If it weren’t for great record stores and people who run them, where would diggers and music enthusiasts get their vinyl fix? Of course you’d dig somewhere else, but anyone who’s spent time in a record store has met an owner or employee who has turned them on to some never heard of gem, genre, or record label that has changed their digging perspective. Before there were dedicated sites (like this one), forums and the like, the record store dude was the man who put you on to dope records. Cool Chris is the guy who put everybody on to everything. A constant curator of rare grooves, Jazz, Psych, Latin, Disco, Brazilian and beyond, Chris has been holding it down in SF since 1994. A world wide destination for producers, artists and DJs, the Groove Merchant is synonymous with quality, and Cool Chris is just that. It is with great honor and pleasure that I bring this legend of the record game (and great DJ, digger and all around record guy) “Cool Chris” Veltri to the pages of Big Ups. Enjoy!

Check out the Groove Merchant Facebook page.

Listen to an interview with Chris from 2009 that gives the background of his involvement in Groove Merchant Records here.

Keep Diggin’!