New web series ‘Performances on Replay’ brings local music scene to vintage shop in Jacksonville

JACKSONVILLE – Surrounded by rows of records, music memorabilia and Hot Wheels cars hanging on the wall for sale, musicians pack into the Replay Music and More in Jacksonville to perform private concerts for the new YouTube web series “Performances on Replay.”

Creators Hunter Hauk, a journalist and owner of Replay Music and More, and Isaac Belota, a documentarian, joined creative forces in April to bring East Texas artists and bands from every genre into the local thrift, vintage and music store to play and discuss their original music.

“This whole area is like at the brink of a renaissance, and unfortunately the space for music isn’t really there yet,” Belota said. “I like the punk rock ethos of if you want to see something happen in your community, it’s up to you to do it.”

After being a regular customer at the store, Belota approached Hauk with the idea of bringing bands from across East Texas and beyond into the shop to perform, record video and participate in interviews to post online.

“I wanted to do something different,” Belota said. “I think it was starting to pour down rain, and he was running stuff back and forth from the car and I’m like, ‘Hey, can I invite bands over and record them in your place?’ and there’s a lot of people who don’t get it, but Hunter gets it and so he was like like, ‘Yeah, sure!’”

Belota said his inspiration came from the former DeadStreet Studios in Tyler, which operated out of an auto body shop off West Elm Street and hosted ticketed concerts for local bands, and NPR Music’s “Tiny Desk Concerts”, which features well-known musicians in intimate settings.

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“There’s so many good bands, but they don’t really have a way to put their stuff out there,” Belota said. “Although we don’t have enough room to mosh pit in there, I can still use these gifts that I have and knowledge I have to promote local bands and maybe drum up some interest.”

Belota and Hauk interlace interviews with performances throughout each episode to provide context and anecdotes behind the bands’ music and help audiences connect with the artists.

“YouTube is so powerful to make people interested in stuff,” Hauk said. “If it’s in a small town and there’s a scene happening from YouTube, it’s kind of exciting because you can connect with the people creating it.”

Hauk said the web series became an opportunity to continue his late father’s passion for the store while helping create a music culture in Jacksonville.

“To have a culture in a small town makes a big difference for people living here and when Isaac came to me with that idea I was like, ‘I’m so lucky’ because it’s nice to have somebody interested enough in the culture of a town to want to come and do something like this,” Hauk said. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like this happening in Jacksonville before, even though there’s a lot of good culture happening, the element of local music is not something we’re used to.”

John Hauk, Hunter’s father, founded Replay Music and More in the 1990s, and the business grew into a longtime Jacksonville favorite. The store on North Bolton Street continues to buy, sell and rent physical media, including vinyl records, cassettes, CDs, DVDs, LaserDiscs, 8-track tapes, along with gifts, antiques and guitars.

Hunter Hauk left a journalism career of more than 25 years to take over the business after his father died from cancer last year.

“People come in every single day still, and my dad died in August, and they come in and say, ‘Is the old man here?’ and I’m like no,” Hauk said. “They tell you to talk about the person every day or every year or so to transition yourself into a good place and I didn’t even have to do it because people do it for me.”

Hauk said he wants the shop to become more than a store and instead serve as a “third place” outside of home or work.

“It’s a different place where you can go and hang out and get something new every once in a while,” Hauk said. “I think that’s what my dad would’ve wanted, and that’s what he always thought of it as.”

Hauk joked that his father knew the area “like the back of his hand” because he knew everyone’s family and where they were from.

“We would be amazed at what we’re doing here,” Hauk said. “He wouldn’t even be able to wrap his head around it.”

The web series currently includes three episodes, each about 20 to 30 minutes long, featuring jazz-funk-rock band Wannabe Wannabes, indie folk band Gypsum and the Travelers and rock group Real Live Wire.

“Afterwards, you might catch the band next week or at some place around town, or if they put out an album, you will have heard a little bit of their stuff,” Hauk said. “It feels grounding, like there’s something worth staying here for.”

Belota said the series offers a different experience to both listeners and artists because of its interactive format and intimate setting.

“It’s such a different experience than like me going on Spotify and listening to their stuff,” Belota said. “Even the space in there kind of brings stuff out of you.”

Belota and Hauk use thrifted equipment for video and sound and self-produce and edit the series themselves.

“I’ve been really blown away by some moments from the bands,” Hauk said. “When Real Live Wire got to the end of one of their songs, I couldn’t believe that I was in the same room.”

Belota said the goal is to focus and promote East Texas artists, but all musicians are welcome.

“We won’t be opposed if another band comes along, but it’s always going to be the heart of it,” Belota said. “We want to promote local music.”

With a shared passion for communication and connecting with people from all walks of life, Belota and Hauk said they hope to create a supportive atmosphere rather than a competitive one.

“I read David Byrne’s book, from the Talking Heads, and he was talking about what ingredients you need to create a scene,” Belota said. “One is basically you need a space where bands can play at any level and they’re also free to hang out, and the other one is it’s affordable.”

Belota and Hauk said they hope the series grows organically and brings attention to East Texas music and culture through YouTube. They also hope to eventually expand into live shows with interviews at a venue.

“It would be interesting to see if there’s any kind of sound that extends to one or more bands in this area that’s unique,” Hauk said. “It’s more likely to happen the more stuff like this is available.”

Hauk said each band featured so far has been a dream to work with and encouraged interested musicians to contact Replay Music and More through their Facebook, Instagram or TikTok.

“In the art world there’s a lot of people who are supporting each other,” Belota said. “I think seeing that extend more into music is important.”

To watch the Performances on Replay web series, visit https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLnIoZbLWF9n5EPJy-SV_BRK3jX6V7rF-W.