House of Records Owner Keeps the Past Alive, the Present Groovy and the Future Exciting

By Ian Valleau

EUGENE, Ore. – Record shops seem to have seem to have defeated what few have beaten, father time. Despite music moving from records, to cassettes, to CDs, to iPods and now to streaming services, vinyl has always resurfaced in popularity. The popularity comes from collectors, listeners and people who do both. Some people use them to spin the tracks on their record player, while others use them to hang on their wall for decoration.

This popularity does not just naturally happen though. People need to keep it alive. If there was nobody who deeply cared about records, it would fade off like other forms of music have. In Eugene, that deep care for records comes from House of Records owner Greg Sutherland.

Sutherland became the owner of House of Records in 2022, but he has worked there since 1986. Before that, he was a student at the University of Oregon, while also working as a cook at a Sizzler restaurant. Sutherland knew his calling early on though, and by his senior year of college, he decided it was time to quit the Sizzler and work at a record shop.

“I worked at Sizzler for three years, and then in my fourth year I decided to quit, and I thought, you know what? I’m getting a job at a record store, no matter what,” said Sutherland.

This desire for a job at a record store was not a sudden urge, as Sutherland has adored and been around music his entire life. 

After growing up in Los Angeles, he moved to Sams Valley, Ore., where his stepfather got a job. He lived deep in the country and had to connect with two different buses to get to his high school.

His passion for music came with, like millions of others, his discovery of The Beatles. This discovery happened after the assassination of John Lennon in 1980. This tragedy proved to have an unseen benefit for Sutherland though, as the local radio played every single Beatles song, A-Z. 

“That was my first real, prolonged exposure to The Beatles. Listening to the radio that whole weekend, and hearing their songs alphabetically, was very jarring,” said Sutherland. “To go from one song to the next, and they would be from different eras, so I got into The Beatles and collecting Beatles records. That really got me started in collecting records.”

By the time college was ending and Sutherland was working at House of Records, he had a life decision to make. What to do after college. He was getting a degree in journalism but was not sure if that was the correct direction for him. 

“I did not want to travel, and that’s what you do as a journalist. You are always traveling to get stories, or you are traveling to get work,” said Sutherland. “I have lived in the same house since 1992, I have had the same job since 1986. I generally do not like change.”

So he stuck with House of Records. Going from normal employee tasks like cleaning and stocking shelves, to pricing and ordering records, to owning to whole business. One task always sticks though, cleaning records. Most days Sutherland stands at his counter and puts the life back into records that are sometimes almost 100 years old.

Sutherland has a quote that he borrows from an old friend and former co-worker, Fred. “The only time I feel like I’m doing something good in the world is when I am cleaning records.”

Sutherland sees more in his record shop than the records though. He wants people to walk into his store and feel comfortable and welcome. He makes sure that his employees greet each customer that walks through the door, and Sutherland does the same himself. He also knows that he will get the best out of his employees when they are happy. He shows this by letting his employees play whatever music they want over the speaker while they work. His employees appreciate these small things.

“This is my favorite record store, I’ve been to a hundred record stores, this is my favorite. You could buy a used record here and not even have to look at the condition, you just know. That is what separates us from other record stores,” said assistant manager Ian Shastain.

This opinion is popular. Employees seek to work here, and customers keep coming back because of the high-quality experience Sutherland provides in his store.

“I think Greg does an awesome job. He’s been here for years, so he knows everything. What makes it different is the selection. We don’t focus too much on one genre,” said employee William Madsen.

That wide selection is again thanks to Sutherland. He is a fan of all genres of music, and what he listens to changes by the day. It can vary to classical, rock, punk and even some hip-hop.

Sutherland continues to keep the beacon of music that is House of Records alive. While some business owners take a backseat, Sutherland can be found at the store every day, happy to talk to anyone whether it is questions about a product or just to talk music in general. Sutherland looks to the future with the goal of working until he’s 70. In that time, he wants to keep records alive and keep House of Records the spot to be for music in Eugene.

“You’re preserving something old that someone had for a while and used and had good times. Now you are cleaning up so that someone else can have it again,” Sutherland said.