When Audrey, James, and Sadie Jean Wilcox heard that Sound Spectrum had closed its doors following owner Jimmy Otto’s passing, the siblings teamed up to rescue the local staple. The shop has been selling music since 1967 and is currently the only record store remaining in the city. The siblings are no strangers to the music industry; they’ve been working together for years to support Sadie Jean’s journey as a singer-songwriter, with Audrey and James helping to manage her career. Under their ownership, the store reopened with the same staff and a fresh remodel. We sat down with Audrey to talk about the family’s new business venture.
What inspired the three of you to buy Sound Spectrum?
We’ve always wanted to support the Orange County music scene, being from the area, and with Sadie pursuing music. Preserving physical media is really important for arts and culture, especially in these local communities. We always had an open mind on what ways we can support the music scene. It seemed like the alternative to us not buying it was that it was going to close down forever…