Former Arrow’s Aim owner Daniel Halal is giving the Gainesville vinyl scene another spin with his new shop Sunshine Records.

The new store, co-owned by 38-year-old Halal and James Siboni, bassist for hardcore band Bane, will sell mostly preowned records. Siboni currently owns another store, Tiger Records, in Jacksonville.

“We felt like there was this real need for another store in town,” Halal said. “We just provide something really unique and different. And just like Tiger does for Jacksonville, we wanted to bring that to Gainesville again.”

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Gainesville is currently home to Hear Again Records, but when Arrow’s Aim closed in 2020, some locals felt there was a lack of more obscure punk records available in town. The new store will carry punk and hardcore records along with other genres including newer, more popular albums.

The store will be located at 220 NW 8th Ave., near popular Gainesville spots, like Germain’s Chicken Sandwiches, Flashbacks Recycled Fashions and Afternoon. Halal said opening the store there was an easy choice.

“This is our community,” he said. “This is where we want to be.”

Spot selection based on need for parking

One of the main reasons they decided not to put the shop downtown is due to concerns about parking, Halal said.

Local business owners and community members gathered in Bo Diddley Plaza in early February to express their frustrations with the parking downtown including a lack of availability and a focus on paid spots. Andrew Schaer, owner of Hear Again Records, said his revenue was cut by 50% to 70% when the city briefly enforced paid parking.

“Arrow’s Aim was downtown for six or seven years, and I love downtown,” Halal said. “I spend nights downtown, but the parking down there has just gotten so bad.”

The opening of the store comes at a time when the number of vinyl sales are rapidly increasing, though production has struggled to keep up with the demand. In 2022 vinyl sales grew for the 17th year in a row, according to Stereogum, and Taylor Swift’s album ‘Midnights’ sold a million records — the most in a year since Luminate began tracking in 1991.

“I think it's awesome," Halal said. "I think there's like a contingent of crotchety old guy record collectors from the past who I used to deal with 15 years ago who might be bitter because their secret hobby has become mainstream. But anything that gets people exposed to and more interested in new and different music is kind of the goal for us.”

Sunshine Records will host a grand opening party on Saturday, March 11 from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

The store will continue to operate during those hours until Thanksgiving. Halal encourages anyone wanting to sell their records to reach out to the store by phone at 352-559-5895.

This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Bane bassist, Arrow's Aim owner set to open Gainesville record shop