Thirty-five years ago, Jim McGuinn opened a record shop on Main Street with the goal of eventually starting a preschool. McGuinn, who has an associate degree in child development, never expected to continue in the record business for long, let alone become the owner of the oldest independent record shop in Washington.
With the striking title, Hot Poop, McGuinn’s shop immediately catches the attention of downtown Walla Walla’s visitors and passersby. Understandably, the name of his shop has generated recognition for McGuinn.
Contrary to popular belief, the shop was never called “Hot Shit.” McGuinn explained that the name Hot Poop is a pun on pop music, which is popular for a very short amount of time, but quickly loses its appeal, or “hotness,” and becomes hot poop. This explanation did not work on phone companies.
“The phone companies wouldn’t take the name ‘Hot Poop’ because it was offensive, so I told them to call the shop ‘Hot Poop Cultural Shop and Self-Help Therapy,'” said McGuinn.
Though the store is now listed in the phonebook as “Hot Poop Stereo and Video,” McGuinn justifies this title by explaining that he offers therapy through selling music and interaction that benefits both himself and the customers.
“I trade blues for blues. CDs and music make people feel better, and money in the till makes me feel better,” said McGuinn. “I treat people how I would want to be treated by giving them good advice and taking them out into the store to help them find the specific group or song that they are looking for. I really enjoy talking to customers about music. We see interest in a lot of different types of music.”
McGuinn offers a wide variety of music in his shop in order to meet the needs of an assortment of his customers’ interests. While he claims to have the best classical tunes in town, McGuinn does not boast that he knows everything there is to know about music.
“I like to think that I track popular music to a degree, but it changes a lot, so I probably don’t. I sell a lot but I don’t always know what it is,” said McGuinn.
As a “victim of packaging,” McGuinn expects to hear what is portrayed on the cover of CDs, and therefore skips over listening to a lot of music. However, he is continually surprised by the music that he is introduced to by his customers once he looks past the cover.
While running the store has mostly been a positive experience for McGuinn, there have been challenges. During his first month in operation, Hot Poop was robbed, which was not the greatest way to start off. McGuinn related his persistence despite setbacks to a grade school fight.
“In grade school, you get in a fight that you know you can’t win, but you stay in it in order to save face and show that you can do it,” said McGuinn. “I’m going to ride the pony until it goes down.”
At the moment, the pony seems to be standing pretty firm on his feet. While some customers look into the store and walk out, those who take the time to browse around are impressed by the shop’s welcoming atmosphere and edgy style. During the holiday season, McGuinn has more selection in his store so that customers can get what they’re looking for in time, whereas big corporations like Amazon and Wal-Mart do not offer the same convenience.
McGuinn’s ultimate goal is to continue providing for his customers as long as possible.
“At your ten-year reunion, I want you to be able to come back into the shop and find the music that you listened to in high school,” he said. “Being able to remember childhood is comforting. I keep an older selection so that people can come in and buy back their childhood in the form of music.”
