Trio of friends opens record shop

Hoping to help Main Street revival, entrepreneurs offer musical venue, By Eileen Stanbridge Franklin — Whether you believe the country is in a recession or a depression, most would agree it takes a brave soul to start a new business in this business climate. Make that three brave souls. Eric Cooper, April Tassillo and Justin Tyskewicz, co-owners of the recently opened Eyeconik Records and Apparel are ready to blaze the trail in the revival of Main Street here. “Main Street used to be a place where people could come and find interesting things to see and do and we really feel our shop will bring much needed excitement back to Main Street Franklin,” said Tassillo. And they’re bringing back something vintage, to boot: records. Their shop has a huge selection of vinyl records both new and used ranging in price from $2 to $10 and record players priced from $80 to $120. They also buy used recording, depending on condition. “We were all experiencing the effects of the present economy in our jobs and just felt it was the right time to do this,” said Cooper. “We are all really into vinyl and right now we don’t have very much competition, so it seemed like the perfect thing to do,” he added. April 18 is National Record Store Day. Eyeconik Records will showcase live acoustic sets by local artists all day long. “We would like to offer local artists a place where they can perform and also offer local bands a place to sell their CD’s,” said Cooper. Eyeconik Records and Apparel also buys used vinyl records, depending on the condition.