When Karl Groeger Jr. wanted to round up people\u00a0to meet a local band at the record store he recently took over from his dad, he spent several days passing flyers around town.<\/p>\n
That was in 1991. Nowadays, Groeger posts on Instagram that a Long Island legend, a Jonas Brother or another high-profile celebrity will visit Looney Tunes Record Store, and within hours or even minutes, fans gobble up hundreds of meet-and-greet tickets.<\/p>\n
Since March, Cardi B<\/a>, Mariah Carey<\/a>, Joe Jonas<\/a>, Migos rapper Offset, and life and musical partners Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco<\/a> have all popped into the West Babylon music store to interact with their fans.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople ask me this all the time, \u2018how is it possible?\u2019\u201d Groeger told Newsday one recent afternoon. \u201cIt’s just kind of what we do.\u201d<\/p>\n Fans of Joe Jonas, right, of the Jonas Brothers, file in to to meet him in-person at the Looney Tunes Record Store in West Babylon, on May 28. <\/p>\n Over the past three decades, Groeger estimated more than 500 artists have walked into Looney Tunes for photo-ops, autograph sessions and live performances. The mutually beneficial arrangements allow Groeger to play host to longtime or first-time shoppers\u2019 intimate experiences with some of their favorite artists,\u00a0while the musicians and their record labels deepen their relationships with fans. The events also\u00a0bolster\u00a0a new release\u2019s first week sales in hopes of claiming a No. 1 album.<\/p>\n Christina Meloche, vice president of revenue at Interscope Capitol, a Santa Monica, California-based record label, has been sending artists to Looney Tunes for years. She helped organize Gomez\u00a0and Blanco\u2019s unannounced stint working behind the shop\u2019s counter and Offset\u2019s new album signing and photo-op.<\/p>\n \u201cAnytime that we have an artist that is in New York … we always say, \u2018do they have time to do an in-store at Looney Tunes?\u2019\u201d Meloche said. While getting an artist from the city to Long Island can prove difficult on a tight schedule, she said the West Babylon shop remains a \u201cgo-to place\u201d because Groeger is \u201ca pro\u201d at coordinating guest appearances.<\/p>\n \u201cI would trust him to carry a kidney across the city for me,\u201d Meloche added.<\/p>\n Mariah Carey came to Looney Tunes in September to promote her new album. Credit: Neil Miller<\/p>\n For his most recent visitor, Carey<\/a>, Groeger had a single day to prepare.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are a lot of moving parts that people don\u2019t realize,\u201d he said. \u201cYou have security, advertising, hair and makeup, lighting rigs and you have to get transportation for the artists.\u201d<\/p>\n These events can cost \u201cthousands, tens of thousands of dollars,\u201d which Groeger said he hopes to recoup through each artist\u2019s album sales. Some labels help cover costs.<\/p>\n \u201cHe’ll say \u2018can you cover \u2018x\u2019 amount of dollars and I’ll hire security?\u2019\u201d Meloche said of collaborating with Groeger.<\/p>\n Record companies often send their artists to stores they can \u201ccount on\u201d to order enough vinyl records or CDs ahead of events, Meloche said. As one of New York\u2019s larger independent record stores, Looney Tunes has the funds and the relationships with the three major record distribution conglomerates to directly order hundreds, if not thousands, of copies of new releases.<\/p>\n After hiring security and navigating the supply chain, even the smallest details must be checked.<\/p>\n \u201cDo you have Sharpies?\u201d Meloche said. \u201cIt’s like setting up a show.\u201d<\/p>\n Jamie and Karl Groeger outside their record store Looney Tunes in 2007. Credit: Newsday\/Michael E. Ach<\/p>\n Groeger\u2019s father, Karl Sr., passed the shop he founded in 1971 to Groeger and his younger brother, Jaime, in 1990. The next year, a record label informed Groeger that Huntington ska band The Scofflaws wanted to thank him in-person for selling so many copies of their debut album.<\/p>\n When Groeger asked if the band would consider showing up with their instruments for an impromptu performance, the label said yes.\u00a0He said he spent several days distributing flyers for a \u201cpizza party,\u201d meet-and-greet, live performance and autograph session with \u201cone of my favorite bands.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe expected 10, 15 people to show up and like 300 people showed up,\u201d Groeger recalled. \u201cSomething went off in my head, like a light bulb \u2018maybe I should do this some more.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n As the years passed, Looney Tunes hosted hundreds of acts of all stripes, but earned a reputation as a rock and metal mecca. In 2001 alone, the shop welcomed Biohazard, Ozzy Osbourne, Puddle of Mudd, Slayer and Staind, whose performance atop the record store\u2019s roof was broadcast on MTV and drew \u201ca sea\u201d of 7,500 people, around 3,000 of whom scored autographs or photographs with the band afterwards, Groeger said. The Staind event, as well as Osbourne\u2019s photo session<\/a> with thousands of metalheads, are among Groeger’s\u00a0favorite events.<\/p>\n Ozzy Osbourne\u00a0attends a meet-and-greet at Looney Tunes\u00a0in 2001. Credit: Karl Groeger Jr.<\/p>\n Hosting The Allman Brothers Band axeman and Gov\u2019t Mule frontman Warren Haynes, who he described as \u201cmy favorite living guitar player,\u201d thrice over for signings, photographs and performances also tops Groeger\u2019s list of personal favorites.<\/p>\n Three Long Island emo bands \u2014 Bayside, Brand New and Taking Back Sunday \u2014 have routinely appeared at Looney Tunes for their many album releases and \u201chave a little special piece in our heart,\u201d Groeger said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe used to carry their music on consignment on cassette back in their early days,\u201d he added. \u201cThe fact that those bands have been to the store so many times, they deserve their own special category.\u201d<\/p>\n Looney Tunes has not only bolstered Long Island\u2019s up and comers. Groeger has introduced Long Islanders to several acts when they were on the cusp of snatching the limelight, including Sabrina Carpenter, Renee Rapp and Yungblud.<\/p>\n Kasey Geiger, 15, left, of Amityville, and Mia Kahn, 16, of Massapequa, attend an album release party for a Sabrina Carpenter album.at the Looney Tunes on Aug. 29.. Credit: Howard Simmons<\/p>\n Customer Corrin Petrucci\u00a0recalled\u00a0watching Yungblud perform at Looney Tunes three years ago and posing for a photograph with him, her mother and her 5-year-old niece.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve loved him for so long,\u201d Petrucci, 25, of Islip, said. \u201cBeing able to come here and get that was really special.\u201d<\/p>\n With each appearance, Groeger said he is responsible for the artist having a good time, \u201cbut our main goal is that the customers who walk in the store have a wonderful time.\u201d He hopes each event fulfills a promise expressed in the store’s logo \u2014 the phrase \u201cwhere music and fun are one\u201d printed in the circle that wraps a cartoon guitar-playing duck.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s been our logo since 1971; my dad created it,\u201d Groeger said. \u201cWe want to make sure that this is a fun place to be.\u201d<\/p>\nSetting the stage<\/h2>\n
Ska, Slayer and Sabrina<\/h2>\n
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