Hi Everyone,

Our hearts are especially heavy this week as we lost a treasured member of our CIMS family, Jim Salzer.

Jim opened his first store in Oxnard in 1966. He also had a store in Thousand Oaks from 1969-1972. The Salzer’s we know today (originally called Salzer’s Mercantile) opened in Ventura, CA in 1972. Salzer's Video was established in 1980 and was known as the first video superstore in the nation.

Before over fifty successful years in the music/video business, Jim lived a whole other life. First, as a musician himself, he then turned to life as a concert promoter. He knew and worked with the Doors, the Stones, Jimi Hendrix and many others that are the musical building blocks for most of us.

In short… the man was a legend.

But beyond and in spite of all that, he was also a good man. He loved his family dearly and was a fixture of his community. If you had the honor of knowing him, this was immediately apparent.

I remember my first visit to the Salzer’s compound over 15 years ago, it was at a CIMS convention. As I walked around the stores, warehouse and office, I remember thinking it truly felt like we were in the musical version of the Wonka Factory, and we were all recipients of the golden tickets that day.

Over the years, I always looked forward to seeing Jim. I knew our time together would always be full of interesting conversations and amazing stories that often left me looking for a time machine. You could also always count on Jim to give it to you straight. If you ever ran into him on Facebook, you know this to be true. Even if you didn’t always agree with him, it was still going to be a fun discussion. His passion, intensity, and love for life were evident in everything he did, and nothing will be quite the same without him.

I was certain there was a best-selling book in the making with that guy. You know the Dos Equis commercials with “the most interesting man in the world”? The first time I saw one of those, I immediately thought to myself, “That character has got to be based on Jim Salzer”.

So, I have one request. At some point today, take a break and pull out your favorite record (the one that brings a smile to your face and really gets you moving) and then just listen… or better yet dance or sing along - whatever feels good. But whatever you do, celebrate the life and times of the Great Jim Salzer. Also, I am pretty certain he would want you to turn it up!

To Nancy, Brandon, Sage and the rest of the Salzer’s family- we send you all our love….

and Jim, we will catch you on the flip side.

Odetta "Hit or Miss" (Polydor Records) Brandon Salzer - Salzer's Records Odetta's "Hit or Miss" always reminded me of my Dad and was one of his favorites... — Odetta
**"Hit or Miss"**
(Polydor Records)

**Brandon Salzer - Salzer's Records**
Odetta's "Hit or Miss" always reminded me of my Dad and was one of his favorites...

Also, in light of current global conditions, we are working on a collective store status page for all independent retailers that will live onrecordstoreday.com.

This page, once it goes live, will be updated to reflect changes in the stores and will hopefully give you one place to point people as to how to support indie retail during these trying times.

In the meantime, I will send updates for our stores here as they are updated. These are the responses as of this morning but please be aware these are all subject to change.

CIMS Store Status 3-19

Here are the charts,
Andrea

Andrea Paschal
Executive Director
Coalition of Independent Music Stores
ThinkIndie Distribution
3738 4th Terrace North
Birmingham, AL 35222
Phone: 205.595.1932 x.208
Fax: 205.595.1938
Email : andrea@cimsmusic.com
cimsmusic.com
#cimsmusic