted over the years, as she’s taken on other endeavors, though, Holland said. She founded Bradentucky Bombers Roller Derby, formed the band Las Nadas with her husband and their friends, and moved from painting to screen printing.

He came up with the idea of opening a record shop in the space while attending Gonerfest, a garage rock music festival hosted by Goner Records in Memphis, Tennessee.

“People were just buying records like crazy and there was nowhere down here to buy those records,” Holland said. “Records weren’t that big yet, anyway. I thought maybe I could be the store that I want to see happen, the store I want to shop at.”

As for Jerk Dog Records’ name, it’s a reference to his actual dog. While preparing to open the shop eight years ago, he was stumped by what he should call it.

At the time, he had a “very, very high strung” puppy, who chewed up two records he collected to sell at the store – the first Talking Heads album and a title by Muddy Waters.

“I cursed up a blue storm when that happened,” he said. “I wanted to call it (expletive) Dog Records but knew that wouldn’t fly. So, I settled on ‘Jerk.’”

The shop even “co-opted the RCA logo,” which features a dog peering into a gramophone, Holland said. “We changed it up a bit and have a dog peeing into a gramophone.”

The store started out small with just a single record display in the middle of the room. He also only opened during the Village of the Arts’ art walks on the first Fridays of the month.

He found a community enthusiastic about collecting vinyl from the beginning. As records became more popular, his base of shoppers grew, and he began opening for more days and longer hours each week. He expanded the range of genres he sells, as well, and added additional displays to better utilize the space.

“At first, it was mostly locals, mostly older dudes,” he said. “Now, it’s a mixture of young people, all different ethnicities. I get vacationers from all over the country, as well as outside the United States, coming back repeatedly, year after year.”

Over the years, Holland has also become known for hosting live punk, garage rock, indie and other bands and musical artists in Jerk Dog’s driveway during the first Friday open mics. While many local acts have played at the shop, touring artists from across the state and the U.S. have also made appearances.

The live music at the store has recently ended, though. Not everyone in the arts district has appreciated the mix of bands he’s brought to the area, and he’s fielded occasional complaints.

“Some people say it’s too abrasive. If I’m too loud, I’m too loud. There’s a law against being too loud,” he said. “If you don’t like the genre, I don’t care. You don’t get to pick. We respect artistic expression here.”

The most recent complaints came when he hosted a younger band called Termite.

“They’re a mix of noisy Sonic Youth, but maybe a little early Sonic Youth, a little on the abrasive side with some good hooks and poppiness,” he said. “(Neighbors) came back at me with complaints. I’ve had enough. It’s someone else’s turn.”

He added, “There was definitely something inherently punk rock about playing in my sweaty garage, but it's not the most comfortable place.”

Holland plans to direct bands looking for venues to Oscura, where Jerk Dog Records will also continue to host the occasional showcase.

As a record store owner, he also strives to reject the industry’s “negative cliches that are unfortunately sometimes true, like the record snob store clerk or paying a pittance for used records,” he said.

He wants Jerk Dog Records to be a space where all music fans are comfortable.

“I want to be part of changing that narrative and running things in an upfront, very fair, very accommodating and open way,” he said. “Again, no record store snobs here. We just want you to enjoy music however you enjoy music.”