To celebrate his Inlander Best of Hall of Fame award this year, Bob Gallagher, the founder of 4,000 Holes, is retiring.
When Gallagher first opened 4,000 Holes just behind Zip's on West Shannon in 1989, I was one of his first regulars. I remember while going to SFCC, a classmate told me to check out this new record store. In the '90s, it was the place to find new music coming out of the Seattle scene and other areas. It was also the place to find out what was going on in town, as he wasn't just selling music; he also put out records from local bands.
Bob's been thinking about retirement since at least 2019, but it just happened at the same time as his big Hall of Fame win. I've been creating posters for Bob's Record Store Day promotions for more than a decade now, so I stopped by to check up on him.
"Our record community is an amazing group of music lovers," he told me. "Music is so powerful and brings so much happiness to us all — love, kindness and respect for music and fellow listeners."
A few years after starting up, he moved to North Monroe — then a couple blocks down the street to its current location. He tried to match the vibe of the local record stores he grew up with — the Record Rack at Shadle Center, Little Nell's, Strawberry Jams.
"I'd been selling LPs for about 10 years through mail order, record conventions, Beatlefests," he recalls. "I even put on conventions here in town. I needed more constant income, and I always wanted a record store."
The name of the shop, of course, is from a song by his favorite band, the Beatles' epic "A Day in the Life."
Bob had a front-row seat as the record industry — vinyl especially — went through big changes.
"I always knew records would come back," he told the Inlander in 2019, "but I didn't know they'd come back this big."
Don't panic, the store's not closing. Bob's just passing the torch to a new owner, so drop in and say hi to Isaac Robbins. While you're there, you might as well buy some records.
And even though Bob will no longer be selling them, you'll still be able to see him around town doing what he loves — playing music (solo, in Blue Canoe and, with his wife, Bev, in Starlite Motel.)
"The guitar has always been my saving grace," he adds. "My last thing is to thank everyone who has helped me live my music dream — the continuous support of me and 4,000 Holes for almost 40 years is overwhelming."
2nd PLACE: Bigfoot Records; 3rd PLACE: Entropy
NORTH IDAHO'S BEST: The Long Ear, Coeur d'Alene
