Ascendents Records (the record label/corporation) has opened a small store with music and accessories for its artists, fans, and nearby residents/the surrounding area in Southeast Portland, Oregon. Until now for the area, the closest gear and instrument dealers running the scene have been Guitar Center, and Portland Music Company. When smaller music stores catered to acoustic guitar players, for other genres, such as rock, artists would have to visit a larger store, however; with the rise of online sales and increased competition, the power chains have been found chasing every penny.
"We narrowed down the search to bring our customers the products with the best value," said Ascendents Corporation President, Kyle Keith; he continued, "you can't go to just one store and buy everything we carry," implying that the expert work to create their instrument/gear/accessories/music selection is a reason to check out the location. Keith continued, "we offer customers gear for our favorite styles of music/market." With decades of production experience, he has claimed to have been through enough situations to know the quality and type of equipment people really need the most. "We carry many cool products -- including equipment from well-known trusted brands such as Shure, Peavey, Boss, and Yamaha, and Fender -- we also have some of the best entry-level gear for those on a tighter budget, however; we are official authorized dealers of PreSonus products. For those brands, visiting Ascendents Records just might be a best option; oftentimes we purchase directly from the manufacturer -- plus we work with our customers."
With its retail store section opened (get directions), local artists and also those from out of town traveling have stopped in to talk/inquire about record deals, leaving demos, and producing songs. Others have dropped by looking for music, different types of mixer gear, or accessories such as adapters and strings. Keith said, "we welcome everyone, not only our label-artists. Bring us your band's CDs and t-shirts to sell. Bring us posters for our wall along with upcoming event flyers; we can even help you sell tickets."
As a record label, Ascendents Records offers its signed artists professional and state-of-the-art album production/encoding deals with manufacturing/distribution, licensing/rights/catalog and administrative management, artist/songwriter services, and appearances/marketing support -- including music such as The Ascendents' 2020 release, Sex, Drugs and Rock N Roll.
Keith's emerging grunge punk alternative rock band (The Ascendents) and a few musically-inclined friends currently have stepped up to help maintain the shop. On the busy street of 82nd avenue, the black and white sign for the music and accessory store reads, "6819 Ascendents Records -- Music & More."
Kyle also mentioned that for now it will focus on bringing affordable gear to the local area, however; as it works with a partner internet corporation, Ascendents.net, Inc., and details expanding to sell more products online through their web store https://ascendents.net/store/, the company could reach new markets. Ascendents Records' physical store has hundreds of products/accessories. Their website, https://ascendentsrecords.com, has a note about the store opening. Keith also added a dedicated webpage with business hours, phone number, a map/driving directions, and current specials, and extra information about the brands/products available. A partial list of available products is here: https://ascendentsrecords.com/offers.
The recent Coronavirus/COVID-19 pandemic has greatly affected the way people do business. While the store is currently closed to walk-up customers, people can still call-in orders and arrange to have products picked up or delivered.
Update (May 2020): The store has re-opened to customers and complies with statewide mask rules.
