Chris Andrews is a local entrepreneur who has been in large part responsible for the development and resurgence of the Madison Village district of Lakewood. He is known for his strong do-it-yourself, grassroots work ethic and concern for genuine, local, self-supporting small business ventures, as well as his ties to the local music scene in Cleveland.
He was born and grew up in Cleveland, and has always been a west-sider.
After a brief stint at Kent State University, Chris knew that college wasn't
where he was meant to be. "I knew I wanted to do something in music," he
says. In 1983, he picked up and moved out to live in San Francisco, together
with a band calling themselves The Monitors, hoping to make it big. Unfortunately,
things didn't work out in California, and the band broke up. After six months,
Chris found himself back in Cleveland.
| "Things just didn't turn out well out there," he remembers. But not
long after returning home, things started to turn around. Starting out with
just $2000--"That wasn't even mine," Andrews hastens to add, "I borrowed
it"--he opened up his first store, Chris's Warped Records, at 13383 Madison
Ave. And before long, he was playing in a new band.
"The whole thing with the Monitors didn't turn out, but when I came
back to Cleveland I started a band that some people may have heard of, the
Spudmonsters. I was the guitarist." Playing a socially conscious brand of
hard-core/heavy metal "with a satirical twist," the band soon became one of
the top local acts, with a somewhat large following. |
Chris's Warped Records (left) located next to Chain Link Addiction at 13383 Madison Ave. |
"We toured Europe. We had our fans locally over here, but we were big over there," Chris remembers. "The kids in Europe are really into metal, but the thing I really noticed about them was how politically conscious they were. American kids have no idea what's going on in their own country, but over there the kids were really plugged in to what's going on. Our music wasn't really political so much as it was social. The way we looked at it, the problems people have--and the solutions--aren't in politics. They're in the people. So we never really got into politics so much, it was more about getting people to care enough about what was happening to them to take charge of their lives. We wanted to give them the feeling that the power to effect change was in their hands."
Chris remained active with Spudmonsters through their second album, playing guitar and touring in addition to being one of the main contributing songwriters.
"I was the last original member to leave the band, actually," Chris recalls. "Things were starting to pick up, and we were starting to get some recognition. We were working really hard, and if we wanted to make it to the next step it was going to take a lot of touring, which is even more work. You have to work for everything, you get what you earn. I really believe that. A lot of the bands I see coming up these days, they think that once they get noticed and signed [to a major label] that's it, and everything just gets handed to them. That's not how it really works. When you get noticed, that's the time when you have to work even more, because, finally, you have somebody's attention.
"These days, bands don't seem to think that way, which is why they might sell a few thousand records for a few weeks, and then they drop off and go nowhere. Anyway, I had too many other responsibilities, with running the store and everything, so that's when I decided I had to bow out, do some travelling, and think about what I wanted to do next." The band went on for a few years, touring and releasing a few more albums before breaking up in 1997.
Chris's activist mindset naturally carried over into his business ventures, too. The intersection of Chesterland and Madison is not so much a street corner as it is a nexus where pop culture, music, art, fashion, and politics converge and swirl in strange and interesting ways. For the casual shopper, the stores in Madison Village promise a different sort of experience from the superstore/mall paradigm that has usurped mainstream American commerce. What they might lack in volume they more than make up for in personality. But for the sophisticate, there's a lot more going on here than mere retail. There is a decided countercultural feel to the storefronts. What mainstream commerce might consider taboo is often celebrated. Alternative culture flourishes, inviting the open-minded to reconsider what's "normal." Conventions are challenged in fun and creative ways, while the no-longer-current mainstream cultures of yesteryear are exhumed and put on display. Because they lack the bureaucratic bloat and impersonality that makes the niche marketing attempts of larger companies seem inauthentic, the shops in Madison Village are able to stay right on the cutting edge of culture.
"People are bored with large, corporate-owned superstore chains. They don't have any personality," says Andrews. "The people that work there don't own the place, and usually aren't even knowledgeable about what they're selling. It's not their passion--it's just their job. What we've done here has been very personal. Our concept was to bring in independently-owned businesses. A lot of the stores here, the people that work there own them, and they live right upstairs. It's all a lot more personal. We have flavor here. We have personality. You can't get that at Best Buy."
"Lakewood tries to present itself as a diverse city, and I like to think that we're a big reason for that. We've been successful with these small stores, where a lot of corporate super-chains weren't even interested in investing. We really turned around this area here. Before, the stores here would stay open for about six months, and then they'd go out of business. Most of the successful businesses were on Detroit Rd. until we came along. Now, everyone wants to be on Madison."
It's true. A lot of stores have opened up since Warped Records and Chain Link Addiction first set up shop, enjoying the atmosphere and sense of community that Andrews has helped to foster.
"We did it by promoting the whole district, not just an individual store.
We all advertise together, collectively. By supporting each other, that
means longevity, and that makes the landlords happy. Everything you see here,
we're responsible for."
Seamonkeys is Andrews' newest store in Madison Village, located right at the corner of Madison and Chesterland, next to B-Ware Video. |
B-Ware Video specializes in rental and sales of old/rare underground films and cult classics that are long out of print and not likely to be found in a store like Hollywood Video or Blockbuster. The Independent Art Gallery showcases local and national artists. Luna Azul sells Mexican jewelry, clothing, and arts. King Daddy's Wah Wah Palace is an Indonesian and Mexican folk art gallery, and aims at a somewhat older clientele. Another music store, Mindwave Records, has opened up across the street from Warped Records, providing an outlet for Industrial, Gothic, and New Wave music. The Atomic Eye sells old action figures and toys, as well as Japanese animation and assorted tie-ins. The Mission is a boutique of high-fashion items and accessories. For vintage clothing, check out Inspiration Emporium or Seamonkeys, the most recent Chris Andrews' venture. |
| There's also a few bars nearby that work closely with Madison Village
in promoting the district: Iggy's, which caters to local music and is always
free to get in, and Manja, which boasts the best jukebox in town. "We're
also looking forward to a furniture shop coming in the next few months, and
a coffee shop. I'd also like to see a few restaurants open up in the future."
What's next for Madison Village? "Park benches. We want to encourage
people to spend time here, to just hang out and have a place to meet each
other and relax. We're putting them in ourselves, at no cost to the city."
It might not seem like much, but it should go a long way toward helping the
area come alive. Chris also recently opened a new restaurant called Capsule which
is decorated in a Sci-Fi theme and features a wide variety of great food and
a full bar. |
Seamonkeys co-proprietor Christine Greene (right) and a customer model some of the vintage wares. |