The Tigers

Artist: The Tigers

LP: 7" single

Song: "Mona Liza's Smile"
[ listen ]

Last weekend I returned to the place of my birth to attend my (ahem!) 30-year high school reunion. While driving around town late at night on my way to the Bali-Hai Motel, I was sad to see that the main record store in town, Off the Record, had finally closed its doors. The next day I went to Doug's Used Records in the heart of downtown Yakima; it's connected to Ron's Coin and Book store, a junky place that sells comics and DVDs...and coins, of course. And probably books. Doug's is a little disorganized, but I usually find something I like. 

While I was there some guy went up to the counter and asked if the other record store was still in town on Summitview Ave. The clerk said that they were still around, but that they'd moved west a few blocks into the plaza at 16th and Summitview. So Off the Record hadn't actually closed its doors, someone just moved its doors up the street a little ways! (If you know Yakima, Off the Record is in the plaza right across from Fiddlesticks, next to a Japanese restaurant.) Their new space even has an area for live in-store performances!

I arrived with about 90 minutes to browse and found several neat things, including four singles by The Tigers, a Japanese group that was popular in the late 1960s. They were basically the Bee Gees of Japan. I was awfully glad that I'd chanced to overhear that Off the Record was still around. It was almost as if fate was guiding me toward those vintage Japanese singles—knowing full well that I simply musn't leave town without them! You can read about The Tigers here. 

Oh, and the reunion. It was fun, and a little weird of course. We all attended a country music concert at the Apple Tree Resort and Golf Course and I ate pulled pork nachos. Yakima was sweltering. It got up to 97º while I was there.

[ The Tigers ]

[ Off the Record — Yakima, WA ]