Record Store Day Shops - Day 31 - Tangled Parrot - Carmarthen


Tangled Parrot         *The original Apple store now selling parrotphernalia*

32 King Street, Carmarthen, Dyfed SA31 1BS
01554 890231
tangledparrot.com; tangledparrot@gmail.com; @tangledparrot
Monday-Saturday 10am-5pm
Stock: Vinyl, CD, Pre-owned, Badges, Clothing, In-stores, Parrotphernalia

Also, at Lion Street, Hay-on-Wye, HR3 5AA.

Matt Davies was so short of money when he opened Tangled Parrot, that after purchasing his initial stock he had no money left for racking. A local orchard solved the problem by selling him crates that had previously been used to store apples. Many customers enjoyed the aroma of the new shop, but the problem was that any record that did not sell quickly soon picked up the smell of apples from the boxes. It was funny for Matt to sell records on the Apple label which smelled of the fruit.

The shop picked up its unusual name through a frustrating Christmas present Matt bought for his daughter Maia. It was a parrot constructed of wood and fishing wire which 5-year-old Maia loved. By pulling on the wire the parrot flapped its wings. The problem was that Maia constantly snagged the wire up resulting in Matt repeatedly having to disentangle it. When his friend called around and asked if Maia was enjoying the present, Matt explained that she was, but he had christened it the tangled parrot. His friend commented that it would make a great name for a band. As Matt was opening a record shop and not joining a band he thought it would be the perfect name for his new business.



Matt deployed his daughter’s talents to draw the shop’s mascot, a tiny, colourful parrot that is still festooned all over the shop’s racking. You will also find lots of “parrotphernalia” for sale. They have stuffed plastic and wooden parrots as well as T-shirts, badges, beer mats, harmonicas with parrots on, and even parrot food (not a great seller). I am pleased to say that the original tangled parrot still hangs from the shop’s ceiling, with Matt willing to demonstrate the curious device to any customer that asks.

Matt has always been a great supporter of the Carmarthen music scene but was disappointed when two local venues closed. When a local pub was put up for sale Matt mortgaged himself to the hilt to purchase it. He turned the downstairs into a café and bar which hosted bands and comedians during the evenings, and moved his record shop upstairs.

He called the business The Parrot. It soon became the social hub of the town with events taking place there at least three days every week. Unfortunately, music retailing was going through a difficult period. With the added pressures of the interest on his loan, Matt was struggling to keep the business afloat. 



In 2011, he reluctantly took the decision to close the business - but the story did not end there. After hearing the news of Matt’s impending closure, a group of artists and musicians formed the West Wales Music Collective. The aim was to keep the project open. They approached Matt and informed him that they had started a crowdfunding campaign to raise enough money to keep him going. Through fundraising events and pledges they had soon raised £2,000. They crashed through the £5,000 barrier soon after, thanks to an anonymous benefactor who donated £3,000 to the fund. A rumour spread that it was the comedian Rhod Gilbert who was born in the town. When approached by the BBC and asked if he was the mystery benefactor, Rhod dryly replied “I am not the mystery benefactor anymore.”

Thanks to the publicity generated by Rhod’s generosity, the fund topped £11,000.

Matt was so touched by the warmth of the town towards him that he had no choice but to re-open and has not looked back. The shop is the thriving centre of the Carmarthen community. Try and combine your visit with seeing a band playing and enjoy some of the local craft beer sold in the bar. Matt, a man who has done so much to bring good music, culture and art to South Wales, deserves your support.


 

Over 220 independent record shops featured in The Vinyl Revival and the Shops That Made it Happen



 Available at your local record shop or online at http://smarturl.it/vinylrevival

Look out for the film based on the book. The Vinyl Revival'  which is released on Record Store Day  April 13th. The film comes free with the album The Vinyl Revival. Only available in independent record shops on RSD


Check out the trailer


https://youtu.be/dDYrd0N2cIA

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